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ON THIS DAY

On This Day: September 12

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On Sept. 12, 1977, South African black student leader Steven Biko died while in police custody, triggering an international outcry.

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On Sept. 12, 1913, Jesse Owens, the American black man who caused a sensation at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin by winning four gold medals, was born. Following his death on March 31, 1980, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

1609	English explorer Henry Hudson sailed into the river that now bears his name.
1880	Journalist and critic H.L. Mencken was born in Baltimore.
1938	In a speech in Nuremberg, Adolf Hitler demanded self-determination for the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia.
1943	German paratroopers rescued former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from the hotel where he was being held prisoner by his own government.
1944	U.S. Army troops entered Germany for the first time during World War II, near Trier.
1953	Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, R.I.
1954	"Lassie" made its TV debut on CBS.
1959	"Bonanza" premiered on NBC.
1974	Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed by Ethiopia's military after ruling for 58 years.
1977	South African black student leader Steven Biko died while in police custody, triggering an international outcry.
2000	Dutch lawmakers gave same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt children.
2002	President George W. Bush told the United Nations to confront the "grave and gathering danger" of Saddam Hussein's Iraq or stand aside as the United States acted.
2003	Country musician Johnny Cash died at age 71.
2005	Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown resigned, three days after losing his onsite command of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
2006	In a speech in his native Germany, Pope Benedict XVI quoted from an obscure medieval text that characterized some teachings of Islam's founder as "evil and inhuman," unleashing a torrent of rage across the Islamic world.
2008	A commuter train engineer ran a red light while text messaging on his cell phone and struck a freight train head-on in Los Angeles, killing himself and 24 other people.

Current Birthdays

Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., turns 52 years old today.

AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Singer-actress Jennifer Hudson ("American Idol," "Dreamgirls") turns 30 years old today.

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

1925	Dickie Moore, Actor ("Our Gang" films), turns 86
1931	George Jones, Country singer, turns 80
1939	Henry Waxman, U.S. congressman, D-Calif., turns 72
1940	Linda Gray, Actress ("Dallas"), turns 71
1942	Maria Muldaur, Rock singer, turns 69
1951	Joe Pantoliano, Actor ("The Sopranos"), turns 60
1952	Neil Peart, Rock musician (Rush), turns 59
1955	Peter Scolari, Actor ("Newhart," "Bosom Buddies"), turns 56
1956	Sam Brownback, Governor of Kansas, turns 55
1957	Rachel Ward, Actress, turns 54
1962	Amy Yasbeck, Actress, turns 49
1966	Ben Folds, Rock singer, musician (Ben Folds Five), turns 45
1974	Jennifer Nettles, Country singer (Sugarland), turns 37
1978	Ben McKenzie, Actor ("The O.C."), turns 33
1978	Ruben Studdard, R&B singer ("American Idol"), turns 33
1980	Yao Ming, Basketball player, turns 31
1986	Emmy Rossum, Actress, turns 25

Historic Birthdays

Jesse Owens9/12/1913 - 3/31/1980American Olympic medal-winning track and field athlete (1936).Go to obituary »

26	Lorenzo de' Medici 9/12/1492 - 5/4/1519 Florentine ruler (1513-9)
52	Francis I 9/12/1494 - 3/31/1547 French king and patron of the arts and scholarship (1515-47)
77	Sir David Macpherson 9/12/1818 - 8/16/1896 Scottish-born American politician and railway builder
84	Richard Gatling 9/12/1818 - 2/26/1903 American inventor
75	H. L. Mencken 9/12/1880 - 1/29/1956 American journalist and critic
83	Maurice Chevalier 9/12/1888 - 1/1/1972 French musical comedy star of stage and screen
91	Alfred Knopf 9/12/1892 - 8/11/1984 American publisher; founded Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
89	Giuseppe Saragat 9/12/1898 - 6/11/1988 Italian founder of the Socialist Party of Italian Workers
70	Ben Shahn 9/12/1898 - 3/14/1969 American painter and graphic artist