September 12
1609
Henry Hudson began his exploration of the Hudson River.
1953
Future President John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier.
1977
South African black civil rights leader Steven Biko died while in police custody.
1992
Dr. Mae Carol Jemison became the first black woman in space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
1999
Indonesia announced it would allow an international peacekeeping force to restore order to East Timor.
2008
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was under investigation for corruption, resigned as prime minister.
Birthdays
Alfred A. Knopf
1892–1984, American publisher, born in New York City.
Richard Jordan Gatling
inventor (1818)
Mary Ann Dyer Goodnight
philanthropist (1839)
Henry Louis Mencken
editor, author, and critic (1880)
Maurice Chevalier
singer and film actor (1888)
Ben Shahn
painter (1898)
Jesse Owens
track star (1913)