Today in History....Sept. 9

On this day in …

* 1776, the Second Continental Congress made the term "United States" official, replacing "United Colonies."
* 1830, Charles Durant flew a balloon from New York City across the Hudson River to Perth Amboy, N.J.
* 1943, Allied forces landed at Salerno and Taranto during World War II
* 1948, the People's Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) was created
* 1957, President Eisenhower signed into law the first civil rights bill to pass Congress since Reconstruction
* 1971, prisoners seized control of the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, N.Y., beginning a siege that ended up claiming 43 lives
* 1993, PLO leaders and Israel agreed to recognize each other, clearing the way for a "piece accord"
* 1995, Amtrak's Broadway Limited service between New York and Chicago made its final run
* 1997, Sinn Fein, the IRA's political ally, formally renounced violence as it took its place in talks on Northern Ireland's future