September 20
1519 - Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set out from Spain on five ships to find a western passage to the Spice Islands. (Magellan was killed en route, but one of his ships completed the first circumnavigation of the globe three years later.)
1870 - Victor Emmanuel II, the first modern king of Italy, seized the Papal States from the French.
1881 - Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as the 21st president of the United States, succeeding James A. Garfield, who had died from an assassination one day earlier.
1946 - The first Cannes Film Festival, lasting 16 days, opened in France.
1964 - The Beatles concluded their first full-fledged U.S. tour by performing in a charity concert at the Paramount Theater in New York.
1967 - The Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 was christened by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland.
2000 - Independent Counsel Robert Ray announced the end of the Whitewater investigation, saying there was insufficient evidence to charge President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary.
2001 - President George W. Bush addressed the nation and a joint session of Congress about terrorism, in which he named the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, to be headed by Tom Ridge.
2011 - The repeal of the U.S. military's 18-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" compromise took effect, allowing gay and lesbian service members to serve openly.
2017 - Hurricane Maria, the strongest storm to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years, struck the island, wiping out as much as 75 percent of the island's power distribution lines and causing an island-wide blackout.
2019 - Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, the 1979 site of the nation's worst commercial nuclear power accident, was shut down by its owner after producing electricity for nearly 45 years.
Birthdays
25 - Katrina Stuart (singer)
25 - Sabina Hidalgo (singer)
29 - Sammi Hanratty (actress)
34 - Phillip Phillips (singer)
38 - Aldis Hodge (actor)
48 - Jon Bernthal (actor)
49 - Pablo Montoya (race car driver)
57 - Gunnar Nelson (singer)
57 - Matthew Nelson (singer)
57 - Kristen Johnston (actress)
60 - Maggie Cheung (actress)
64 - Deborah Roberts (news correspondent)
68 - Gary Cole (actor)
76 - George R.R. Martin (author)
90 - Sophia Loren (actress)
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Today in Sports History - September 20
1927 - Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees hit his 60th home run of the season, breaking his own single season MLB record of 59 set in 1921.
1933 - The Pittsburgh Steelers (then known as the Pirates), play their first NFL game.
1951 - Baseball owners name Ford Frick to serve as the third commissioner of Major League Baseball, with a then record salary of $65,000 per year.
1955 - Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs set a MLB record with his fifth grand slam of the season.
1968 - Pitcher Denny McClain of the Detroit Tiger became the first to win 31 games in 37 years.
1973 - Willie Mays announced his retirement from baseball.
1973 - Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in a Battle-of-the-Sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome.
1982 - The NFL Players Association announced that a strike would begin at the completion of the Packers-Giants game on Monday night.
1987 - Dwight Clark of the San Francisco 49ers ends his NFL record streak of 105 consecutive games with a reception.
1987 - Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears scored his 107th touchdown to break the NFL record held by Jim Brown.
1998 - Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles sat out a game, ending his record consecutive games played streak at 2,632.
2013 - Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees sets a MLB record with his 24th career grand slam.
2022 - Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge breaks his own world record for the marathon in 2 hours, 1 minute, 9 seconds in Berlin. (His previous record was 2:01:39).
1519 - Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set out from Spain on five ships to find a western passage to the Spice Islands. (Magellan was killed en route, but one of his ships completed the first circumnavigation of the globe three years later.)
1870 - Victor Emmanuel II, the first modern king of Italy, seized the Papal States from the French.
1881 - Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as the 21st president of the United States, succeeding James A. Garfield, who had died from an assassination one day earlier.
1946 - The first Cannes Film Festival, lasting 16 days, opened in France.
1964 - The Beatles concluded their first full-fledged U.S. tour by performing in a charity concert at the Paramount Theater in New York.
1967 - The Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 was christened by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland.
2000 - Independent Counsel Robert Ray announced the end of the Whitewater investigation, saying there was insufficient evidence to charge President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary.
2001 - President George W. Bush addressed the nation and a joint session of Congress about terrorism, in which he named the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, to be headed by Tom Ridge.
2011 - The repeal of the U.S. military's 18-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" compromise took effect, allowing gay and lesbian service members to serve openly.
2017 - Hurricane Maria, the strongest storm to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years, struck the island, wiping out as much as 75 percent of the island's power distribution lines and causing an island-wide blackout.
2019 - Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, the 1979 site of the nation's worst commercial nuclear power accident, was shut down by its owner after producing electricity for nearly 45 years.
Birthdays
25 - Katrina Stuart (singer)
25 - Sabina Hidalgo (singer)
29 - Sammi Hanratty (actress)
34 - Phillip Phillips (singer)
38 - Aldis Hodge (actor)
48 - Jon Bernthal (actor)
49 - Pablo Montoya (race car driver)
57 - Gunnar Nelson (singer)
57 - Matthew Nelson (singer)
57 - Kristen Johnston (actress)
60 - Maggie Cheung (actress)
64 - Deborah Roberts (news correspondent)
68 - Gary Cole (actor)
76 - George R.R. Martin (author)
90 - Sophia Loren (actress)
===================================
Today in Sports History - September 20
1927 - Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees hit his 60th home run of the season, breaking his own single season MLB record of 59 set in 1921.
1933 - The Pittsburgh Steelers (then known as the Pirates), play their first NFL game.
1951 - Baseball owners name Ford Frick to serve as the third commissioner of Major League Baseball, with a then record salary of $65,000 per year.
1955 - Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs set a MLB record with his fifth grand slam of the season.
1968 - Pitcher Denny McClain of the Detroit Tiger became the first to win 31 games in 37 years.
1973 - Willie Mays announced his retirement from baseball.
1973 - Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in a Battle-of-the-Sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome.
1982 - The NFL Players Association announced that a strike would begin at the completion of the Packers-Giants game on Monday night.
1987 - Dwight Clark of the San Francisco 49ers ends his NFL record streak of 105 consecutive games with a reception.
1987 - Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears scored his 107th touchdown to break the NFL record held by Jim Brown.
1998 - Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles sat out a game, ending his record consecutive games played streak at 2,632.
2013 - Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees sets a MLB record with his 24th career grand slam.
2022 - Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge breaks his own world record for the marathon in 2 hours, 1 minute, 9 seconds in Berlin. (His previous record was 2:01:39).