Today in History....September 13

On this day in …

1788, the Congress of the Confederation authorized the first national election, and declared New York City the temporary national capital

1899, the first recorded fatality from an automobile accident, after an oncoming vehicle fatally struck Henry Bliss at the corner of Central Park West and 74th Street, Manhattan. Driver Arthur Smith was arrested and held on $1,000 bail while Bliss was taken to Roosevelt hospital, where he died

1922, the highest shade temperature on the Earth’s surface was recorded in El Azizia, Libya, which reached 136.4 degrees Fahrenheit

1945, in accordance with the Potsdam Agreements at the end of WWII, 5,000 British troops of the 20th Indian Division, commanded by Gen. Douglas Gracey, arrive in southern Indochina to disarm the defeated Japanese forces

1948, Republican Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress

1971, a four-day inmates’ rebellion at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York ended as police and guards stormed the prison; the ordeal and final assault claimed 43 lives

1977, General Motors (GM) introduced the first diesel automobiles in America on this day, the Oldsmobile 88 and 98 models. A major selling point of the two models was their fuel efficiency, which GM claimed to be 40 percent better than gasoline-powered cars

1993, at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, ym"sh, shook hands after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy. Almost immediately, a surge of Arab terrorism began against Israel and continued despite the Jewish state making concession after concession

1995, kidnapping and ransom insurance sales continue to rise, as the threat of terrorism grows. Small and medium-sized companies started buying the policies to protect workers heading overseas to conduct business, according to a New York Times report