This day in history

[September 24, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, Sept. 24, the 267th day of 2009. There are 98 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 24, 1969, the trial of the "Chicago Eight" (later seven) began. (Five of the defendants were later convicted of crossing state lines to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic national convention, but the convictions were ultimately overturned.)

On this date:

In 1789, Congress passed a Judiciary Act which provided for an attorney general and a Supreme Court.

In 1869, thousands of businessmen were ruined in a Wall Street panic known as "Black Friday" after financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk attempted to corner the gold market.

In 1929, Lt. James H. Doolittle guided a Consolidated NY-2 Biplane over Mitchel Field on Long Island in the first all-instrument flight.

In 1948, Mildred Gillars, accused of being Nazi wartime radio propagandist "Axis Sally," pleaded not guilty in Washington, D.C., to charges of treason. (Gillars, later convicted, ended up serving 12 years in prison.)

In 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffered a heart attack while on vacation in Denver.

In 1960, the USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was launched at Newport News, Va.

In 1963, the U.S. Senate ratified a treaty with Britain and the Soviet Union limiting nuclear testing.

In 1976, former hostage Patricia Hearst was sentenced to seven years in prison for her part in a 1974 bank robbery in San Francisco carried out by the Symbionese Liberation Army. (Hearst was released after 22 months after receiving clemency from President Jimmy Carter.)

In 1981, four Armenian gunmen seized the Turkish consulate in Paris, killing a guard and holding 56 hostages for 15 hours before surrendering.

In 1998, the government began releasing the new, harder-to-counterfeit $20 bill.

Ten years ago: Oregon teenager Kip Kinkel, who killed his parents and gunned down two classmates at school, abandoned an insanity defense and pleaded guilty to murder. (He was later sentenced to 112 years without parole.) A jury acquitted former Italian Premier Giulio Andreotti of the 1979 killing of a journalist.

Five years ago: Iraq's interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, appealed to world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly to unite behind his country's effort to rein in spiraling violence, lighten the foreign debt and improve security ahead of the January elections. The California Air Resources Board backed sweeping reductions in auto emissions. Author Francoise Sagan died in Honfleur, France, at age 69.

One year ago: Officials reopened Galveston, Texas, to residents who were warned about Hurricane Ike's debris and disruption of utilities. Japanese lawmakers elected Taro Aso, leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, prime minister.

Today's birthdays: Actor-singer Herb Jeffries is 98. Actress Sheila MacRae is 85. R&B singer Sonny Turner (The Platters) is 70. Singer Barbara Allbut (The Angels) is 69. Pro Football Hall of Famer John Mackey is 68. Singer Phyllis "Jiggs" Allbut (The Angels) is 67. Singer Gerry Marsden (Gerry and the Pacemakers) is 67. Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Greene is 63. Actor Gordon Clapp is 61. Former U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy II, D-Mass., is 57. Actor Kevin Sorbo is 51. Christian/jazz singer Cedric Dent (Take 6) is 47. Actress-writer Nia Vardalos is 47. Baseball All-Star Rafael Palmeiro is 45. Country musician Marty Mitchell is 40. Actress Megan Ward is 40. Singer-musician Marty Cintron (No Mercy) is 38. Contemporary Christian musician Juan DeVevo (Casting Crowns) is 34. Olympic gold medal gymnast Paul Hamm is 27. Actor Kyle Sullivan is 21.

Thought for today: "History is mostly guessing, the rest is prejudice." -- Will (1885-1981) and Ariel Durant (1898-1981), American historians

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.