This day in history

[September 28, 2012]  (AP)  Today is Friday, Sept. 28, the 272nd day of 2012. There are 94 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 28, 1787, the Congress of the Confederation voted to send the just-completed Constitution of the United States to state legislatures for their approval.

On this date:

In 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England to claim the English throne.

In 1542, Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrived at present-day San Diego.

In 1841, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow completed his poem "Excelsior."

In 1850, flogging was abolished as a form of punishment in the U.S. Navy.

In 1920, eight members of the Chicago White Sox were indicted for allegedly throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. (All were acquitted at trial, but all eight were banned from the game for life.)

In 1924, three U.S. Army planes landed in Seattle, having completed the first round-the-world trip by air in 175 days.

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Bonneville Dam in Oregon.

In 1939, during World War II, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a treaty calling for the partitioning of Poland, which the two countries had invaded.

In 1962, a federal appeals court found Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett in civil contempt for blocking the admission of James Meredith, a black student, to the University of Mississippi. (Federal marshals escorted Meredith onto the campus two days later.)

In 1974, first lady Betty Ford underwent a mastectomy at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland, following discovery of a cancerous lump in her breast.

In 1987, U.S. Rep. Patricia Schroeder, D-Colo., announced in Denver that she would not run for the Democratic presidential nomination. "Star Trek: The Next Generation" premiered in syndication.

In 1989, deposed Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos died in exile in Hawaii at age 72.

Ten years ago: Iraq defiantly rejected a U.S.-British plan for the United Nations to force President Saddam Hussein to disarm and open his palaces for weapons searches. Finance leaders meeting in Washington directed the International Monetary Fund to work on new approach to resolving global debt crises. U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, a 12-term Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, died in Honolulu at age 74.

Five years ago: The International Monetary Fund chose France's Dominique Strauss-Kahn as its new leader. (Strauss-Kahn resigned the post in 2011 following allegations he'd sexually assaulted a New York hotel employee; prosecutors ended up dropping all the charges.) Traveler Carol Anne Gotbaum of New York died in a holding cell at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix; authorities say Gotbaum, 45, accidentally asphyxiated herself after being chained to a bench.

One year ago: The Obama administration formally appealed a federal appeals court ruling striking down a key provision of President Barack Obama's health care law requiring Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. (The U.S. Supreme Court later upheld the individual mandate.)

Today's birthdays: Actress Brigitte Bardot is 78. Singer Ben E. King is 74. Actor Joel Higgins is 69. Singer Helen Shapiro is 66. Movie writer-director-actor John Sayles is 62. Actress Sylvia Kristel is 60. Rock musician George Lynch is 58. Zydeco singer-musician C.J. Chenier (sheh-NEER') is 55. Actor Steve Hytner is 53. Actress-comedian Janeane Garofalo is 48. Country singer Matt King is 46. Actress Mira Sorvino is 45. TV personality Moon Zappa is 45. Actress-model Carre Otis is 44. Actress Naomi Watts is 44. Country musician Chuck Crawford is 39. Country singer Mandy Barnett is 37. Rapper Young Jeezy is 35. World Golf Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak is 35. Actor Peter Cambor is 34. Writer-producer-director-actor Bam Margera is 33. Actress Hilary Duff is 25. Actress Skye McCole Bartusiak is 20. Actor Keir Gilchrist is 20.

Thought for today: "Sometimes I think we Americans are the loneliest people in the world. To be sure, we hunger for the power of affection, the self-acceptance that gives life. It is the oldest and strongest hunger in the world. But hungering is not enough." -- Sherwood Anderson, American author and poet (1876-1941)

[Associated Press]

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