This Day in History – September 15, 2011

1620 Mayflower departs from Plymouth, England with 102 pilgrims 1789 The United States Department of State is established (formerly known as the “Department of Foreign Affairs”). 1812 The French army under Napoleon reaches the Kremlin in Moscow. 1812 War of 1812: A second supply train sent to relieve Fort Harrison is ambushed in the Attack at the Narrows. 1821 Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica jointly declare independence from Spain. 1830 1st to be run-over by a railroad train (William Huskisson, England) 1835 HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galápagos Islands. 1851 Saint Joseph’s University is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1853 1st US woman ordained a minister, Antoinette Blackwell 1862 American Civil War: Confederate forces capture Harpers Ferry, Virginia. 1904 Wilbur Wright makes his 1st airplane flight 1916 World War I: Tanks are used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme. 1935 The Nuremberg Laws deprive German Jews of citizenship. 1935 Nazi Germany adopts a new national flag with the swastika. 1938 Only time brothers hit back-to-back HRs (Lloyd & Paul Waner, Pitts) 1940 World War II: The climax of the Battle of Britain, when the Royal Air Force shoots down large numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft. 1942 World War II: U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp is torpedoed at Guadalcanal. 1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet in Quebec as part of the Octagon Conference to discuss strategy. 1944 Battle of Peleliu begins as the United States Marine Corps’ 1st Marine Division and the United States Army’s 81st Infantry Division hit White and Orange beaches under heavy fire from Japanese infantry and artillery. 1945 A hurricane in southern Florida and the Bahamas destroys 366 planes and 25 blimps at NAS Richmond. 1946 Dodgers beat Cubs 2-0 in 5 inns, game called because of gnats 1947 RCA releases the 12AX7 vacuum tube. 1948 The F-86 Sabre sets the world aircraft speed record at 671 miles per hour (1,080 km/h). 1947 1st 4 engine jet propelled fighter plane tested, Columbus, Oh 1949 The Lone Ranger premiers on ABC-TV 1950 Korean War: United States forces land at Inchon 1958 A Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train runs through an open drawbridge at the Newark Bay, killing 58. 1959 Nikita Khrushchev becomes the first Soviet leader to visit the United States. 1961 Hurricane Carla strikes Texas with winds of 175 miles per hour. 1962 The Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis. 1963 The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing: Four children killed at an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama, United States 1965 “Lost in Space” premiers 1966 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, writes a letter to Congress urging the enactment of gun control legislation. 1968 The Soviet Zond 5 spaceship is launched, becoming the first spacecraft to fly around the Moon and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. 1972 A Scandinavian Airlines System domestic flight from Gothenburg to Stockholm is hijacked and flown to Malmö-Bulltofta Airport. 1974 Air Vietnam flight 727 is hijacked, then crashes while attempting to land with 75 on board. 1976 Soyuz 22 carries 2 cosmonauts into Earth orbit for 8 days 1978 Muhammad Ali beats WBA heavyweight champion Leon Spinks 1981 The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States 1981 The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operates it under its own power outside Washington, D.C. 1982 1st issue of “USA Today” published by Gannett Co Inc 1987 United States Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze sign a treaty to establish centers to reduce the risk of nuclear war. 1990 France announces it will send 4,000 troops to the Persian Gulf 1998 With the landmark merger of WorldCom and MCI Communications completed the day prior, the new MCI WorldCom opens its doors for business. 2004 National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman announces lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office. 2008 Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.]]]]> ]]>