Today in history: Sept. 15

Today is Sunday, Sept. 15, the 259th day of 2024. There are 107 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Sept. 15, 1963, four Black girls were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. (Three Ku Klux Klansmen were eventually convicted for their roles in the blast.)

Also on this date:

In 1835, Charles Darwin reached the Galápagos Islands aboard the HMS Beagle.

In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were enacted in Nazi Germany, depriving German Jews of their citizenship.

In 1940, the tide turned in the Battle of Britain in World War II, as the Royal Air Force inflicted heavy losses upon the Luftwaffe.

In 1958, a commuter train headed for New York City plunged into Newark Bay after missing a stop signal and sliding off the open Newark Bay lift bridge, killing 48 people.

In 1959, Nikita Khrushchev became the first Soviet head of state to visit the United States as he arrived at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington.

In 1978, Muhammad Ali became the first boxer to capture the heavyweight title three times, winning by unanimous decision in his rematch with Leon Spinks.

In 2008, as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis, Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 in the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

Today’s Birthdays: Writer-director Ron Shelton is 79. Actor Tommy Lee Jones is 78. Film director Oliver Stone is 78. Football coach Pete Carroll is 73. TV personality Lisa Vanderpump is 64. Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino is 63. Actor Josh Charles is 53. Olympic gold medal swimmer Tom Dolan is 49. Actor Tom Hardy is 47. Actor Amy Davidson is 45. Actor Dave Annable is 45. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is 40. TV personality Heidi Montag is 38.