Today in History – September 21
Today is the 244th day of 2023. There are 121 days left in the year.
By The Associated Press
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Sept. 1, 1983, 269 people were killed when a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 from New York City to Seoul, S. Korea, was shot down by a Soviet fighter jet after the airliner twice entered Soviet airspace. While the Soviets claimed it was a spy mission, it’s believed pilot error caused the commercial jet to fly off-course.
On this date:
In 1715, following a reign of 72 years, King Louis XIV of France died four days before his 77th birthday.
In 1897, the first section of Boston’s new subway system was opened.
In 1923, the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated by an earthquake that claimed some 140,000 lives.
In 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, an event regarded as the start of World War II.
In 1969, a coup in Libya brought Moammar Gadhafi to power.
In 1972, American Bobby Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik, Iceland, as Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union resigned before the resumption of Game 21.
In 1985, a U.S.-French expedition located the wreckage of the Titanic on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean roughly 400 miles off Newfoundland.
In 2005, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin issued a “desperate SOS” as his city descended into anarchy amid the flooding left by Hurricane Katrina.
In 2009, Vermont’s law allowing same-sex marriage went into effect.
In 2015, invoking “God’s authority,” Rowan County, Kentucky, Clerk Kim Davis denied marriage licenses to gay couples again in direct defiance of the federal courts, and vowed not to resign, even under the pressure of steep fines or jail.
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