This day in history

[September 03, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, Sept. 3, the 246th day of 2009. There are 119 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 3, 1939, Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany, two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland. A German U-boat torpedoed and sank the Montreal-bound British liner SS Athenia some 250 miles off the Irish coast, killing more than 100 people, including 28 Americans, out of the 1,400 or so on board. President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a radio address in which he said the U.S. was preparing a proclamation of neutrality in the European conflict.

On this date:

In A.D. 590, Pope St. Gregory I was consecrated as the successor to Pope Pelagius II.

In 1189, England's King Richard I (the Lion-Hearted) was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

In 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson and his crew aboard the Half Moon entered present-day New York Harbor and began sailing up the river that now bears his name. (They reached present-day Albany before turning back.)

In 1658, Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England, died in London.

In 1783, representatives of the United States and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War.

In 1943, the British Eighth Army invaded Italy during World War II, the same day Italy signed a secret armistice with the Allies.

In 1951, the television soap opera "Search for Tomorrow" made its debut on CBS. (It ran on CBS until 1982, when it moved to NBC until its final episode, which aired in December 1986.)

In 1967, Nguyen Van Thieu was elected president of South Vietnam under a new constitution. Motorists in Sweden began driving on the right-hand side of the road instead of the left.

In 1976, America's Viking 2 lander touched down on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the planet's surface.

In 1978, Pope John Paul I was installed as the 264th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

Ten years ago: A French judge closed a two-year inquiry into the car crash that killed Princess Diana, dismissing all charges against nine photographers and a press motorcyclist, and concluding the accident was caused by an inebriated driver. NASA temporarily grounded its space shuttle fleet after inspections had uncovered damaged wires that could endanger a mission.

Five years ago: The three-day hostage siege at a school in Beslan, Russia, ended in bloody chaos after Chechen militants set off bombs as Russian commandos stormed the building; more than 330 people, mostly children, were killed. Former President Bill Clinton was hospitalized in New York with chest pains and shortness of breath; he ended up undergoing heart bypass surgery.

One year ago: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's choice for running mate, roused delegates at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., as she belittled Democrat Barack Obama and praised her new boss. Thousands of New Orleans residents who had fled Hurricane Gustav forced the city to reluctantly open its doors, while President George W. Bush returned to the scene to show that the government had turned a corner since its bungled response to Katrina. Baseball's first use of instant replay backed an onfield call of a home run for Alex Rodriguez during the ninth inning of a New York Yankees game against the Tampa Bay Rays. (The Yankees won the game, 8-4.)

Today's birthdays: Actress Helen Wagner ("As the World Turns") is 91. "Beetle Bailey" cartoonist Mort Walker is 86. Actress Anne Jackson is 83. Actress Eileen Brennan is 77. Country singer Tompall Glaser is 76. Actress Pauline Collins is 69. Rock singer-musician Al Jardine is 67. Actress Valerie Perrine is 66. Rock musician Donald Brewer (Grand Funk Railroad) is 61. Rock guitarist Steve Jones (The Sex Pistols) is 54. Actor Steve Schirripa is 52. Rock singer-musician Todd Lewis is 44. Actor Charlie Sheen is 44. Baseball All-Star Luis Gonzalez is 42. Singer Jennifer Paige is 36. Actress Ashley Jones is 33. NFL player Casey Hampton is 32. Actress Nichole Hiltz is 31. Actor Nick Wechsler is 31. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Shaun White is 23.

Thought for today: "It is impossible to persuade a man who does not disagree, but smiles." -- Muriel Spark, Scottish author (1918-2006)

[Associated Press]

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