today in history archives

September 20

1258 - The Salisbury Cathedral, England, one of the most important examples of gothic architecture, was consecrated. The construction of the cathedral started in 1220 under the guidance of architect Elias de Derham, but it was not finished until 1315 when the slender soaring spire was completed.

1519 - Ferdinand Magellan sailed from Seville, Spain, with a fleet of five ships in an attempt to circumnavigate the world. Only one, the Victoria, completed the trip. Magellan was killed in a skirmish in the Philippines.

1697 - The Treaty of Rijswijk (Ryswyck) was signed, under which England, Spain, Holland and the Holy Roman Emperor made peace with France at the end of the War of the Grand Alliance.

1746 - With the help of Flora McDonald, the young pretender Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart) fled to France from Scotland following his unsuccessful attempt to capture the British throne.

1792 - The Prussians were halted in their advance into France by a force of 36,000 under Generals Dumouriez and Kellermann the Elder at the battle of Valmy.

1803 - Robert Emmet, the Irish patriot, was hanged for his part in trying to seize Dublin Castle.

1854 - A combined British-French force of 26,000 under Lord Raglan defeated the Russian force of 40,000 under Prince Menshikov at the Battle of Alma in the Crimean War thus opening the route to Sevastopol.

1870 - The Italian army under Victor Emmanuel II seized Rome from the French and he immediately announced his intention to make it the capital of Italy.

1884 - The Equal Rights Party was formed in San Francisco, California. They would nominate Mrs. Belva Lockwood as their United States presidential candidate and Marietta Snow as her running mate.

1921 - One of the first daily radio newscasts in the United State began on KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The broadcast came from the "The Pittsburgh Post".

1928 - The Grand Fascist Council became Italy's supreme legislative body, replacing the Chamber of Deputies.

1946 - The first station to promote a motion picture became WNBT-TV, New York. It showed scenes from "The Jolson Story" to a somewhat sparse audience.

1948 - The Four Freshmen, one of the most popular singing groups of the 1950s, got their first gig in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They went on to major success with Capitol Records. Hits included "It’s a Blue World", "Charmaine" and "Love is Just Around the Corner".

1949 - The first government was announced for the Federal Republic of Germany.

1953 - Loretta Young hosted the weekly television show, "Letter to Loretta", which on February 14, 1954, would be renamed "The Loretta Young Show". The show featured dramatic responses to letters written to Loretta from fans during her years as a movie star.

1953 - On NBC, Jimmy Stewart debuted in the radio western "The Six Shooter" playing Britt Ponset.

1955 - On CBS-TV, "You’ll Never Get Rich" started its run. Ratings sagged and the name of the show was changed in less than two months to "The Phil Silvers Show", with the subtitle, "You’ll Never Get Rich". The change helped, and the show, “An outrageous satire on military life,” became a hit, running through 1959.

1962 - The prime minister of Southern Rhodesia, Sir Edgar Whitehead, issued an order banning the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU).

1967 - British Queen Elizabeth II launched the line cruiser bearing her name at Clydebank, Scotland. With a crew and passenger capacity of about 2,800 people, Queen Elizabeth 2 is the most well known liner crossing the North Atlantic Ocean, its most common route.

1969 - Sugar, Sugar, by The Archies, jumped into the Number 1 spot on Billboard's record charts on this date, and stayed there for 4 weeks. The pop group never actually existed, as it was based on the popular comic strip. Two studio singers did all the vocals. Sugar, Sugar sold over 3 million copies, and according to Billboard, was the top-selling single for the year.

1970 - The Soviet Luna 16 space probe landed on the moon and collected samples of lunar soil.

1973 - THE place for radio and record types to hang out opened in Los Angeles, California to a sold-out crowd. The opening bill at the Roxy Theatre featured: Elton John, Carole King and Jackson Browne.

1973 - In a tennis match that drew the biggest worldwide television audience in history to date, Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs. In the so-called "Battle of the Sexes," Riggs, one of the best tennis players of his time who was well known for his constant sexist remarks, challenged any top female player to a match. King accepted the challenge, and beat Riggs in three straight matches.

1973 - Composer and musician Jim Croce was killed at age 30 in a plane crash near the Natchitoches Municipal Airport in Louisiana. Three months later, he posthumously had a Number 1 hit song in the Billboard record charts with his single, Time In a Bottle.

1976 - The Swedish Social Democratic Party was defeated in parliamentary elections after more than 40 years in power.

1977 - Vietnam and Djibouti became the 149th and 150th members of the United Nations.

1979 - Emperor Bokassa of the Central African Empire was deposed by former President David Dako who returned the country to the status of Republic.

1981 - Belize achieved independence from Britain.

1984 - "The Cosby Show" debuted on NBC-TV. Bill Cosby played family patriarch Dr. Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable. His lawyer wife, Clair, was played by Phylicia Rashad. The Huxtable's children were Sondra, age 20 (Sabrina Le Beauf), Denise, age 16 (Lisa Bonet), Theodore "Theo", age 14 (Malcom-Jamal Warner), Vanessa, age 8 (Tempestt Bledsoe) and Rudy, age 5 (Keshia Knight Pulliam). The first episode was the most watched show of the week. During its eight year run, the show went on to be an Emmy Award-winner and one of the most popular on television.

1986 - At the 38th Emmy Awards held in Pasadena, California, NBC’s "The Golden Girls" won the best comedy award, and CBS’s "Cagney & Lacey" won for top drama.

1986 - NBC debuted the successful show Matlock, starring veteran TV star Andy Griffith and Linda Purl.

1989 - F.W. De Klerk was sworn in as president of South Africa.

1990 - The East German parliament and the West German lower house approved the treaty unifying the two countries.

1993 - Azerbaijan's parliament voted to rejoin the Commonwealth of Independent States.

1996 - The hit comedy film, The First Wives Club, starring Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, Diane Keaton, Dame Maggie Smith, and Sarah Jessica Parker, opened in United States theaters.

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Sanura