Today in History

Today is Thursday, Sept. 13, the 257th day of 2012. There are 109 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 13, 1997, funeral services were held in Calcutta, India, for Nobel peace laureate Mother Teresa.

On this date:

In 1759, during the final French and Indian War, the British defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham overlooking Quebec City.

In 1788, the Congress of the Confederation authorized the first national election, and declared New York City the temporary national capital.

In 1803, Commodore John Barry, considered by many the father of the American Navy, died in Philadelphia.

In 1912, a state funeral was held in Japan for Emperor Meiji.

In 1948, Republican Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was elected to the U.S. Senate; she became the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress.

In 1959, Elvis Presley first met his future wife, 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, while stationed in West Germany with the U.S. Army. (They married in 1967, but divorced in 1973.)

In 1962, Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett rejected the U.S. Supreme Court's order for the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, a black student, declaring in a televised address, "We will not drink from the cup of genocide."

In 1970, the first New York City Marathon was held; winner Gary Muhrcke finished the 26.2-mile run, which took place entirely inside Central Park, in 2:31:38.

In 1971, a four-day inmates' rebellion at the Attica Correctional Facility in western New York ended as police and guards stormed the prison; the ordeal and final assault claimed the lives of 32 inmates and 11 employees.

In 1989, Fay Vincent was elected commissioner of Major League Baseball, succeeding the late A. Bartlett Giamatti.

In 1993, at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy.

In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur died at a Las Vegas hospital six days after he was wounded in a drive-by shooting; he was 25.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush said it was "highly doubtful" that Saddam Hussein would comply with demands that he disarm and avoid a confrontation with the world community. And Bush mocked Democrats and other lawmakers who wanted U.N. action before a congressional vote on confronting Saddam.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush, addressing the nation, rejected calls to end the war in Iraq, but said he wanted gradual U.S. troop withdrawals from the country. Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, the most prominent figure in a U.S.-backed revolt of Sunni sheiks against al-Qaida in Iraq, was killed by a bomb planted near his home in Anbar province. The NFL fined New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 for spying on the New York Jets during a game.

One year ago: Teams of insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons struck at the U.S. Embassy, NATO headquarters and other buildings in the heart of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul. In New York City, Republican political novice Bob Turner scored an upset victory over Democratic state Assemblyman David Weprin in a special election to fill the House seat vacated by Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner. Leila Lopes of Angola was crowned Miss Universe at the pageant in Sao Paulo.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Barbara Bain is 81. Actress Eileen Fulton ("As the World Turns") is 79. TV producer Fred Silverman is 75. Former White House spokesman Larry Speakes is 73. Actor Richard Kiel is 73. Rock singer David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat & Tears) is 71. Actress Jacqueline Bisset is 68. Singer Peter Cetera is 68. Actress Christine Estabrook is 62. Actress Jean Smart is 61. Singer Randy Jones (The Village People) is 60. Record producer Don Was is 60. Actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. is 58. Actress-comedian Geri Jewell is 56. Country singer Bobbie Cryner is 51. Rock singer-musician Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) is 51. Radio-TV personality Tavis Smiley is 48. Rock musician Zak Starkey is 47. Actor Louis Mandylor is 46. Olympic gold medal runner Michael Johnson is 45. Rock musician Steve Perkins is 45. Actor Roger Howarth is 44. Actress Louise Lombard is 42. Tennis player Goran Ivanisevic is 41. Country singer Aaron Benward (Blue County) is 39. Country musician Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flatts) is 37. Actor Scott Vickaryous is 37. Singer Fiona Apple is 35. Contemporary Christian musician Hector Cervantes (Casting Crowns) is 32. MLB pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is 32. Actor Ben Savage is 32. Rock singer Niall Horan (One Direction) is 19. Actor Mitch Holleman ("Reba") is 17.

Thought for Today: "Injustice, poverty, slavery, ignorance -- these may be cured by reform or revolution. But men do not live only by fighting evils. They live by positive goals, individual and collective, a vast variety of them, seldom predictable, at times incompatible." -- Isaiah Berlin, Russian-born British philosopher (1909-1997).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.