1993 Army's Top Civilian Official Caught Shoplifting The Acting Army Secretary John Shannon is caught stealing a woman's blouse and skirt worth about $30 from an Army PX. He admitted guilt and went on administrative leave, never resuming his position.

1978 Pope John Paul I is elected. He died 34 days later (Sept. 28).

1968 The 1968 National Democratic Convention begins in Chicago. Thousands came to protest the Vietnam War and the Democratic administration, resulting in massive demonstrations and police-civilian conflicts.

1947 First black to pitch in a major-league baseball game Dan Bankhead for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

1939 First Televised Major-League Baseball Game A doubleheader between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers is shown by NBC's W2XBS of New York City.

1920 19th Amendment Constitutional Amendment granting American women the right to vote is enacted.

1919 First black signed to a long-term Hollywood contract Ernie Morrison (age 7) signs a two-year contract with Hal Roach. He went on to star as Sunshine Sammy and Booker T. in the Our Gang films.

1895 First large scale power from Niagara Falls Three 5,000 h.p. generators begin supplying commercial power.

1883 The Indonesian volcanic island Krakatoa explodes with a force equivalent to 26 H-bombs, discharging 5 cubic miles of volcanic matter.

1862 Civil War - Second Battle of Bull Run Jackson and Lee lead Confederate troops against Gen. John Pope. Although outnumbered 2 to 1, the Confederate troops forced the Union troops to retreat. Source: The Civil War Day by Day

1791 John Fitch is awarded the U.S. patent for the steamboat. He was also awarded the French patent later that year.

1980 Macaulay Culkin American actor. Film: Home Alone.

1960 Branford Marsalis American band leader for Jay Leno on The Tonight Show (1992-95).

1949 Bob Cowsill American singer, member of the singing family The Cowsills (They were the basis for TV's The Partridge Family). Music: The Rain The Park And Other Things (1967, #2).

1935 Geraldine Anne Ferraro American politician, first female vice-presidential candidate for a major party (1984, Democratic).

1926 James Best American actor. TV: Dukes of Hazzard (Roscoe P. Coltrane).

1915 Jim Davis d. 1981 American actor. TV: Dallas (Jock Ewing).

1906 Albert Sabin d. 1993 Russian-born American microbiologist. He developed the oral Polio vaccine, which was administered by sugar cube to millions.

1904 Christopher Isherwood d. 1986 English-born American author. Writings: Goodbye Berlin (1939, a collection of short stories including Sally Bowles upon which the musical Cabaret was based).

1884 Earl Derr Biggers d. 1933 American author, created the Chinese detective Charlie Chan.

1873 Lee De Forest d. 1961 American inventor, "Father of the Radio." He invented the triode (amplifier vacuum tube, 1907) and was a pioneer in the development of talking pictures and television.

1855 James Leonard Corning d. 1923 American neurologist, discoverer of spinal anesthesia (1885).

1845 Mary Ann Nichols d. 1888 English crime victim. She is the first known victim of Jack the Ripper.

1743 Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier d. 1794 French chemist, founder of modern chemistry. He identified air as containing two principle elements (1778), one of which he named "oxygen," established the law of conservation of matter (1782), and showed that respiration was essentially a slow combustion of organic material using inhaled oxygen.. He was guillotined by the Revolutionary Tribunal for his association with the farmers general.

1740 Joseph Michel Montgolfier d. 1810 French inventor. He and his brother invented the hot-air balloon (1782).

1728 Johann Heinrich Lambert d. 1777 German mathematician, physicist, astronomer, proved that the numbers e and pi are irrational, and for whom the unit of brightness "lambert" is named.

2004 Laura Branigan b. 1957 American singer. Music: Gloria (1982, #2). She died of a brain aneurism, which also killed her father and paternal grandfather.

1995 Evelyn Wood b. 1909 American speed-reading instructor.

1993 Roy Raymond b. 1946 American businessman.  He founded the Victoria's Secret lingerie chain (1977).  He committed suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge.

1989 Irving Stone b. 1903 American author, The Agony and the Ecstasy (1961).

1986 Ted Knight b. 1923 (Tadeus Wladyslaw Konopka), American actor. TV: The Mary Tyler Moore Show (Ted Baxter) and Too Close for Comfort. Film: Caddyshack (1980)

1978 Charles Boyer b. 1897 French-born American actor. Film: Algiers (1938, in which his famous invitation to Hedy Lamarr, "Come with me to the Casbah" was used for the trailers - although it was not in the film itself). The cartoon skunk Pepé Le Pew was based on his Pepe le Moko character in Algiers. He also co-founded Four-Star Television (1951).

1937 Andrew William Mellon b. 1855 American financier. He donated his art collection for the establishment of the National Gallery of Art.

1930 Lon Chaney b. 1883 Sr., American horror actor, "The Man of a Thousand Faces." Film: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923, title role) and Phantom of the Opera (1925, title role).

1723 Anton van Leeuwenhoek b. 1632 Dutch biologist, Father of Microscopy, using a crude microscope of his own design, he became the first person to see microorganisms in detail (1684).

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