Today in History

Today is Friday, Sept. 25, the 268th day of 2009. There are 97 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Sept. 25, 1789, the first U.S. Congress adopted 12 amendments to the Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. (Ten of the amendments became the Bill of Rights.)

On this date:

In 1513, Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and sighted the Pacific Ocean.

In 1690, one of the earliest American newspapers, Publick Occurrences, published its first — and last — edition in Boston.

In 1775, American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen was captured by the British as he led an attack on Montreal. (Allen was released by the British in 1778.)

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson collapsed after a speech in Pueblo, Colo., during a national speaking tour in support of the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1956, the first trans-Atlantic telephone cable went into service.

In 1957, nine black students who’d been forced to withdraw from Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., because of unruly white crowds were escorted to class by members of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division.

In 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, nearing the end of his U.S. visit, began three days of talks with President Dwight D. Eisenhower at Camp David. The prime minister of Ceylon, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, was shot and mortally wounded by a Buddhist monk. (The premier died the following day.)

In 1978, 144 people were killed when a Pacific Southwest Airlines Boeing 727 and a private plane collided over San Diego.

In 1979, the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical “Evita,” starring Patti LuPone as Eva Peron, opened on Broadway.

In 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as the first female justice on the Supreme Court.

Ten years ago: Vice President Al Gore and former Sen. Bill Bradley squared off in back-to-back speeches to the Democratic National Committee as each sought support for his 2000 presidential campaign.

Five years ago: U.S. warplanes, tanks and artillery repeatedly hit at Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s terror network in the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, Iraq. Billionaire oilman, philanthropist and one-time Fox studios owner Marvin Davis died in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 79.

One year ago: Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama sat down with President George W. Bush at the White House to discuss a multibillion-dollar Wall Street bailout plan, but the session, which also included top congressional leaders, devolved into what the McCain campaign described afterward as a “contentious shouting match.” Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin defended her remark that the proximity of Russia to her home state of Alaska gave her foreign policy experience, explaining in a CBS interview that “we have trade missions back and forth.” Anti-apartheid activist Kgalema Motlanthe became the third president of South Africa since the end of white rule. After a 43-year wait, Paul McCartney performed his first concert in Israel, saying he was on a mission of peace for Israel and the Palestinians.

Today’s Birthdays: TV journalist Barbara Walters is 80. Folk singer Ian Tyson is 76. R&B singer Joe Russell is 70. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is 66. Actor Robert Walden is 66. Actor-producer Michael Douglas is 65. Model Cheryl Tiegs is 62. Actress Mimi Kennedy is 60. Actor-director Anson Williams is 60. Actor Mark Hamill is 58. Basketball Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo is 58. Polka bandleader Jimmy Sturr is 58. Actor Colin Friels is 57. Actor Michael Madsen is 51. Actress Heather Locklear is 48. Actress Aida Turturro is 47. Actor Tate Donovan is 46. TV personality Keely Shaye Smith is 46. Retired NBA All-Star Scottie Pippen is 44. Actor Jason Flemyng is 43. Actor Will Smith is 41. Actor Hal Sparks is 40. Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones is 40. Rock musician Mike Luce (Drowning Pool) is 38. Retired NFL player John Lynch is 38. Actress Bridgette Wilson-Sampras is 36. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is 34. Actress Clea DuVall is 32. Actor Chris Owen is 29. Rapper T. I. is 29. Actor Van Hansis is 28. Actor Lee Norris is 28. Singer Diana Ortiz (Dream) is 24. Actress Emmy Clarke (”Monk”) is 18.

Thought for Today: “There seems to be an excess of everything except parking space and religion.” — “Kin Hubbard” (Frank McKinney), American humorist (1868-1930).