This day in history

[September 13, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Sept. 13, the 256th day of 2010. There are 109 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 13, 1970, the first New York City Marathon was held; Gary Muhrcke finished the 26.2-mile run, which took place entirely inside Central Park, in 2:31:38.

On this date:

In 1759, during the final French and Indian War, the British defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham overlooking Quebec City.

In 1788, the Congress of the Confederation authorized the first national election, and declared New York City the temporary national capital.

In 1803, Commodore John Barry, considered by many the father of the American Navy, died in Philadelphia.

In 1860, General of the Armies of the United States John J. Pershing was born in Laclede, Mo.

In 1948, Republican Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress.

In 1959, Elvis Presley first met his future wife, 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, while stationed in West Germany with the U.S. Army. (They married in 1967, but divorced in 1973.)

In 1971, a four-day inmates' rebellion at the Attica Correctional Facility in western New York ended as police and guards stormed the prison; the ordeal and final assault claimed 43 lives.

In 1989, Fay Vincent was elected commissioner of Major League Baseball, succeeding the late A. Bartlett Giamatti (juh-MAH'-tee).

In 1990, the combination police-courtroom drama "Law & Order" premiered on NBC.

In 1993, at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy.

Ten years ago: With the government all but abandoning its case against him, former Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee pleaded guilty in Albuquerque, N.M. to a single count of mishandling nuclear secrets; he was then set free with an apology from U.S. District Judge James Parker, who said the government's actions had "embarrassed our entire nation."

Five years ago: President George W. Bush took responsibility for federal government mistakes in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and suggested the calamity raised broader questions about the government's ability to handle both natural disasters and terror attacks. President Bush sought China's help to stop nuclear weapons programs in North Korea and Iran and won a pledge from President Hu Jintao (hoo jin-tow) to step up pressure on Pyongyang.

One year ago: The body of missing Yale University graduate student Annie Le (lay) was found behind a research lab wall on what would have been her wedding day. (A lab technician, Raymond Clark III, was later charged with murder.) Kim Clijsters, capping a comeback from two years out of tennis, became the first unseeded woman to win the U.S. Open as she defeated No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki, 7-5, 6-3. At the MTV Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for best female video for "You Belong with Me" was disrupted by Kanye West, who took the microphone to say Beyonce should have won instead for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)."

Today's birthdays: Actress Barbara Bain is 79. Actress Eileen Fulton ("As the World Turns") is 77. TV producer Fred Silverman is 73. Former White House spokesman Larry Speakes is 71. Actor Richard Kiel is 71. Rock singer David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat & Tears) is 69. Actress Jacqueline Bisset is 66. Singer Peter Cetera is 66. Actress Jean Smart is 59. Singer Randy Jones (The Village People) is 58. Record producer Don Was is 58. Actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. is 56. Actress-comedian Geri Jewell is 54. Country singer Bobbie Cryner is 49. Rock singer-musician Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) is 49. Radio-TV personality Tavis Smiley is 46. Rock musician Zak Starkey is 45. Actor Louis Mandylor is 44. Olympic gold medal runner Michael Johnson is 43. Rock musician Steve Perkins is 43. Actor Roger Howarth is 42. Actress Louise Lombard is 40. Tennis player Goran Ivanisevic (ee-van-EE'-seh-vihch) is 39. Country singer Aaron Benward (Blue County) is 37. Country musician Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flatts) is 35. Actor Scott Vickaryous is 35. Singer Fiona Apple is 33. Contemporary Christian musician Hector Cervantes (Casting Crowns) is 30. MLB pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is 30. Actor Ben Savage is 30. Actor Mitch Holleman ("Reba") is 15.

Thought for today: "Revolt and terror pay a price. Order and law have a cost." -- Carl Sandburg, American poet and author (1878-1967)

[Associated Press]

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