Today is Wednesday, Sept. 18, the 262nd day of 2024. There are 104 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Sept. 18, 2020, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a towering champion of women’s rights who became the court’s second female justice, died at her home in Washington at age 87, of complications from pancreatic cancer.
Also on this date:
In 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.
In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which created a force of federal commissioners charged with returning escaped slaves to their owners.
In 1851, the first edition of The New York Times was published.
In 1947, the National Security Act, which created a National Military Establishment and the position of Secretary of Defense, went into effect.
In 1961, United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold (dahg HAWM’-ahr-shoold) was killed in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia).
In 1970, rock star Jimi Hendrix died in London at age 27.
In 1975, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was captured by the FBI in San Francisco, 19 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
In 2014, voters in Scotland rejected independence, opting to remain part of the United Kingdom in a historic referendum.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Hockey Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman is 91.
- Singer Frankie Avalon is 84.
- Actor Anna Deavere Smith is 74.
- Neurosurgeon-author-politician Ben Carson is 73.
- Basketball Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino is 72.
- Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is 70.
- Hockey Hall of Famer Peter Šťastný is 68.
- Baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg is 65.
- Actor Holly Robinson Peete is 60.
- R&B singer Ricky Bell (Bell Biv Devoe, New Edition) is 57.
- Basketball Hall of Famer Toni Kukoč is 56.
- Actor Aisha Tyler is 54.
- Actor Jada Pinkett Smith is 53.
- Actor James Marsden is 51.
- Rapper-TV host Xzibit is 50.
- Comedian-actor Jason Sudeikis is 49.
- Former soccer player Ronaldo is 48.
- TV host Sara Haines is 47.
- Actor/comedian Billy Eichner is 46.
- Rapper Dizzee Rascal is 40.
- Country singer Tae Kerr (Maddie and Tae) is 29.
- Soccer player Christian Pulisic is 26.