Today in History: 9/25/04

Published 5:00 pm Friday, September 24, 2004

Today is Saturday, Sept. 25, the 269th day of 2004. There are 97 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Sept. 25, 1789, the first United States Congress adopted 12 amendments to the Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. (Ten of the amendments became the Bill of Rights.)

On this date:

In 1690, one of the earliest American newspapers, Publick Occurrences, published its first – and last – edition in Boston.

In 1775, American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen was captured by the British as he led an attack on Montreal.

In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison signed a measure establishing Sequoia National Park.

In 1890, Wilford Woodruff, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, issued a Manifesto formally renouncing the practice of polygamy.

In 1904, 100 years ago, a New York City police officer ordered a female automobile passenger on Fifth Avenue to stop smoking a cigarette. (A male companion was arrested and later fined $2 for “abusing” the officer.)

In 1957, with 300 U.S. Army troops standing guard, nine black children forced to withdraw from Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., because of unruly white crowds were escorted to class.

In 1973, the three-man crew of the U.S. space laboratory Skylab 2 splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean after spending 59 days in orbit.

In 1978, 144 people were killed when a Pacific Southwest Airlines Boeing 727 and a private plane collided over San Diego.

In 1979, the musical “Evita” opened on Broadway.

In 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as the first female justice on the Supreme Court.

Ten years ago: Russian President Boris Yeltsin began a five-day swing through the United States as he arrived in New York, hoping to encourage American investment in his country’s struggling economy.

Five years ago: Vice President Al Gore and former Sen. Bill Bradley squared off in back-to-back speeches to the Democratic National Committee as each sought support for his 2000 presidential campaign.

One year ago: France reported a staggering death toll of 14,802 from the summer heat wave. An Islamic court in Nigeria overturned the conviction of an illiterate mother sentenced to be stoned to death for having sex out of wedlock. Aquila al-Hashimi of the Iraqi Governing Council died five days after being shot by assailants. Fifteen people died in a nursing home fire in Nashville, Tenn. Author, journalist and editor George Plimpton died in New York at age 76. Nobel-winning economist Franco Modigliani died in Cambridge, Mass., at age 85.

Today’s Birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Phil Rizzuto is 87. ABC News correspondent Barbara Walters is 73. Country singer Ian Tyson is 71. Rhythm and blues singer Joe Russell is 65. Actor Robert Walden is 61. Actor-producer Michael Douglas is 60. Model Cheryl Tiegs is 57. Actress Mimi Kennedy is 55. Actor Mark Hamill is 53. Actor Christopher Reeve is 52. Actor Colin Friels is 52. Actor Michael Madsen is 46. Actress Heather Locklear is 43. Actress Aida Turturro is 42. Actor Tate Donovan (“The O.C.”) is 41. Basketball player Scottie Pippen is 39. Actor Jason Flemyng is 38. Actor Will Smith is 36. Actor Hal Sparks is 35. Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones is 35. Actress Bridgette Wilson is 31. Actor Chris Owen (“American Pie”) is 24. Singer Diana Ortiz (Dream) is 19.

Thought for Today: “History is too serious to be left to historians.” – Iain Macleod, British politician (1913-1970).