HISTORY TODAY: September 21

1915

Stonehenge is sold by auction for 6,600 pounds sterling ($11,500) to a Mr. Chubb, who buys it as a present for his wife. He presents it to the British nation three years later.

''Knowing the past, we can make wisechoices for a brighter, and more positive future.''

__________

454		In Italy, Aetius, the supreme army commander, is murdered in Ravenna by Valentinian III, the emperor of the West.
1327		Edward II of England is murdered by order of his wife.
1520		Suleiman (the Magnificent), son of Selim, becomes Ottoman sultan in Constantinople.
1589		The Duke of Mayenne of France is defeated by Henry IV at the Battle of Arques.
1673		James Needham returns to Virginia after exploring the land to the west, which would become Tennessee.
1745		A Scottish Jacobite army commanded by Lord George Murray routs the Royalist army of General Sir John Cope at Prestonpans.
1863		Union troops defeated at Chickamauga seek refuge in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is then besieged by Confederate troops.
1904		Exiled Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph dies of a "broken heart".
1915		Stonehenge is sold by auction for 6,600 pounds sterling ($11,500) to a Mr. Chubb, who buys it as a present for his wife. He presents it to the British nation three years later.
1929		Fighting between China and the Soviet Union breaks out along the Manchurian border.
1936		The German army holds its largest maneuvers since 1914.
1937		The women's airspeed record is set at 292 mph by American pilot Jacqueline Cochran.
1937		J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Hobbit is published.
1941		The German Army cuts off the Crimean Peninsula from the rest of the Soviet Union.
1942		British forces attack the Japanese in Burma.
1944		U.S. troops of the 7th Army, invading Southern France, cross the Meuse River.
1978		Two Soviet cosmonauts set a space endurance record after 96 days in space.
1981		Belize granted full independence from the United Kingdom.
1989		General Colin Powell is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
1991		Armenia granted independence from USSR.
1993		The Russian constitutional crisis of 1993 begins when Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspends parliament and invalidates the existing constitution.
1999		Earthquake in Taiwan kills more than 2,400, injures over 11,305, and causes $300 billion New Taiwan dollars ($10 billion in US dollars).
2003		Galileo space mission ends as the probe is sent into Jupiter's atmosphere where it is crushed.
Born on September 21
1756		John Loudon McAdam, engineer who invented and gave his name to macadamized roads.
1866		Charles Jean Henri Nicolle, bacteriologist, discovered that typhus fever is transmitted by body louse.
1866		H.G. Wells, science fiction writer whose works include The Time Machine, The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds.
1895		Juan de la Cierva, aeronautical engineer who invented the autogyro.
1902		Allen Lake, founded Penguin Books in 1935.
1912		Chuck Jones, animator and director of Warner Brothers cartoons.
1947		Stephen King, author best known for supernatural and horror tales (The Stand, Salem's Lot, Joyland).
1947		Marsha Norman, playwright (Getting Out, 'Night Mother).
1950		Bill Murray, actor; won Emmy for his work on Saturday Night Live TV series; movies include Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Lost in Translation.
1951		Aslan Aliyevich Maskhadov, rebel leader widely credited for the Chechen victory in First Chechen War (1994-96); President of Chechnya (1997-99).
1957		Mark Levin, attorney, author; host of syndicated radio program The Mark Levin Show.
1968		Faith Hill, Grammy Award-winning country pop singer ("Breathe").
1968		Ricki Lake, actress (China Beach TV series), producer, host of The Ricki Lake Show TV talk show for which she won a Daytime Emmy.
1987		Ashley and Courtney Paris, twins who played in the Women's National Basketball Association, Ashley for the Los Angeles Sparks, Courtney for the Atlanta Dream.

MORE HISTORY