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Today is Tuesday, September 3, the 247th day of 2024. There are 119 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On September 3, 1935, Sir Malcolm Campbell became the first person to drive a car at more than 300 miles per hour across Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats.
Also on this date:
In 1861, during the Civil War, Confederate troops invaded the border state of Kentucky, which had declared itself neutral in the conflict.
In 1894, the United States celebrated the first federal Labor Day holiday.
In 1783, representatives of the United States and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War and recognized American sovereignty.
In 1939, Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany, two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland; In a radio address, Britain’s King George VI said: “With God’s help we will prevail.”
In 1943, Allied forces invaded Italy during World War II, the same day Italian officials signed a secret armistice with the Allies.
In 1976, the American Viking 2 lander landed on Mars to take the first close-up color photographs of the red planet’s surface.
In 1999, a French judge closed a two-year investigation into the car crash that killed Princess Diana, dismissing all charges against nine photographers and a press motorcyclist and concluding that the accident was caused by a drunk driver.
In 2019, Walmart said it would stop selling ammunition for pistols and short-barreled rifles, and the retailer asked customers not to openly carry firearms in its stores; the announcement followed a shooting at a Walmart store in Texas that left 22 people dead.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Singer-musician Al Jardine (The Beach Boys) is 81.
- Actor Valerie Perrine is 81.
- Filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet is 71.
- Rock guitarist Steve Jones (The Sex Pistols) is 69.
- Actor Steve Schirripa (TV: “The Sopranos”) is 66.
- Author Malcolm Gladwell is 61.
- Actor Charlie Sheen is 59.
- Filmmaker Noah Baumbach is 55.
- Dance-rock musician Redfoo (LMFAO) is 49.
- Actor Garrett Hedlund is 40.
- Olympic gold medal snowboarder Shaun White is 38.
- Model-actor Kaia Gerber is 23.
- Actor Jack Dylan Grazer is 21.