Today in History: September 5, first Continental Congress

Today in History

Today is Monday, Sept. 5, the 248th day of 2022. There are 117 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Sept. 5, 1774, the first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia.

On this date:

In 1698, Russia’s Peter the Great imposed a tax on beards.

In 1864, voters in Louisiana approved a new state constitution abolishing slavery.

In 1939, four days after war had broken out in Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation declaring U.S. neutrality in the conflict.

In 1960, at the Rome Olympics, American boxer Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) defeated Zbigniew Pietrzykowski (zuh-BIG’-nee-ehf pee-eht-chah-KAHF’-skee) of Poland to win the light-heavyweight gold medal; Wilma Rudolph of the United States won the second of her three gold medals with the 200-meter sprint.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed legislation making aircraft hijackings a federal crime.

In 1972, the Palestinian group Black September attacked the Israeli Olympic delegation at the Munich Games, killing 11 Israelis and a police officer. German forces killed five of the gunmen.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford escaped an attempt on his life by Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a disciple of Charles Manson, in Sacramento, California.

In 1986, four hijackers who had seized a Pan Am jumbo jet on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan, opened fire when the lights inside the plane failed; a total of 20 people were killed before Pakistani commandos stormed the jetliner.

In 1991, the 35th annual Naval Aviation Symposium held by the Tailhook Association opened in Las Vegas; during the four-day gathering, there were reports that dozens of people, most of them women, were sexually assaulted or otherwise harassed. (The episode triggered the resignation of Navy Secretary H. Lawrence Garrett and the early retirement of Adm. Frank B. Kelso, then the chief of naval operations.)

In 1997, Mother Teresa died in Calcutta, India, at age 87.

In 2016, Hugh O’Brian, the actor who shot to fame as Sheriff Wyatt Earp in what was hailed as television’s first adult Western, died in Beverly Hills, California, at age 91.

In 2018, The New York Times published an opinion piece from an anonymous senior administration official claiming to be part of an internal “resistance” working to thwart President Donald Trump’s “worst inclinations”; Trump responded that if such a “gutless” person exists, “the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to the government at once!” (In late 2020, Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, revealed that he was the author of the op-ed piece.)

Ten years ago: In an impassioned speech that rocked the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, former President Bill Clinton proclaimed, “I know we’re coming back” from the worst economic mess in generations, and he appealed to hard-pressed Americans to stick with Barack Obama for a second term in the White House; in a roll call that lasted past midnight, Obama was officially nominated.

Five years ago: President Donald Trump announced that he was phasing out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program protecting young immigrants who were brought to the country illegally, but said he was giving Congress six months to come up with an alternative; he later tweeted that if Congress couldn’t do so, he would “revisit” the issue. Hurricane Irma strengthened to a Category 5 storm as it approached the northeast Caribbean on a path toward the United States.

One year ago: A gunman massacred four members of a Florida family, including a baby boy, at their home; prosecutors said Bryan Riley, a 33-year-old former Marine, was under the delusion that the victims were child sex traffickers. (Riley faces charges including murder and attempted murder.)

Today’s Birthdays: Comedian-actor Bob Newhart is 93. Actor-singer Carol Lawrence is 90. Actor Lucille Soong is 87. Former NFL All-Pro quarterback and college football Hall of Famer Billy Kilmer is 83. Actor William Devane is 83. Actor George Lazenby is 83. Actor Raquel Welch is 82. Movie director Werner Herzog is 80. Singer Al Stewart is 77. Actor-director Dennis Dugan is 76. College Football Hall of Famer Jerry LeVias is 76. Singer Loudon Wainwright III is 76. Soul/rock musician Mel Collins is 75. “Cathy” cartoonist Cathy Guisewite (GYZ’-wyt) is 72. Actor Michael Keaton is 71. Actor Debbie Turner-Larson (Marta in “The Sound of Music”) is 66. Actor Kristian Alfonso is 59. R&B singer Terry Ellis is 59. Rock musician Brad Wilk is 54. TV personality Dweezil Zappa is 53. Actor Rose McGowan is 49. Actor Carice Van Houten is 46. Rock musician Kyle O’Quin (Portugal. The Man) is 37. Olympic gold medal figure skater Yuna Kim is 32. Actor Skandar Keynes is 31.

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