This day in history

[September 01, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, Sept. 1, the 244th day of 2010. There are 121 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 1, 1939, World War II began as Nazi Germany invaded Poland.

On this date:

In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr was found not guilty of treason. (Burr was then tried on a misdemeanor charge, but was again acquitted.)

In 1894, the Great Hinckley Fire destroyed Hinckley, Minn., and five other communities, and killed more than 400 people.

In 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan entered Confederation as the eighth and ninth provinces of Canada.

In 1923, the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated by an earthquake that claimed some 140,000 lives.

In 1951, the United States, Australia and New Zealand signed a mutual defense pact, the ANZUS treaty.

In 1969, a coup in Libya brought Moammar Gadhafi to power.

In 1972, American Bobby Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik (RAY'-kyuh-vik), Iceland, as Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union resigned before the resumption of game 21.

In 1983, 269 people were killed when a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 was shot down by a Soviet jet fighter after the airliner entered Soviet airspace.

In 1985, a U.S.-French expedition located the wreckage of the Titanic on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean roughly 400 miles off Newfoundland.

In 1995, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. (The hall opened to the public the next day.)

Ten years ago: Saying he wasn't convinced the technology was at hand to build an effective anti-missile shield, President Bill Clinton said he would leave it to his successor to decide when, or if, to deploy a national missile defense prohibited by a 1972 arms control treaty.

Five years ago: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin issued a "desperate SOS" as his city descended into anarchy amid the flooding left by Hurricane Katrina. Al-Qaida's number-two made the terror group's first direct claim of responsibility for the July 7 bombings in London in a videotape.

One year ago: Vermont's law allowing same-sex marriage went into effect. Poland held ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II. Death claimed award-winning conductor Erich Kunzel at age 74 and Wycliffe Johnson, a major figure in Jamaican music, at age 47.

Today's birthdays: Former Defense Secretary Melvin R. Laird is 88. Actor George Maharis is 82. Conductor Seiji Ozawa (SAY'-jee oh-ZAH'-wah) is 75. Attorney and law professor Alan Dershowitz is 72. Comedian-actress Lily Tomlin is 71. Actor Don Stroud is 67. Conductor Leonard Slatkin is 66. Singer Archie Bell is 66. Singer Barry Gibb is 64. Rock musician Greg Errico is 62. Talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw is 60. Singer Gloria Estefan is 53. Former White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers is 49. Jazz musician Boney James is 49. Singer-musician Grant Lee Phillips (Grant Lee Buffalo) is 47. Country singer-songwriter Charlie Robison is 46. Retired NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway is 44. Rap DJ Spigg Nice (Lost Boyz) is 40. Actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira ("Desperate Housewives") is 39. Rock singer JD Fortune is 37. Actor Scott Speedman is 35. Rock musician Joe Trohman is 26.

Thought for today: "If you want to get across an idea, wrap it up in person." -- Ralph J. Bunche, American diplomat (1904-1971)

[Associated Press]

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