This Day in History

On Sept. 20, 1973, in their so-called "Battle of the Sexes," tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, in the Houston Astrodome.

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In 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set out from Spain on five ships to find a western passage to the Spice Islands. (Magellan was killed en route, but one of his ships completed the first circumnavigation of the globe three years later.)

In 1946, the first Cannes Film Festival, lasting 16 days, opened in France.

In 1962, James Meredith, a Black student, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Democratic Gov. Ross R. Barnett.

In 1964, The Beatles concluded their first full-fledged U.S. tour by performing in a charity concert at the Paramount Theater in New York.

In 1967, the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 was christened by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Clydebank, Scotland.

In 2011, the repeal of the U.S. military's 18-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" compromise took effect, allowing gay and lesbian service members to serve openly.

In 2017, Hurricane Maria, the strongest storm to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years, struck the island, wiping out as much as 75 percent of power distribution lines and causing an island-wide blackout.

In 2019, Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, the 1979 site of the nation's worst commercial nuclear power accident, was shut down by its owner after producing electricity for 45 years.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Sophia Loren is 91. Author George R. R. Martin is 77. Actor Gary Cole is 69. TV news correspondent Deborah Roberts is 65. Actor Maggie Cheung is 61. Actor Kristen Johnston is 58. Rock singers Gunnar and Matthew Nelson are 58. Race car driver Juan Pablo Montoya is 50. Actor Jon Bernthal is 49. Actor Aldis Hodge is 39. Mixed martial artist Khabib Nurmagomedov is 37. Singer-songwriter Phillip Phillips is 35.