Friday, September 2

This Day In History

• 490 B.C.   A trained runner by the name of Phidippides of Athens, was sent on a mission to seek help against the invading Persian army. Phidippides left Marathon for the city of Sparta, 26 miles away. Under religious law, he could not get the needed help until after the next full moon. And so, on September 4th, he ran the 26 miles again, returning to Marathon without Spartan troops. The Athenians were still able to win the battle at Marathon. Wounded, Phidippides took to the road again, running to Athens to carry the news of the victory. His last words, “Rejoice, we are victorious.” In honor of Phidippides, the 26-mile marathon became part of the Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896. A year later, the Boston Marathon was held for the first time, making it the oldest marathon race in the United States. At the Olympic games in London in 1908, 385 yards were added to the 26-mile marathon in order for the runners to pass King Edward VII’s royal box in White City Stadium. This 26.2 mile distance was made the official Olympic marathon distance in 1924 at the Paris Olympics.
  
• 1666   The Great Fire of London broke out, claiming thousands of homes but only a few lives.
  
• 1789   The U.S. Treasury Department was established.
  
• 1864   Union Gen. William T. Sherman's forces occupied Atlanta during the Civil War.
  
• 1901   Vice President Theodore Roosevelt offered the advice, ''Speak softly and carry a big stick,'' in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair.
  
• 1935   A hurricane slammed into the Florida Keys, claiming 423 lives.
  
• 1945   U.S. President Harry S Truman proclaimed this day as Victory-over-Japan Day (V-J Day or Victory Day). It was so named because the official ratification of the Japanese surrender to the Allies was made aboard the "USS Missouri" in Tokyo Bay on this day (Far Eastern Time). The informal agreement of surrender had been made on August 14.
  
• 1945   Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam an independent republic.
  
• 1949   Alben W. Barkley, the Vice President of the United States under President Harry S Truman, wrote a letter that made reference to his office as the Veep. The name stuck. Alben W. Barkley was forevermore referred to as the Veep. And ever since, it has been used as the common expression for vice presidents, whether in government or business. Barkley, born in Kentucky, was Veep from 1949 until 1953.
  
• 1963   Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace prevented the integration of Tuskegee High School by encircling the building with state troopers.
  
• 1963   ''The CBS Evening News'' was lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.
  
• 1969   North Vietnamese president Ho Chi Minh died.
  
• 1985   It was announced that a U.S.-French expedition had located the wreckage of the Titanic about 560 miles off Newfoundland.
  
• 1992   The United States and Russia agreed to build a space station.
  
• 1998   A Swissair jetliner crashed off Nova Scotia, killing all 229 people aboard.
  

Happy Birthday To

• 1918   Martha Mitchell (Beall) (socialite: wife of U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell of the Nixon administration; died May 31, 1976)
  
• 1937   Peter Ueberroth (businessperson, promoter: 1984 Summer Olympics in LA; Baseball Commissioner [1984-89])
  
• 1948   Christa McAuliffe (Sharon Christa Corrigan) (teacher, astronaut: Challenger space shuttle; killed in Challenger explosion Jan 28, 1986)
  
• 1964   Keanu Reeves (actor)