What Happened on September 21

The High Court

1981 — O'Connor Confirmed as First Woman on Supreme Court

Arizona judge, 51, breaks 191-year barrier — Reagan nominee wins 99-0 vote; she joins bench October 1

The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Sandra Day O'Connor as the first female Supreme Court justice, ending two centuries of male exclusivity. The 99-0 roll call sent the Arizona state appeals judge to a tribunal that had rejected her gender since 1789. President Reagan, who pledged to name a woman to the first vacancy, signed the commission immediately. O'Connor, a former Arizona Senate majority leader, will be sworn October 1 to replace retiring Justice Potter Stewart. Confirmation hearings produced no significant opposition, though senators questioned her judicial temperament and abortion views. Her chambers will be in the newly renovated east wing.

• Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.

Source: Wikipedia — Sandra Day O'Connor

Embassy Row

1976 — Ex-Chilean Ambassador Letelier Killed by Car Bomb on D.C. Street; Pinochet Regime Blamed

Pinochet's secret police blamed in Embassy Row car bombing that killed 44-year-old diplomat, 25-year-old aide at 9:30 a.m.

The Chevrolet Chevelle blew apart at 9:30 a.m. on Embassy Row, scattering metal across Sheridan Circle and killing Orlando Letelier, the former Chilean ambassador to Washington, and his American aide Ronni Moffitt.

Letelier, 44, had become the leading exile voice against the military junta of General Augusto Pinochet. The bomb, wired beneath the driver's seat, detonated as he turned off Massachusetts Avenue. Moffitt, 25, drowned in her own blood; her husband Michael survived, cut by flying glass.

Federal investigators said the assassination bore the signature of Pinochet's secret police, the DINA. Letelier had been imprisoned and tortured after the 1973 coup that toppled Salvador Allende, his patron. Freed in 1975 through international pressure, he had directed the Washington office of the Institute for Policy Studies, lobbying Congress to cut military aid to Santiago.

Secretary of State Henry Kissinger condemned the killing. Chile's foreign minister denied involvement. No arrests were made by nightfall.

• Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C., at the order of Augusto Pinochet.

Source: Wikipedia — Orlando Letelier

The Kremlin

1993 — Yeltsin Dissolves Parliament, Throws Out Soviet-Era Constitution; Troops Ring White House

Russian president scraps legislature by decree — constitutional crisis erupts as deputies barricade themselves in Moscow

Russia faced its gravest constitutional crisis since 1917 today after President Boris Yeltsin suspended the Soviet-era parliament and ordered fresh elections, prompting defiant deputies to declare him deposed and barricade themselves inside the White House.

Yeltsin, appearing on television at dawn, announced he was scrapping the constitution that had constrained his economic reforms. By evening, tanks and Interior Ministry troops surrounded the legislature's riverside fortress as Vice President Alexander Rutskoy and speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov urged crowds to resist.

The 62-year-old president, elected in June 1991, had battled the Congress of People's Deputies for months over privatization and executive powers. His decree sets elections for December 11-12. Opponents called it coup d'état.

Western governments urged restraint. The rouble fell sharply on Moscow's currency exchanges. Yeltsin was photographed atop a tank outside the White House, clutching the white-red-blue tricolour that replaced the hammer and sickle two years ago.

• Russian president Boris Yeltsin triggers a constitutional crisis when he suspends parliament and scraps the constitution.

Source: Wikipedia — Boris Yeltsin

The Pacific Rim

1999 — 7.7 Taiwan Quake Kills 2,400; Chi-Chi Epicenter Devastates Central Island

A 7.7-magnitude jolt that struck at 1:47 a.m. near Chi-Chi left 2,400 dead in Nantou County.

The deadliest earthquake to strike Taiwan in a generation shattered the island's central mountains today, killing 2,400 people as the 7.7-magnitude Chi-Chi quake collapsed buildings and triggered landslides across Nantou County.

The tremor struck at 1:47 a.m. local time, with an epicenter near the town of Chi-Chi.

• The 7.7-magnitude Chi-Chi earthquake strikes central Taiwan, killing 2,400 people.

Source: Wikipedia — 1999 Jiji earthquake

War Production Desk

1942 — Boeing's Superfortress Takes Sky; New Bomber Maiden Flight Succeeds

America's newest and largest bomber, the B-29, soars on its maiden flight.

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress, America's newest and largest bomber, roared into the skies today on its maiden flight, carrying the hopes of the Army Air Forces for a weapon to strike deep into enemy territory.

• The Boeing B-29 Superfortress makes its maiden flight.

Source: Wikipedia — Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Tokyo Weather Bureau

1934 — 3,066 Dead as Record Typhoon Smashes Japan; Pressure Hits World Low

The record-breaking storm drove atmospheric pressure to 911.9 hectopascals at Muroto.

Three thousand sixty-six Japanese are dead tonight after the most powerful typhoon in the nation's history swept ashore, obliterating schools, flooding cities eight kilometers inland, and driving barometers to a world-record low of 911.9 hectopascals at Muroto.

• The typhoon made landfall in Muroto, Kaifu, Awaji Island, and Kobe.
• A world-record low land pressure of 911.9 hPa was observed in Muroto.
• Among the 3,066 dead were 421 children and teachers killed when their schools collapsed.
• Total damage exceeded $300 million (1934 USD), with over 34,000 buildings destroyed.
• In Osaka, a storm surge of 3.1 to 4.2 meters flooded areas up to 8 km inland.

Source: Wikipedia — 1934 Muroto typhoon

George Allen & Unwin, Publishers

1937 — Oxford Professor's 'Hobbit' Opens New World for Young Readers

1937: J.R.R. Tolkien's tale of Bilbo Baggins arrives in bookshops.

J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy children's novel "The Hobbit" has been published this autumn by George Allen & Unwin, introducing readers to the diminutive folk who dwell in holes in the ground and the reluctant hero Bilbo Baggins. Tolkien, an Oxford philologist, claims he began the tale suddenly around 1930 while grading examination papers, scribbling the opening line: "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."

The author describes hobbits as standing between two and four feet tall, averaging three feet six inches, with life expectancies of 100 years. Bilbo, however, survives to 130 or beyond through the mysterious power of the One Ring he acquires during his adventures.

Tolkien's publishers anticipate the book will serve younger readers, though scholars familiar with his elaborate mythological papers suggest Middle-earth may yet yield larger works.

• The Hobbit, a children's novel featuring the titular hobbit Bilbo Baggins, was published in 1937.
• Tolkien claimed he started The Hobbit suddenly in 1930 or 1931 while grading student exams, writing the opening line: 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit'.
• Tolkien described hobbits as between two and four feet tall, with an average height of three feet six inches.
• Hobbits have a life expectancy of 100 years, but Bilbo Baggins lived to 130 or beyond due to the One Ring.

Source: Wikipedia — The Hobbit

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena

2003 — Galileo Spacecraft Plunges into Jupiter After 14 Years of Discovery

NASA controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory steered the spacecraft into Jupiter's atmosphere to eliminate any risk of contaminating Europa.

At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, controllers sent the final command today, steering the Galileo spacecraft into a death dive through Jupiter's swirling cloud tops to prevent any chance of contaminating the moon Europa.

• The Galileo spacecraft is terminated by sending it into Jupiter's atmosphere.

Source: Wikipedia — Galileo (spacecraft)