Today’s highlights
On Sept. 16, 1893, the largest land run in U.S. history occurred as more than 100,000 white settlers rushed to claim overmore than 6 million acres of land in what is now northern Oklahoma.
On this date
1810: Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called on his parishioners to join him in a rebellion against Spanish rule, marking the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence.
1908: General Motors was founded in Flint, Michigan, by William C. Durant.
1974: President Gerald R. Ford signed a proclamation announcing a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam war deserters and draft evaders.
1982: The massacre of more than 1,300 Palestinian men, women and children at the hands of Israeli-allied Christian Phalange militiamen began in west Beirut’s Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
2007: O.J. Simpson was arrested in the alleged armed robbery of sports memorabilia collectors in Las Vegas. (Simpson was later convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery and sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison; he was released in 2017.).
Today’s birthdays
Actor Ed Begley Jr. is 75. Singer David Bellamy is 74. Actor Mickey Rourke is 72. Musician Earl Klugh is 71. TV personality Mark McEwen is 70. Baseball Hall of Famer Robin Yount is 69. Magician David Copperfield is 68. Actor Jennifer Tilly is 66. MLB All-Star pitcher Orel Hershiser is 66. Baseball Hall of Famer Tim Raines is 65. Singer Richard Marx is 61. Comedian Molly Shannon is 60. Singer Marc Anthony is 56. Comedian Amy Poehler is 53.