Today in History

Today is Saturday, Sept. 7, the 250th day of 2013. There are 115 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On September 7, 1963, the National Professional Football Hall of Fame was dedicated in Canton, Ohio.

On this date:

In 1533, England's Queen Elizabeth I was born in Greenwich.

In 1812, the Battle of Borodino took place as French troops clashed with Russian forces outside Moscow. (The battle, ultimately won by Russia, was commemorated by composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky with his "1812 Overture.")

In 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution, bade farewell to President John Quincy Adams at the White House.

In 1892, James J. Corbett knocked out John L. Sullivan to win the world heavyweight crown in New Orleans in a fight conducted under the Marquess of Queensberry rules.

In 1907, the British liner RMS Lusitania set out from Liverpool, England, on its maiden voyage, arriving six days later in New York.

In 1940, Nazi Germany began its eight-month blitz of Britain during World War II with the first air attack on London.

In 1943, a fire at the Gulf Hotel, a rooming house in Houston, claimed 55 lives.

In 1964, the controversial "Daisy" commercial, an ad for President Lyndon B. Johnson's election campaign featuring a girl plucking flower petals followed by a nuclear explosion, aired on NBC-TV.

In 1968, feminists protested outside the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, N.J. (The pageant crown went to Miss Illinois Judith Ford.)

In 1977, the Panama Canal treaties, calling for the U.S. to eventually turn over control of the waterway to Panama, were signed in Washington by President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos.

In 1986, Desmond Tutu was installed as the first black to lead the Anglican Church in southern Africa.

In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur was shot and mortally wounded on the Las Vegas Strip; he died six days later.

Ten years ago: In a speech to the nation on Iraq, President George W. Bush said he was asking Congress for $87 billion to fight terrorism and cautioned Americans that the struggle would "take time and require sacrifice." Yasser Arafat tapped the Palestinian parliament speaker, Ahmed Qureia, to take over as prime minister following the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas. In the men's singles final at the U.S. Open, Andy Roddick beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3. Britain-Ireland rallied to win the Walker Cup for an unprecedented third straight time. Singer-songwriter Warren Zevon died in Los Angeles at age 56.

Five years ago: Troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed in government conservatorship. Hurricane Ike roared across low-lying islands in the Atlantic as a Category 4 storm. Serena Williams outlasted Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 to win her third U.S. Open championship and ninth Grand Slam title. Hall of Fame basketball coach Don Haskins died in El Paso, Texas, at age 78. Mystery author Gregory Mcdonald died in Pulaski, Tenn., at age 71. Astroland, New York City's world famous amusement park at Coney Island, closed after 46 years. Britney Spears won three MTV Video Music Awards, including video of the year for "Piece of Me."

One year ago: The Labor Department reported that employers had added just 96,000 jobs in August, down from 141,000 in July. Twin earthquakes and a spate of aftershocks struck southwestern China, toppling thousands of houses and killing at least 64 people. Dorothy McGuire Williamson, 84, who teamed with sisters Christine and Phyllis as the popular McGuire Sisters, died in Paradise Valley, Ariz.

Today's Birthdays: Jazz musician Sonny Rollins is 83. Actor Bruce Gray is 77. Singer Alfa Anderson (Chic) is 67. Actress Susan Blakely is 65. Singer Gloria Gaynor is 64. Rock singer Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders) is 62. Actress Julie Kavner is 62. Rock musician Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is 60. Actor Corbin Bernsen is 59. Actor Michael Emerson is 59. Pianist Michael Feinstein is 57. Singer Margot Chapman is 56. Actor W. Earl Brown is 50. Actor Toby Jones is 47. Model-actress Angie Everhart is 44. Actress Diane Farr is 44. Country singer Butter (Trailer Choir) is 43. Actress Monique Gabriela Curnen is 43. Actor Tom Everett Scott is 43. Rock musician Chad Sexton (311) is 43. Actress Shannon Elizabeth is 40. Actor Oliver Hudson is 37. Actor Devon Sawa is 35. Singer-musician Wes Willis (Rush of Fools) is 27. Actress Evan Rachel Wood is 26.

Thought for Today: "People do not live in the present always, at one with it. They live at all kinds of and manners of distance from it, as difficult to measure as the course of planets. Fears and traumas make their journeys slanted, peripheral, uneven, evasive." -- Anais Nin, American writer (1903-1977).

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