Sept 9, 1974. This spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show starred Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern, who returns to New York, finds a job and gets married (she also gets separated and divorced). The last episode aired in 1978.
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Sept 9, 1975. In this half-hour sitcom, Gabe Kotter (Gabe Kaplan) returned to James Buchanan High School, his alma mater, to teach thesweathogs, a group of hopeless underachievers. Other cast members included Marcia Strassman, John Travolta, Robert Hegyes, Ron Palillo, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and John Sylvester White. The theme song, Welcome Back, was sung by John Sebastian. The last telecast was Aug 10, 1979.
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On 9 September 1850, California became the 31st state in the Union. Read more at http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23856.
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Sept 10, 1955. Gunsmoke was TVs longest-running western, moving from radio to TV. John Wayne turned down the role of Marshall Matt Dillon but recommended James Arness, who got the role. Other regulars included Amanda Blake as Kitty Russell, saloon-owner; Dennis Weaver as Chester B. Goode, Dillons deputy; and Milburn Stone as Doc Adams. In 1962 Burt Reynolds joined the cast as Quint Asper, followed by Roger Ewing as Thad Greenwood and Buck Taylor as Newly OBrien. In 1964 Ken Curtis was added as funnyman Festus Haggen, the new deputy. Gunsmoke was the number-one rated series for four seasons, and a top 10 hit for six seasons. The last telecast was Sept 1, 1975.
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Suicide Prevention Day is an opportunity for all sectors of the community the public, charitable organizations, communities, researchers, clinicians, practitioners, politicians and policy makers, volunteers, those bereaved by suicide, other interested groups and individuals to join with the International Association for Suicide Prevention and the World Health Organization to focus on the unacceptable burden and costs of suicidal behaviors with diverse activities to promote understanding about suicide and highlight effective prevention activities. Read more at http://www.iasp.info/wspd/.
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Sept 11, 1974. This hour-long family drama was based on books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It focused on the Ingalls family and their neighbors living at Walnut Grove, MN: Michael Landon as Charles (Pa), Karen Grassle as Caroline (Ma), Melissa Sue Anderson as daughter Mary, Melissa Gilbert as daughter Laura (from whose point of view the stories were told), Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush as daughter Carrie and Wendi and Brenda Turnbaugh as daughter Grace. In its last season (1982), the shows name was changed to Little House: A New Beginning. Landon appeared less often and the show centered around Laura and her husband.
Sept 11, 1967. This popular comedy/ variety show starred comedienne Carol Burnett, who started the show by taking questions from the audience and ended with an ear tug. Sketches and spoofs included recurring characters like The Family (later to be spun off as Mamas Family) and Asthe Stomach Turns. Regular cast members included Harvey Korman, Lyle Waggoner and Vicki Lawrence. Later, Tim Conway joined the cast. Dick Van Dyke briefly joined after Korman left in 1977.
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On Dec 18, 2001, a joint resolution of Congress amended Title36, Chapter 1 , Sec. 144 of the US Code to permit the president to declare Sept 11 of each year as Patriot Day, in commemoration of the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept 11, 2001. The resolution requests that all state and local governments observe this day with appropriate programs and activities, that the flag be displayed at half-staff from sunrise till sundown and that a moment of silence be observed in honor of those who lost their lives in the attacks. Read more at http://www.911memorial.org/.
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Sept 12, 1954. This long-running series was originally about a boy and his courageous and intelligent dog, Lassie (played by more than six different dogs, all male). For the first few seasons, Lassie lived on the Miller farm. The family included Jeff (Tommy Rettig); his widowed mother, Ellen (Jan Clayton); and George Cleveland as Gramps. Throughout the years there were many format and cast changes, as Lassie was exchanged from one family to another in order to have a variety of new perils and escapades. Other featured performers included Cloris Leachman, June Lockhart and Larry Wilcox.
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Defenders Day is a public holiday in Maryland to mark the 1814 bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812.
Image: Wikimedia Commons, Caption reads, “A VIEW of the BOMBARDMENT of Fort McHenry, near Baltimore, by the British fleet taken from the Observatory under the Command of Admirals Cochrane & Cockburn on the morning of the 13th of Sept 1814 which lasted 24 hours & thrown from 1500 to 1800 shells in the Night attempted to land by forcing a passage up the ferry branch but were repulsed with great loss.”
Sept 12, 1913. James Cleveland (Jesse) Owens, American athlete, winner of four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games at Berlin, Germany, was born at Oakville, AL. Owens set 11 world records in track and field. During one track meet, at Ann Arbor, MI, May 23, 1935, Owens, representing Ohio State University, broke three world records and tied a fourth in the space of 45 minutes. Died at Tucson, AZ, Mar 31, 1980. Read more at http://www.jesse-owens.org/about1.html.
Image: Public Domain, Library of Congress
Sept 13, 1977. Soap was a prime-time comedy that parodied soap operas. It had plots that were funny (e.g., Corinnes baby is possessedby the devil), controversial (e.g., Billy joins a cult) and downright bizarre (e.g., Burt is abducted by aliens). The show focused on two families, the wealthy Tates and the middle-class Campbells. It starred Katherine Helmond, Robert Mandan, Jennifer Salt, Diana Canova, Jimmy Baio, RobertGuillaume, Cathryn Damon, Richard Mulligan, Ted Wass, Billy Crystal, Richard Libertini, Kathryn Reynolds, Robert Urich, Arthur Peterson, Roscoe Lee Browne and Jay Johnson. Rod Roddy was the announcer who recapped what had happened on the previous episode.
Sept 13, 1976. This comedy-variety show was hosted by Kermit the Frog of Sesame Street. The new Jim Henson puppet characters included Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and The Great Gonzo. Many celebrities appeared as guests on the show, which was broadcast in more than 100 countries. The show ran until 1981. The Muppet Movie (1979) was the first of many films basedon The Muppet Show.
Sept 13 14, 1814. On the night of Sept 13, Francis Scott Key was aboard a ship that was delayed in Baltimore harbor by the British attack there on Fort McHenry. Key had no choice but to anxiously watch the battle. That experience and seeing the American flag still flying over the fort the next morning inspired him to pen the verses that, coupled with the tune of a popular drinking song, became our official national anthem in 1931, 117 years after the words were written. Read more at http://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/.
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Sept 13, 1788. Congress picked New York, NY, as the location of the new US government in place of Philadelphia, which had served as the capital up until this time. In 1790 the capital moved back to Philadelphia for 10 years, before moving permanently to Washington, DC.
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Sept 13, 1851. American army physician, especially known for his yellow fever research. Born at Gloucester County, VA, he served as an army surgeon for more than 20 years and as a professor at the Army Medical College. He died at Washington, DC, Nov 22, 1902. The US Army’s general hospital at Washington, DC, is named in his honor.
Sept 14, 1985. This comedy starred Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty as four divorced/ widowed women sharing a house in Florida during their golden years. The last episode aired Sept 14, 1992, but the show remains popular in syndication.
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William McKinley, 25th President of the United States
On 14 September 1901, at Buffalo, New York, President William McKinley was shot by Leon Czolgosz. Read more at the U.S. Library of Congress.
Image: Public Domain, U.S. Library of Congress via Wikipedia.org
Sept 14, 1972. This epitome of the family drama spawned nearly a dozen knock-offs during its nine-year run on CBS. The drama was based on creator/ writer Earl Hamner Jr’s experiences growing up during the Depression in rural Virginia. It began as the TV movie The Homecoming, which was turned into a weekly series covering the years 1933 43. The cast went through numerous changes through the years; the principals were Michael Learned and Ralph Waite as the parents of seven children living on the mountainside, and Richard Thomas, who portrayed John-Boy, the eldest son and narrator. The Walton grandparents were played by Ellen Corby and Will Geer. The last telecast aired Aug 20, 1981.
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Sept 15, 1963. In a horrific episode of the civil rights struggle, a bomb blast in the basement of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, killed four girls preparing for church: Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Addie Mae Collins. Previously, the church had been the center for marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Three suspects were brought to trial in 1977, 2001 and 2002 and found guilty. Read more at http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/al11.htm.
Image: US Library of Congress
Sept 15, 1890. English author of nearly a hundred books (mysteries, drama, poetry and nonfiction), born at Torquay, England. Died at Wallingford, England, Jan 12, 1976. Every murderer, she wrote in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, is probably somebody’s old friend.
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The Battle of Britain took place on 15 September 1940 when the Germans conducted the largest daylight bombing of Britain during World War II. Read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/battle_of_britain.
Image: Public Domain from the collections of the Imperial War Museums (collection no. 4700-05)
Sept 15, 1789. American novelist, historian and social critic, born at Burlington, NJ, James Fenimore Cooper was one of the earliest American writers to develop a native American literary tradition. His most popular works are the five novels comprising The Leatherstocking Tales, featuring the exploits of one of the truly unique American fictional characters, Natty Bumppo. These novels, The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneers and The Prairie, chronicle Natty Bumppos continuing flight away from the rapid settlement of America. Other works,including The Monikins and Satanstoe, reveal Cooper as an astute critic of American life. He died Sept 14, 1851, at Cooperstown, NY, the town founded by his father.
Image: Public Domain, Photograph by Mathew Brady, 1850
Sept 15 – Oct 15. Presidential Proclamation. Beginning in 1989,always issued for Sept 15 Oct 15 of each year (PL 100 402 of Aug 17, 1988).
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Sept 16, 1914. Creator, producer and host of the first reality television show, Funt orchestrated elaborate hoaxes played on unsuspecting passersby and filmed by a hidden camera. With the catchphrase, Smile,youre on Candid Camera, Funt would reveal he had captured the subjects in the art of being themselves. Born at New York, NY, Funt worked with concealed wire recorders in the US Army Signal Corps during WWII. Premiering on radio as Candid Microphone in 1948, the show quickly moved to TV asCandid Camera and aired (later, hosted by Funts son Peter) until 2004.
