Today In History

Today in History: Monday, September  19, 2016
AP Highlight in History:
On Sept. 19, 1982, emoticons were born when Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman proposed using a colon followed by a hyphen and a parenthesis – :–) – to depict a horizontal smiley face.

AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

On this date in:
1777 American soldiers won the first Battle of Saratoga during the Revolutionary War.
1881 President James A. Garfield died of wounds inflicted by an assassin more than two months earlier.
1934 Bruno Hauptmann was arrested in New York and charged with the kidnap-murder of the Lindbergh baby.

AP Photo

1955 President Juan Peron of Argentina was ousted after a revolt by the military.
1957 The United States conducted its first underground nuclear test, in the Nevada desert.
1970 “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” debuted on CBS.
1985 The Mexico City area was struck by the first of two devastating earthquakes that claimed some 6,000 lives.
1994 U.S. troops entered Haiti to enforce the return of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
1995 The New York Times and The Washington Post published the Unabomber’s manifesto.
2001 The Pentagon ordered combat aircraft to the Persian Gulf in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
2002 President George W. Bush asked Congress for authority to use military force if necessary to disarm and overthrow Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein if he did not abandon weapons of mass destruction.
2004 Hu Jintao became the undisputed leader of China with the departure of former President Jiang Zemin from his top military post.
2008 Struggling to stave off financial catastrophe, the Bush administration asked Congress for $700 billion to buy up troubled mortgage-related assets from U.S. financial institutions.

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

2008 AMC’s “Mad Men” became the first basic-cable show to win a top series Emmy award.
2010 The BP oil well that had spilled hundred of millions of oil into the Gulf of Mexico was sealed with a permanent cement plug.
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Highlights of This Day in History
Today’s Birthdays:
Actress Rosemary Harris turns 89 years old today.

AP Photo/Charles Sykes

Name Profession Age
Roger Angell Author 96
James Lipton TV host (“Inside the Actor’s Studio”) 90
Harold Brown Former defense secretary 89
Adam West Actor (“Batman”) 88
Bill Medley Singer (The Righteous Brothers) 76
Paul Williams Singer, actor 76
Joe Morgan Baseball Hall of Famer, sportscaster 73
David Bromberg Rock singer 71
Randolph Mantooth Actor (“Emergency”) 71
Jeremy Irons Actor 68
Twiggy Lawson Actress, model 67
Joan Lunden TV personality 66
Daniel Lanois Rock singer, producer 65
Mario Batali Celebrity chef 56
Trisha Yearwood Country singer 52
Cheri Oteri Actress, comedian (“Saturday Night Live”) 51
Soledad O’Brien Broadcast journalist 50
Alison Sweeney Actress 40
Danielle Panabaker Actress 29
Talk show host-comedian Jimmy Fallon turns 42 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

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