Birthdays

September 15, 1890 - Agatha Christie

Ms. Christie became known as the "Queen of Crime" after authoring 80 detective novels and introducing the world to two enduring fictional characters - Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple.  Christie is the best-selling author of all time, with sales of over two billion books worldwide, translated into over 45 languages. In addition to her novels and short stories, Christie wrote  over a dozen plays, including The Mousetrap, which is now the longest running play in theatrical history.

September 15, 1789 - James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo. Among his most famous works is the romantic novel The Last of the Mohicans, often regarded as his masterpiece.

September 15, 1984 - Prince Harry
Prince Henry of Wales (Henry Charles Albert David) is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and grandson of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he is third in line for succession to the British throne. 

September 16, 1927 - Peter Falk
Those of us old enough to remember television in the early 70's will surely remember the long-running Colombo TV series. Peter Falk played the constantly dissheveled and seemingly absent-minded detective - a role that earned him four Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe award. Columbo's signature line was often delivered on his way to the door, just when the guilty villain thought the questioning was over   - "Just one more thing...." 


Events

September 11, 2001 - Terrorist Attacks on America
Terrorists hijacked four planes, piloting two of them into the World Trade Center's twin towers in New York City and one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Passengers on the fourth plane appear to have attempted to overcome the hijackers, and the plane crashed in western Pennsylvania instead of reaching its target in Washington, D.C.. The twin towers collapsed about an hour after being hit. More than 3,000 people died as a result of the attacks. The hijackers were agents of the Al Qaeda terrorist group led by Islamic extremist Osama bin Laden.

September 11, 1777 - Battle of the Brandywine
This American Revolutionary war battle was fought in the area surrounding Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and the Brandywine River. The British won a decisive victory here, and as a result, the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia was left virtually undefended and the Continental Congress was forced to flee the city.

September 13, 1814 - Star-Spangled Banner Inspiration
Francis Scott Key set sail on September 3rd, leaving the coast near Baltimore, Maryland and heading for the HMS Minden - a British warship. He was on a mission approved by President James Madison to secure the release of an American being held captive by the British. During their negotiations - which were ultimately successful - they overheard the British plans to attack Baltimore, and thus they were not allowed to leave the ship and return to Maryland until after the attack was over. Watching the raging battles from afar, Key wrote a poem on the back of a letter he had kept in his pocket. That poem became the lyrics for our country's national anthem.

September 14, 1901 - President William McKinley Dies
McKinley was shot on September 6, 1901 while shaking hands with a crowd. His assassin was Leon Czolgosz, a Detroit-born anarchist. McKinley was taken to a local hospital where he underwent surgery for his gunshot wounds. It at first appeared that he would recover, but complications set in and the president died on September 14, 1901. Czolgosz received a hasty trial, was found guilty of murder and was electrocuted in the state prison at Auburn, New York on October 29.