Today In History.
Today in History : - September 19
1356 In a landmark battle of the Hundred
Years’ War, English Prince Edward defeats the French at Poitiers.
1544
Francis, the king of France, and Charles V of Austria sign a peace treaty in
Crespy, France, ending a 20-year war.
1692 Giles
Corey is pressed to death for standing mute and refusing to answer charges of
witchcraft brought against him. He is the only person in America to have
suffered this punishment.
1777 American
forces under Gen. Horatio Gates meet British troops led by Gen. John Burgoyne
at Saratoga Springs, NY.
1783 The
first hot-air balloon is sent aloft in Versailles, France with animal
passengers including a sheep, rooster and a duck.
1788 Charles
de Barentin becomes lord chancellor of France.
1841 The
first railway to span a frontier is completed between Stousbourg and Basle, in
Europe.
1863 In
Georgia, the two-day Battle of Chickamauga begins as Union troops under George
Thomas clash with Confederates under Nathan Bedford Forrest.
1893 New
Zealand becomes the first nation to grant women the right to vote.
1900 President
Loubet of France pardons Jewish army captain Alfred Dreyfus, twice
court-martialed and wrongly convicted of spying for Germany.
1918 American
troops of the Allied North Russia Expeditionary Force receive their baptism of
fire near the town of Seltso against Soviet forces.
1948 Moscow
announces it will withdrawal soldiers from Korea by the end of the year.
1955 Argentina’s
President Juan Peron is overthrown by rebels.
1957 First
underground nuclear test is takes place in Nevada.
1970 First Glastonbury Festival of
Contemporary Performing Artis (originally called the Pilton Festival) held near
Pliton, Somerset, England.
1973 Carl XVI Gustaf invested as King of
Sweden, following the death of his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf.
1982 The
first documented emoticons, :-) and :-(, posted on Carnegie Mellon University
Bulletin Board System by Scott Fahlman.
1985 An
earthquake kills thousands in Mexico City.
1985 Parents
Music Resource Center formed by Tipper Gore (wife of then-Senator Al Gore) and
other political wives to lobby for Parental Advisory stickers on music packaging.
1991 German
hikers near the Austria-Italy border discover the naturally preserved mummy of
a man from about 3,300 BC; Europe’s oldest natural human mummy, he is dubbed
Otzi the Iceman because his lower half was encased in ice.
2006 Military
coup in Bangkok, revokes Thailand’s
constitution and establishes martial law.
Born on September 19
1894 Rachel Field, novelist and playwright
who wrote All This and Heaven Too and And Now Tomorrow.
1904 Bergen
Evans, educator and author who wrote Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage.
1911 William
Golding, novelist best known for Lord of the Flies.
1915 Elizabeth
Stern, Canadian pathologist who first published a case report linking a
specific virus to a specific cancer.
1926 Masatoshi
Koshiba, Japanese physicist who jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physics (2002);
his work focused on subatomic particles known as neutrinos.
1927 Helen
Carter, singer, member of the pioneering all-female country group Mother
Maybelle and the Carter Sisters.
1928 Adam
West, actor (Batman in campy Batman TV series).
1930 Bettye
Lane, photographer noted for documenting major events of the feminist, civil
rights and gay rights movements in the US.
1932 Mike
Royko, journalist, syndicated columnist; won Pulitzer Prize for commentary
(1972).
1933 David
McCallum, actor, musician (The Man from U.N.C.L.E, NCIS TV series).
1934 Brian
Epstein, music entrepreneur, manager of the The Beatles.
1940 Paul Williams, composer, singer,
songwriter, director, actor ("Evergreen," "Rainy Days and
Mondays").
1947 Tanith Lee, author, screenwriter; first
woman to win British Fantasy best novel award (Death’s Master, 1980).
1948 Jeremy
Irons, actor; won Tony Award for Best Actor (The Real Thing, 1984) and Academy
Award for Best Actor (Reversal of Fortune, 1990).
1949 Twiggy,
model known for her thin build and androgynous look .
1949 Barry
Sheck, co-founder of Innocence Project dedicated to using DNA testing to
exonerate wrongly convicted people.
1950 Joan
Lunden, journalist, author, co-host of ABC’s Good Morning America for 17 years
(1980–1997).
1964 Trisha
Yearwood, Grammy and Country Music Association award-winning singer-songwriter
("How Do I Live"), actress (JAG TV series recurring role).
1974 Jimmy
Fallon, actor, comedian, musician, TV host (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon;
currently scheduled to replace Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show in 2014).
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