Today is Sunday, September 1st, the 245th day of the 12 months 2024. There are 121 days left within the 12 months.
Today in history:
On September 1, 1985, a French-American expedition discovered the wreck of the Titanic on the underside of the Atlantic Ocean, about 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.
Also on this date:
In 1715, the French King Louis XIV died after 72 years of rule, 4 days before his 77th birthday. He was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson Louis XV.
In 1914, the passenger pigeon, once some of the widespread bird species on earth, became extinct when the last known specimen, named Martha, died in captivity on the Cincinnati Zoo.
In 1923, the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated by an earthquake that claimed about 140,000 lives.
In 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, an event that is taken into account the start of World War II.
In 1964, San Francisco Giants pitcher Masanori Murakami became the primary Japanese baseball player to play in a Major League Baseball game.
In 1969, a coup in Libya brought Muammar Gaddafi to power.
In 1972, American Bobby Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik, Iceland, while Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union retired before the resumption of the twenty first and final game.
In 1983, 269 people were killed when a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 was shot down by a Soviet jet after the plane entered Soviet airspace.
In 2004, Islamic terrorists took over a thousand people hostage in a college in Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia. Three days later, the siege ended with gunfire and explosions. 334 people were killed – greater than half of them children.
In 2015, Rowan County, Kentucky, Clerk of Court Kim Davis cited “God's authority” and again denied marriage licenses to gay couples, defying federal courts and vowing to not back down, even under pressure from heavy fines or prison sentences. (Davis spent five days in jail in consequence and is currently appealing a ruling that requires her to pay tons of of hundreds of dollars in related legal fees.)
Today's birthdays:
- Lawyer and law professor Alan Dershowitz is 86.
- Comedian and actress Lily Tomlin is 85.
- Singer Barry Gibb is 78.
- Talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw is 74.
- Singer Gloria Estefan is 67.
- Television presenter and creator Padma Lakshmi is 54.
- Actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira is 53.
- Fashion designer Rachel Zoe is 53.
- Actor Scott Speedman is 49.
- The composer and producer Ludwig Göransson is 40.
- Actress and singer Zendaya is 28.
image credit : www.mercurynews.com