Today in History

Today in History

Today is Friday, Sept. 30, the 274th day of 2016. There are 92 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 30, 1791, Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" premiered in Vienna, Austria.

On this date:

In 1777, the Continental Congress -- forced to flee in the face of advancing British forces -- moved to York, Pennsylvania.

In 1846, Boston dentist William Morton used ether as an anesthetic for the first time as he extracted an ulcerated tooth from merchant Eben Frost.

In 1915, the D.H. Lawrence novel "The Rainbow" was published in London by Methuen & Co.

In 1938, after co-signing the Munich Agreement allowing Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said, "I believe it is peace for our time."

In 1939, the first college football game to be televised was shown on experimental station W2XBS in New York as Fordham University defeated Waynesburg College, 34-7.

In 1949, the Berlin Airlift came to an end.

In 1955, actor James Dean, 24, was killed in a two-car collision near Cholame, California.

In 1962, James Meredith, a black student, was escorted by federal marshals to the campus of the University of Mississippi, where he enrolled for classes the next day; Meredith's presence sparked rioting that claimed two lives.

In 1966, the Republic of Botswana became independent from Britain.

In 1972, Roberto Clemente hit a double against John Matlack of the New York Mets during Pittsburgh's 5-0 victory at Three Rivers Stadium; the hit was the 3,000th and last for the Pirates star.

In 1986, the U.S. released accused Soviet spy Gennadiy Zakharov, one day after the Soviets released American journalist Nicholas Daniloff.

In 1997, France's Roman Catholic Church apologized for its silence during the systematic persecution and deportation of Jews by the pro-Nazi Vichy regime.

Ten years ago: Five people were killed when an overpass near Montreal collapsed. Tony Award-winning actress Isabel Bigley died in Los Angeles at age 80.

Five years ago: A U.S. drone airstrike in Yemen killed two American members of al-Qaida, cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and recruiting magazine editor Samir Khan.

One year ago: Just hours before a midnight deadline, a bitterly divided Congress approved, and President Barack Obama signed, a stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government open. Kelly Renee Gissendaner, the only woman on Georgia's death row, was executed by injection, making her the first woman put to death by the state in seven decades. (Gissendaner was convicted of murder in the 1997 slaying of her husband after she'd conspired with her lover, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death.) Prosecutors declined to charge Caitlyn Jenner in a California car crash the previous February that killed another driver, Kim Howe, citing insufficient evidence.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Angie Dickinson is 85. Singer Cissy Houston is 83. Singer Johnny Mathis is 81. Actor Len Cariou is 77. Singer Marilyn McCoo is 73. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is 71. Pop singer Sylvia Peterson (The Chiffons) is 70. Actor Vondie Curtis-Hall is 66. Actress Victoria Tennant is 66. Actor John Finn is 64. Rock musician John Lombardo is 64. Singer Deborah Allen is 63. Actor Calvin Levels is 62. Actor Barry Williams is 62. Singer Patrice Rushen is 62. Actress Fran Drescher is 59. Country singer Marty Stuart is 58. Actress Debrah Farentino is 57. Rock musician Bill Rieflin (R.E.M.) is 56. Former Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., is 56. Actress Crystal Bernard is 55. Actor Eric Stoltz is 55. Rapper-producer Marley Marl is 54. Country singer Eddie Montgomery (Montgomery-Gentry) is 53. Rock singer Trey Anastasio is 52. Actress Monica Bellucci is 52. Rock musician Robby Takac (Goo Goo Dolls) is 52. Actress Lisa Thornhill is 50. Actress Andrea Roth is 49. Actor Silas Weir Mitchell is 47. Actor Tony Hale is 46. Actress Jenna Elfman is 45. Actor Ashley Hamilton is 42. Actress Marion Cotillard is 41. Actor Stark Sands is 38. Actor Mike Damus is 37. Tennis player Martina Hingis is 36. Olympic gold medal gymnast Dominique Moceanu is 35. Actress Lacey Chabert is 34. Actor Kieran Culkin is 34. Singer-rapper T-Pain is 32.

Thought for Today: "Nothing you can't spell will ever work." -- Will Rogers, American humorist (1879-1935).