@rh24bold:Today in History

Today is Monday, Sept. 28, the 271st day of 2009. There are 94 days left in the year.

On this date:

In 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England to claim the English throne.

In 1542, Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrived at present-day San Diego.

In 1781, American forces in the Revolutionary War, backed by a French fleet, began their successful siege of Yorktown, Virginia.

In 1787, the Congress of the Confederation voted to send the just-completed Constitution of the United States to state legislatures for their approval.

In 1850, flogging was abolished as a form of punishment in the US Navy.

In 1909, satirical cartoonist Al Capp, the creator of "Li'l Abner," was born in New Haven, Conn.

In 1924, two US Army planes landed in Seattle, having completed the first round-the-world flight in 175 days.

In 1939, during World War II, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a treaty calling for the partitioning of Poland, which the two countries had invaded.

In 1967, Walter E. Washington was sworn in as the first mayor-commissioner of the District of Columbia. (He'd been appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.)

In 1974, first lady Betty Ford underwent a mastectomy at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland, following discovery of a cancerous lump in her breast.

In 1989, deposed Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos died in exile in Hawaii at age 72.

Thought for Today:

"The secret of how to live without resentment or embarrassment in a world in which I was different from everyone else, was to be indifferent to that difference." — Al Capp, American cartoonist (1909-1979).