Today in History

  • Monday, September 15, 2014 1:52pm
  • Life

Today is Tuesday, September 16, the 259th day of 2014. There are 106 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On September 16, 1974, President Gerald R. Ford announced a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam war deserters and draft-evaders.

On this date:

In 1498, Tomas de Torquemada, notorious for his role in the Spanish Inquisition, died in Avila, Spain.

In 1810, Mexicans were inspired to begin their successful revolt against Spanish rule by Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and his “Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores).”

In 1893, more than 100,000 settlers swarmed onto a section of land in Oklahoma known as the “Cherokee Strip.”

In 1908, General Motors was founded in Flint, Michigan, by William C. Durant.

In 1914, “Candid Camera” creator Allen Funt was born in New York.

In 1919, the American Legion received a national charter from Congress.

In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act. Samuel T. Rayburn of Texas was elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 1953, “The Robe,” the first movie presented in the widescreen process CinemaScope, had its world premiere at the Roxy Theater in New York.

In 1964, the rock-and-roll show “Shindig!” premiered on ABC-TV.

In 1982, the massacre of between 1,200 and 1,400 Palestinian men, women and children at the hands of Israeli-allied Christian Phalange militiamen began in west Beirut’s Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.

In 1994, a federal jury in Anchorage, Alaska, ordered Exxon Corp. to pay $5 billion in punitive damages for the 1989 Exxon Valdez (val-DEEZ’) oil spill (the U.S. Supreme Court later reduced that amount to $507.5 million). Two astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery went on the first untethered spacewalk in ten years.

In 2007, O.J. Simpson was arrested in the alleged armed robbery of sports memorabilia collectors in Las Vegas. (Simpson was later convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery and sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison.)

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Janis Paige is 92. Blues singer B.B. King is 89. Clergyman-author Rev. Robert H. Schuller is 88. Actor George Chakiris is 82. Bluesman Billy Boy Arnold is 79. Movie director Jim McBride is 73. Actress Linda Miller is 72. Rhythm-and-blues singer Betty Kelly (Martha &the Vandellas) is 70. Musician Kenney Jones (Small Faces; Faces; The Who) is 66. Actress Susan Ruttan is 66. Rock musician Ron Blair (Tom Petty &the Heartbreakers; Mudcrutch) is 66. Actor Ed Begley Jr. is 65. Country singer David Bellamy (The Bellamy Brothers) is 64. Country singer-songwriter Phil Lee is 63. Actor-comedian Lenny Clarke is 61. Actor Kurt Fuller is 61. Jazz musician Earl Klugh is 61. Actor Christopher Rich is 61. Singer Frank Reed (The Chi-Lites) is 60. TV personality Mark McEwen is 60. Baseball Hall of Famer Robin Yount is 59. Actor Mickey Rourke is 58. Magician David Copperfield is 58. Country singer-songwriter Terry McBride is 56. Actress Jennifer Tilly is 56. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Orel Hershiser is 56. Retired MLB All-Star Tim Raines is 55. Actress Jayne Brook is 54. Singer Richard Marx is 51. Comedian Molly Shannon is 50. Singer Marc Anthony is 46. Comedian-actress Amy Poehler is 43. Country singer Matt Stillwell is 39. Singer Musiq (MYOO’-sihk) is 37. Actor Michael Mosley is 36. Rapper Flo Rida is 35. Actress Alexis Bledel is 33. Actress Sabrina Bryan is 30. Actress Madeline Zima is 29. Actor Ian Harding (TV: “Pretty Little Liars”) is 28. Actress Kyla Pratt is 28. Actor Daren Kagasoff is 27. Rock singer Teddy Geiger is 26. Actress-dancer Bailey Buntain is 25. Rock singer-musician Nick Jonas (The Jonas Brothers) is 22.

Thought for Today: “You can love a person deeply and sincerely whom you do not like. You can like a person passionately whom you do not love.” — Robert Hugh Benson, English author and clergyman (1871-1914).

Associated Press

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.