September 5
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1986
The garbage ship sets sail
On this day in 1986, about 28 million pounds of incinerated garbage set sail from Philadelphia aboard a rusty ship called the Khian Sea, launching one of the most absurd voyages in history. It was originally destined for the Bahamas, but the government there turned the ship away. The Khian Sea, which underwent several name changes, traveled the world in search of a place to unload its cargo. After numerous rejections, the trash was dumped into the Atlantic and Indian oceans in 1988.
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Featured Event
L. Ferrarese (Johns Hopkins University) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
At a scientific conference in Washington, D.C., this day in 2001, scientists described an observation of energy flares that provided strong evidence of the theorized black hole at the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about galaxies.]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
© Glenda Powers/Fotolia
The Sioux Indian chief Crazy Horse, who died this day in 1877 during a scuffle with soldiers trying to imprison him, was a leader of the Sioux resistance to the invasion of America’s northern Great Plains by whites.
Famous Birthdays
More on September 5
U.S. News and World Report Magazine Photograph Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. LC-DIG-ds-00757)
2016
American writer and political activist Phyllis Schlafly, who was best known for her opposition to the women’s movement and especially the Equal Rights Amendment, died at age 92. [Test your knowledge of female activists.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
2000
Tuvalu, a group of nine coral islands in the west-central Pacific with a population of about 10,000, became the 189th member of the United Nations. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about the islands of the world.]
B. Lane/UN Photo
1997
Mother Teresa—who was awarded the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize for her charitable work with the poor, especially in India—died at age 87 in Calcutta (Kolkata). [Take our quiz about Christian saints.]
AP/Shutterstock.com
1976
The first episode of The Muppet Show, which was cocreated by Jim Henson, aired, and the TV series became hugely popular, known for a cast of puppet characters that included Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. [Test your knowledge of pop culture.]
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
1975
Lynette (“Squeaky”) Fromme attempted to assassinate U.S. President Gerald R. Ford; Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, was sentenced to life in prison but was released in 2009. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about U.S. presidents.]
Fairfax Media—The Sydney Morning Herald/Getty Images
1972
Palestinian terrorists attacked the Olympic Village in Munich, West Germany, during the Summer Olympic Games, taking hostages and eventually killing 11 members of the Israeli team. [Watch an overview of the Munich massacre.]
© PL Gould/Images Press—Archive Photos/Getty Images
1960
American boxer Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) won the gold medal in the 175-pound division at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome and then embarked on a professional career that saw him become one of the sport’s most legendary competitors. [Watch an overview of Muhammad Ali’s life and career.]
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1957
Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, one of the first novels associated with the Beat movement, was published. [Test your knowledge of famous novels.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1836
Sam Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about U.S. states.]
© Photos.com/Getty Images
1793
The Reign of Terror began as harsh measures were undertaken against those suspected of being enemies of the French Revolution (nobles, priests, and hoarders); in Paris a wave of executions followed. [Learn about the causes and effects of the Reign of Terror.]
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin—Preussischer Kulturbesitz
1774
Caspar David Friedrich, a pioneering early 19th-century German Romantic painter, was born. [Take our ultimate art quiz.]
Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (NMGrh 1190), collection.nationalmuseum.se.
1725
Marie Leszczyńska of Poland was married to King Louis XV of France. [Test your knowledge of French history.]