Today in History

Today is Monday, Sept. 18, the 261st day of 2023. There are 104 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 18, 2020, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a towering women's rights champion who became the court's second female justice, died at her home in Washington at the age of 87 of complications from pancreatic cancer.

On this date:

In A.D. 14, the Roman Senate officially confirmed Tiberius as the second emperor of the Roman Empire, succeeding the late Augustus.

In 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.

In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which created a force of federal commissioners charged with returning escaped slaves to their owners.

In 1851, the first edition of The New York Times was published.

In 1947, the National Security Act, which created a National Military Establishment and the position of Secretary of Defense, went into effect.

In 1961, United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold was killed in a plane crash in Rhodesia.

In 1970, rock star Jimi Hendrix died in London at age 27.

In 1975, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was captured by the FBI in San Francisco, 19 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

In 1987, the psychological thriller "Fatal Attraction," starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, was released by Paramount Pictures.

In 2001, a week after the Sept. 11 attack, President George W. Bush said he hoped to "rally the world" in the battle against terrorism and predicted that all "people who love freedom" would join.

In 2005, "Everybody Loves Raymond" won the Emmy for best comedy in its final season; first-year hit "Lost" was named best drama.

In 2013, former heavyweight boxing champion Ken Norton died in Las Vegas at age 70.

In 2014, voters in Scotland rejected independence, opting to remain part of the United Kingdom in a historic referendum.

In 2017, Hurricane Maria intensified into a dangerous Category 5 storm, surging into the eastern Caribbean on a path that would take it near many of the islands recently devastated by Hurricane Irma.

In 2018, the death toll from Hurricane Florence rose to at least 37 in three states.

In 2021, a billionaire and three other amateur space tourists safely ended a three-day trip to space aboard a SpaceX capsule, becoming the first crew to orbit the earth without a professional astronaut.

In 2022, President Joe Biden paid his respects at Queen Elizabeth II's coffin as thousands of police, hundreds of British troops and an army of officials made final preparations for the queen's state funeral.

Today's Birthdays: Gospel singer Bobby Jones is 85. Singer Frankie Avalon is 83. Actor Beth Grant is 74. Rock musician Kerry Livgren is 74. Actor Anna Deavere Smith is 73. Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, is 72. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino is 71. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is 69. College Football Hall of Famer and retired NFL player Billy Sims is 68. Movie director Mark Romanek is 64. Baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg is 64. Alt-country-rock musician Mark Olson is 62. Singer Joanne Catherall (Human League) is 61. Actor Holly Robinson Peete is 59. R&B singer Ricky Bell (Bell Biv Devoe and New Edition) is 56. Actor Aisha Tyler is 53. Former racing cyclist Lance Armstrong is 52. Opera singer Anna Netrebko is 52. Actor Jada Pinkett Smith is 52. Actor James Marsden is 50. Actor Emily Rutherfurd is 49. Actor Travis Schuldt is 49. Rapper Xzibit is 49. Comedian-actor Jason Sudeikis is 48. Actor Sophina Brown is 47. Actor Barrett Foa is 46. Talk show host Sara Haines (TV: "GMA3: Strahan, Sara & Keke") is 46. Actor/comedian Billy Eichner is 45. Actor Alison Lohman is 44. Designer Brandon Maxwell is 39. Congressman and former NFL player Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, is 39. Actors Brandon and Taylor Porter are 30. Actor Patrick Schwarzenegger is 30. Country singer Tae Kerr (Maddie and Tae) is 28. Actor C.J. Sanders is 27.