The Edge

Today is Thursday, Sept. 14, the 257th day of 2023. There are 108 days left in the year.

Today in history

On Sept. 14, 1901, President William McKinley died in Buffalo, New York, of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin; Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him.

Also on this date:

In 1814, Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the poem “Defence of Fort McHenry” (later “The Star-Spangled Banner”) after witnessing the American flag flying over the Maryland fort following a night of British naval bombardment during the War of 1812.

In 1861, the first naval engagement of the Civil War took place as the USS Colorado attacked and sank the Confederate private schooner Judah off Pensacola, Fla.

In 1867, the first volume of “Das Kapital” by Karl Marx was published in Hamburg, Germany.

In 1927, modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan died in Nice, France, when her scarf became entangled in a wheel of the sports car she was riding in.

In 1991, the government of South Africa, the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party signed a national peace pact.

Fun fact

Only about 2% of the world’s population have green eyes.

Record setters

The world record for the heaviest pig is held by Big Bill, owned by Elias Buford Butler of Jackson, Tenn. He was a Poland China breed of hog that tipped the scales at 2,552 pounds in 1933.

Guinness World Records

Trending words

“Fallible:” adjective; (FAL-uh-bul). Definition: Capable of making mistakes or being wrong.

— Merriam-Webster

Today’s birthdays

Actor Walter Koenig is 87. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown is 83. Singer-actor Joey Heatherton is 79. Actor Sam Neill is 76. Singer Jon “Bowzer” Bauman (Sha Na Na) is 76. Actor Robert Wisdom is 70. Rock musician Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) is 68. Country singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman is 67. Actor Mary Crosby is 64. Singer Morten Harket (a-ha) is 64. Country singer John Berry is 64. Actor Melissa Leo is 63. Actor Faith Ford is 59. Actor Jamie Kaler is 59. Actor Michelle Stafford is 58. Rock musician Mike Cooley (Drive-By Truckers) is 57. Actor Dan Cortese is 56. Contemporary Christian singer Mark Hall is 54. Actor-writer-director-producer Tyler Perry is 54. Actor Kimberly Williams-Paisley is 52. Actor Andrew Lincoln is 50. Rapper Nas is 50. Actor Austin Basis is 47. Country singer Danielle Peck is 45. Pop singer Ayo is 43. Chef/TV personality Katie Lee is 42. Actor Adam Lamberg is 39. Singer Alex Clare is 38. Actor Chad Duell (“General Hospital”) is 36. Actor Jessica Brown Findlay is 36. Actor-singer Logan Henderson is 34. Actor Emma Kenney is 24.

The Edge is compiled by Dallas Marshall. She can be contacted at dmarshall@lmtribune.com.

thought: “Why would you want to do something and not be special and want the best?” — Basketball Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown (1940-)