TODAY IN HISTORY

Friday, September  21, 2012 AP Highlight in History:  On Sept. 21, 1792, the French National Convention voted to abolish the monarchy.
On this date in: 1897 The New York Sun ran an editorial answering a question from an 8-year-old girl that included the line, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." 1931 Britain went off the gold standard. 1937 "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien was published. 1938 A hurricane struck parts of New York and New England, causing widespread damage and claiming more than 600 lives. AP Photo/NOAA 1948 Milton Berle debuted as permanent host of "The Texaco Star Theater" on NBC. 1957 "Perry Mason," starring Raymond Burr, premiered on CBS. 1964 Malta gained independence from Britain. 1970 "NFL Monday Night Football" debuted on ABC. 1982 National Football League players began a 57-day strike. 1983 Interior Secretary James G. Watt described a special advisory panel as consisting of "a black ... a woman, two Jews and a cripple." Watt later apologized and resigned. 1996 The board of Virginia Military Institute voted to admit women. 1998 President Bill Clinton's videotaped grand jury testimony in the Monica Lewinsky scandal was publicly broadcast, showing him answering one question from prosecutors by saying, "It depends on what the meaning of 'is' is." 1998 Olympic gold medal track star Florence Griffith Joyner, 38, died in her sleep after suffering an epilectic seizure. 2001 Congress approved $15 billion to help an airline industry reeling from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 2004 The album "American Idiot" by Green Day was released. 2008 "Mad Men" became the first basic-cable show to win a top series Emmy award.		Video HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS DAY IN HISTORY Today's Birthdays: Country singer Faith Hill turns 45 years old today. AP Photo/Evan Agostini Name Profession Age Larry Hagman Actor ("I Dream of Jeannie," "Dallas") 81 Fannie Flagg Author, comedian 71 Leonard Cohen Poet, songwriter 78 James Woolsey Former CIA director 71 Jerry Bruckheimer Producer ("CSI") 69 Steve Beshear Governor of Kentucky 68 Stephen King Author 65 Bill Murray Actor 62 Ethan Coen Writer, producer 55 Nancy Travis Actress 51 Rob Morrow Actor ("Numb3rs," "Northern Exposure") 50 Cheryl Hines Actress ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") 47 Mike Richter Hockey player 46 Ricki Lake Actress, talk show host 44 Luke Wilson Actor 41 Nicole Richie TV personality ("The Simple Life") 31 Maggie Grace Actress ("Lost") 29 Actress Autumn Reeser turns 32 years old today. AP Photo/Matt Sayles