September eleventh

Today's Highlight in History:
On September eleventh, 1789, Alexander Hamilton was appointed the first US Secretary of the Treasury.

On this date:
In 1814, an American fleet scored a decisive victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Champlain in the War of 1812.

In 1850, Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale," gave her first

concert in the United States, at Castle Garden in New York.

In 1885, author D.H. Lawrence was born in Eastwood, England.

In 1936, President Roosevelt dedicated Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) by pressing a key in Washington to signal the startup of the dam's first hydroelectric generator in Nevada.

In 1941, Charles A. Lindbergh sparked charges of anti-Semitism with a speech in which he said "the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt administration" were trying to draw the United States into World War Two.

In 1944, President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met in Canada at the second Quebec Conference.

In 1954, the Miss America pageant made its network TV debut on ABC; Miss California, Lee Ann Meriwether, was crowned the winner.

In 1971, former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev died at age 77.

In 1972, the troubled Munich Summer Olympics ended.

In 1973, Chilean President Salvador Allende died in a violent military coup.

Ten years ago: President Bush addressed Congress on the Persian Gulf crisis, vowing that "Saddam Hussein will fail" in his takeover of Kuwait.

Five years ago: The prosecution in the O.J. Simpson murder trial in Los Angeles reluctantly began its rebuttal case, as ordered by Judge Lance Ito, after the defense refused to rest.

One year ago: President Clinton, attending a conference of Asia-Pacific leaders in New Zealand, demanded that Indonesia allow an international force to restore peace in East Timor. Eric Milton pitched a no-hitter for the Minnesota Twins in their 7-to-0 win over the Anaheim Angels. Serena Williams won the US Open women's title, beating top-seeded Martina Hingis, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).

"There would never be a moment, in war or in peace, when I wouldn't trade all the patriots in the country for one tolerant man. Or when I wouldn't swap the vitamins in a child's lunchbox for a jelly glass of magnanimity."

-- E.B. White, American author and humorist (1899-1985).