September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 110 days remaining until the end of the year.
General events on September 12th
In 1877, Chase National Bank founded.
In 1962, Buick’s Riviera Introduced: Luxury Sports Coupe goes on sale, designed to complete with Ford’s Thunderbird.
In 1964, six persons win $100,000 each at Rockingham Park in Salem, N.H., the first legal sweepstakes in U.S. horse racing history.
In 1966, COVER STORY OF NEWSWEEK Wall Street: Hitting bottom?
In 1970, US LSD professor Timothy Leary escapes from Calif jail.
In 1973, 2 bettors win the largest US Daily Double ($19,909.60 in Detroit).
In 1977, South African black student leader Steven Biko died while in police custody, triggering an international outcry.
In 1977, COVER STORY OF NEWSWEEK Big City Schools: Can They Be Saved?
In 1977, READING ABOUT LEGGINGS “NEWSWEEK” looks at a hot fall fashion trend for women: textured tights, wooly thigh-highs and colorful boot toppers
In 1980, The Prime Interest Rate went to 12.25 percent
In 1980, the Chevy Chevette, the Ford Escort, and the Mercury Lynx are the first U.S. cars to record 30 mpg.
In 1984, Michael Eisner resigns from Paramount Pictures. Barry Diller asks him to join him at Twentieth Century Fox. ABC asks him to join them and create a film division. Eisner turns down all offers, waiting for developments at Disney.
In 1986, 240.49 million shares traded in the NY Stock Exchange.
In 1986, Joseph Cicippio, the acting comptroller at the American University in Beirut, was kidnapped; he was released in December 1991.
In 1993, Paramount Communications and Viacom International merge.
In 1994, the first Netscape Navigator web browser hit the web.
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.
In 1998, Leaders of striking pilots at Northwest Airlines approve new contract.
In 1998, Leaders of striking pilots at Northwest Airlines ratified a new contract, ending a walkout that began August 28th.
Government and Politics on September 12th
In 1848, Switzerland adopts a new federal constitution patterned after the U.S.
In 1908, Winston Churchill marries Clementine Hozier.
In 1910, the Los Angeles Police Department hired the first female police officer (Alice Stebbins Wells).
In 1919, Adolf Hitler joins German Worker’s Party.
In 1942, Free-Poland & Belgium asks Pope to sentence Nazi-war criminals.
In 1953, Nikita Khrushchev became the first Secretary of the USSR Communist Party by popular election vote.
In 1953, Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island.
In 1958, The U.S. Supreme Court orders a Little Rock, Arkansas high school to admit African American students.
In 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy addressed the issue of his Roman Catholic faith, telling a Protestant group in Houston, “I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.”
In 1960, COVER STORY OF NEWSWEEK The mystery of (JFK’s father) Joe Kennedy: speculator, diplomat, bon vivant and maybe a President’s father
In 1974, Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed by Ethiopia’s military, after ruling for 58 years.
In 1983, the Soviet Union vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution deploring the shooting-down of a Korean jetliner by a Soviet jet fighter on Sept. 1.
In 1985, the U.S. ends policy of checking draft registration through college records.
In 1989, Manhattan Borough President David N. Dinkins won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, defeating incumbent Mayor Edward Koch and two other candidates on his way to becoming the city’s first black mayor.
In 1990, representatives of the World War II Allies and West and East Germany signed a treaty in Moscow giving international sanction to German unity.
In 1991, Saying Middle East peace negotiations might be in jeopardy, President Bush told reporters he would use his veto authority, if necessary, to delay action on Israel’s call for $10 billion in housing loan guarantees.
In 1996, Last-minute intervention by Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole led to Senate postponement of action on a treaty designed to eliminate chemical weapons. President Clinton said the agreement was threatened by “a bitter partisan debate.”
In 1996, Barbra Streisand, the Eagles, Chicago and the Neville Brothers performed at a Beverly Hills, California, fundraiser for President Clinton.
In 1997, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Jesse Helms, exercising iron control, prevented any committee hearing on William Weld’s nomination to be ambassador to Mexico.
In 1997, with little to show after three days of shuttle diplomacy, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright declared she wouldn’t return to the Mideast until Israeli and Palestinian leaders made the “hard decisions” necessary to restart peace talks.
In 1998, The White House responded to Kenneth Starr’s graphic report on President Clinton by calling it a “hit-and-run smear campaign.”
In 2003, The United Nations lifts sanctions against Libya after that country agreed to accept responsibility and recompense the families of victims in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
In 2007 Political newcomer Karl Dean was elected mayor Tuesday over former Congressman Bob Clement in Nashville’s runoff election. According to unofficial returns, Dean had about 51,000 votes to about 47,000 for Clement with 98 percent of the vote counted in the nonpartisan election. Clement conceded the race 70 minutes after the polls closed.
In 2007, Three little pork projects – totaling “only” about $1.3 million – were spared by the United States Senate. Below is a vote tally on the pork amendment and two others which sought to restrain Congressional pork projects in favor of repairing deficient bridges. All three votes were to table, or kill, the amendment being debated. So a “YEA” vote is a bad vote.
Amendment 2810 would have prohibited spending on pork projects until all deficient roads and bridges are repaired. A “YEA” vote was a vote to fund pork projects rather than bridges. Here are the names of the 14 senators who voted “NO.”
Barrasso (R-WY), Burr (R-NC), Chambliss (R-GA), Coburn (R-OK), Corker (R-TN), Cornyn (R-TX), DeMint (R-SC), Ensign (R-NV), Enzi (R-WY), Feingold (D-WI), Grassley (R-IA), Isakson (R-GA), Kyl (R-AZ), McCaskill (D-MO)
Amendment 2811 would have prohibited spending federal transportation funds on bike paths. A “YEA” vote was a vote to build bike paths with federal transportation dollars instead of repairing bridges with that money. Here are the names of the 18 senators who voted “NO.”
Allard (R-CO), Bennett (R-UT), Bunning (R-KY), Burr (R-NC), Chambliss (R-GA), Coburn (R-OK), Cornyn (R-TX), Crapo (R-ID), DeMint (R-SC), Graham (R-SC), Grassley (R-IA), Inhofe (R-OK), Isakson (R-GA), Kyl (R-AZ), Lott (R-MS), Martinez (R-FL), Sessions (R-AL), Vitter (R-LA)
And finally, Amendment 2812 would have stripped three earmarks from the bill: $500,000 for a new baseball stadium in Montana, $450,000 for the International Peace Garden in North Dakota, and $400,000 to construct a “Discovery Center” for tourists in Louisiana. A “YEA” vote was a vote to fund all three pork projects. Here’s the list of the 32 senators who voted “NO.”
Allard (R-CO), Barrasso (R-WY), Bayh (D-IN), Bennett (R-UT), Brownback (R-KS), Bunning (R-KY), Burr (R-NC), Chambliss (R-GA), Coburn (R-OK), Coleman (R-MN), Corker (R-TN), Cornyn (R-TX), Crapo (R-ID), DeMint (R-SC), Ensign (R-NV), Enzi (R-WY), Graham (R-SC), Gregg (R-NH), Hagel (R-NE), Hatch (R-UT), Hutchison (R-TX), Inhofe (R-OK), Isakson (R-GA), Kyl (R-AZ), Lott (R-MS), Lugar (R-IN), Martinez (R-FL), Roberts (R-KS), Sessions (R-AL), Shelby (R-AL), Sununu (R-NH), Thune (R-SD)
The problem is spending. The problem is Congress. The problem is…how do you stop them?
In 2007, Hobbton High School in Newton Grove, NC has lifted its ban on t-shirts with flags after being threatened by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU was called in by Gayle Langston, the parent of a student who wanted to wear an American flag t-shirt on 11 September. Principal Wesley Johnson claims he instituted the ban in response to flags that were being worn as “gang symbols.” However, many (including Langston) believe that Johnson was attempting to crack down on students wearing Confederate flags. “I can understand banning the Confederate flag because that’s wrong and ignorant,” said Langston. Presumably, the recent decision made by Superintendent Stewart Hobbs (overruling Principal Johnson’s ban) means that all flags, including the Confederate flag, can now be worn at the school.
War, Crime and Disaster events on September 12th
In 490, B.C., Battle of Marathon:the Athenians defeat the second Persian invasion of Greece in the Battle of Marathon.
In 1213, Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Battle of Muret.
In 1309, The First Siege of Gibraltar takes place in the context of the Spanish Reconquista pitting the forces of the Kingdom of Castile against the Emirate of Granada resulting in a Castilian victory.
In 1666, -16] Great Fire in London ends, kills 8 [OS=Sept 2].
In 1683, Austro-Ottoman War: A combined Austrian and Polish army defeats the Turks at Kahlenberg and lifts the Battle of Vienna, Austria.
In 1776, Captain Nathan Hale leaves Harlem Heights on Manhattan Island to begin his ill-fated mission.
In 1814, the Battle of North Point was fought near Baltimore, Maryland, during the War of 1812.Fort McHenry was bombed there.
In 1918, during World War One, US forces led by General John J. Pershing launched an attack on the German-occupied St. Mihiel (sant mee-YEL’) salient north of Verdun, France.
In 1928, -17] Hurricane in Florida, kills 6,000.
In 1938, in a speech in Nuremberg, Adolf Hitler demanded self-determination for the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia.
In 1940, Italian forces begin an offensive into Egypt from Libya. Italy’s Breda Ba.65 was not the best ground-attack plane to see action in World War II–it may well have been the worst.
In 1941, the first German ship in WW II was captured by the US ship Busko.
In 1943, during World War II, German paratroopers took Benito Mussolini from the hotel where he was being held by the Italian government.
In 1944, South China Sea: U.S. submarines torpedoed and sank two Japanese troop ships {2}, the Kachidoki Maru and the Rakuyo Maru. Unknown to the submarines, the Japanese, in disregard for the rules of treatment of prisoners of war, had forced 2,000 British, Australian, and American POWs into the holds of the ships which were designed to hold only 300 troops. Later, when the subs discovered the tragedy, they sought to rescue as many survivors as possible. Japanese vessels picked up most of Kachidoki Maru’s prisoners but abandoned those from the Rakuyo Maru, taking only the Japanese survivors. Of the 1,300 POWs aboard the Rakuyo Maru, 159 were rescued, but only seven lived.
In 1944, the first American engagement on German soil occurred as the U.S. Army troops entered Germany for the first time, near Trier (U.S. First Army pushed 5 miles into west central Germany).
In 1944, -16] Hurricane, kills 389 in NC.
In 1964, Typhoon Gloria strikes Taiwan killing 330, with $17.5 million damage.
In 1965, Hurricane Betsy strikes Florida & Louisiana kills 75.
In 1969, heavy bombing of Vietnam resumed under orders from President Nixon.
In 1974, the start of court-ordered busing to achieve racial desegregation in Boston public schools was marred by violence in South Boston.
In 1979, Hurricane Frederick hits Mobile Alabama; 5 die & $23 million damage.
In 1988, Sergeant Miriam ben-Shalom becomes the first openly gay person ever reenlisted by the US military, doing so after being held in contempt of court for refusing to do so earlier.
In 1988, thru Sept. 17, Hurricane Gilbert, the worst Atlantic storm ever recorded, slammed into Jamaica with torrential rains and winds of 145 mph, killing 45 people and causing damage estimated at up to $1 billion.
In 1990, President Bush videotaped an eight-minute message to the Iraqi people.
In 1990, the four victorious allies of World War II and the two Germanys formally ended the war, signing a treaty that cleared way for a united Germany on Oct. 3.
In 1994, a pilot crashed his small plane on the White House lawn, killing himself and creating an alarm over presidential security.
In 1995, The Belarussian military shot down a hydrogen balloon during an international race, killing its two American pilots.
In 1999, Under intense international pressure, Indonesia announced it would allow an international peacekeeping force to restore order to the devastated territory of East Timor.
Royalty and Religious events on September 12th
In 372, Sixteen Kingdoms: Jin Xiaowudi, age 10, succeeds his father Jin Jianwendi as Emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
In 1922, The House of Bishops of the U.S. Protestant Episcopal Church voted 36-27 to delete the word “obey” from the vows of their denomination’s official marriage service.
In 1976, The Reverend Malcolm Boyd, author of “Are You Running With Me, Jesus?,” comes out to “The Chicago Sun Times.” Christians begin burning his book.
In 1997, “Candle in the Wind 1997” — Elton John’s tribute to the late Princess Diana — went on sale in France.
Human Achievement and Science events on September 12th
In 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson sailed into the river that now bears his name on the Halve Maen.
In 1624, the first submarine, designed by Cornelius Drebbel, is tested in the River Thames.
In 1687, John Alden, the last Mayflower passenger, died. According to history and Longfellow, he courted Priscilla Mullen in the name of his friend Miles Standish and won her himself.
In 1758, Charles Messier observes the Crab Nebula and begins a catalog.
In 1873, the first, practical typewriter invented by Charles Latham Sholes was sold to customers.
In 1959, The Soviet Union scores another early victory in the space race when the unmanned lunar probe Lunik II crash-lands on the moon, becoming the first manmade object to reach lunar soil.
In 1961, NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 34,840 m.
In 1966, Gemini 11 is launched with Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon and docks with an Agena target vehicle.
In 1970, USSR launches Luna 16; returns samples from lunar Sea of Fertility and Mare Fecunditatis.
In 1991, on the 43rd shuttle mission, the space shuttle Discovery (13) blasted off on a mission to deploy an observatory designed to study the Earth’s ozone layer.
In 1992, 50th Shuttle Mission, the Endeavour, the $2 billion replacement for the Challenger, is launched on it’s second mission, carrying the first married couple and the first black woman into space, and the first Japanese to fly on a U.S. spacecraft.
In 1992, the space shuttle “Endeavour” blasted off, carrying with it Mark Lee and Jan Davis, the first married couple in space; Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space; and Mamoru Mohri, the first Japanese citizen to fly on a US spaceship.
In 1992, Endeavour rockets into orbit on NASA’s 50th shuttle flight, a $140 million Japanese-sponsored science mission featuring married astronauts and a menagerie of fish, frogs and other critters.
In 1993, the 57th Shuttle Mission, the Discovery 18 is launch, and releases the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) made by Cleveland’s Lewis Research Center by Cleveland astronaut Carl Walt.
Arts and Prose events on September 12th
In 1846, Elizabeth Barrett & Robert Browning wed.
In 1888, Start of the Sherlock Holmes adventure “The Greek Interpreter” (BG).
In 1983, In the U.S., two Picasso paintings worth a million dollars are stolen from a South Texas art museum.
May God Bless and Keep You This Day Till Tomorrow