On this day... SEP 12

On this day...
490 -BC- Athenians defeat 2nd Persian invasion of Greece at Marathon
1609 Henry Hudson discovers Hudson River
1649 Drogheda, Ireland falls to Puritan troops; inhabitants massacred
1695 NY Jews petition governor Dongan for religious liberties
1758 Charles Messier observes the Crab Nebula & begins catalog
1776 Nathan Hale leaves Harlem Heights Camp (127th St) for spy mission
1814 Battle of North Point fought near Baltimore during War of 1812
1857 423 die when "Central America" sinks off Cape Romain SC
1885 Highest score (35) recorded in any 1st-class soccer match is set
1888 Start of the Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Greek Interpreter" (BG)
1895 Defender (US) beats Valkyrie III (Engld) in 10th America's Cup
1901 Arabs attack Gedara Palestine
1918 During WW I, US forces launch an attack on German-occupied St Mihiel
1920 7th Olympic games close in Antwerp Belgium
1923 Britain takes over Southern Rhodesia from British South Africa Co
1928 Katharine Hepburn's NY stage debut in "Night Hostess"
1932 Bkln Dodger Johnny Frederick hits his record 6th pinch hit HR
1934 Baltic Pact signed by Lithuania, Estonia & Latvia
1938 Adolph Hitler demands self-determination for Sudeten Germans in Czech
1940 49 die & 200 injured when Hercules Powder Co plant explodes (NJ)
1941 1st German ship in WW2 captured by US ship (Busko)
1947 Pirate Ralph Kiner hits his record 8th HR in 4 games
1953 Jacqueline Bouvier marries John F Kennedy
1953 Nikita Khrushchev becomes 1st Secretary of USSR Communist Party
1954 Indians sweep Yanks at Municipal Stadium; largest AL crowd (86,563)
1956 Black students enter & are barred from Clay Ky elementary school
1959 "Bonanza" premiers
1959 Luna 2 launched by USSR; 1st spacecraft to impact on the Moon
1961 NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 34,840 m
1962 Washington Senator Tom Cheney strikes out record 21 Orioles in 16 inn game
1964 1st football game at Shea Stadium, Jets defeat Denver 30-6
1964 Ralph Boston of the US, sets then long jump record at 27' 4«"
1964 Typhoon Gloria strikes Taiwan killing 330, with $17.5 million damage
1965 17th annual Emmy Awards
1965 Hurricane Betsy strikes Florida & Louisiana kills 75
1966 "The Monkees," premier on NBC
1966 Gemini XI launched for 71-hour flight
1970 USSR launches Luna 16; returns samples from lunar Sea of Fertility
1972 Lord Michael Killanin succeeds Avery Brundage as head of Olympics
1973 2 bettors win the largest US Daily Double ($19,909.60 in Detroit)
1974 Coup overthrows Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia (National Day)
1976 Seattle Seahawks play 1st regular-season game (St L 30, Sea 24)
1976 White Sox Minnie Minoso at age 53 hits a single
1978 Situation comedy "Taxi" premiers on ABC television
1979 Indiana Pacers cut Ann Meyers, 1st woman on an NBA club
1979 Pietro Mennea of Italy sets the 200m record (19.72) in Mexico City
1979 Red Sox Carl Yastrzemski gets his 3,000th hit off Yankee Jim Beattie
1980 Military coup in Turkey
1981 Elizabeth Ward (Arkansas) is crowned Miss America
1983 Albert Rizzo trod water at sea for 108 hours 9 minutes
1983 Security guard Victor Gerena robs West Hartford company of $7 million
1983 USSR vetoes UN resolution deploring its shooting down of Korean plane
1984 Country singer Barbara Mandrell is badly injured in a car accident
1984 NY Met Dwight Goodin sets rookie strike out record at 251
1985 Flight readiness firing of Atlantis' main engines; 20 seconds
1986 240.49 million shares traded in the NY Stock Exchange
1986 US professor Joseph Cicippio is kidnapped & held hostage in Beirut
1987 Vince Coleman steals his 100th base for 3rd straight year
1988 1st NFL regular-season game played in Phoenix; Cowboys beat Card
1988 Gilbert, strongest hurricane ever (160 mph), devastates Jamaica
1990 US, England, France, USSR, East & West Germanys sign agreements allowing the 2 Germanys to merge
1991 Space shuttle STS 48 (Discovery 14) launched