Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 23, the 266th day of 2014. There are 99 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight:

On Sept. 23, 1779, during the Revolutionary War, the American warship Bon Homme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, defeated the HMS Serapis in battle off Yorkshire, England; however, the seriously damaged Bon Homme Richard sank two days later.

On this date:

In 1780, British spy John Andre was captured along with papers revealing Benedict Arnold’s plot to surrender West Point to the British.

In 1806, the Lewis and Clark expedition returned to St. Louis more than two years after setting out for the Pacific Northwest.

In 1846, Neptune was identified as a planet by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle.

In 1889, American newspaperman and columnist Walter Lippmann was born in New York City. Nintendo was founded in Kyoto, Japan, as a playing card company.

In 1908, an apparent baserunning error by Fred Merkle of the New York Giants cost his team a victory against the Chicago Cubs and left the game tied 1-1. The Cubs won a rematch and with it, the National League pennant.

In 1939, Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, died in London at age 83.

In 1952, in what became known as the “Checkers” speech, Sen. Richard M. Nixon, R-Calif., salvaged his vice-presidential nomination by appearing live on television to refute allegations of improper campaign fundraising.

In 1957, nine black students who’d entered Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas were forced to withdraw because of a white mob outside.

In 1962, New York’s Philharmonic Hall (later renamed Avery Fisher Hall) formally opened as the first unit of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. “The Jetsons,” an animated cartoon series about a Space Age family, premiered as the ABC television network’s first program in color.

In 1973, former Argentine president Juan Peron won a landslide election victory that returned him to power; his wife, Isabel, was elected vice president.

In 1981, the Reagan administration announced plans for what became known as Radio Marti.

In 1999, the Mars Climate Orbiter apparently burned up as it attempted to go into orbit around the Red Planet.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush denied painting too rosy a picture about Iraq, and said he would consider sending more troops if asked; Iraq’s interim leader, Ayad Allawi (EE’-yahd ah-LAH’-wee), standing with Bush in the White House Rose Garden, said additional troops weren’t needed.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama addressed the U.N. General Assembly, where he challenged world leaders to shoulder more of the globe’s critical burdens, warning they could no longer castigate the U.S. as a go-it-alone bully while still demanding it cure all ills.

One year ago: Facing possible firing, Lois Lerner, the Internal Revenue Service official at the center of the agency’s tea party scandal, retired. An Egyptian court ordered the banning of the Muslim Brotherhood and the confiscation of its assets. After 20 consecutive years of losing, the Pittsburgh Pirates clinched at least a National League wild card when they beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 and Washington lost to St. Louis 4-3. (The Pirates’ year came to an end as they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in a division series that went the full five games.)

(Stations: “LisaRaye,” one name, is correct)

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Julio Iglesias is 71. Actor Paul Petersen (TV: “The Donna Reed Show”) is 69. Actress-singer Mary Kay Place is 67. Rock star Bruce Springsteen is 65. Rock musician Leon Taylor (The Ventures) is 59. Actress Rosalind Chao is 57. Golfer Larry Mize is 56. Actor Jason Alexander is 55. Actress Elizabeth Pena is 55. Actor Chi McBride is 53. Country musician Don Herron (BR549) is 52. Actor Erik Todd Dellums is 50. Actress LisaRaye is 48. Singer Ani (AH’-nee) DiFranco is 44. Rock singer Sarah Bettens (K’s Choice) is 42. Recording executive Jermaine Dupri is 42. Actor Kip Pardue is 38. Actor Anthony Mackie is 36. Pop singer Erik-Michael Estrada (TV: “Making the Band”) is 35. Actress Aubrey Dollar is 34. Tennis player Melanie Oudin (oo-DAN’) is 23.

Thought for Today: “Ours is a problem in which deception has become organized and strong; where truth is poisoned at its source; one in which the skill of the shrewdest brains is devoted to misleading a bewildered people.” — Walter Lippmann (1889-1974).