This day in history

[September 06, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Sept. 6, the 249th day of 2011. There are 116 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by anarchist Leon Czolgosz (CHAWL'-gawsh) at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. (McKinley died eight days later; he was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt. Czolgosz was executed in October 1901.)

On this date:

In 1711, Henry Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America, was born in Einbeck, Hanover, Germany.

In 1861, Union forces led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant occupied Paducah, Ky., during the Civil War.

In 1916, the first self-service grocery store, Piggly Wiggly, was opened in Memphis, Tenn., by Clarence Saunders.

In 1939, the Union of South Africa declared war on Germany.

In 1948, Princess Juliana of the Netherlands was inaugurated as queen, two days after the abdication of her mother, Queen Wilhelmina.

In 1949, Howard Unruh, a resident of Camden, N.J., shot and killed 13 of his neighbors. (Found to have paranoid schizophrenia, Unruh was confined for the rest of his life; he died in a Trenton nursing home in 2009 at age 88.)

In 1966, South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd (fehr-FOORT') was stabbed to death by an apparently deranged page during a parliamentary session in Cape Town.

In 1970, Palestinian guerrillas seized control of three U.S.-bound jetliners. (Two were later blown up on the ground in Jordan, along with a London-bound plane hijacked on Sept. 9; the fourth plane was destroyed on the ground in Egypt. No hostages were harmed.)

In 1985, all 31 people aboard a Midwest Express Airlines DC-9 were killed when the Atlanta-bound jetliner crashed just after takeoff from Milwaukee's Mitchell Field.

In 1991, the Soviet Union recognized the independence of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Russian lawmakers upheld a decision by residents of Leningrad to restore the city's pre-revolutionary name, St. Petersburg.

Ten years ago: In a dramatic shift, the Bush administration abandoned the Clinton-era effort to break up Microsoft. Mexican President Vicente (vih-SEN'-tay) Fox addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress, urging greater trust between the neighboring countries as the basis for "a new partnership in North America." Barry Bonds became the fifth player in baseball history to hit 60 home runs in a season, connecting in the second inning of San Francisco's game against Arizona. The NFL referees' union rejected the league's latest contract offer (replacement officials worked the opening weekend of the regular season).

Five years ago: President George W. Bush acknowledged for the first time that the CIA was running secret prisons overseas and said tough interrogation had forced terrorist leaders to reveal plots to attack the United States and its allies. Japan's Princess Kiko gave birth to a boy (later named Hisahito), providing the centuries-old Chrysanthemum Throne with its first male heir in more than 40 years. Anibal Sanchez threw a no-hitter in his 13th career start as the Florida Marlins beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-0.

One year ago: President Barack Obama rolled out a long-term jobs program that would exceed $50 billion to rebuild roads, railways and runways, and coupled it with a blunt campaign-season assault accusing Republicans of causing Americans' hard economic times.

Today's birthdays: Comedian JoAnne Worley is 74. Country singer David Allan Coe is 72. Rock singer-musician Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) is 68. Actress Swoosie Kurtz is 67. Comedian-actress Jane Curtin is 64. Country singer-songwriter Buddy Miller is 59. Country musician Joe Smyth (Sawyer Brown) is 54. Actor-comedian Jeff Foxworthy is 53. Actor-comedian Michael Winslow is 53. Rock musician Perry Bamonte is 51. Actor Steven Eckholdt is 50. Rock musician Scott Travis (Judas Priest) is 50. Pop musician Pal Waaktaar (a-ha) is 50. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is 49. Rock musician Kevin Miller is 49. ABC News correspondent Elizabeth Vargas is 49. Country singer Mark Chesnutt is 48. Actress Betsy Russell is 48. Actress Rosie Perez is 47. Rhythm and blues singer Macy Gray is 44. Singer CeCe Peniston is 42. Rhythm-and-blues singer Darryl Anthony (Az Yet) is 42. Actress Daniele Gaither (TV: "MADtv") is 41. Rock singer Dolores O'Riordan (The Cranberries) is 40. Actor Dylan Bruno (TV: "Numb3ers") is 39. Actor Idris Elba (TV: "The Wire") is 39. Actress Justina Machado is 39. Actress Anika Noni (ah-NEE'-kuh NOH'-nee) Rose is 39. Rock singer Nina Persson (The Cardigans) is 37. Actor Justin Whalin is 37. Actress Naomie Harris is 35. Rapper Noreaga is 34. Actress Natalia Cigliuti is 33. Rapper Foxy Brown is 33.

Thought for today: "The lesson of history is rarely learned by the actors themselves." -- James A. Garfield, 20th president of the United States (1831-1881)

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.