Today is Friday, Sept. 18, the 261st day of 2009. There are 104 days left in the year. The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, begins at sunset.
On this date
* In 1759, the French formally surrendered Quebec to the British.
* In 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.
* In 1810, Chile made its initial declaration of independence from Spain.
* In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which created a force of federal commissioners charged with returning escaped slaves to their owners.
* In 1927, the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System (later CBS) made its on-air debut with a network of 16 radio stations.
* In 1975, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was captured by the FBI, 19 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
Today's Birthdays
Singer Jimmie Rodgers is 76. Actor Robert Blake is 76. Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, is 76. Actor Fred Willard is 70. Singer Frankie Avalon is 69. Rock musician Kerry Livgren is 60. Actress Anna Deavere Smith is 59. Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino is 57. College Football Hall of Famer and retired NFL player Billy Sims is 54. Movie director Mark Romanek is 50. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Ryne Sandberg is 50. Actor James Gandolfini is 48. Alt-country-rock musician Mark Olson is 48. Singer Joanne Catherall (Human League) is 47. Actress Holly Robinson Peete is 45. R&B singer Ricky Bell (Bell Biv Devoe and New Edition) is 42. Actress Aisha Tyler is 39. Cycling champion Lance Armstrong is 38. Opera singer Anna Netrebko is 38. Actress Jada Pinkett Smith is 38. Actor James Marsden is 36. Actress Emily Rutherfurd is 35. Actor Travis Schuldt ("Scrubs") is 35. Rapper Xzibit is 35. Comedian-actor Jason Sudeikis ("Saturday Night Live") is 34. Actress Sophina Brown is 33. Actress Alison Lohman is 30. Actors Brandon and Taylor Porter are 16. Actor C.J. Sanders ("Ray") is 13.
