This Week in History

SEPTEMBER 4

1781 – The city of Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers.

1972 – U. S. swimmer Mark Spitz won a record seventh gold medal at the Munich Summer Olympics.

SEPTEMBER 5

Don Riepe was born.

Theresa Racine was born.

Patrice Riordan McCann was born.

1698 – Russia’s Peter the Great levied a tax on bearded men.

1836 – The Republic of Texas made military hero Sam Houston its first president.

SEPTEMBER 6

John Moroney III was born.

1995 – Baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr. broke Lou Gehrig’s iron man record by playing in his 2,131st straight game.

1997 – More than 2 billion people watched Princess Diana’s funeral on TV.

SEPTEMBER  7

Brigid Bergin was born.

1822 – Brazil declared its independence from Portugal.

1979 – The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) made its debut on cable TV.

SEPTEMBER 8

Billy Gardner was born.

Matthew Long was born.

1900 – A hurricane struck Galveston, Texas, killing about 8,000 people.

1966 – Star Trek premiered on television.

1974 – President Gerald Ford gave former President Nixon a full pardon for all federal crimes he may have committed while he was in office.

SEPTEMBER 9

Mark Boyle was born.

Joanne O’Shaughnessy was born.

1776 – The Second Continental Congress changed the name of the nation to the United States of America, from the United Colonies.

1956 – Elvis Presley appeared on television for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show.

SEPTEMBER 10

Michelle Cashen was born.

Pamela Neafsey was born.

Greg Bender was born.

1939 – Canada declared war on Germany, entering WWII.

1984 – Alex Trebek debuted as host of the TV game show Jeopardy!