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KSAT Kids: Today in History, Sept. 28

Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin, beginning of siege at Yorktown

1781: The last major battle of the American Revolutionary War begins in Yorktown, Virginia. The American forces, led by George Washington, would eventually defeat the British troops under Lord Cornwallis. (Auguste Couder via Wikimedia Commons)

Today is Monday, Sept. 28, the 272nd day of 2020. There are 94 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

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On Sept. 28, 1928, Scottish medical researcher Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the first effective antibiotic.

On this date:

  • In 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England to claim the English throne.
  • In 1781, American forces in the Revolutionary War, backed by a French fleet, began their successful siege of Yorktown, Va.
1781: British Gen. Lord Charles Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown. The surrender would prompt the British government to negotiate an end to the American Revolutionary War. (John Trumbull via Wikimedia Commons)
  • In 1787, the Congress of the Confederation voted to send the just-completed Constitution of the United States to state legislatures for their approval.
  • In 1892, the first nighttime football game took place in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, as teams from Mansfield State Normal and Wyoming Seminary played under electric lights to a scoreless tie.
  • In 1920, eight members of the Chicago White Sox were indicted for allegedly throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. (All were acquitted at trial, but all eight were banned from the game for life.)
  • In 1962, a federal appeals court found Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett in civil contempt for blocking the admission of James Meredith, a Black student, to the University of Mississippi. (Federal marshals escorted Meredith onto the campus two days later.)

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor Brigitte Bardot is 86. Actor-comedian Janeane Garofalo is 56. Actor Mira Sorvino is 53. Actor Naomi Watts is 52. Country singer Karen Fairchild (Little Big Town) is 51. Rapper Young Jeezy is 43. World Golf Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak is 43. Comedian/actor Phoebe Robinson is 36. Rock musician Daniel Platzman (Imagine Dragons) is 34. Actor Hilary Duff is 33.


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