“Old Faithful,” by Albert Bierstadt

Today in History

• The US Congress passes the Fugitive Slave Act (1850)
• The first issue of the New York Times (originally New-York Daily Times) is published (1851)
• Henry Washburn observes and names “Old Faithful” Geyser during an expedition to Yellowstone (1870)
• Booker T. Washington delivers the “Atlanta Compromise” address (1895)
• The Mukden Incident is used as pretext for Japan to invade and occupy Manchuria (1931)
• World War II: Lord Haw-Haw begins transmitting pro-Nazi propaganda (1939)
• The United States Air Force becomes an independent service (1947)
• Margaret Chase Smith becomes the first woman elected to the US Senate without completing another senator’s term (1948)

Birthdays

• Trajan, Roman emperor (53)
• Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709)
• Léon Foucault, physicist (1819)
• Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, actor (1905)
• Greta Garbo, actress (1905)
• June Foray, voice artist (1917)
• Jack Warden, actor (1920)
• J. D. Tippit, police officer (1924)
• Joe Kubert, comics artist (1926)
• Robert Blake, actor (1933)
• Jimmie Rodgers, singer-songwriter (1935)
• Fred Willard, actor and comedian (1939)
• Frankie Avalon, teen idol (1940)
• Otis Sistrunk, football player (1946)
• Anna Deavere Smith, actress and playwright (1950)
• Dee Dee Ramone, punk rocker (1951)
• James Gandolfini, actor (1961)
• Lance Armstrong, cyclist (1971)
• Jada Pinkett Smith, actress (1971)
• James Marsden, actor (1973)
• Jason Sudeikis, actor and comedian (1975)
• Jennifer Tisdale, actress and singer (1981)

Deaths

• Domitian, Roman emperor (96)
• Frank Morgan, actor (1949)
• Dag Hammarskjöld, UN secretary-general (1961)
• Sean O’Casey, dramatist (1964)
• Jimi Hendrix, guitarist (1970)
• Katherine Ann Porter, author (1980)
• Jimmy Witherspoon, singer (1997)
• Russ Meyer, filmmaker (2004)
• Ken Norton, boxer (2013)

Holidays and Observances

• Day of National Music (Azerbaijan)
• International Read an eBook Day
• Island Language Day (Okinawa)
• Dieciocho (Chile)
• National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (US)
• Navy Day (Croatia)
• World Water Monitoring Day

September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). There are 104 days remaining until the end of the year.