This day in history

[September 08, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, Sept. 8, the 251st day of 2010. There are 114 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 8, 1935, Sen. Huey P. Long, D-La., "The Kingfish" of Louisiana politics, was shot and mortally wounded inside the State Capitol in Baton Rouge; he died two days later at age 42. The assailant was identified as Dr. Carl Weiss, who was gunned down by Long's bodyguards.

On this date:

In 1504, Michelangelo's towering marble statue of David was unveiled to the public in Florence, Italy.

In 1892, an early version of "The Pledge of Allegiance," written by Francis Bellamy, appeared in "The Youth's Companion."

In 1900, Galveston, Texas, was struck by a hurricane that killed an estimated 8,000 people.

In 1920, New York-to-San Francisco air mail service was inaugurated.

In 1930, Scotch cellophane tape made its debut as a sample of the tape was shipped to a Chicago firm which specialized in wrapping bakery goods in cellophane. The comic strip "Blondie," created by Chic Young, was first published.

In 1941, the 900-day Siege of Leningrad by German forces began during World War II.

In 1951, a peace treaty with Japan was signed by 49 nations in San Francisco.

In 1960, American runner Wilma Rudolph won the third of her three gold medals at the Rome Olympics as she and teammates Barbara Jones, Martha Hudson and Lucinda Williams prevailed in the women's 4 x 100-meter relay.

In 1974, President Gerald R. Ford granted an unconditional pardon to former President Richard Nixon.

In 1994, a USAir Boeing 737 crashed into a ravine as it was approaching Pittsburgh International Airport, killing all 132 people on board.

Ten years ago: World leaders ended the United Nations Millennium Summit with a pledge to solve humankind's problems, including poverty, war, AIDS, pollution and human rights abuses. The head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Kevin Gover, a Pawnee Indian, apologized for the federal agency's "legacy of racism and inhumanity" that included massacres, forced relocations of tribes and attempts to wipe out Indian cultures.

Five years ago: Congress hastened to provide an additional $51.8 billion for relief and recovery from Hurricane Katrina; President George W. Bush pledged to make it "easy and simple as possible" for uncounted, uprooted storm victims to collect food stamps and other government benefits. Tropical Storm Ophelia strengthened into a hurricane as it stalled 70 miles off the northeast Florida coast. (Ophelia ended up brushing the North Carolina Outer Banks.)

One year ago: In a nationally broadcast pep talk from Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va., President Barack Obama challenged the nation's students to take pride in their education. Justice Sonia Sotomayor ceremonially took her seat at the Supreme Court in front of a packed courtroom that included President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. A U.N.-backed commission said it had found "convincing evidence" of fraud in Afghanistan's presidential election. Veteran Hollywood columnist Army Archerd, 87, died in Los Angeles.

Today's birthdays: Comedian Sid Caesar is 88. Ventriloquist Willie Tyler is 70. Actor Alan Feinstein is 69. Pop singer Sal Valentino (The Beau Brummels) is 68. Author Ann Beattie is 63. Cajun singer Zachary Richard (ree-SHARD') is 60. Musician Will Lee ("Late Show with David Letterman") is 58. Actress Heather Thomas is 53. Singer Aimee Mann is 50. Pop musician David Steele (Fine Young Cannibals) is 50. Actor Thomas Kretschmann is 48. Rhythm-and-blues singer Marc Gordon (Levert) is 46. Gospel singer Darlene Zschech (chehk) is 45. Alternative country singer Neko (NEE'-koh) Case is 40. TV personality Brooke Burke is 39. Actor Martin Freeman is 39. Actor Henry Thomas is 39. Actor David Arquette is 39. Rock musician Richard Hughes (Keane) is 35. Actor Larenz Tate is 35. Actor Nathan Corddry is 33. Rhythm-and-blues singer Pink is 31. Actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas is 29.

Thought for today: "Fools act on imagination without knowledge, pedants act on knowledge without imagination." -- Alfred North Whitehead, English philosopher and mathematician (1861-1947)

[Associated Press]

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