Today in History

Today in History

Today is Thursday, Sept. 28, the 271st day of 2017. There are 94 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On September 28, 1892, the first nighttime football game took place in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, as teams from Mansfield State Normal and Wyoming Seminary played under electric lights to a scoreless tie. (The game was called after the first half due to hazardous conditions caused by inadequate illumination; it also didn't help that a lighting pole was located in the middle of the field.)

On this date:

In 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England to claim the English throne.

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 following his appointment by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

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 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: The International Monetary Fund chose France's Dominique Strauss-Kahn as its new leader. (Strauss-Kahn resigned the post in 2011 following allegations he'd sexually assaulted a New York hotel employee; prosecutors ended up dropping all the charges.) Traveler Carol Gotbaum of New York died in a holding cell at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix; authorities say Gotbaum, 45, accidentally asphyxiated herself after being chained to a bench.

Five years ago: Citing national security risks, President Barack Obama blocked a Chinese company from owning four wind farm projects in northern Oregon near a Navy base where the U.S. military flew unmanned drones and electronic-warfare planes on training missions. Homer Bailey of the Cincinnati Reds threw the season's seventh no-hitter, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0.

One year ago: In a resounding rebuke, Democrats joined with Republicans to hand Barack Obama the first veto override of his presidency, voting overwhelmingly to allow families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts for its alleged backing of the attackers. Israeli statesman Shimon Peres, 93, died of complications from a stroke. Agnes Nixon, 93 the creative force behind the popular soap operas "One Life to Live" and "All My Children," died in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Brigitte Bardot is 83. Actor Joel Higgins is 74. Singer Helen Shapiro is 71. Movie writer-director-actor John Sayles is 67. Rock musician George Lynch is 63. Zydeco singer-musician C.J. Chenier is 60. Actor Steve Hytner is 58. Actress-comedian Janeane Garofalo is 53. Country singer Matt King is 51. Actress Mira Sorvino is 50. TV personality/singer Moon Zappa is 50. Actress-model Carre Otis is 49. Actress Naomi Watts is 49. Country singer Karen Fairchild (Little Big Town) is 48. Country musician Chuck Crawford is 44. Country singer Mandy Barnett is 42. Rapper Young Jeezy is 40. World Golf Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak is 40. Actor Peter Cambor is 39. Writer-producer-director-actor Bam Margera is 38. Actress Melissa Claire Egan is 36. Actress Jerrika Hinton is 36. Neo-soul musician Luke Mossman (Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats ) is 36. Pop-rock singer St. Vincent is 35. Rock musician Daniel Platzman (Imagine Dragons) is 31. Actress Hilary Duff is 30. Actor Keir Gilchrist is 25.

Thought for Today: "A great truth is a truth whose opposite is also a truth." -- Thomas Mann, German writer (1875-1955).