Today in History: September 15, Birmingham church bombing

Today in History

Today is Thursday, Sept. 15, the 258th day of 2022. There are 107 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Sept. 15, 1963, four Black girls were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. (Three Ku Klux Klansmen were eventually convicted for their roles in the blast.)

On this date:

In 1776, British forces occupied New York City during the American Revolution.

In 1789, the U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs was renamed the Department of State.

In 1857, William Howard Taft — who served as President of the United States and as U.S. chief justice — was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws deprived German Jews of their citizenship.

In 1940, during the World War II Battle of Britain, the tide turned as the Royal Air Force inflicted heavy losses upon the Luftwaffe.

In 1955, the novel “Lolita,” by Vladimir Nabokov, was first published in Paris.

In 1959, Nikita Khrushchev became the first Soviet head of state to visit the United States as he arrived at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington.

In 1972, a federal grand jury in Washington indicted seven men in connection with the Watergate break-in.

In 1981, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to approve the Supreme Court nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor.

In 1985, Nike began selling its “Air Jordan 1” sneaker.

In 2001, President George W. Bush ordered U.S. troops to get ready for war and braced Americans for a long, difficult assault against terrorists to avenge the Sept. 11 attack. Beleaguered Afghans streamed out of Kabul, fearing a U.S. military strike against Taliban rulers harboring Osama bin Laden.

In 2006, Ford Motor Co. took drastic steps to remold itself into a smaller, more competitive company, slashing thousands of jobs and shuttering two additional plants.

Ten years ago: Four days after the deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula called for more attacks on U.S. embassies. The State Department ordered non-essential government personnel and family members to leave its embassies in Sudan and Tunisia and warned U.S. citizens against traveling to the two countries. The National Hockey League locked out its players at 11:59 p.m. EDT; it was the league’s fourth shutdown in a decade and one that would cost the league nearly half its season.

Five years ago: North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile over Japan into the northern Pacific, its longest-ever such flight. A bomb partially detonated on a London subway car, injuring 51 people. (An 18-year-old Iraqi asylum-seeker was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to a minimum of 34 years in prison.) Harvard University reversed its decision to name as a visiting fellow Chelsea Manning, the former soldier who’d been convicted of leaking classified information. The Cleveland Indians saw their winning streak end at 22, an American League record, as they lost 4-3 to the Kansas City Royals. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft disintegrated in the skies above Saturn after a journey of 20 years; it was the only spacecraft ever to orbit Saturn and sent back images of the planet, its rings and its moons. Character actor Harry Dean Stanton died at the age of 91.

One year ago: California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom emphatically defeated a recall aimed at kicking him out of office. SpaceX’s first private flight streaked into orbit for a three-day trip carrying two contest winners, a health care worker and their rich sponsor. Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles told a Senate panel that the FBI and gymnastics officials turned a “blind eye” to USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse of her and hundreds of other women. President Joe Biden announced that the United States was forming a new Indo-Pacific security alliance with Britain and Australia.

Today’s Birthdays: Baseball Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry is 84. Actor Carmen Maura is 77. Writer-director Ron Shelton is 77. Actor Tommy Lee Jones is 76. Movie director Oliver Stone is 76. Rock musician Kelly Keagy (KAY’-gee) (Night Ranger) is 70. Actor Barry Shabaka Henley is 68. Director Pawel Pawlikowski is 65. Rock musician Mitch Dorge (Crash Test Dummies) is 62. Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino is 61. Actor Danny Nucci is 54. Rap DJ KayGee is 53. Actor Josh Charles is 51. Actor Tom Hardy is 45. Actor Marisa Ramirez is 45. Pop-rock musician Zach Filkins (OneRepublic) is 44. Actor Dave Annable is 43. Actor Amy Davidson is 43. Britain’s Prince Harry is 38. TV personality Heidi Montag is 36. Actor Kate Mansi is 35.

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