Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 3, the 246th day of 2019. There are 119 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 3, 1943, Allied forces invaded Italy during World War II, the same day Italian officials signed a secret armistice with the Allies.

On this date:

In 1783, representatives of the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War.

In 1939, Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany, two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland; in a radio address, Britain's King George VI said, "With God's help, we shall prevail." The same day, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the British liner SS Athenia some 250 miles off the Irish coast, killing more than 100 out of the 1,400 or so people on board.

In 1962, poet E.E. Cummings died in North Conway, N.H., at age 67.

In 1967, Nguyen Van Thieu was elected president of South Vietnam under a new constitution.

In 1970, legendary football coach Vince Lombardi, 57, died in Washington, D.C.

In 1976, America's Viking 2 lander touched down on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the red planet's surface.

In 1978, Pope John Paul I was installed as the 264th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1994, China and Russia proclaimed an end to any lingering hostilities, pledging they would no longer target nuclear missiles or use force against each other.

In 1995, the online auction site eBay was founded in San Jose, California, by Pierre Omidyar under the name "AuctionWeb."

In 1999, a French judge closed a two-year inquiry into the car crash that killed Princess Diana, dismissing all charges against nine photographers and a press motorcyclist, and concluding the accident was caused by an inebriated driver.

In 2003, Paul Hill, a former minister who said he murdered an abortion doctor and his bodyguard to save the lives of unborn babies, was executed in Florida by injection, becoming the first person put to death in the United States for anti-abortion violence.

In 2005, President George W. Bush ordered more than 7,000 active duty forces to the Gulf Coast as his administration intensified efforts to rescue Katrina survivors and send aid to the hurricane-ravaged region in the face of criticism it did not act quickly enough. U.S. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died in Arlington, Virginia, at age 80, after more than three decades on the Supreme Court.

Ten years ago: Vice President Joe Biden told a Brookings Institution gathering that the Obama administration was fiercely determined to get a health care overhaul, although he conceded it likely wouldn't happen without "an awful lot of screaming and hollering." A private funeral service was held in Glendale, California, for pop superstar Michael Jackson, whose body was entombed in a mausoleum more than two months after his death.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama, during a visit to Estonia, harshly condemned Russian aggression in Ukraine as a threat to peace. President Obama also said the United States would not be intimidated by Islamic State militants after the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff. A judge sentenced Theodore Wafer, a suburban Detroit man who'd killed an unarmed woman on his porch instead of calling police, to at least 17 years in prison.

One year ago: A court in Myanmar sentenced two Reuters journalists to seven years in prison on charges of illegal possession of official documents, a ruling that was met with international condemnation. (The two were freed as part of a mass presidential pardon in May 2019.) President Donald Trump escalated his attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, suggesting that the Justice Department had hurt the chances of Republicans in midterm elections with the recent indictments of two GOP congressmen.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Pauline Collins is 79. Rock singer-musician Al Jardine is 77. Actress Valerie Perrine is 76. Rock musician Donald Brewer (Grand Funk Railroad) is 71. Rock guitarist Steve Jones (The Sex Pistols) is 64. Actor Steve Schirripa is 62. Actor Holt McCallany is 55. Rock singer-musician Todd Lewis is 54. Actor Costas Mandylor is 54. Actor Charlie Sheen is 54. Singer Jennifer Paige is 46. Dance-rock musician Redfoo is 44. Actress Ashley Jones is 43. Actress Nichole Hiltz is 41. Actor Joel Johnstone is 41. Actor Nick Wechsler is 41. Rock musician Tomo Milicevic (30 Seconds to Mars) is 40. Bluegrass musician Darren Nicholson (Balsam Range) is 36. Actress Christine Woods is 36. Actor Garrett Hedlund is 35. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Shaun White is 33. Hip-hop singer August Alsina is 27.

Thought for Today: "In the arts, the critic is the only independent source of information. The rest is advertising." -- Pauline Kael, American movie critic (1919-2001).

Copyright 2019, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.