Today in History

Today is Sunday, Sept. 15, the 258th day of 2013. There are 107 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 15, 1887, the city of Philadelphia launched a three-day celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Constitution of the United States.

On this date:

In 1776, British forces occupied New York City during the American Revolution.

In 1789, the U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs was renamed the Department of State.

In 1857, William Howard Taft -- who served as president of the United States and as U.S. chief justice -- was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 1862, Confederate forces captured Harpers Ferry, Va., during the Civil War.

In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws deprived German Jews of their citizenship.

In 1940, during the World War II Battle of Britain, the tide turned as the Royal Air Force inflicted heavy losses against the Luftwaffe.

In 1942, during World War II, the aircraft carrier USS Wasp was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine; the U.S. Navy ended up sinking the badly damaged vessel.

In 1950, during the Korean conflict, United Nations forces landed at Incheon in the south and began their drive toward Seoul.

In 1954, as raucous fans looked on, Marilyn Monroe filmed the famous billowing-skirt scene for "The Seven Year Itch" over a Lexington Avenue subway grate in Manhattan (however, little, if any, of the footage ended up in the movie; the scene was later reshot on a Hollywood set).

In 1963, four black girls were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. (Three Ku Klux Klansmen were eventually convicted for their roles in the blast.)

In 1972, a federal grand jury in Washington indicted seven men in connection with the Watergate break-in.

In 1982, Iran's former foreign minister, Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, was executed after he was convicted of plotting against the government. The first edition of USA Today was published.

Ten years ago: A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals halted California's recall election, saying it was unacceptable for several counties to use punch-card ballots. (However, a larger panel of eleven judges from the 9th Circuit later ordered the election to go forward.) The WUSA soccer league shut down operations five days before the Women's World Cup, saying it didn't have enough money to stay in business for a fourth season.

Five years ago: On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 504.48, or 4.42 percent, to 10,917.51 while oil closed below $100 a barrel for the first time in six months amid upheaval in the financial industry as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection and Merrill Lynch & Co. was sold to Bank of America. Richard Wright, a founding member of Pink Floyd, died at age 65.

One year ago: Four days after the deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula called for more attacks on U.S. embassies. The State Department ordered non-essential government personnel and family members to leave its embassies in Sudan and Tunisia and warned U.S. citizens against traveling to the two countries.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Forrest Compton is 88. Comedian Norm Crosby is 86. Actor Henry Darrow is 80. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Gaylord Perry is 75. Opera singer Jessye Norman is 68. Writer-director Ron Shelton is 68. Actor Tommy Lee Jones is 67. Movie director Oliver Stone is 67. Rock musician Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger) is 61. Rock musician Mitch Dorge (Crash Test Dummies) is 53. Football Hall-of-Famer Dan Marino is 52. Actor Danny Nucci is 45. Rap DJ Kay Gee is 44. Actor Josh Charles is 42. Singer Ivette Sosa (Eden's Crush) is 37. Actor Tom Hardy is 36. Pop-rock musician Zach Filkins (OneRepublic) is 35. Actor Dave Annable is 34. Actress Amy Davidson is 34. Britain's Prince Harry is 29. TV personality Heidi Montag is 27.

Thought for Today: "I think the greatest curse of American society has been the idea of an easy millennialism -- that some new drug, or the next election or the latest in social engineering will solve everything." -- Robert Penn Warren, American poet (born 1905, died this date in 1989).

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.