This day in history

September 05, 2011

► Today is Monday, Sept. 5, the 248th day of 2011. There are 117 days left in the year. This is Labor Day.

► Today’s birthdays: Former Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul A. Volcker is 84. Comedian-actor Bob Newhart is 82. Actress-singer Carol Lawrence is 79. Actor William Devane is 72. Actor George Lazenby is 72. Actress Raquel Welch is 71. Movie director Werner Herzog is 69. Singer Al Stewart is 66. Actor-director Dennis Dugan is 65. College Football Hall of Famer Jerry LeVias is 65. Singer Loudon Wainwright III is 65. “Cathy’’ cartoonist Cathy Guisewite is 61. Actor Michael Keaton is 60. Country musician Jamie Oldaker (the Tractors) is 60. Actress Debbie Turner-Larson is 55. Actress Kristian Alfonso is 48. Singer Terry Ellis is 48. Rock musician Brad Wilk is 43. TV personality Dweezil Zappa is 42. Actress Rose McGowan is 38. Actor Andrew Ducote is 25. Actress Katerina Graham is 25. Olympic gold medal figure skater Kim Yu-na is 21. Actor Skandar Keynes is 20.

► In 1774, the first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia.

► In 1793, the Reign of Terror began during the French Revolution.

► In 1836, Sam Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas.

► In 1939, four days after war had broken out in Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation declaring US neutrality.

► In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed legislation making aircraft hijackings a federal crime.

►In 1972, Black September terrorists attacked the Israeli delegation at the Munich Olympic games; 11 Israelis, five guerrillas, and a police officer were killed in the siege.

► In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford escaped an attempt on his life by Lynette “Squeaky’’ Fromme, a disciple of Charles Manson, in Sacramento.

► In 1986, four hijackers who had seized a Pan Am jumbo jet in Karachi, Pakistan, opened fire when the lights inside the plane failed; a total of 22 people were killed in the hijacking.

► In 1991, the 35th annual Naval Aviation Symposium held by the Tailhook Association opened in Las Vegas. (The gathering was marred by reports that dozens of people, most of them women, had been sexually assaulted or otherwise harassed during the meeting.)