September 11, U.S. comes under attack

In 1789, Alexander Hamilton was appointed the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.

In 1814, an American fleet scored a decisive victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Champlain in the War of 1812.

In 1936, Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) began operation as President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a key in Washington to signal the startup of the dam’s first hydroelectric generator.

In 1941, groundbreaking took place for the Pentagon. In a speech that drew accusations of anti-Semitism, Charles A. Lindbergh told an America First rally in Des Moines, Iowa, that “the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt administration” were pushing the United States toward war.

In 1954, the Miss America pageant made its network TV debut on ABC; Miss California, Lee Meriwether, was crowned the winner.

In 1967, the comedy-variety program “The Carol Burnett Show” premiered on CBS.

In 1972, the troubled Munich Summer Olympics ended. Northern California’s Bay Area Rapid Transit system began operations.

In 1973, Chilean President Salvador Allende (ah-YEN’-day) died during a violent military coup.

In 1997, Scots voted to create their own Parliament after 290 years of union with England.

In 2006, in a prime-time address, President George W. Bush invoked the memory of the victims of the 9/11 attacks as he staunchly defended the war in Iraq, though he acknowledged that Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the attacks.

In 2008, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama put aside politics as they visited ground zero together on the anniversary of 9/11 to honor its victims.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton abruptly left a 9/11 anniversary event at ground zero in New York after feeling “overheated,” according to her campaign, and hours later her doctor disclosed that the Democratic presidential nominee had pneumonia.

Ten years ago: A mob armed with guns and grenades launched a fiery nightlong attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost and a CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya, killing U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney toned down the campaign rhetoric and pulled negative ads amid commemorations of the 9/11 attacks, saying it was not a day for politics.

Five years ago: Authorities sent an aircraft carrier and other Navy ships to help with search-and-rescue operations in Florida, where a flyover of the Keys revealed what Gov. Rick Scott described as scenes of devastation from Hurricane Irma. Irma weakened to a tropical storm, and then a tropical depression, and finally left Florida after a run up the entire 400-mile length of the state. An estimated 13 million people in Florida remained without power.

One year ago: Marking the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, victims’ relatives and four U.S. presidents paid respects at the sites where hijacked planes killed nearly 3,000 people, while others gathered for observances or volunteer projects across the country; the anniversary was observed weeks after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, once again ruled by the same Taliban militant group that gave safe haven to the 9/11 plotters. Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri appeared in a video marking the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, attacks, months after rumors spread that he was dead. (The U.S. would kill al-Zawahri in a drone strike in Kabul in July 2022.) British teenager Emma Raducanu beat Canadian teen Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the U.S. Open final to become the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title in the professional era.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Earl Holliman is 94. Comedian Tom Dreesen is 83. Movie director Brian De Palma is 82. Singer-actor-dancer Lola Falana is 80. Rock musician Mickey Hart (The Dead) is 79. Guitarist Leo Kottke is 77. Actor Phillip Alford is 74. Actor Amy Madigan is 72. Rock singer-musician Tommy Shaw (Styx) is 69. Sports reporter Lesley Visser is 69. Actor Reed Birney is 68. Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh (jay) Johnson is 65. Musician Jon Moss (Culture Club) is 65. Actor Scott Patterson is 64. Rock musician Mick Talbot (The Style Council) is 64. Actor/director Roxann Dawson is 64. Actor John Hawkes is 63. Actor Anne Ramsay is 62. Actor Virginia Madsen is 61. Actor Kristy McNichol is 60. Musician-composer Moby is 57. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is 57. Business reporter Maria Bartiromo is 55. Singer Harry Connick Jr. is 55. Actor Taraji (tuh-RAH’-jee) P. Henson is 52. Actor Laura Wright is 52. Rock musician Jeremy Popoff (Lit) is 51. Blogger Markos Moulitsas is 51. Singer Brad Fischetti (LFO) is 47. Rock musician Jon Buckland (Coldplay) is 45. Rapper Ludacris is 45. Rock singer Ben Lee is 44. Actor Ryan Slattery is 44. Actor Ariana Richards is 43. Country singer Charles Kelley (Lady A) is 41. Actor Elizabeth Henstridge is 35. Actor Tyler Hoechlin (HEK’-lihn) is 35. Actor Mackenzie Aladjem is 21.