September 5, massacre on the Olympic Games in Munich

Today is Thursday, September 5, the 249th day of the 12 months 2024. There are 117 days left within the 12 months.

Today in history:

On September 5, 1972, Palestinian militants attacked the Israeli Olympic delegation on the Munich Olympics, killing two people and taking nine others hostage. Five of the militants, a German policeman and all nine hostages were killed inside the subsequent 24 hours.

Also on this date:

In 1774 the primary Continental Congress met in Philadelphia.

In 1905, the Treaty of Portsmouth was signed, ending the Russo-Japanese War; US President Theodore Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize the next 12 months for his mediation efforts within the peace negotiations.

Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road was published in 1957.

In 1960, Muhammad Ali (as Cassius Clay) won the gold medal in the sunshine heavyweight division on the Olympic Games in Rome.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford survived an assassination attempt in Sacramento, California, by Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a student of Charles Manson.

In 1986, 4 hijackers who had hijacked a Pan Am Airlines jumbo jet on the bottom in Karachi (Pakistan) opened fire on the plane's passengers. A complete of 20 passengers and crew members were killed before Pakistani commandos stormed the plane.

In 1991, the Tailhook Association's thirty fifth annual Naval Aviation Symposium opened in Las Vegas. During the four-day event, there have been reports that as many as 90 people, most of them women, were sexually assaulted or otherwise harassed. (The incident led to the resignation of Secretary of the Navy Henry L. Garrett III.)

Today's birthdays:

  • Actress Lucille Soong (TV: “Fresh Off the Boat”) is 89.
  • Bill Mazeroski, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, is 88 years old.
  • Actor William Devane is 85.
  • Actor George Lazenby is 85.
  • Film director Werner Herzog is 82.
  • Singer Al Stewart is 79.
  • “Cathy” cartoonist Cathy Guisewite (GYZ'-wyt) is 74.
  • Actor Michael Keaton is 73.
  • Actress Rose McGowan is 51.
  • Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics Tatiana Gutsu is 48.
  • Actress Carice Van Houten is 48.
  • Mixed martial arts fighter Francis Ngannou is 38.
  • Figure skater and Olympic champion Yuna Kim is 34.
  • The football player Bukayo Saka is 23.

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