#Middlebury
On Sept. 17, 1796, President George Washington prepares a final draft of his farewell address. Two days later, his words appeared in Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser, officially notifying the American public that he would voluntarily step down as the nation’s first president. Rarely in the history of Western civilization has a national leader voluntarily relinquished his title.- On Sept. 19, 1893, New Zealand becomes the world’s first country to grant national voting rights to women. The United States granted women the right to vote in 1920, and Great Britain followed in 1928.
- On Sept. 16, 1932, in his cell near Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest of the British government’s decision to separate India’s electoral system by caste. Gandhi worked all his life to spread his own brand of passive resistance.
- On Sept. 14, 1944, the U.S. 1st Marine Division lands on the tiny island of Peleliu in the Pacific as part of a larger operation to provide support for an invasion of the Philippines. The Marines suffered heavy losses, with 4,000 men killed in the first week alone.
- On Sept. 15, 1978, boxer Muhammad Ali defeats Leon Spinks at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans to win the world heavyweight boxing title for the third time in his career. Ali left the sport permanently in 1981.
- On Sept. 18, 1987, cesium-137 is removed from an abandoned cancer-therapy machine in Brazil. Junk yard workers, fascinated by the glowing blue stone inside and unaware of its dangers, gave pieces to friends, relatives and neighbors. Hundreds of people were eventually poisoned by radiation, and 40 contaminated homes had to be demolished.
- On Sept. 13, 1990, the drama series “Law & Order” premieres on NBC. It will go on to become one of the longest-running prime-time dramas in TV history and spawn several popular spinoffs.
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