On Sept. 15, 1963, four black girls were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday services at a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, in the deadliest act of the civil rights era.
On Sept. 15, 1857, William Howard Taft, the only person to serve as both United States president and chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, was born. Following his death on March 8, 1930, his obituary appeared in The Times.
On This Date
| 1776 | British forces occupied New York City during the American Revolution. |
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| 1821 | Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador became independent from Spain. |
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| 1857 | William Howard Taft, the 27th president who later served as chief justice, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. |
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| 1917 | Russia was proclaimed a republic by Alexander Kerensky, the head of a provisional government. |
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| 1935 | The Nuremberg Laws deprived German Jews of their citizenship and made the swastika the official symbol of Nazi Germany. |
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| 1940 | The Royal Air Force inflicted heavy losses on the Luftwaffe as the tide turned in the Battle of Britain during World War II. |
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| 1950 | During the Korean War, United Nations forces landed at Inchon in the south and began their drive toward Seoul. |
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| 2000 | The Summer Olympics opened in Sydney, Australia. |
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| 2001 | President George W. Bush identified Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and told Americans to prepare for a long, difficult war against terrorism. |
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| 2004 | National Hockey League owners agreed to lock out the players. (The 2004-05 season was eventually canceled.) |
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| 2005 | President George W. Bush, addressing the nation from storm-ravaged New Orleans, acknowledged the government failed to respond adequately to Hurricane Katrina and urged Congress to approve a massive reconstruction program. |
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| 2008 | Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection – the largest in U.S. history. |
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Current Birthdays
Actor Tommy Lee Jones turns 65 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
Director Oliver Stone turns 65 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
| 1927 | Norm Crosby, Comedian, turns 84 |
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| 1938 | Gaylord Perry, Baseball Hall of Famer, turns 73 |
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| 1951 | Pete Carroll, Football coach, turns 60 |
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| 1959 | Mark Kirk, U.S. senator, R-Ill., turns 52 |
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| 1961 | Dan Marino, Football Hall of Famer, turns 50 |
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| 1968 | Danny Nucci, Actor, turns 43 |
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| 1971 | Josh Charles, Actor ("The Good Wife"), turns 40 |
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| 1979 | Amy Davidson, Actress, turns 32 |
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| 1986 | Heidi Montag, TV personality ("The Hills"), turns 25 |
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| 1984 | Prince Harry, Youngest son of Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana, turns 27 |
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Historic Birthdays
William Howard Taft9/15/1857 - 3/8/193027th president of the United States and 10th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.Go to obituary »
| 61 | James Fenimore Cooper 9/15/1789 - 9/14/1851
American novelist |
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| 85 | Bruno Walter 9/15/1876 - 2/17/1962
German conductor |
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| 81 | Frank Gannett 9/15/1876 - 12/3/1957
American newspaper publisher |
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| 65 | Ettore Bugatti 9/15/1881 - 8/21/1947
Italian builder of racing and luxury automobiles |
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| 56 | Robert Benchley 9/15/1889 - 11/21/1945
American drama critic, actor and humorist |
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| 85 | Dame Agatha Christie 9/15/1890 - 1/12/1976
English detective novelist and playwright |
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| 84 | Jean Renoir 9/15/1894 - 2/12/1979
French-born American film director |
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| 89 | Roy Acuff 9/15/1903 - 11/23/1992
American country music singer and songwriter |
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| 74 | Irving Jaffee 9/15/1906 - 3/20/1981
American Olympic gold medal-winning speed skater (1932) |
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| 73 | Margaret Lockwood 9/15/1916 - 7/15/1990
English actress |
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| 75 | John Newton Mitchell 9/15/1913 - 11/9/1988
American attorney general under Nixon (1969-72) |
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| 47 | Cannonball Adderley 9/15/1928 - 8/8/1975
American jazz saxophonist and bandleader |
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