In the present day is Friday, Sept. 20, the 264th day of 2024. There are 102 days left within the 12 months.
In the present day in historical past:
On Sept. 20, 1973, of their so-called “Battle of the Sexes,” tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight units, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, within the Houston Astrodome.
Additionally on this date:
In 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set out from Spain on 5 ships to discover a western passage to the Spice Islands. (Magellan was killed en route, however certainly one of his ships accomplished the primary circumnavigation of the globe three years later.)
In 1946, the primary Cannes Movie Competition, lasting 16 days, opened in France.
In 1962, James Meredith, a Black pupil, was blocked from enrolling on the College of Mississippi by Democratic Gov. Ross R. Barnett.
In 1964, The Beatles concluded their first full-fledged U.S. tour by performing in a charity live performance on the Paramount Theater in New York.
In 1967, the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 was christened by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in Clydebank, Scotland.
In 2011, the repeal of the U.S. army’s 18-year-old “don’t ask, don’t inform” compromise took impact, permitting homosexual and lesbian service members to serve brazenly.
In 2017, Hurricane Maria, the strongest storm to hit Puerto Rico in additional than 80 years, struck the island, wiping out as a lot as 75 % of energy distribution traces and inflicting an island-wide blackout.
In 2019, Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, the 1979 website of the nation’s worst industrial nuclear energy accident, was shut down by its proprietor after producing electrical energy for 45 years.
In the present day’s Birthdays:
- Actor Sophia Loren is 90.
- Writer George R. R. Martin is 76.
- Actor Gary Cole is 68.
- TV information correspondent Deborah Roberts is 64.
- Actor Maggie Cheung is 60.
- Actor Kristen Johnston is 57.
- Rock singers Gunnar and Matthew Nelson are 57.
- Race automotive driver Juan Pablo Montoya is 49.
- Actor Jon Bernthal is 48.
- Actor Aldis Hodge is 38.
- Blended martial artist Khabib Nurmagomedov is 36.
- Singer-songwriter Phillip Phillips is 34.