Today In History

Today is Wednesday, Sept. 11, the 254th day of 2013. There are 111 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 11, 2001, America faced its worst day of terrorism. Nearly 3,000 people were killed as 19 al-Qaida members hijacked four passenger jetliners. Two planes smashed into New York's World Trade Center, causing the twin towers to fall; one plowed into the Pentagon; and the fourth was crashed into a field in western Pennsylvania.

On This Day: September 11, 2013 also,

Birthdays:

1700	James Thomson, Scottish poet and essayist
1877	James Jeans, British mathematician
1885	D.H Lawrence, English novelist; 'Sons & Lovers' & 'The Rainbow'
1940	Brian DePalma, Film director
1950	Barry Sheene, British motor cycle racer

Events:

1841	The London to Brighton commuter express began a regular service
1913	A cholera epidemic continued to spread through much of central Europe
1922	A British mandate was declared in Palestine, Middle East
1926	An assignation attempt was made on Italian leader Benito Mussolini
1971	Nikita Krushchev, the Russian leader, died
1979	The Presidential Election Tribunal, headed by Mr. Justice Boonyamin Kazeem, rules that Alhaji Shehu Shagari was properly elected
1986	A scheme began at three power stations to reduce sulphur emissions
1986	Wall Street, the American stock exchange, suffered a record fall
2001	Attack on the US by Islamic terrorist in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC

Ten years ago: Israel issued an ominous threat to "remove" Yasser Arafat for failing to halt suicide bombings. Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh died from stab wounds inflicted when she was attacked in a Stockholm department store a day earlier. Actor John Ritter died six days before his 55th birthday at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif. — the same hospital where he was born in 1948.

Five years ago: Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama put aside politics as they visited ground zero together on the anniversary of 9/11 to honor its victims. ABC News broadcast an interview with John McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who said she was ready to be president if called upon, but sidestepped questions on whether she had the national security credentials needed to be commander in chief.

One year ago: A mob armed with guns and grenades launched a fiery nightlong attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, killing U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney toned down the campaign rhetoric and pulled negative ads amid commemorations of the 9/11 attacks, saying it was not a day for politics.

Thought for Today: "I have seen gross intolerance shown in support of tolerance." — Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet and author (1772-1834).