Today in History

Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Sept. 28, the 272nd day of 2016. There are 94 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 28, 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England to claim the English throne.

On this date:

In 1542, Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrived at present-day San Diego.

In 1787, the Congress of the Confederation voted to send the just-completed Constitution of the United States to state legislatures for their approval.

In 1850, flogging was abolished as a form of punishment in the U.S. Navy.

In 1914, the First Battle of the Aisne during World War I ended inconclusively.

In 1928, Scottish medical researcher Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the first effective antibiotic.

In 1939, during World War II, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a treaty calling for the partitioning of Poland, which the two countries had invaded.

In 1958, voters in the African country of Guinea overwhelmingly favored independence from France.

In 1967, Walter E. Washington was sworn in as the first mayor-commissioner of the District of Columbia.

In 1976, Muhammad Ali kept his world heavyweight boxing championship with a close 15-round decision over Ken Norton at New York's Yankee Stadium.

In 1989, deposed Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos died in exile in Hawaii at age 72.

In 1991, jazz great Miles Davis died in Santa Monica, California, at age 65.

In 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat signed an accord at the White House ending Israel's military occupation of West Bank cities and laying the foundation for a Palestinian state.

Ten years ago: Al-Qaida in Iraq's leader, in a chilling audiotape, called for nuclear scientists to join his group's holy war and urged insurgents to kidnap Westerners so they could be traded for a blind Egyptian sheik serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

Five years ago: The Obama administration formally appealed a federal appeals court ruling striking down a key provision of President Barack Obama's health care law requiring Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. (The U.S. Supreme Court later upheld the individual mandate.)

One year ago: President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting at the United Nations, agreed to discuss a political transition in Syria but remained at odds about what that would mean for Syria leader Bashar Assad's future. Former prison worker Joyce Mitchell, who'd helped two murderers escape from a maximum-security lockup, said she regretted her "horrible mistake" as she was sentenced in Plattsburgh, New York, to up to seven years behind bars. Trevor Noah debuted as host of "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central. Catherine E. Coulson, 71, an actress best known as the quirky Log Lady in the TV series "Twin Peaks," died in Ashland, Oregon. Frankie Ford, 76, a rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues singer whose 1959 hit "Sea Cruise" brought him international fame at age 19, died in Jefferson Paris, Louisiana.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Brigitte Bardot is 82. Actor Joel Higgins is 73. Singer Helen Shapiro is 70. Movie writer-director-actor John Sayles is 66. Rock musician George Lynch is 62. Zydeco singer-musician C.J. Chenier is 59. Actor Steve Hytner is 57. Actress-comedian Janeane Garofalo is 52. Country singer Matt King is 50. Actress Mira Sorvino is 49. TV personality/singer Moon Zappa is 49. Actress-model Carre Otis is 48. Actress Naomi Watts is 48. Country singer Karen Fairchild (Little Big Town) is 47. Country musician Chuck Crawford is 43. Country singer Mandy Barnett is 41. Rapper Young Jeezy is 39. World Golf Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak is 39. Actor Peter Cambor is 38. Writer-producer-director-actor Bam Margera is 37. Actress Melissa Claire Egan is 35. Actress Jerrika Hinton is 35. Neo-soul musician Luke Mossman (Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats ) is 35. Pop-rock singer St. Vincent is 34. Rock musician Daniel Platzman (Imagine Dragons) is 30. Actress Hilary Duff is 29. Actor Keir Gilchrist is 24.

Thought for Today: "Sometimes I think we Americans are the loneliest people in the world. To be sure, we hunger for the power of affection, the self-acceptance that gives life. It is the oldest and strongest hunger in the world. But hungering is not enough." -- Sherwood Anderson, American author and poet (1876-1941).