This day in history

[September 04, 2008]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, Sept. 4, the 248th day of 2008. There are 118 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 4, 1781, Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers.

On this date:

In 1888, George Eastman received a patent for his roll-film box camera, and registered his trademark: "Kodak."

In 1893, English author Beatrix Potter first told the story of Peter Rabbit in the form of a "picture letter" to Noel Moore, the son of Potter's former governess.

In 1908, American author Richard Wright was born near Natchez, Miss.

In 1917, the American Expeditionary Forces in France suffered their first fatalities during World War I when a German plane attacked a British-run base hospital.

In 1948, Queen Wilhelmina abdicated the Dutch throne for health reasons.

In 1951, President Truman addressed the nation from the Japanese peace treaty conference in San Francisco in the first live, coast-to-coast television broadcast.

In 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus used Arkansas National Guardsmen to prevent nine black students from entering all-white Central High School in Little Rock.

In 1957, Ford Motor Co. began selling its ill-fated Edsel.

In 1967, Detroit TV station WKBD aired an interview with Michigan Gov. George Romney in which the Republican presidential hopeful attributed his previous support for the war in Vietnam to a "brainwashing" he'd received from U.S. officials during a 1965 visit - a comment that apparently damaged his White House bid.

In 1971, an Alaska Airlines jet crashed near Juneau, killing all 111 people on board.

Ten years ago: During a visit to Ireland, President Clinton said the words "I'm sorry" for the first time about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, describing his behavior as indefensible.

Five years ago: Miguel Estrada, whose nomination became a flash point for Democratic opposition to President Bush's judicial choices, withdrew from consideration for an appeals court seat after Republicans failed in seven attempts to break a Senate filibuster. Verizon Communications and two unions, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, reached a tentative, five-year contract after four months of talks.

One year ago: Teams searched a broad swath of rugged terrain in western Nevada for millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, who disappeared after taking off in a single-engine plane the day before. Hurricane Felix slammed into Nicaragua's coast, the first time on record that two Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes hit land in the same year. Toy maker Mattel Inc. recalled 800,000 lead-tainted, Chinese-made toys worldwide, a third major recall in just over a month.

Today's birthdays: ABC Radio commentator Paul Harvey is 90. Actress Mitzi Gaynor is 77. Singer Merald "Bubba" Knight (Gladys Knight & The Pips) is 66. Actress Jennifer Salt is 64. World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Watson is 59. Rhythm-and-blues musician Ronald LaPread is 58. Actress Judith Ivey is 57. Rock musician Martin Chambers (The Pretenders) is 57. Actress Khandi Alexander is 51. Actor-comedian Damon Wayans is 48. Rock musician Kim Thayil is 48. Actor Noah Taylor is 39. Actress Ione Skye is 37. Rhythm-and-blues singer Richard Wingo (Jagged Edge) is 33. Actor Wes Bentley is 30. Singer Dan Miller ("Making the Band") is 28. Singer Beyonce Knowles is 27. Actor Trevor Gagnon is 13.

Thought for today: "Men can starve from a lack of self-realization as much as they can from a lack of bread." -- Richard Wright, American author (1908-1960)

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.