Updated September 20, 2012, 2:28 pm
On Sept. 21, 1938, a hurricane struck parts of New York and New England, causing widespread damage and claiming more than 600 lives.
On Sept. 21, 1867, Henry Stimson, United States Secretary of War during World War II, was born. Following his death on Oct. 20, 1950, his obituary appeared in The Times.
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On This Date
By The Associated Press
1897 The New York Sun ran an editorial answering a question from an 8-year-old girl that included the line, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” 1931 Britain went off the gold standard. 1937 “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien was published. 1938 A hurricane struck parts of New York and New England, causing widespread damage and claiming more than 600 lives. 1948 Milton Berle debuted as permanent host of “The Texaco Star Theater” on NBC. 1957 “Perry Mason,” starring Raymond Burr, premiered on CBS. 1964 Malta gained independence from Britain. 1970 “NFL Monday Night Football” debuted on ABC. 1982 National Football League players began a 57-day strike. 1983 Interior Secretary James G. Watt described a special advisory panel as consisting of “a black … a woman, two Jews and a cripple.” Watt later apologized and resigned. 1996 The board of Virginia Military Institute voted to admit women. 1998 President Bill Clinton’s videotaped grand jury testimony in the Monica Lewinsky scandal was publicly broadcast, showing him answering one question from prosecutors by saying, “It depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is.” 1998 Olympic gold medal track star Florence Griffith Joyner, 38, died in her sleep after suffering an epilectic seizure. 2001 Congress approved $15 billion to help an airline industry reeling from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 2004 The album “American Idiot” by Green Day was released. 2008 “Mad Men” became the first basic-cable show to win a top series Emmy award. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Country singer Faith Hill turns 45 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
Actress Autumn Reeser turns 32 years old today.
AP Photo/Matt Sayles
1931 Larry Hagman, Actor (“I Dream of Jeannie,” “Dallas”), turns 81 1941 Fannie Flagg, Author, comedian, turns 71 1934 Leonard Cohen, Poet, songwriter, turns 78 1941 James Woolsey, Former CIA director, turns 71 1943 Jerry Bruckheimer, Producer (“CSI”), turns 69 1944 Steve Beshear, Governor of Kentucky, turns 68 1947 Stephen King, Author, turns 65 1950 Bill Murray, Actor, turns 62 1957 Ethan Coen, Writer, producer, turns 55 1961 Nancy Travis, Actress, turns 51 1962 Rob Morrow, Actor (“Numb3rs,” “Northern Exposure”), turns 50 1965 Cheryl Hines, Actress (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), turns 47 1966 Mike Richter, Hockey player, turns 46 1968 Ricki Lake, Actress, talk show host, turns 44 1971 Luke Wilson, Actor, turns 41 1981 Nicole Richie, TV personality (“The Simple Life”), turns 31 1983 Maggie Grace, Actress (“Lost”), turns 29
Historic Birthdays
Henry Stimson 9/21/1867 – 10/20/1950 American statesman; served under five presidents. Go to obituary »
80 John Loudon McAdam 9/21/1756 – 11/26/1836
Scottish inventor of macadamized road construction69 Charles Nicolle 9/21/1866 – 2/28/1936
French Nobel Prize-winning bacteriologist (1928)79 H. G. Wells 9/21/1866 – 8/13/1946
English novelist, historian and science fiction writer59 Gustav Holst 9/21/1874 – 5/25/1934
English composer and teacher67 Sir Allen Lane 9/21/1902 – 7/7/1970
English publisher; pioneered paperback publishing63 Westbrook Van Voorhis 9/21/1904 – 7/14/1968
American radio announcer85 Hans Hartung 9/21/1904 – 12/7/1989
German-born French painter
