Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Sept. 4, the 247th day of 2019. There are 118 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 4, 1998, Internet services company Google filed for incorporation in California.

On this date:

In 1781, Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers under the leadership of Governor Felipe de Neve.

In 1944, during World War II, British troops liberated Antwerp, Belgium.

In 1951, President Harry S. Truman addressed the nation from the Japanese peace treaty conference in San Francisco in the first live, coast-to-coast television broadcast.

In 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus used Arkansas National Guardsmen to prevent nine black students from entering all-white Central High School in Little Rock. Ford Motor Co. began selling its ill-fated Edsel.

In 1969, the Food and Drug Administration issued a report calling birth control pills "safe," despite a slight risk of fatal blood-clotting disorders linked to the pills.

In 1971, an Alaska Airlines jet crashed near Juneau, killing all 111 people on board.

In 1972, "The New Price Is Right," hosted by Bob Barker, premiered on CBS. (The game show later dropped the "New" from its title and expanded from a half-hour to an hour.)

In 1987, a Soviet court convicted West German pilot Mathias Rust of charges stemming from his daring flight to Moscow's Red Square, and sentenced him to four years in a labor camp. (Rust was released in August 1988.)

In 1999, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed a breakthrough land-for-security agreement during a ceremony in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

In 2006, "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, 44, died after a stingray's barb pierced his chest.

In 2008, with a pledge that "change is coming," Sen. John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, vowing to vanquish what he called the "constant partisan rancor" gripping Washington. Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in a sex scandal, forcing the Democrat out of office after months of defiantly holding onto his job.

In 2017, Texas emergency management officials said at least 60 deaths were attributed to Hurricane Harvey.

Ten years ago: A German army colonel called in a U.S. airstrike on a pair of hijacked tanker trucks in northern Afghanistan, resulting in civilian casualties. (German officials said up to 142 people were believed to have died or been injured; Afghan leaders estimated 30 to 40 civilians were killed.)

Five years ago: Comedian Joan Rivers died at a New York hospital at age 81, a week after going into cardiac arrest in a doctor's office during a routine medical procedure.

One year ago: The Senate Judiciary Committee began confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on a day that saw rancorous exchanges between Democrats and Republicans on the panel, and a declaration by Kavanaugh that the high court must "never be viewed as a partisan institution." (Kavanaugh would be confirmed in October on a near-party-line vote of 50-48.) Amazon became the second publicly-traded company to reach $1 trillion in market value, following closely behind Apple. Former Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl was named to temporarily fill the Senate seat left open by the death of John McCain. Comic actor Bill Daily, the sidekick to leading men on TV's "I Dream of Jeannie" and "The Bob Newhart Show," died in New Mexico at the age of 91.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Mitzi Gaynor is 88. Soul singer Sonny Charles is 79. Actor Kenneth Kimmins is 78. Singer Merald "Bubba" Knight (Gladys Knight & The Pips) is 77. TV personality and veterinarian Dr. Jan Pol (TV: "The Incredible Dr. Pol") is 77. World Golf Hall of Famer Raymond Floyd is 77. Actress Jennifer Salt is 75. World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Watson is 70. Rhythm-and-blues musician Ronald LaPread is 69. Actress Judith Ivey is 68. Rock musician Martin Chambers (The Pretenders) is 68. Actor Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs is 66. Actress Khandi Alexander is 62. Actor-comedian Damon Wayans Sr. is 59. Rock musician Kim Thayil is 59. Actor Richard Speight Jr. is 50. Actor Noah Taylor is 50. Actress Ione Skye is 49. Actor-singer James Monroe Iglehart is 45. Pop-rock singer-DJ-musician-producer Mark Ronson is 44. Rhythm-and-blues singer Richard Wingo (Jagged Edge) is 44. Rock musician Ian Grushka (New Found Glory) is 42. Actor Wes Bentley is 41. Actor Max Greenfield is 40. Country singer Granger Smith is 40. Singer Dan Miller (O Town) is 39. Singer Beyonce Knowles is 38. Country singer-musician Tom Gossin (Gloriana) is 38. Actress-comedian Whitney Cummings is 37. Actor-comedian Kyle Mooney (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 35. Folk-rock musician Neyla Pekarek (formerly with The Lumineers) is 33. Pop-rock singer-songwriter James Bay is 29. Actor Carter Jenkins is 28. Actor Trevor Gagnon is 24.

Thought for Today: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is God's gift, that's why we call it the present." -- Joan Rivers (1933-2014).

Copyright 2019, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.