Today in History: September 30, James Dean dies at 24

Today in History

Today is Saturday, Sept. 30, the 273rd day of 2023. There are 92 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Sept. 30, 1955, actor James Dean was killed at age 24 in a two-car collision near Cholame, California.

On this date:

In 1777, the Continental Congress — forced to flee in the face of advancing British forces — moved to York, Pennsylvania.

In 1791, Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute” premiered in Vienna, Austria.

In 1938, after co-signing the Munich Agreement allowing Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said, “I believe it is peace for our time.”

In 1947, the World Series was broadcast on television for the first time; the New York Yankees defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers 5-3 in Game 1 (the Yankees went on to win the Series four games to three).

In 1949, the Berlin Airlift came to an end.

In 1954, the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, was commissioned by the U.S. Navy.

In 1960, “The Flintstones,” network television’s first animated prime-time series, debuted on ABC.

In 1962, James Meredith, a Black student, was escorted by federal marshals to the campus of the University of Mississippi, where he enrolled for classes the next day; Meredith’s presence sparked rioting that left two people dead.

In 1972, Pittsburgh Pirates star Roberto Clemente's had his 3,000th, and final, hit, a double against Jon Matlack of the New York Mets at Three Rivers Stadium.

In 1986, the U.S. released accused Soviet spy Gennadiy Zakharov, one day after the Soviets released American journalist Nicholas Daniloff.

In 1988, Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev retired President Andrei A. Gromyko from the Politburo and fired other old-guard leaders in a Kremlin shake-up.

In 2001, under threat of U.S. military strikes, Afghanistan’s hardline Taliban rulers said explicitly for the first time that Osama bin Laden was still in the country and that they knew where his hideout was located.

In 2012, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels became the first rookie in Major League history to hit 30 home runs and steal 40 bases in a season.

In 2013, Pope Francis announced during a meeting with cardinals that he would canonize two of his most influential predecessors, John Paul II and John XXIII.

In 2017, Monty Hall, the long-running host of TV’s “Let’s Make a Deal,” died of heart failure at his home in Beverly Hills at the age of 96.

In 2021, with only hours to spare, Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed legislation to avoid a partial federal shutdown and keep the government funded through Dec. 3.

In 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties to illegally annex more occupied Ukrainian territory in a sharp escalation of his seven-month invasion.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Angie Dickinson is 92. Singer Cissy Houston is 90. Singer Johnny Mathis is 88. Actor Len Cariou is 84. Singer Marilyn McCoo is 80. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is 78. Actor Vondie Curtis-Hall is 73. Actor Victoria Tennant is 73. Actor John Finn is 71. Rock musician John Lombardo is 71. Singer Deborah Allen is 70. Actor Calvin Levels is 69. Actor Barry Williams is 69. Singer Patrice Rushen is 69. Actor and union president Fran Drescher is 66. Country singer Marty Stuart is 65. Actor Debrah Farentino is 64. Former Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., is 63. Actor Crystal Bernard is 62. Actor Eric Stoltz is 62. Rapper-producer Marley Marl is 61. Country singer Eddie Montgomery (Montgomery-Gentry) is 60. Rock singer Trey Anastasio is 59. Actor Monica Bellucci is 59. Rock musician Robby Takac (Goo Goo Dolls) is 59. Actor Lisa Thornhill is 57. Actor Andrea Roth is 56. Actor Amy Landecker is 54. Actor Silas Weir Mitchell is 54. Actor Tony Hale is 53. Actor Jenna Elfman is 52. Actor Ashley Hamilton is 49. Actor Marion Cotillard is 48. Actor Christopher Jackson is 48. Author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates is 48. Actor Stark Sands is 45. Actor Mike Damus is 44. Actor Toni Trucks is 43. Former tennis player Martina Hingis is 43. Olympic gold medal gymnast Dominique Moceanu is 42. Actor Lacey Chabert is 41. Actor Kieran Culkin is 41. Singer-rapper T-Pain is 39.