Today is Wednesday, September 2, the 245th day of 2009. There are 120 days left in the year.
31B.C. _ Battle of Actium; Octavian defeats Antony, becomes Emperor Augustus
490 B.C. _ Phidippides runs first marathon, seeking aid from Sparta vs. Persia
1666 _ Great Fire of London starts; destroys St. Paul's Church
1930 _ First nonstop airplane flight from Europe to U.S. (37 hours)
1944 _ Anne Frank (Diary of Anne Frank) is sent to Auschwitz
1945 _ Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam independence from France (National Day)
1945 _ V-J Day; formal surrender of Japan aboard USS Missouri (WWII ends)
1978 _ Graham Salmon set the world's record for 100 meters by a blind man
1987 _ Donald Trump takes out a full page NY Times ad lambasting Japan
1988 _ Amnesty International's ``Human Rights Now!" tour begins in Wembley