Today in History

Today is Friday, Sept. 12, the 255th day of 2014. There are 110 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight:

On Sept. 12, 1914, during World War I, the First Battle of the Marne ended in an Allied victory against Germany.

On this date:

In 1814, the Battle of North Point took place in Maryland during the War of 1812 as American forces slowed British troops advancing on Baltimore.

In 1846, Elizabeth Barrett secretly married Robert Browning at St. Marylebone Church in London.

In 1938, Adolf Hitler demanded the right of self-determination for the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia.

In 1944, the Second Quebec Conference opened with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in attendance.

In 1953, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island.

In 1954, the TV show “Lassie” made its debut on CBS.

In 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy addressed questions about his Roman Catholic faith, telling a Southern Baptist group, “I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.”

In 1962, in a speech at Rice University in Houston, President John F. Kennedy reaffirmed his support for the manned space program, declaring: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

In 1974, Emperor Haile Selassie (HY’-lee sehl-AH’-see) was deposed by Ethiopia’s military after ruling for 58 years.

In 1977, South African black student leader Steve Biko (BEE’-koh) died while in police custody, triggering an international outcry.

In 1986, Joseph Cicippio, the acting comptroller at the American University in Beirut, was kidnapped (he was released in December 1991).

In 1994, a stolen, single-engine Cessna crashed into the South Lawn of the White House, coming to rest against the executive mansion; the pilot, Frank Corder, was killed.

Ten years ago: US Airways Group Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in two years. (The following year, US Airways emerged from bankruptcy protection, clearing the way for a merger with America West Holdings Group.) Ten people were killed in an apartment fire just outside Columbus, Ohio. Hurricane Ivan battered the Cayman Islands with ferocious 150-mph winds. Roger Federer won the U.S. Open, defeating Lleyton Hewitt 6-0, 7-6 (3), 6-0. Playwright Jerome Chodorov died in Nyack, New York, at age 93.

Five years ago: Tens of thousands of protesters marched to the U.S. Capitol, showing their disdain for President Barack Obama’s health care plan. The president, keeping up the drumbeat for his proposal, told a packed rally in Minneapolis, “I will not accept the status quo. Not this time. Not now.” Serena Williams’ U.S. Open title defense ended with a bizarre loss to Kim Clijsters (KLY’-sturz) after Williams went into a tirade against a line judge who’d called her for a foot fault; following her outburst, Williams was penalized a point for unsportsmanlike conduct, ending the match, 6-4, 7-5. Norman Borlaug, 95, the father of the “green revolution” who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in combating world hunger, died in Dallas.

One year ago: Omar Hammami, an American who became one of Somalia’s most visible Islamic rebels, was killed by rivals in the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab. The U.S. space agency NASA announced that Voyager 1, launched 36 years earlier, had crossed a new frontier, becoming the first man-made spacecraft ever to leave the solar system. American inventor Ray Dolby, 80, founder of Dolby Laboratories, died in San Francisco.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Dickie Moore (“Our Gang”) is 89. Actor Freddie Jones is 87. Actor Ian Holm is 83. U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is 75. Actress Linda Gray is 74. Singer Maria Muldaur is 72. Actor Joe Pantoliano is 63. Singer-musician Gerry Beckley (America) is 62. Original MTV VJ Nina Blackwood is 62. Rock musician Neil Peart (Rush) is 62. Actor Peter Scolari is 59. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is 58. Actress Rachel Ward is 57. Actress Amy Yasbeck is 52. Rock musician Norwood Fisher (Fishbone) is 49. Actor Darren E. Burrows is 48. Rock singer-musician Ben Folds (Ben Folds Five) is 48. Actor-comedian Louis (loo-ee) C.K. is 47. Rock musician Larry LaLonde (Primus) is 46. Golfer Angel Cabrera is 45. Actor-singer Will Chase (TV: “Nashville”) is 44. Actor Josh Hopkins is 44. Country singer Jennifer Nettles is 40. Rapper 2 Chainz is 37. Actor Ben McKenzie is 36. Singer Ruben Studdard is 36. Basketball player Yao Ming is 34. Singer-actress Jennifer Hudson is 33. Actress Emmy Rossum is 28. Actor Colin Ford is 18.

Thought for Today: “We must be willing to pay a price for freedom, for no price that is ever asked for it is half the cost of doing without it.” — H.L. Mencken, American author and journalist (1880-1956).