Associated Press
On Sept. 25, 1957, Nine black children who had been forced to withdraw from Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., because of unruly white crowds were escorted to class by members of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
On this date in:
1493- Christopher Columbus set sail from Cadiz, Spain, with a flotilla of 17 ships on his second voyage to the Western Hemisphere.
1513- Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama to reach the Pacific Ocean.
1775- American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen was captured by the British as he led an attack on Montreal.
1789- The first United States Congress adopted 12 amendments to the Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. (Ten of the amendments became the Bill of Rights.)
1890- Mormon president Wilford Woodruff issued a manifesto formally renouncing the practice of polygamy.
1897- Author William Faulkner was born in New Albany, Miss.
1919- President Woodrow Wilson collapsed after a speech in Pueblo, Colo., during a tour in support of the Treaty of Versailles.
1956- The first trans-Atlantic telephone cable went into service.
1980- Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, 32, choked to death on his own vomit after a drinking binge.
1981- Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
2001- Saudi Arabia cut its relations with Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban.
2011- Two American hikers held for more than two years in an Iranian prison, returned to the United States.
Today’s Birthdays:
Actor Michael Douglas turns 71 years old today.
Robert Gates, Former secretary of defense, 72
Robert Walden, Actor (“Lou Grant”), 72
Cheryl Tiegs, Model, 68
Mimi Kennedy, Actress, 66
Anson Williams, Actor (“Happy Days”), 66
Mark Hamill, Actor (“Star Wars”), 64
Bob McAdoo, Basketball Hall of Famer, 64
Jimmy Sturr, Polka bandleader, 64
Michael Madsen, Actor, 57
Heather Locklear, Actress (“Melrose Place,” “Spin City”), 54
Aida Turturro, Actress (“The Sopranos”), 53
Tate Donovan, Actor (“Damages”), 52
Scottie Pippen, Basketball Hall of Famer, 50
Will Smith, Actor, 47
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Actress, 46
Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, Actress, 42
Clea DuVall, Actress, 38
T.I., Rapper, 35
Donald Glover, Actor (“Community”), 32
TV personality Barbara Walters (“The View”) turns 86 years old today.