Today is Sunday, September 20, the 263rd day of 2015. There are 102 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On September 20, 1973, in their so-called “battle of the sexes,” tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, at the Houston Astrodome.
On this date:
In 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set out from Spain on five ships to find a western passage to the Spice Islands. (Magellan was killed enroute, but one of his ships eventually circled the world.)
In 1870, Italian troops took control of the Papal States, leading to the unification of Italy.
In 1884, the National Equal Rights Party was formed during a convention of suffragists in San Francisco; the convention nominated Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood for president.
In 1911, the British liner RMS Olympic collided with the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Hawke off the Isle of Wight; although seriously damaged, the Olympic was able to return to Southampton under its own power.
In 1947, former New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia died.
In 1958, Martin Luther King Jr. was seriously wounded during a book signing at a New York City department store when Izola Curry stabbed him in the chest. (Curry was later found mentally incompetent.)
In 1962, James Meredith, a black student, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Democratic Gov. Ross R. Barnett. (Meredith was later admitted.)
In 1973, singer-songwriter Jim Croce died in a plane crash near Natchitoches, Louisiana; he was 30.
In 1980, Spectacular Bid, ridden by Bill Shoemaker, ran as the only entry in the Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park in New York after three potential challengers dropped out in horse racing’s first walkover since 1949.
In 1984, a suicide car bomber attacked the U.S. Embassy annex in north Beirut, killing at least 14 people, including two Americans and 12 Lebanese. The family sitcoms “The Cosby Show” and “Who’s the Boss?” premiered on NBC and ABC, respectively.
In 1999, Lawrence Russell Brewer became the second white supremacist to be convicted in the dragging death of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas. (Brewer was executed on September 21, 2011.) Raisa Gorbachev, wife of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, died at a German hospital after a battle with leukemia; she was 67.
In 2000, Independent Counsel Robert Ray announced the end of the Whitewater investigation, saying there was insufficient evidence to warrant charges against President and Mrs. Clinton. Former Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov died at age 65.
Ten years ago: The number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq topped 1,900. Rapidly strengthening Hurricane Rita lashed the Florida Keys and headed into the Gulf of Mexico. Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal died in Vienna, Austria, at age 96. The Sacramento Monarchs won their first championship with a 62-59 victory over the Connecticut Sun in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.
Five years ago: The United Nations opened a three-day Millennium Development Goals summit to assess members’ progress in the decade since promising to end global poverty. President Barack Obama reached out to skeptical voters who were still hurting long after the declared end of the recession, imploring them to stick with him in upcoming midterm congressional elections. Leonard Skinner, 77, the basketball coach and physical education teacher who inspired the name of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, died in Jacksonville, Florida.
One year ago: Turkish authorities reported freeing 49 hostages held by the militant Islamic State group without firing a shot, paying a ransom or offering a quid pro quo. Emmy-winning actress and singer Polly Bergen, 84, died in Southbury, Connecticut.
Today’s Birthdays: Singer Gogi Grant is 91. Actress Sophia Loren is 81. Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Taylor is 80. Rock musician Chuck Panozzo is 67. Actor Tony Denison is 66. Hockey Hall of Famer Guy LaFleur is 64. Actress Debbi Morgan is 64. Jazz musician Peter White is 61. Actress Betsy Brantley is 60. Actor Gary Cole is 59. TV news correspondent Deborah Roberts is 55. Country-rock musician Joseph Shreve (Flynnville Train) is 54. Rock musician Randy Bradbury (Pennywise) is 51. Actress Kristen Johnston is 48. Rock singers Gunnar Nelson and Matthew Nelson are 48. Rock musician Ben Shepherd is 47. Actress Enuka Okuma (TV: “Rookie Blue”) is 43. Actress-model Moon Bloodgood is 40. Actor Jon Bernthal is 39. Singer The Dream is 38. Actor Charlie Weber is 37. Rock musician Rick Woolstenhulme (WOOL’-sten-hyoolm) (Lifehouse) is 36. Actress Crystle Stewart is 34. Rapper Yung Joc is 33. Actor Aldis Hodge is 29.
Thought for Today: “A faith is a necessity to a man. Woe to him who believes in nothing.” — Victor Hugo, French author (1802-1885).
