William Shatner (Actor) with actor Leonard Nimoy at the 34th Annual Emmy Awards Banquet in the Century Plaza Hotel on Sept. 19, 1982 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Nick UT)

Today is Sunday, Sept. 13, the 257th day of 2020. There are 109 days left in the year.

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Today’s Highlight

in History

On Sept. 13, 1788, the Congress of the Confederation authorized the first national election, and declared New York City the temporary national capital.

American Athletes Florence Griffith Joyner and her husband and coach, Al Joyner, Saturday, Sept. 17, 1988 in Seoul for the Olympic Games, smiles during a press conference. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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On this date

In 1803, Commodore John Barry, considered by many the father of the American Navy, died in Philadelphia.

In 1814, during the War of 1812, British naval forces began bombarding Fort McHenry in Baltimore but were driven back by American defenders in a battle that lasted until the following morning.

In 1851, American medical pioneer Walter Reed was born in Gloucester County, Va.

Jesse Bigham of North Quincy, MA., reacts when taking a close look at Bruce, the 2-ton, 25-foot shark from the movie "Jaws" on Sept. 15, 1988, while the shark was en route to the Museum of Science in Boston where it will be part of an exhibit called, "The Science of Movie and Television Magic" which opens on October 5. (AP Photo/Chris Gardner)

In 1962, Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett rejected the U.S. Supreme Court’s order for the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, a Black student, declaring in a televised address, “We will not drink from the cup of genocide.”

In 1971, a four-day inmates’ rebellion at the Attica Correctional Facility in western New York ended as police and guards stormed the prison; the ordeal and final assault claimed the lives of 32 inmates and 11 hostages.

In 1993, at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy.

In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur died at a Las Vegas hospital six days after he was wounded in a drive-by shooting; he was 25.

In 1997, funeral services were held in Calcutta, India, for Nobel peace laureate Mother Teresa.

In 2001, two days after the 9/11 terror attacks, the first few jetliners returned to the nation’s skies, but several major airports remained closed and others opened only briefly. President George W. Bush visited injured Pentagon workers and said he would carry the nation’s prayers to New York.

In 2005, President George W. Bush took responsibility for the federal government’s mistakes in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and suggested the calamity raised broader questions about the government’s ability to handle both natural disasters and terror attacks.

In 2008, rescue crews ventured out to pluck people from their homes in an all-out search for thousands of Texans who had stubbornly stayed behind overnight to face Hurricane Ike.

In 2009, Kim Clijsters, capping a comeback from two years out of tennis, became the first unseeded woman to win the U.S. Open as she defeated No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki, 7-5, 6-3.

Ten years ago: Cuba announced it would cast off at least half a million state workers and reduce restrictions on private enterprise to help them find jobs. Japan freed 14 crew members of a Chinese fishing ship nearly a week after their vessel collided with two Japanese patrol boats near disputed southern islets. On the premiere of the 25th and final season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Winfrey announced the audience would receive trips to Australia. Rafael Nadal won his first U.S. Open title to complete a career Grand Slam, beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

Five years ago: Germany introduced temporary border controls to stem the tide of thousands of refugees streaming across its borders. Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in four sets, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, in the U.S. Open final for his 10th Grand Slam title. Basketball Hall of Famer Moses Malone, 60, died in Norfolk, Virginia. Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell was crowned Miss America at the pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

One year ago: Actor Felicity Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in prison and fined $30,000 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and fraud for paying an admissions consultant to have a proctor correct her daughter’s SAT exam answers; Huffman said she took full responsibility and deserved the punishment. (She would be released two days before the end of her sentence.) Eddie Money, one of the top-selling rock stars of the 1970s and 1980s with hits including “Two Tickets to Paradise,” died at the age of 70 in Los Angeles; he had recently announced that he had advanced cancer.

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SEPTEMBER 14

On Sept. 14, 1901, President William McKinley died in Buffalo, New York, of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin; Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him.

In 1836, former Vice President Aaron Burr died in Staten Island, N.Y., at age 80.

On Sept. 14, 1901, President William McKinley died in Buffalo, New York, of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin; Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him.

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SEPTEMBER 15

On September 15, 1963, four Black girls were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. (Three Ku Klux Klansmen were eventually convicted for their roles in the blast.)

In 1776, British forces occupied New York City during the American Revolution.

In 1890, English mystery writer Agatha Christie was born in Torquay.

In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws deprived German Jews of their citizenship.

In 1940, during the World War II Battle of Britain, the tide turned as the Royal Air Force inflicted heavy losses upon the Luftwaffe.

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SEPTEMBER 16

On Sept. 16, 1974, President Gerald R. Ford announced a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam war deserters and draft-evaders.

In 1630, the Massachusetts village of Shawmut changed its name to Boston.

In 1994, a federal jury in Anchorage, Alaska, ordered Exxon Corp. to pay $5 billion in punitive damages for the 1989 Exxon Valdez (val-DEEZ’) oil spill (the U.S Supreme Court later reduced that amount to $507.5 million). Two astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery went on the first untethered spacewalk in ten years.

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SEPTEMBER 17

On Sept. 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

In 1862, more than 3,600 men were killed in the Civil War Battle of Antietam (an-TEE’-tum) in Maryland.

In 1937, the likeness of President Abraham Lincoln’s head was dedicated at Mount Rushmore.

In 1997, Comedian Red Skelton died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 84.

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SEPTEMBER 18

On Sept. 18, 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which created a force of federal commissioners charged with returning escaped slaves to their owners.

In 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.

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SEPTEMBER 19

On Sept. 19, 1881, the 20th president of the United States, James A. Garfield, died 2½ months after being shot by Charles Guiteau; Chester Alan Arthur became president.

In 1796, President George Washington’s farewell address was published. In it, America’s first chief executive advised, “Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.”

In 1955, President Juan Peron of Argentina was ousted after a revolt by the army and navy.

In 1986, federal health officials announced that the experimental drug AZT would be made available to thousands of AIDS patients.