What Happened on September 8

Video & Broadcasting

1966 — NBC Boldly Goes: 'Star Trek' Launches Tonight With Alien Hunt

Caltech students already petitioning to save the series — William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy lead cast in bold gamble on prime-time science fiction; fans gather at studio gates

HOLLYWOOD, Sept. 8 — Two million dollars and three years of studio doubt have produced what NBC hopes will be television's first adult science fiction hit. "The Man Trap," episode one of "Star Trek," beams into American living rooms at 8:30 p.m. Eastern tonight, introducing William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as the half-human science officer Spock.

The series, developed by Gene Roddenberry and Desilu Productions, has weathered two pilot attempts and network skepticism about whether grown viewers will watch space opera. Tonight's premiere follows the crew of the starship Enterprise to planet M-113, where a salt-craving creature poses as various human forms.

Fans have already materialized outside NBC's Burbank studios to mark the launch, waving handmade signs for the starship labeled NCC-1701. The Caltech campus in Pasadena generated a petition drive near the end of last season's run to keep the show in production, according to studio sources.

NBC has committed to three seasons, though industry observers note the network trimmed the order from an initial thirty-four episodes. The last original installment is scheduled for June 3, 1969. The series has already collected two Hugo Awards, science fiction's highest honor, for dramatic presentation.

Roddenberry has spoken of using the 23rd-century setting to examine contemporary issues.

• The series debuted on NBC on September 8, 1966.
• The original series featured William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock.
• NBC canceled the series after three seasons; the last original episode aired on June 3, 1969.
• The series earned two Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation during its original run.
• A petition near the end of the second season to save the series was signed by many Caltech students.

Source: Wikipedia — Star Trek: The Original Series

Gulf Coast Despatches

1900 — Hurricane Devastates Galveston; Thousands Dead

Storm strikes at 8 p.m. with 135-mile winds — city of 38,000 reports 6,000 to 12,000 killed; 7,000 buildings destroyed, 10,000 homeless; damages exceed $34 million; engineers propose 17-foot elevation and 10-mile seawall

GALVESTON, September 8 — A great hurricane made landfall south of Houston at eight o'clock last evening with estimated winds of one hundred thirty-five miles per hour, and by dawn had become the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. The storm killed at least six thousand persons in this island city, with official reports citing eight thousand fatalities and estimates running as high as twelve thousand.

The tempest demolished three thousand six hundred thirty-six homes and destroyed approximately seven thousand buildings in all. Of Galveston's population of fewer than thirty-eight thousand souls, ten thousand are now without shelter.

• The hurricane left between 6,000 and 12,000 fatalities, with 8,000 most cited in official reports.
• The storm destroyed about 7,000 buildings in Galveston, including 3,636 demolished homes.
• Approximately 10,000 people in Galveston were left homeless out of a total population of fewer than 38,000.
• The hurricane made landfall south of Houston at 8:00 p.m. CST on September 8 as a Category 4 hurricane.
• Damages from the storm throughout the U.S. exceeded $34 million.

Source: Wikipedia — 1900 Galveston hurricane

New World Shipping

1522 — Lone Carrack Victoria Docks at Seville, Completing First Circumnavigation of the Globe

Magellan–Elcano expedition returns after three years at sea — one vessel and eighteen survivors of 270 who sailed; cargo of cloves repays voyage costs

SEVILLE, Sept. 8 — The carrack Victoria, weathered and barnacled, dropped anchor this morning in the Guadalquivir River, completing the first circumnavigation of the earth.

• Magellan–Elcano circumnavigation: Victoria arrives at Seville, completing the first circumnavigation.

Source: Wikipedia — Magellan expedition

Transportation Safety

1994 — NTSB Opens Longest Probe After USAir Flight 427 Crash Kills 132 Near Pittsburgh

The board began its lengthiest investigation after the deadliest air disaster in Pennsylvania history.

The longest accident investigation in National Transportation Safety Board history opened after USAir Flight 427 crashed on approach to Pittsburgh International Airport. All 132 people aboard died in the accident in Hopewell Township, Beaver County. The NTSB later determined that a rudder malfunction caused an aerodynamic stall. The probe also helped solve the crash of United Airlines Flight 585.

• All 132 people on board died, making the accident the deadliest air disaster in Pennsylvania's history.
• The crash occurred in Hopewell Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania while approaching Runway 28R at Pittsburgh.
• The investigation into USAir 427 helped to also solve the crash of United Airlines Flight 585.
• The National Transportation Safety Board determined that a rudder malfunction caused the plane to enter an aerodynamic stall.
• The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania spent approximately $500,000 in recovery and cleanup for the accident site.

Source: Wikipedia — USAir Flight 427

Florentine Affairs

1504 — Colossus of Marble Stands Guard Over Republic

The shepherd king measures seventeen feet from crown to heel, revealed on the 8th day of September to the assembled citizenry of the Republic.

FLORENCE, September 8 — In this age when princes and popes vie for mastery of the peninsula through force of arms, the Republic has answered with stone. This morning, upon the broad steps of the Palazzo Vecchio, the giant figure of David was revealed to the assembled citizenry — a naked youth of white Carrara marble, conceived by the sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti when the block lay abandoned in the Opera del Duomo's yard.

The work measures seventeen feet from crown to heel. It depicts the shepherd king at the moment before battle, sling upon his shoulder, his gaze fixed upon an unseen Goliath.

• Michelangelo's David is unveiled in Piazza della Signoria in Florence.

Source: Wikipedia — David (Michelangelo)

Maghreb Bureau

2023 — Morocco Quake Kills Nearly 3,000; Marrakesh Landmarks Crumble

The magnitude 6.9 quake hit Morocco's High Atlas Mountains at 11:11 p.m., killing nearly 3,000 and wrecking Marrakesh's historic medina.

MARRAKESH, September 8 — The earth shook at 11:11 p.m. local time, and the death toll stands at nearly 3,000. The magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Morocco's High Atlas Mountains, with its force felt as far as Casablanca and the Atlantic coast.

The historic medina of Marrakesh suffered severe damage.

• A magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes Morocco, killing nearly 3,000 people and damaging historic sites in Marrakesh.

Source: Wikipedia — 2023 Al Haouz earthquake

Eastern Front

1941 — Germans Ring Leningrad; 900-Day Siege Begins

German and Finnish troops sealed all land routes into Leningrad on September 8, beginning a 900-day siege rather than storming the city.

LENINGRAD, September 8 — The encirclement is complete. German and Finnish forces have sealed all land routes into Leningrad, beginning a siege that military planners estimate could last 900 days. Army Group North reached the southern shore of Lake Ladoga today, linking with Finnish troops on the Neva River.

• World War II: German forces begin the Siege of Leningrad.

Source: Wikipedia — World War II

White House Watch

1974 — Ford Pardons Nixon Unconditionally

President issues Proclamation 4311 — approval rating falls from 71% to 50% — press secretary terHorst resigns in protest.

WASHINGTON, September 8 — President Gerald Ford granted his predecessor Richard Nixon a full and unconditional pardon today for any crimes committed while in office.

• President Ford issued Proclamation 4311 on September 8, 1974, granting a full and unconditional pardon to Richard Nixon.
• Ford's approval rating dropped from 71% to 50% following the pardon.
• Ford's first press secretary Jerald terHorst resigned his post in protest after the pardon.
• Ford testified before the House Judiciary Committee on October 17, 1974, the first sitting president to do so since Abraham Lincoln.
• Nixon released a statement saying, 'I was wrong in not acting more decisively and more forthrightly in dealing with Watergate.'

Source: Wikipedia — Watergate scandal

New World Chronicles

1565 — Spanish Admiral Plants Cross at San Agustín, Oldest European Settlement in Lands of Florida

On September 8, 1565, Menéndez de Avilés founded San Agustín, where Franciscans established the first continental mission.

SAN AGUSTÍN, September 8, 1565 — Upon this shore where ships first sighted land upon the feast of San Agustín, Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés hath this day founded the settlement of San Agustín, securing for Spain the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in these contiguous territories.

Menéndez, having raced hither against the French captain Jean Ribault, arrived victorious from a skirmish near the St. Johns River on September last past. His fleet made landfall here, and upon this ground the Franciscans have established Mission Nombre de Dios, reckoned the first mission in these continental lands.

• Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine on September 8, 1565, naming it San Agustín.
• Menéndez named the settlement after the feast day of St. Augustine, because his ships sighted land on August 28.
• Menéndez raced French captain Jean Ribault to Florida; on September 4, 1565, their fleets skirmished near the St. Johns River.
• Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales celebrated the first Thanksgiving Mass at the founding of St. Augustine.
• The Franciscan outpost Mission Nombre de Dios was founded at the landing point, possibly the first mission in the continental United States.

Source: Wikipedia — St. Augustine, Florida

Statehouse Bulletin

1935 — Senator Long Shot at Capitol; Assassin Slain by Bodyguards

Louisiana's Kingfish struck down at 28 — Dr. Carl Weiss killed after firing on senator who moved to oust his father-in-law from bench

BATON ROUGE, September 8 — The presidential ambitions of Senator Huey Long, the Louisiana Kingfish whose Share Our Wealth program had stirred millions, lie shattered tonight after he was shot at the State Capitol by an assassin who was himself cut down by the senator's bodyguards.

Long fell at the Louisiana State Capitol here this evening, struck by bullets from the pistol of Dr. Carl Weiss, a 28-year-old ear, nose and throat specialist. Weiss acted after Long pushed through a redistricting bill designed to remove Judge Benjamin Henry Pavy from the bench; Weiss was Pavy's son-in-law.

• Huey Long was fatally shot at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge on September 8, 1935.
• Long was shot by Carl Weiss, son-in-law of Judge Benjamin Henry Pavy, after passing a redistricting bill to oust Pavy.
• Long died at 4:10 a.m. on September 10, 1935, 31 hours after being shot, at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center.
• Over 200,000 people attended Long's funeral, and his remains were buried on the grounds of the Louisiana State Capitol.
• Long's assassin, Carl Weiss, was a 28-year-old ear, nose, and throat specialist who was shot and killed by Long's bodyguards.

Source: Wikipedia — Huey Long