TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Thursday, Sept. 23, the 266th day of 2021. There are 99 days left in the year.

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY

On Sept. 23, 1955, a jury in Sumner, Mississippi, acquitted two white men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, of murdering Black teenager Emmett Till. (The two men later admitted to the crime in an interview with Look magazine.)

1779 — During the Revolutionary War, the American warship Bon Homme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, defeated the HMS Serapis in battle off Yorkshire, England; however, the seriously damaged Bon Homme Richard sank two days later.

1806 — The Lewis and Clark expedition returned to St. Louis more than two years after setting out for the Pacific Northwest.

1846 — Neptune was identified as a planet by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle.

1952 — Sen. Richard M. Nixon, R-California, salvaged his vice-presidential nomination by appearing on television from Los Angeles to refute allegations of improper campaign fundraising in what became known as the “Checkers” speech.

1987 — Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Delaware, withdrew from the Democratic presidential race following questions about his use of borrowed quotations and the portrayal of his academic record.

1999 — The Mars Climate Orbiter apparently burned up as it attempted to go into orbit around the Red Planet.

2002 — Gov. Gray Davis signed a law making California the first state to offer workers paid family leave.

One year ago — A Kentucky grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police for the shooting death of a Black woman, Breonna Taylor, during a failed drug raid; prosecutors said officers were justified in using force to protect themselves after facing gunfire. (Charges of wanton endangerment were filed against fired Officer Bret Hankison for shooting into a neighboring home.)

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Singer Julio Iglesias is 78. Actor Paul Petersen (TV: “The Donna Reed Show”) is 76. Actor/singer Mary Kay Place is 74. Rock star Bruce Springsteen is 72. Director/ playwright George C. Wolfe is 67. Rock musician Leon Taylor (The Ventures) is 66. Actor Rosalind Chao is 64. Golfer Larry Mize is 63. Actor Jason Alexander is 62. Actor Chi McBride is 60. Actor Erik Todd Dellums is 57. Actor LisaRaye is 55. Singer Ani DiFranco is 51. Rock singer Sam Bettens (K’s Choice) is 49. Recording executive Jermaine Dupri is 49. Actor Kip Pardue is 45. Actor Anthony Mackie is 43. Pop singer Erik-Michael Estrada (TV: “Making the Band”) is 42. Actor Aubrey Dollar is 41. Actor Brandon Victor Dixon is 40. Actor David Lim is 38. Actor Cush Jumbo is 36.