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Today in History
History's Happenings for September 14
Star Spangled Banner Written
Francis Scott Key, a lawyer from Baltimore, had come in search of a friend who had been taken into custody by the British, with whom America was at war. Because of the impending British attack on Fort McHenry, which commanded Baltimore Harbor and had refused surrender, Key was held overnight, September 13-14, 1814, on a British ship at anchor offshore. He witnessed the intense bombardment by cannon and rocket that night and when, the next morning, he saw the tattered Stars and Stripes still proudly waving over her walls, he was inspired to write his famous poem. The poem gained instant popularity and was later set to the music of an old English tavern ballad. It did not become America's National Anthem until Congress made it so in 1931, although it had been generally accepted as such by the armed forces. Click here to sing along (MSIE only).
Russians Burn Moscow as Napoleon Approaches
(Stay tuned for a write-up on this event.
U. S. Forces Take Mexico City
(Stay tuned for a write-up on this event.
McKinley Dies; Roosevelt President
Having been shot on September 6th by anarchist Leon Czolgosz, President William McKinley died this day in 1901 of then-incurable gangrene. McKinley had traveled to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY to give vent to his new-found global open market policies, and was greeting visitors at the time of the assault. He was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt. McKinley's was the third assassination of a U. S. President, Lincoln and Garfield having preceded him.
Congress Passes Selective Service Act
(Stay tuned for a write-up on this event.
First Manmade Object Reaches Moon
(Stay tuned for a write-up on this event. The Exaltation of the Holy Cross is one of a number of holy days known to Catholics and Anglicans as Ember Days. The others include several days at the end of Advent (before Christmas), the first Sunday in Lent, and Pentecost (seventh Sunday after Easter). Traditionally, Holy Orders are conferred on Ember Days.
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