September 8
Today's:

1565 - A Spanish expedition established the first permanent European settlement in North America at present-day St. Augustine, FL.

1664 - The Dutch surrendered New Amsterdam to the British, who then renamed it New York.

1866 - The first recorded birth of sextuplets took place in Chicago, IL. The parents were James and Jennie Bushnell.

1892 - An early version of "The Pledge of Allegiance" appeared in "The Youth's Companion."

1893 - In New Zealand, the Electoral Act 1893 was passed by the Legislative Council. It was consented by the governor on September 19 giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote.

1888 - In London, The body of Annie Champman was found. She was the second victim of "Jack The Ripper."

1900 - Galveston, TX, was hit by a hurricane that killed about 6,000 people.

1934 - A fire aboard the liner Morro Castle off the New Jersey coast killed 134 people.

1935 - U.S. Senator Huey P. Long, "The Kingfish" of Louisiana politics, was shot and mortally wounded. He died two days later.

1945 - In Washington, DC, a bus equipped with a two-way radio was put into service for the first time.

1945 - Bess Myerson of New York was crowned Miss America. She was the first Jewish contestant to win the title.

1951 - A peace treaty with Japan was signed by 48 other nations in San Francisco, CA.

1952 - The Ernest Hemingway novel "The Old Man and the Sea" was published.

1960 - NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, was dedicated by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The facility had been activated in July earlier that year.

1966 - NBC-TV aired the first episode of "Star Trek" entitled "The Man Trap". The show was canceled on September 2, 1969.

1971 - In Washington, DC, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was inaugurated. The opening featured the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's "Mass."

1973 - Hank Aaron hit his 709th home run.

1974 - U.S. President Ford granted an unconditional pardon to former U.S. President Nixon.

1975 - In Boston, MA, public schools began their court-ordered citywide busing program amid scattered incidents of violence.

1986 - Herschel Walker made his start in the National Football League (NFL) after leaving the New Jersey Generals of the USFL.

1994 - 132 people were killed when A USAir Boeing 737 crashed as it was approaching Pittsburgh International Airport.

1997 - America Online acquired CompuServe.

1997 - The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction of Timothy McVeigh for his role in the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, OK.

1998 - Mark McGwire, of the St. Louis Cardinals, hit his 62nd home run of the season. He had beaten a record that had stood for 37 years by Roger Maris. McGwire would eventually reach 70 home runs on September 27.

1999 - Russia's Mission Control switched off the Mir space station's central computer and other systems to save energy during a planned six months of unmanned flights.

1999 - U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno named former U.S. Senator John Danforth to head an independent investigation into the 1993 fire at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, TX. Today's: