This day in history

[September 30, 2008]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Sept. 30, the 274th day of 2008. There are 92 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 30, 1846, Boston dentist William Morton used ether as an anesthetic for the first time as he extracted an ulcerated tooth from merchant Eben Frost.

On this date:

In 1777, the Continental Congress -- forced to flee in the face of advancing British forces -- moved to York, Pa.

In 1791, Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" premiered in Vienna, Austria.

In 1938, after co-signing the Munich Agreement allowing Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain praised the accord on his return home, saying, "I believe it is peace for our time."

In 1949, the Berlin Airlift came to an end.

In 1952, the motion picture "This Is Cinerama," which introduced the triple-camera, triple-projector Cinerama widescreen process, premiered at the Broadway Theatre in New York.

In 1955, actor James Dean, 24, was killed in a two-car collision near Cholame, Calif.

In 1958, the police drama "Naked City" debuted on ABC-TV.

In 1962, black student James Meredith was escorted by federal marshals to the campus of the University of Mississippi, where he enrolled for classes the next day.

In 1988, Mikhail S. Gorbachev retired President Andrei A. Gromyko from the Politburo and fired other old-guard leaders in a Kremlin shake-up.

In 1997, France's Roman Catholic Church apologized for its silence during the systematic persecution and deportation of Jews by the pro-Nazi Vichy regime.

Ten years ago: The General Accounting Office reported that Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr and his predecessor, Robert Fiske, had spent more than $40 million on the investigation of President Clinton's Arkansas land deals that was expanded to include the probe of the Monica Lewinsky affair. Both President Clinton and Republicans claimed credit for news that the government would run a surplus of about $70 billion in the current fiscal year.

Five years ago: The FBI began a full-scale criminal investigation into whether White House officials had illegally leaked the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame. Eighteen accused al-Qaida sympathizers were convicted in Belgium's biggest terrorism trial.

One year ago: A U.N. envoy failed to meet with Myanmar's top two junta leaders in his effort to persuade them to ease a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters, but was allowed a highly orchestrated session with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan hanged a teenager found to have U.S. money in his pocket as a warning to others not to use dollars. The United States won the Presidents Cup in Montreal, giving them a victory on foreign soil in cup competition for the first time since 1993. Germany defeated Brazil 2-0 in the final of the Women's World Cup held in Shanghai, China.

Today's birthdays: Author Elie Wiesel is 80. Actress Angie Dickinson is 77. Singer Cissy Houston is 75. Singer Johnny Mathis is 73. Actor Len Cariou is 69. Rock singer-musician Dewey Martin (Buffalo Springfield) is 66. Singer Marilyn McCoo is 65. Pop singer Sylvia Peterson (The Chiffons) is 62. Actor John Finn (TV: "Cold Case") is 56. Rock musician John Lombardo is 56. Singer Deborah Allen is 55. Actor Calvin Levels is 54. Actor Barry Williams is 54. Singer Patrice Rushen is 54. Actor Vondie Curtis-Hall is 52. Actress Fran Drescher is 51. Country singer Marty Stuart is 50. Actress Debrah Farentino is 49. Rock musician Bill Rieflin (R.E.M.) is 48. Actress Crystal Bernard is 47. Actor Eric Stoltz is 47. Rapper-producer Marley Marl is 46. Country singer Eddie Montgomery (Montgomery-Gentry) is 45. Rock singer Trey Anastasio is 44. Actress Monica Bellucci is 44. Rock musician Robby Takac (Goo Goo Dolls) is 44. Actress Lisa Thornhill is 42. Actress Andrea Roth ("Rescue Me") is 41. Actor Tony Hale is 38. Actress Jenna Elfman is 37. Actor Ashley Hamilton is 34. Actress Marion Cotillard is 33. Actor Mike Damus is 29. Tennis player Martina Hingis is 28. Olympic gold medal gymnast Dominique Moceanu is 27. Actress Lacey Chabert is 26. Actor Kieran Culkin is 26. Singer-rapper T-Pain is 24.

Thought for today: "Nothing you can't spell will ever work." -- Will Rogers, American humorist (1879-1935)

[Associated Press]

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