This day in history

[September 12, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Sept. 12, the 255th day of 2011. There are 110 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 12, 1961, the privately funded Woman in Space Program effectively came to an end as 13 female pilots who had applied to become NASA astronauts were informed by the space agency that their spaceflight simulation tests in Pensacola, Fla., would not be taking place, after all.

On this date:

In 1846, Elizabeth Barrett secretly married Robert Browning at St. Marylebone Church in London.

In 1910, Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8, popularly known as the "Symphony of a Thousand," had its premiere in Munich, Germany, with Mahler conducting.

In 1938, Adolf Hitler demanded the right of self-determination for the Sudeten (soo-DAYT'-un) Germans in Czechoslovakia.

In 1943, German paratroopers took Benito Mussolini from the hotel where he was being held by the Italian government.

In 1953, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier (boo-vee-AY') in Newport, R.I.

In 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy addressed questions about his Roman Catholic faith, telling a Southern Baptist group, "I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me."

In 1974, Emperor Haile Selassie (HY'-lee sehl-AH'-see) was deposed by Ethiopia's military after ruling for 58 years.

In 1977, South African black student leader Steve Biko (BEE'-koh) died while in police custody, triggering an international outcry.

In 1986, Joseph Cicippio (sih-SIHP'-ee-oh), the acting comptroller at the American University in Beirut, was kidnapped (he was released in December 1991).

In 1992, the space shuttle Endeavour blasted off, carrying with it Mark Lee and Jan Davis, the first married couple in space; Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space; and Mamoru Mohri, the first Japanese citizen to fly on a U.S. spaceship.

Ten years ago: Stunned rescue workers continued to search for bodies in the World Trade Center's smoking rubble a day after a terrorist attack that shut down the financial capital, badly damaged the Pentagon and left thousands dead. President George W. Bush, branding the attacks in New York and Washington "acts of war," said "this will be a monumental struggle of good versus evil" and that "good will prevail."

Five years ago: In a speech in his native Germany, Pope Benedict XVI quoted from an obscure medieval text that characterized some teachings of Islam's founder as "evil and inhuman," unleashing a torrent of rage across the Islamic world (the pontiff later said he sincerely regretted that Muslims were offended). Syrian guards foiled an attempt by suspected al-Qaida-linked militants to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Damascus.

One year ago: The United States won its first world basketball championship since 1994, beating Turkey 81-64 behind a sensational performance from tournament MVP Kevin Durant, who scored 28 points. Lady Gaga swept the MTV Video Music Awards with eight wins, wearing a dress made of meat as she accepted the video of the year award for "Bad Romance." Movie director Claude Chabrol, one of the founders of the French New Wave movement, died in Paris at age 80.

Today's birthdays: Actor Dickie Moore ("Our Gang") is 86. Actor Freddie Jones is 84. Country singer George Jones is 80. Actor Ian Holm is 80. Actress Linda Gray is 71. Singer Maria Muldaur is 69. Actor Joe Pantoliano is 60. Singer-musician Gerry Beckley (America) is 59. Rock musician Neil Peart (Rush) is 59. Actor Peter Scolari is 56. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is 55. Actress Rachel Ward is 54. Actress Amy Yasbeck is 49. Rock musician Norwood Fisher (Fishbone) is 46. Actor Darren E. Burrows is 45. Rock singer-musician Ben Folds (Ben Folds Five) is 45. Rock musician Larry LaLonde (Primus) is 43. Actor Josh Hopkins is 41. Actor Paul Walker is 38. Country singer Jennifer Nettles (Sugarland) is 37. Actor Ben McKenzie is 33. Singer Ruben Studdard is 33. Basketball player Yao Ming is 31. Singer-actress Jennifer Hudson is 30. Actress Emmy Rossum is 25.

Thought for today: "Hope, like faith, is nothing if it is not courageous; it is nothing if it is not ridiculous." -- Thornton Wilder, American playwright (1897-1975)

[Associated Press]

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