This day in history

[September 02, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, Sept. 2, the 245th day of 2009. There are 120 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri, ending World War II.

On this date:

In 1666, the Great Fire of London broke out.

In 1789, the United States Treasury Department was established.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman's forces occupied Atlanta.

In 1901, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt offered the advice, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair.

In 1930, the first nonstop airplane flight from Europe to the U.S. was completed in 37 hours as Capt. Dieudonne Costes and Maurice Bellonte of France arrived in Valley Stream, N.Y., aboard their Breguet 19 biplane, which bore the symbol of a large question mark.

In 1935, a hurricane slammed into the Florida Keys, claiming more than 400 lives.

In 1945, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam an independent republic. (Ho died on this date in 1969.)

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Defense Education Act, which provided aid to public and private education to promote learning in such fields as math and science.

In 1969, the first automatic teller machine (ATM) to use magnetic-striped cards was opened to the public at Chemical Bank in New York. (Called a "Docuteller," it was developed by Donald C. Wetzel.)

In 1998, a Swissair MD-11 jetliner crashed off Nova Scotia, killing all 229 people aboard.

Ten years ago: It was announced that President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, had signed a contract to purchase a $1.7 million house in Chappaqua, N.Y., ending a monthslong guessing game over where the couple would live after leaving the White House.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush pledged "a safer world and a more hopeful America" as he accepted his party's nomination for a second term at the Republican National Convention in New York. A military jury at Camp Pendleton, Calif., convicted Marine Sgt. Gary Pittman of dereliction of duty and abuse of prisoners at a makeshift detention camp in Iraq; Pittman was sentenced to 60 days of hard labor and demoted to private. A jury at Fort Lewis, Wash., convicted a National Guardsman of trying to help al-Qaida; Specialist Ryan G. Anderson was sentenced to life in prison.

One year ago: Republicans assailed Barack Obama as the most liberal, least experienced White House nominee in history at their convention in St. Paul, Minn., and enthusiastically extolled their own man, John McCain, as ready to lead the nation. President George W. Bush briefly addressed the convention by satellite from the White House. A gunman in Skagit County, Wash., killed six people and injured four others; a suspect, Isaac Zamora, is awaiting trial. Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier was left paralyzed in a shooting outside an apartment building in Jacksonville, Fla.; a suspect, Tyrone Hartsfield, is awaiting trial.

Today's birthdays: Actor Meinhardt Raabe (the Munchkin coroner in "The Wizard of Oz") is 94. Dancer-actress Marge Champion is 90. Jazz musician Horace Silver is 81. Former Sen. Alan K. Simpson, R-Wyo., is 78. Former United States Olympic Committee Chairman Peter Ueberroth is 72. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sam Gooden (The Impressions) is 70. Singer Jimmy Clanton is 69. Rhythm-and-blues singer Rosalind Ashford (Martha & the Vandellas) is 66. Singer Joe Simon is 66. Football Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw is 61. Basketball Hall of Famer Nate Archibald is 61. Actor Mark Harmon is 58. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., is 58. Tennis Hall of Famer Jimmy Connors is 57. Actress Linda Purl is 54. Rock musician Jerry Augustyniak (10,000 Maniacs) is 51. Country musician Paul Deakin (The Mavericks) is 50. Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson is 49. Actor Keanu Reeves is 45. Former heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis is 44. Actress Salma Hayek is 43. Actress Kristen Cloke is 41. Actress Cynthia Watros is 41. Rhythm-and-blues singer K-Ci is 40. Actor-comedian Katt Williams is 36. Actor Michael Lombardi is 35. Rock musician Sam Rivers (Limp Bizkit) is 32. NFL player Brian Westbrook is 30. Rock musician Spencer Smith (Panic at the Disco) is 22.

Thought for today: "Life is a tragic mystery. We are pierced and driven by laws we only half understand, we find that the lesson we learn again and again is that of accepting heroic helplessness." -- Florida Scott-Maxwell, American writer and psychologist (1884-1979)

[Associated Press]

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