Today In History

  • Sunday, September 22, 2013 4:25pm
  • Life

Today is Monday, Sept. 23, the 266th day of 2013. There are 99 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight:

On Sept. 23, 1952, Sen. Richard M. Nixon, R-Calif., salvaged his vice presidential nomination by appearing live on television to refute allegations of improper campaign fundraising. (The address became known as the “Checkers” speech because of Nixon’s on-air reference to the family pet, a dog named Checkers.)

On this date:

In 63 B.C., Caesar Augustus, the first Roman emperor, was born.

In 1779, during the Revolutionary War, the American warship Bon Homme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, defeated the HMS Serapis in battle.

In 1780, British spy John Andre was captured along with papers revealing Benedict Arnold’s plot to surrender West Point to the British.

In 1806, the Lewis and Clark expedition returned to St. Louis more than two years after setting out for the Pacific Northwest.

In 1846, Neptune was identified as a planet by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle.

In 1908, an apparent baserunning error by Fred Merkle of the New York Giants cost his team a victory against the Chicago Cubs and left the game tied 1-1. The Cubs won a rematch and with it, the National League pennant.

In 1912, Mack Sennett’s first Keystone short subject, a “split-reel” of two comedies both starring Mabel Normand and Ford Sterling (“Cohen Collects a Debt” and “The Water Nymph”), was released. Houston’s William Marsh Rice Institute, later renamed Rice University, opened for classes on the 12th anniversary of Rice’s death.

In 1949, President Harry S. Truman announced there was evidence the Soviet Union had recently conducted a nuclear test explosion. The test had been carried out on Aug. 29, 1949.

In 1957, nine black students who’d entered Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas were forced to withdraw because of a white mob outside.

In 1962, “The Jetsons,” an animated cartoon series about a Space Age family, premiered as the ABC television network’s first color program.

In 1973, former Argentine president Juan Peron won a landslide election victory that returned him to power; his wife, Isabel, was elected vice president.

In 1981, the Reagan administration announced plans for what became known as Radio Marti.

In 2001, President George W. Bush returned the American flag to full staff at Camp David, symbolically ending a period of national mourning for the 9/11 attacks on New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Thousands gathered at New York’s Yankee Stadium to offer prayers for the victims of terrorism; Mayor Rudolph Giuliani pledged that “our skyline will rise again.” Thirteen coal miners were killed in explosions at the Blue Creek Mine Number 5 in Brookwood, Ala.

Ten years ago: Speaking at the United Nations, President George W. Bush rejected calls from France and Germany to hasten the transfer of power in Iraq, insisting the shift to self-government could be “neither hurried nor delayed.” A federal appeals court unanimously put California’s recall election back on the calendar for October 7.

Five years ago: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused what he called “a few bullying powers” of trying to thwart his country’s peaceful nuclear program and declared in a speech before the U.N. General Assembly that “the American empire” was nearing collapse. A 22-year-old gunman opened fire at his trade school in Finland, killing 10 people before fatally shooting himself.

One year ago: “Homeland” won the Emmy Award for best drama series, and its stars Claire Danes and Damian Lewis each won leading actor awards. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told reporters he would spend less time raising money and more time with voters. The Libyan militia suspected in the attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans said it had disbanded on orders of the country’s president.

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.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

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?”

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?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

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.