This day in history

[September 10, 2013]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Sept. 10, the 253rd day of 2013. There are 112 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On September 10, 1813, an American naval force commanded by Oliver H. Perry defeated the British in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. (Afterward, Perry sent out the message, "We have met the enemy and they are ours.")

On this date:

In 1608, John Smith was elected president of the Jamestown colony council in Virginia.

In 1846, Elias Howe received a patent for his sewing machine.

In 1912, the jungle character Tarzan made his debut as "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice Burroughs was first published in The All-Story magazine.

In 1919, New York City welcomed home Gen. John J. Pershing and 25,000 soldiers who'd served in the U.S. First Division during World War I.

In 1939, Canada declared war on Germany.

In 1945, Vidkun Quisling was sentenced to death in Norway for collaborating with the Nazis (he was executed by firing squad in October 1945).

In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, a black student.

In 1963, twenty black students entered Alabama public schools following a standoff between federal authorities and Gov. George C. Wallace.

In 1979, four Puerto Rican nationalists imprisoned for a 1954 attack on the U.S. House of Representatives and a 1950 attempt on the life of President Harry S. Truman were freed from prison after being granted clemency by President Jimmy Carter.

In 1983, John Vorster (FAWS'-tur), prime minister of white-ruled South Africa from 1966 to 1978, died in Cape Town at age 67.

In 1987, Pope John Paul II arrived in Miami, where he was welcomed by President and Mrs. Reagan as he began a 10-day tour of the United States.

In 1993, "The X-Files" premiered on Fox Television.

Ten years ago: Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, 46, was stabbed in a Stockholm department store; she died the next day. (Mijailo Mijailovic (mee-EYE'-loh mee-EYE'-luh-vich) was later convicted of murdering Lindh and was sentenced to life in prison.) The first video image of Osama bin Laden in nearly two years was broadcast on Al-Jazeera TV. Israel bombed the home of a Hamas leader, killing his eldest son and a bodyguard in retaliation for two suicide bombings.

Five years ago: The world's largest particle collider passed its first major tests by firing two beams of protons in opposite directions around a 17-mile (27-kilometer) ring under the Franco-Swiss border. Frank Mundus, the legendary shark fisherman said to have inspired the character of Quint in "Jaws," died in Honolulu at age 82.

One year ago: An airstrike killed al-Qaida's No. 2 leader in Yemen along with six others traveling with him in a breakthrough for U.S.-backed efforts to cripple the terror network's operations in the impoverished Arab nation. Chicago teachers walked off the job in what would become a seven-day strike, idling nearly 400,000 students in one of the nation's third-largest school district. Andy Murray became the first British man since 1936 to capture a Grand Slam title, beating defending champion Novak Djokovic, 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 to win the U.S. Open in five grueling sets.

Today's birthdays: World Golf Hall of Famer Arnold Palmer is 84. Actor Philip Baker Hall is 82. Actor Greg Mullavey is 80. Country singer Tommy Overstreet is 76. Jazz vibraphonist Roy Ayers is 73. Singer Danny Hutton (Three Dog Night) is 71. Singer Jose Feliciano is 68. Actor Tom Ligon is 68. Actress Judy Geeson is 65. Former Canadian first lady Margaret Trudeau is 65. Political commentator Bill O'Reilly is 64. Rock musician Joe Perry (Aerosmith) is 63. Actress Amy Irving is 60. Country singer Rosie Flores is 57. Actress Kate Burton is 56. Movie director Chris Columbus is 55. Actor Colin Firth is 53. Rock singer-musician David Lowery (Cracker) is 53. Actor Sean O'Bryan is 50. Actor Raymond Cruz is 49. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Randy Johnson is 50. Rock musician Robin Goodridge (Bush) is 48. Rock musician Stevie D. (Buckcherry) is 47. Rock singer-musician Miles Zuniga (Fastball) is 47. Actress Nina Repeta (NY'-nuh ruh-PEHT'-ah) is 46. Rapper Big Daddy Kane is 45. Movie director Guy Ritchie is 45. Contemporary Christian singer Sara Groves is 41. Actor Ryan Phillippe (FIHL'-ih-pee) is 39. Actor Kyle Bornheimer is 38. Rock musician Mikey Way (My Chemical Romance) is 33. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Timothy Goebel is 33. Rock musician Matthew Followill (Kings of Leon) is 29. Singer Ashley Monroe (Pistol Annies) is 27. Singer Sanjaya Malakar ("American Idol") is 24. Actor Chandler Massie is 23. Actress Hannah Hodson is 22.

Thought for today: "History is the great dust-heap ... a pageant and not a philosophy." -- Augustine Birrell, English author and statesman (1850-1933).

[Associated Press]

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