This day in history

[September 03, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Friday, Sept. 3, the 246th day of 2010. There are 119 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 3, 1939, Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany, two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland. A German U-boat torpedoed and sank the British liner SS Athenia some 250 miles off the Irish coast, killing more than 100 out of the 1,400 or so people on board.

On this date:

In 1189, England's King Richard I (the Lion-Hearted) was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

In 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson and his crew aboard the Half Moon entered present-day New York Harbor and began sailing up the river that now bears his name. (They reached present-day Albany before turning back.)

In 1658, Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England, died in London.

In 1783, representatives of the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War.

In 1940, Artie Shaw and his Gramercy Five recorded "Summit Ridge Drive" and "Special Delivery Stomp" for RCA Victor.

In 1943, the British Eighth Army invaded Italy during World War II, the same day Italy signed a secret armistice with the Allies.

In 1967, Nguyen Van Thieu (nwen van too) was elected president of South Vietnam under a new constitution. Motorists in Sweden began driving on the right-hand side of the road instead of the left.

In 1970, legendary football coach Vince Lombardi, 57, died in Washington, D.C.

In 1976, America's Viking 2 lander touched down on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the planet's surface.

In 1978, Pope John Paul I was formally installed as leader of the Roman Catholic Church. (However, he died less than a month later.)

Ten years ago: The presidential candidates squabbled over debate schedules as Republican George W. Bush announced he had accepted three prime-time sessions. Democrat Al Gore rejected the plan, saying the formats proposed by Bush could limit the audience and amount of face-to-face debate time.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush ordered more than 7,000 active duty forces to the Gulf Coast as his administration intensified efforts to rescue Katrina survivors and send aid to the hurricane-ravaged region in the face of criticism it did not act quickly enough. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died in Arlington, Va. at age 80, after more than three decades on the Supreme Court.

One year ago: Vice President Joe Biden told a Brookings Institution gathering that the Obama administration was fiercely determined to get a health care overhaul, although he conceded it likely wouldn't happen without "an awful lot of screaming and hollering." A private funeral service was held in Glendale, Calif. for pop superstar Michael Jackson, whose body was entombed in a mausoleum.

Today's birthdays: "Beetle Bailey" cartoonist Mort Walker is 87. Actress Anne Jackson is 84. Actress Eileen Brennan is 78. Country singer Tompall Glaser is 77. Actress Pauline Collins is 70. Rock singer-musician Al Jardine is 68. Actress Valerie Perrine is 67. Rock musician Donald Brewer (Grand Funk Railroad) is 62. Rock guitarist Steve Jones (The Sex Pistols) is 55. Actor Steve Schirripa is 53. Rock singer-musician Todd Lewis is 45. Actor Charlie Sheen is 45. Singer Jennifer Paige is 37. Actress Ashley Jones is 34. Actress Nichole Hiltz is 32. Actor Nick Wechsler is 32. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Shaun White is 24.

Thought for today: "It is awfully important to know what is and what is not your business." -- Gertrude Stein, American author (1874-1946)

[Associated Press]

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