9/9/2017:
Today in history, Constantine’s three sons, already Caesars, each take the title of Augustus. Constantine II and Constans share the west while Constantius II takes control of the east in 337.
Today in history, The term “United States” is adopted by the Continental Congress to be used instead of the “United Colonies” in 1776.
Today in history, George Washington calls for the abolition of slavery in 1786.
Today in history, Elvis Presley (see picture below) makes his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show; cameras focus on his upper torso and legs to avoid showing his pelvis gyrations, which many Americans—including Ed Sullivan—thought unfit for a family show in 1956.
9/10/2017:
Today in history, Elias Howe patents the first practical sewing machine in the United States in 1846.
Today in history, Jules Vedrines becomes the first pilot to break the 100 m.p.h. barrier in 1912.
Today in history, President John F. Kennedy federalizes Alabama’s National Guard to prevent Governor George C. Wallace from using guardsmen to stop public-school desegregation in 1963.
Today in history, Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica (see picture below) is returned to Spain and installed in Madrid’s Prado Museum. Picasso stated in his will that the painting was not to return to Spain until the Fascists lost power and democracy was restored in 1981.
9/11/2017:
Today in history, The first mention of an African American doctor or dentist in the colonies is made in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1740.
Today in history, Stephen Foster’s “Oh! Susanna” (see picture below) is first performed in a saloon in Pittsburgh in 1847.
Today in history, The “Star Spangled Banner” is sung at the beginning of a baseball game for the first time in Cooperstown, New York in 1916.
Today in history, In an unprecedented, highly coordinated attack, terrorists hijack four U.S. passenger airliners, flying two into the World Trade Center towers in New York and one into the Pentagon, killing thousands. The fourth airliner, headed toward Washington likely to strike the White House or Capitol, is crashed just over 100 miles away in Pennsylvania after passengers storm the cockpit and overtake the hijackers in 2001.