By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Friday, Sept. 13, the 257th day of 2024. There are 109 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Sept. 13, 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 the lives of 32 inmates and 11 hostages.

On this date:

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 1814, during the War of 1812, British naval forces began bombarding Fort McHenry in Baltimore but were driven back by American defenders in a battle that lasted until the following morning.

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

In 1962, Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett rejected the U.S. Supreme Court’s order for the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, a Black student, declaring in a televised address, “We will not drink from the cup of genocide.”

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.

In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur died at a Las Vegas hospital six days after he was wounded in a drive-by shooting; he was 25.

In 1997, a funeral was held in Calcutta, India, for Nobel peace laureate Mother Teresa.

In 1998, former Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace died in Montgomery at age 79.

In 2001, two days after the 9/11 terror attacks, the first few jetliners returned to the nation’s skies, but several major airports remained closed and others opened only briefly. President George W. Bush visited injured Pentagon workers and said he would carry the nation’s prayers to New York.

In 2008, rescue crews ventured out to pluck people from their homes in an all-out search for thousands of Texans who had stubbornly stayed behind overnight to face Hurricane Ike.

In 2010, Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic to win his first U.S. Open title and complete a career Grand Slam.

In 2021, school began for about a million New York City public school students in the nation’s largest experiment of in-person learning during the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2022, Ken Starr, a former federal appellate judge and a prominent attorney whose criminal investigation of Bill Clinton led to the president’s impeachment, died at age 76.

——

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Barbara Bain is 93. Nobel Peace Prize laureate �“scar Arias is 84. Rock singer David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat & Tears) is 83. Actor Jacqueline Bisset is 80. Singer Peter Cetera is 80. Actor Jean Smart is 73. Record producer Don Was is 72. Chef Alain Ducasse is 68. Rock singer-musician Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) is 63. Olympic gold medal sprinter Michael Johnson is 57. Filmmaker Tyler Perry is 55. Fashion designer Stella McCartney is 53. Former tennis player Goran Ivanisevic (ee-van-EE’-seh-vihch) is 53. Country musician Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flatts) is 49. Singer-songwriter Fiona Apple is 47. Actor Ben Savage is 44. Soccer player Thomas Müller is 35. Rock singer Niall Horan (One Direction) is 31. Actor Lili Reinhart (TV: “Riverdale”) is 28.