Associated Press
On Sept. 8, 1974, President Gerald R. Ford granted an unconditional pardon to former President Richard M. Nixon.
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, D.C., was crowned the first Miss America in Atlantic City, N.J.
1935- Sen. 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.
1966- The TV series “Star Trek” premiered on NBC.
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.
2002- Pete Sampras won a record 14th grand slam tennis title at the U.S. Open in New York. (The record has since been broken by Roger Federer.)
2006- A Senate report faulted intelligence gathering in the lead-up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Today’s Birthdays:
TV personality Brooke Burke-Charvet (“Dancing with the Stars”) turns 44 years old today.
Sam Nunn, Former U.S. senator, D-Ga., 77
Bernard Sanders, U.S. senator, I-Vt., 73
Aimee Mann, Rock singer, 55
Latrell Sprewell, Basketball player, 45
David Arquette, Actor, 44
Martin Freeman, Actor (“The Office”), 44
Nathan Corddry, Actor, 38
Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Actor (“Home Improvement”), 34
Rock singer Pink turns 36 years old today