September 8

2008-09-08 08:51

Today is Monday, September 8, the 252nd day of 2008. There are 114 days left in the year.

Highlights in history on this date:

1565 - A Spanish expedition established the first permanent European settlement in North America at present-day St Augustine, Fla.

1664 - The Dutch surrendered New Amsterdam to the British, who renamed it New York.

1900 - Galveston, Texas, was struck by a hurricane that killed about 6 000 people.

1921 - Margaret Gorman of Washington, DC, was crowned the first Miss America in Atlantic City, NJ.

1930 - The comic strip "Blondie", created by Chic Young, was first published.

1935 - Senator Huey P Long, the "Kingfish" of Louisiana politics, was shot at the state capital building in Baton Rouge; he died two days later.

1941 - A 900-day siege of Leningrad by German forces began during World War II.

1952 - The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway was published.

1966 - The TV series Star Trek premiered on NBC.

1975 - Boston's public schools began a court-ordered citywide bussing programme amid scattered incidents of violence.

1998 - Mark McGwire of the St Louis Cardinals broke Roger Maris' record for home runs in a single season, hitting No 62 off Chicago Cubs pitcher Steve Trachsel.

2000 - The head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs apologized for the federal agency's "legacy of racism and inhumanity" that included massacres, forced relocations of tribes and attempts to wipe out Indian cultures.

2003 - The Recording Industry Association of America filed 261 copyright lawsuits against internet users for trading songs online.

2004 - 60 Minutes Wednesday aired a report questioning President George W Bush's National Guard service. CBS News later apologised for a "mistake in judgment" after memos featured in the report were challenged as forgeries.

2006 - A Senate report faulted intelligence gathering in the lead-up to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, and said Saddam Hussein regarded al-Qaeda as a threat rather than a possible ally, contradicting assertions President George W Bush had used to build support for the war.

- SAPA