Today in history: Sept. 15, 2019

Today is Sunday, Sept. 15, the 258th day of 2019. There are 107 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 15, 1963, four black girls were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. (Three Ku Klux Klansmen were eventually convicted for their roles in the blast.)

On this date:

In 1776, British forces occupied New York City during the American Revolution.

In 1887, the city of Philadelphia launched a three-day celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Constitution of the United States.

In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws deprived German Jews of their citizenship.

In 1940, during the World War II Battle of Britain, the tide turned as the Royal Air Force inflicted heavy losses upon the Luftwaffe.

In 1950, during the Korean conflict, United Nations forces landed at Incheon in the south and began their drive toward Seoul (sohl).

In 1959, Nikita Khrushchev became the first Soviet head of state to visit the United States as he arrived at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington.

In 1961, the United States began Operation Nougat, a series of underground nuclear explosions in the Nevada Test Site, two weeks after the Soviet Union resumed testing its nuclear weapons.

In 1972, a federal grand jury in Washington indicted seven men in connection with the Watergate break-in.

In 1981, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to approve the Supreme Court nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor.

In 1985, Nike began selling its "Air Jordan 1" sneaker.

In 2001, President George W. Bush ordered U.S. troops to get ready for war and braced Americans for a long, difficult assault against terrorists to avenge the Sept. 11 attack. Beleaguered Afghans streamed out of Kabul, fearing a U.S. military strike against Taliban rulers harboring Osama bin Laden.

In 2008, on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 504.48, or 4.42 percent, to 10,917.51 while oil closed below $100 a barrel for the first time in six months amid upheaval in the financial industry as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection and Merrill Lynch & Co. was sold to Bank of America.

Ten years ago: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the worst recession since the 1930s was "very likely over," although he cautioned that pain — especially for nearly 15 million unemployed Americans — would persist. An unrepentant Muntadhar al-Zeidi (MOON'-tuh-dahr ahl-zay-EE'-dee), the Iraqi reporter who'd thrown his shoes at President George W. Bush in December 2008, was freed from prison.

Five years ago: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in Paris for an international meeting of diplomats, said he wouldn't shut the door on the possibility of working with Iran against a common enemy in the Islamic State militant group, but that the two nations would not coordinate on military action. Hurricane Odile blazed a trail of destruction through Mexico's Baja California Peninsula that leveled everything from ramshackle homes to luxury hotels and big-box stores. Two Vietnam War soldiers received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama in a White House ceremony, nearly 50 years after they'd thrown themselves into harm's way to protect their brothers in combat. (Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins survived his injuries; Army Spc. Donald P. Sloat did not.)

One year ago: Emergency workers in North Carolina went door-to-door, urging people to flee the rising floodwaters from Hurricane Florence; the storm had come to a virtual standstill over land while dumping heavy rain, raising fears of disastrous flooding. A U.S. Border patrol supervisor, Juan David Ortiz, was arrested in Laredo, Texas, in the deaths of four women and an assault on a fifth woman who managed to escape. A 26-year-old Massachusetts man, Arthur Medici, was bitten by a shark in the water off a Cape Cod beach and died later at a hospital, becoming the state's first shark attack fatality in more than 80 years.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Forrest Compton is 94. Comedian Norm Crosby is 92. Actor Henry Darrow is 86. Baseball Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry is 81. Actress Carmen Maura is 74. Opera singer Jessye Norman is 74. Writer-director Ron Shelton is 74. Actor Tommy Lee Jones is 73. Movie director Oliver Stone is 73. Rock musician Kelly Keagy (KAY'-gee) (Night Ranger) is 67. Actor Barry Shabaka Henley is 65. Director Pawel Pawlikowski is 62. Rock musician Mitch Dorge (Crash Test Dummies) is 59. Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino is 58. Actor Danny Nucci is 51. Rap DJ Kay Gee is 50. Actor Josh Charles is 48. Singer Ivette (EE'-veht) Sosa (Eden's Crush) is 43. Actor Tom Hardy is 42. Actress Marisa Ramirez is 42. Pop-rock musician Zach Filkins (OneRepublic) is 41. Actor Dave Annable is 40. Actress Amy Davidson is 40. Britain's Prince Harry is 35. TV personality Heidi Montag is 33. Actress Kate Mansi is 32.

Thought for Today: "It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realise just how much you love them." — Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976).