On This Day Archive for September 2008

Sept. 29, 1990: The Washington National Cathedral is finished, after 83 years

for September 29, 2008

from the September 28, 1990 edition
A Soaring Symbol of National Reverence Is Finally
Complete
WASHINGTON —
IT has taken 83 years for the Washington National Cathedral to dawn completely on the horizon. And while it may yet only be a historic footnote in the national consciousness, the mammoth Gothic structure, which will be completed tomorrow with the fitting [...]

Sept. 26, 1960: The Nixon-Kennedy debate takes place in Chicago; the first televised presidential debate

for September 26, 2008

From the September 27, 1960 edition
NOT ONE SLIP OF BANANA PEEL!
WASHINGTON
The first reception of the unprecedented Nixon-Kennedy debate in millions of homes was a gasp of surprise.  For all that had been written about it in advance, most viewers were not prepared for the bare, bleak, brutal stage, utterly devoid of any distracting background or [...]

Sept. 25, 1911 Ground is Broken at New Baseball Stadium - Fenway Park

for September 25, 2008

From the September 30, 1911 edition
To Develop New Baseball Park in the Fenway
Grounds Transferred to General Taylor. A. L. Carr and A. C. Wise  Will Be Second to None in Country
Papers were passed Friday transferring the new Fenway baseball grounds on Ipswich and Landsdowne streets, where the Boston Americans will make their home, to Charles [...]

Sept. 24, 1996: President Bill Clinton signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty at the United Nations

for September 24, 2008

from the September 25, 1996 edition
The News in Brief
THE US
President Clinton was briefly in New York to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and address the UN. Brandishing the same pen President Kennedy used to sign the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty, Clinton signed the measure supporters hope will be a step toward ridding [...]

Sept. 23, 1969: ‘Chicago Eight’ trial opens; defendants were charged with conspiracy and inciting a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention

for September 23, 2008

from the September 25, 1969 edition
DISSENT TEST: Chicago Trial may define ground rules for public protest
Chicago
What is almost certain to become a landmark decision on the whole question of free speech and civil dissent vs. public order is beginning and its opening chapters here in the trial of the “Chicago Eight” (as they’ve been dubbed) [...]

Sept. 22, 1980: Iraq invades Iran, beginning a decade-long war

for September 22, 2008

From the September 22, 1980, Monday, Midwestern EditionBEHIND IRAN-IRAQ RIFT: a 1975 pact
Then Iraq had to make concessions; now its aim is to get them all backIraq’s immediate aim in its escalated dispute with Iran is to take back concessions made to Iran in 1975.
That much is clear from the scene of latest border clashes [...]

Sept. 21, 1993: Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspends parliament and prompts Constitutional crisis

for September 21, 2008

from the September 20, 1993 edition
Yeltsin Rehires Radical Reformer, Launches Assault on Parliament
MOSCOW—
RUSSIAN President Boris Yeltsin’s promised fall offensive against his political foes finally started rolling last week, marked by the return to government of reform architect Yegor Gaidar.
But no sooner had the initial assault been completed than Mr. Yeltsin again found himself bogged down [...]

Sept. 20, 1984: The newly-opened US Embassy in Beirut is bombed by suicide terrorists

for September 20, 2008

from the September 21, 1984 edition
TERRORISTS STRIKE AGAIN IN BEIRUT
With US out of Lebanon, motive for attack unclear
BeirutThe United States diplomatic presence in the Middle East received another major blow Thursday with the suicide car-bombing of the recently-opened American Embassy annex in east Beirut.

It was the fourth bombing of an official US facility in the [...]

Sept. 19, 1995: The Unabomber’s ‘manifesto’ is published by the New York Times and Washington Post

for September 19, 2008

from the September 20, 1995 edition
Ethics of Publishing Terrorist Tracts
NEW YORK—
THE decision of the Washington Post to publish the Unabomber’s manifesto with the help of the New York Times is being hailed as a humanitarian gesture and derided as betrayal of journalistic ethics.
It is touching off a fierce debate within the news media and law-enforcement [...]

Sept. 17, 2004: Slugger Barry Bonds hits his 700th home run

for September 17, 2008

Baseball throws fans a change-up: fun
Forget steroids and labor strife. This season is about phenomenal performance and a photo finish.SAN FRANCISCO - Baseball often can seem awfully serious. What with the august solemnity of opening day and the weight of a history that stretches back to the days of muskets, baseball sometimes appears to be still [...]