Today in History

Today is Thursday, Sept. 5, the 248th day of 2013. There are 117 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 5, 1972, terror struck the Munich Olympics as the Palestinian group Black September attacked the Israeli Olympic delegation; 11 Israelis, five guerrillas and a police officer were killed in the resulting siege.

On this date:

In 1774, the first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia.

In 1793, the Reign of Terror began during the French Revolution as the National Convention instituted harsh measures to repress counter-revolutionary activities.

In 1836, Sam Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas.

In 1913, fire devastated Hot Springs, Ark., destroying some 60 blocks.

In 1914, the First Battle of the Marne, resulting in a French-British victory over Germany, began during World War I.

In 1939, four days after war had broken out in Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation declaring U.S. neutrality in the conflict.

In 1945, Japanese-American Iva Toguri D'Aquino, suspected of being wartime broadcaster "Tokyo Rose," was arrested in Yokohama. (D'Aquino was later convicted of treason and served six years in prison; she was pardoned in 1977 by President Gerald R. Ford.)

In 1957, the novel "On the Road," by Jack Kerouac, was first published by Viking Press.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed legislation making aircraft hijackings a federal crime.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford escaped an attempt on his life by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a disciple of Charles Manson, in Sacramento, Calif.

In 1986, four hijackers who had seized a Pan Am jumbo jet on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan, opened fire when the lights inside the plane failed; a total of 22 people were killed in the hijacking.

In 1997, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II broke the royal reticence over Princess Diana's death, delivering a televised address in which she called her former daughter-in-law "a remarkable person." Mother Teresa died in Calcutta, India, at age 87; conductor Sir Georg Solti died in France at age 84.

Ten years ago: Israeli commandos killed a Hamas bombmaker in a firefight and pulverized the West Bank apartment building in which he had been hiding. Hurricane Fabian slammed into Bermuda, killing four people. Singer-actress Gisele MacKenzie died in Burbank, Calif., at age 76.

Five years ago: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice became the highest-ranking American official in half a century to visit Libya, where she met Moammar Gadhafi. Europe's Rosetta space probe flew by the Steins asteroid 250 million miles from Earth. Publishing giant Robert Giroux, who'd guided and supported dozens of great writers from T.S. Eliot and Jack Kerouac to Bernard Malamud and Susan Sontag, died in Tinton Falls, N.J., at age 94.

One year ago: In an impassioned speech that rocked the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., former President Bill Clinton proclaimed, "I know we're coming back" from the worst economic mess in generations, and he appealed to hard-pressed Americans to stick with Barack Obama for a second term in the White House.

Today's Birthdays: Former Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul A. Volcker is 86. Comedian-actor Bob Newhart is 84. Actress-singer Carol Lawrence is 81. Actor William Devane is 74. Actor George Lazenby is 74. Actress Raquel Welch is 73. Movie director Werner Herzog is 71. Singer Al Stewart is 68. Actor-director Dennis Dugan is 67. College Football Hall of Famer Jerry LeVias is 67. Singer Loudon Wainwright III is 67. "Cathy" cartoonist Cathy Guisewite is 63. Actor Michael Keaton is 62. Country musician Jamie Oldaker (The Tractors) is 62. Actress Debbie Turner-Larson (Film: Marta in "The Sound of Music") is 57. Actress Kristian Alfonso is 50. Rhythm-and-blues singer Terry Ellis is 50. Rock musician Brad Wilk is 45. TV personality Dweezil Zappa is 44. Actress Rose McGowan is 40. Actor Andrew Ducote is 27. Actress Kat Graham is 27. Olympic gold medal figure skater Kim Yu-na is 23. Actor Skandar Keynes is 22.

Thought for Today: "History may be divided into three movements: what moves rapidly, what moves slowly and what appears not to move at all." -- Fernand Braudel, French historian (1902-1985).

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.