Today in History

On This Day In History, September 19th

2010 Oil rig Deepwater Horizon is declared sealed after a 5-month-long spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Thought to be one of the biggest accidents in the oil and gas industry, the Deepwater Horizon spill or the BP oil spill began on April 20, 2010, when an explosion destroyed the rig and killed 11 people.

2006 A Military coup overthrows the elected government in Thailand

Forces loyal to General Sonthi Boonyaratglin overthrew the elected government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and dissolved the parliament and the constitution.

1983 Saint Kitts and Nevis gain their Independence from the British Crown
The first Europeans set foot on the Island country in the West Indies in the late 15th century during an expedition led by Columbus. In 1713, control over the islands was passed from the French to the British.

1973 Carl XVI Gustaf succeeds his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf as the King of Sweden
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy, where the monarch is the ceremonial head of state. In 1980, Swedish law was changed to allow the firstborn of a monarch to become the crown's heir apparent, irrespective of their gender.

1944 The Moscow Armistice ends the Continuation War

The peace treaty was signed between the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and Finland. It put an end to the conflict between the USSR and Finland between 1941 and 1944.
 

Births On This Day, September 19th 🎂

1972 Ashot Nadanian
Armenian chess player, coach

1964 Trisha Yearwood
American singer-songwriter, actress

1934 Brian Epstein
English talent manager

1911 William Golding
English author, poet, playwright, Nobel Prize laureate

1802 Lajos Kossuth
Hungarian journalist, lawyer, politician

Deaths On This Day, September 19th 🪦

1995 Orville Redenbacher
American farmer, businessman

1985 Italo Calvino
Italian journalist, author

1968 Chester Carlson
American physicist invented Xerography

1944 Guy Gibson
English aviator, Victoria Cross recipient

1881 James A. Garfield
American politician, 20th President of the United States
 
19 September 2003
Construction of the Alice Springs to Darwin rail link was completed. This completed the link for the Ghan, a train trip connecting Adelaide to Darwin, and the line was opened in January 2004.

The Ghan is an Australian tourist passenger train that travels between the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin.

The Trip from Adelaide to Darwin takes 53 hours, including extended stops for passengers to do off-train tours, to travel the 2,979 kilometres (1,851 mi).
The Ghan has been described as one of the world’s great passenger trains.
 
19 September 1960
Chubby Checker's cover of The Twist reached number 1 on the Billboard hot 100.
Displacing Elvis Presley's It's Now or Never, which had the number 1 spot for 5 weeks.

The Twist was written and originally released in 1958 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters.
Ballard's version was a moderate hit, peaking at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960
On the US Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart, the original version of "The Twist" first peaked at number sixteen in 1959.
 
19 September 1952
British comedian Charlie Chaplin was banned from re-entering the U.S.
Though Chaplin had been living in the U.S. for 40 years, he was still legally considered a British citizen.
The actor had been under suspicion of being sympathetic to causes related to the left, and had caught the anger of the government after he accused their efforts in suppressing communism as a denial of free speech and violation of civil rights.
Chaplin was eventually blacklisted from working in Hollywood.
He had enough, Chaplin moved with his family to Switzerland where he lived until his death in 1977
 
1854
Henry Meyer patents his sleeping rail car
1893
New Zealand becomes the 1st country to allow all women the right to vote
1957
The 1st U.S. underground nuclear test, a 1.7 kiloton weapon was dentonated in a underground tunnel , 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas
1970
CBS classic sitcom,The Mary Tyler Moore show debuts, the series is about the employees working at a fictious Minneapolis local TV station. The cast, Mary Tyler Moore,Ed Asner{Lou Grant} , Gavin MacLeod{Murray, sportswriter} Ted Knight{ Ted Baxter, dim witted anchor} Betty White{SueAnn Nivens, 'happy homemaker'} show ended in 1977
1980
movie' Ordinary People' was released,actor Robert Redford's debut as film director. The story is about a well to do family,their lives are forever changed by the suicide of their eldest son. Its from the point of view of view from the younger,son ,his mother blames him for his brother's death.
The cast, Mary Tyler Moore&Donald Sutherland, Tim Hutton, Elizabeth McGovern The film won best picture,director supp actor{Hutton} Oscars
2014
Columbia Records releases 'Cheek to Cheek' a jazz duet album with Lady Gaga,&Tony Bennett. They sing jazz standards the album debuts at #1 on music&jazz charts
 
Sept 19th Birthdays:
1926
James Lipton- actor/ was host on Bravo of' Inside the Actor's Studio'
1928
Adam West- actor, best known TV role as 'Batman' in 60's TV show' Batman&Robin'
1940
Paul Williams songwriter, he wrote "Rainy Days&Mondays, 'The Rainbow Connection', co wrote with Barbra Streisand Oscar winning song'Evergreen'
1964
Trisha Yearwood- country singer
Deaths:
1995
Orville Redenbacher- U.S popcorn magnate 88
2017
Jake La Motta- U.S world middleweight boxing champion '49-'51,his story was the basis of movie' Raging Bull' 95
 
On This Day In History, September 20th

2011 The official US military policy of "don't ask, don't tell" ends

The policy was instituted by the administration of Bill Clinton in 1994. Under the policy, openly gay personnel were not allowed to serve in the United States military, but they could serve as long as they did not reveal their LGBT status.

2001 American President, George W. Bush Declares War on Terror
The global military campaign against terrorism was first declared in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the United States. The phrase was used by President Bush in a speech given to the United States Congress.

1984 The Cosby Show Airs for the First Time
The popular television sitcom followed the lives of a Brooklyn-based African-American family called the Huxtables. The show ran for 8 years on NBC and was largely based on the stand-up comedy of Bill Cosby, who played the role of Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable, the father in the show.

1973 Billie Jean King Wins the Battle of the Sexes

The mixed-gender tennis match between top tennis player Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King was held in Houston, Texas after Riggs won another mixed-gender match against Margaret Court earlier in the year. The matches were prompted by Riggs’ comments that even at an age of 55, he could beat any female tennis player. King beat Riggs and took home the $100,000 prize money. The match was and still is one of the most viewed tennis matches on television - it was watched by about 90 million people around the world.

1904 Wilbur Wright Makes the First Circular Flight
Wright, who with his brother Orville, is credited for inventing the first airplane, made a complete circle in 1 minute and 16 seconds on the Wright Flyer II.
 

Births On This Day, September 20 🎂


1984 Brian Joubert
French figure skater

1975 Juan Pablo Montoya
Colombian race car driver

1948 George R. R. Martin
American screenwriter, author

1934 Sophia Loren
Italian actress

1899 Leo Strauss
German/American philosopher

Deaths On This Day, September 20th 🪦


2005 Simon Wiesenthal
Austrian Holocaust survivor

2004 Brian Clough
English footballer, manager

1973 Jim Croce
American singer-songwriter

1933 Annie Besant
English activist, author

1930 Gombojab Tsybikov
Russian explorer
 
20 September 1967
The hull of QE2 was launched at Clydebank shipyard in Scotland by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll.
Tickets to view the launch were sold to the general public.
QE2 was built at a cost of 25 million pounds stirling - equivalent to 477 million pounds stirling today.
The fitout was completed at the dry-dock in Greenock, Scotland.
QE2 made her maiden transatlantic crossing on 2 May 1969.
 
20th September

1066 The Battle of Fulford. An invading Viking army headed by Harald Hardrada and Tostig Godwinson, King Harold Godwinson's banished brother, was making its way towards York. At Fulford their army was confronted by the forces of Earl Edwin of Mercia and his brother Earl Morcar of Northumberland. The English fought bravely but were defeated in the bloody battle that followed, losing York to the invaders. Because of this defeat, King Harold Godwinson had to force-march his troops the 190 miles from London to York. The armies would meet at Stamford Bridge just 5 days later.

1258 The consecration of Salisbury Cathedral. The cathedral has the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom at 123m/404 ft. It also has the largest cloister and the largest cathedral close in Britain, the world's oldest working clock (from AD 1386) and the best surviving of the four original copies of Magna Carta.

1906 The Cunard Line's RMS Mauretania was launched at the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipyard in Newcastle upon Tyne. At the time, she was the largest and fastest ship in the world. She captured the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing during her 1907 inaugural season and held the speed record for twenty-two years.

1911 White Star Line's RMS Olympic collided with British warship HMS Hawke. Olympic was the lead ship of the White Star Line's trio of Olympic-class liners, that also consisted of the Titanic and Britannic. The fact that Olympic endured such a serious collision and stayed afloat, appeared to vindicate the design of the Olympic-class liners and reinforced their 'unsinkable' reputation.

2014 Dr.Michael Ramscar and a team of scientists suggested that the brains of older people only appear to slow down because they have so much information to compute, much like a full-up hard drive. “The brains of older people do not get weak. On the contrary, they simply know more.” 🧠
 
1814
'Star Spangled Banner' with lyrics by Francis Scott Key,music by John Stafford Smith is published
1859
George Simpson patents electric range
1973
TV special'The Battle of the Sexes' with high ranked woman's tennis player at the time,Billie Jean King played an exhibtion match against Bobby Riggs at the Houston,TX Astrodome. She soundly beat him 6-4,6-3,6-3 50 million tuned in
1988
U.S diver, Greg Louganis wins gold medal at the Seoul Summer Games in 3 meter springboard
The day before he famously hit his head on the board
1999
TV police drama;Law&Order: Special VIctims Unit debuts on NBC,spin off from 'Law&Order The show dealt with investigations of sex-based murders, rapes etc. The cast Mariska Hartigay{Det Olivia Benson} ,Christopher Meloni{Det Elliot Stabler,he left show in 2011}, Kellie Giddish'Rollins", Ice T 'Tutuola". Its now the longest running police show on air
2019
80th anniv of 1st Batman comic
 
Sept 20th Birthdays:
1911
Frank deVol- TV composer' My Three Sons, The Brady Bunch
1934
Sophia Loren- Italian actress- Two Women{won Best Actress Oscar} Desire Under The Elm, Arabesque, Grumpier Old Men,
1951
Guy LaFleur- retired Hockey Hall of Fame right winger with Montreal Canadiens won 5 Stanley Cups
Deaths:
1947
Fiorello LaGuardia- NYC mayor from '33-'45, the NYC airport is named after him 64
1973
Jim Croce- singer/ songwriter 'Time in A Bottle, Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song' 30{plane crash}
1990
Jules Styne- award winning composer, Three Coins in the Fountain,Gypsy, Funny Girl 88
 
On This Day In History, September 21st

2013 The Westgate Mall is attacked in Nairobi, Kenya

In a daring siege, militants of the extremist group al-Shabaab took over the Mall. 63 shoppers were killed during the attack that lasted a few hours, and before the Kenyan security forces rescued the hostages, 4 terrorists were also killed. Al-Shabaab declared that it had undertaken the attack as retaliation for the presence of Kenyan armed forces in Somalia.

1964 Malta gains its independence from the UK

The southern European island country came under British control in 1814 as part of the Treaty of Paris. The country initially retained the Queen of England as its head of state but declared itself a republic on December 13, 1974.

1961 Boeing CH-47 Chinook takes flight for the first time

The American-made helicopter has been used by the US military in a variety of conflict-related operations including during the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It has also been often used for medical evacuation and search and rescue operations during natural disasters around the world.

1942 Boeing B-29 Superfortress flies for the first time
The bomber was used extensively by the US in World War II and the Korean War. The two planes – Enola Gay and Bockscar – that dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were from the silverplate series of Boeing B-29s.

1937 JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit is published for the first time
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again is a young adult fantasy novel that follows the adventures of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins as he traverses through Middle Earth to find treasure guarded by a dragon named Smaug.
 
Births On This Day, September 21st 🎂

1957 Kevin Rudd
Australian politician, 26th Prime Minister of Australia

1947 Stephen King
American author

1902 Luis Cernuda
Spanish poet

1867 Henry L. Stimson
American statesman, lawyer, politician

1866 H. G. Wells
English author

Deaths On This Day, September 21st 🪦


2011 Troy Davis
American murderer

1982 Ivan Bagramyan
Soviet military leader

1860 Arthur Schopenhauer
German philosopher

1832 Walter Scott
Scottish novelist, poet

1558 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
 
1895
America's 1st automotive producer Duryea Wagon Company is founded by Charles&J.Frank Duryea
1930
Johann Ostermeyer patents the flashbulb
1964
Malta becomes independent from United Kingdom
1998
debut of NBC's sitcom' Will&Grace', show is about a gay lawyer,'Will{Eric McCormick} who shares an apt in Manhattan with his long time BFF'Grace{Debra Messing} interior decorator who was jilted an at the altar. Other cast members' 'Jack"{Sean Hayes} Will's flamboyant friend, 'Karen"{Mega Mullally} Grace's flaky assistant show ended in 2006
2016
3 genetic studies published in "Nature' concluded all non- Africans descended from one migration out of Africa 50-80,000 yrs ago
 


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