1946. The international military tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, finds 22 Nazi leaders guilty of war crimes committed through World War II. The U.S., Great Britain, France and Russia issued an indictment against 24 men and six organizations. For more information on the Nuremberg trials, click here.

September 29

1982. The first victims of Tylenol cyanide poisonings die in Chicago. The culprit was never caught but the murders led to new tamper-proof medicine bottles.

1995. The O.J. Simpson murder case goes to a California Jury. After only four hours of deliberations, Simpson was acquitted of killing ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. For more information, click here.

September 28

1850. Flogging as a form of punishment is abolished in the U.S. Navy. Originally from the Roman Navy, the tradition of lashing sailors as a form of discipline was then passed on to the British and U.S. Navy. Before Congress's ban on flogging, there was a "Published Senate Document on Flogging in the Navy" that gave guidelines for the amount of lashes to be given for a punishable act.

1999. The U.S. Supreme Court agrees to rule on grandparents' rights to see their grandchildren after a divorce, even if the parents object. The Supreme Court ruled June 6, 2000, that a law of this kind would be unconstitutional because it would infringe on the parents' "fundamental right" to make decisions about the best interest of their children.

September 27

1964. The Warren Commission issues a report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Oswald shot the president by stationing himself on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. Established in 1963 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the commission was allowed to conduct unrestricted investigations and report its findings publicly.

September 26

1986. William Rehnquist is sworn in as the 16th chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was nominated by President Reagan. Rehnquist was only the second chief justice in history to preside over a presidential impeachment trial, in his case for President Clinton.

1997. Richard Allen Davis is sentenced to death for killing 12-year-old Polly Klaas. Davis kidnapped the girl from a slumber party and later led police to the location where he left her body. He was convicted of kidnapping, burglary, robbery and attempting a lewd act on a child.

September 25

1789. The U.S. Congress adopts 12 amendments to the Constitution and sends them to the states for ratification. Ten of these amendments later became the Bill of Rights.

1957. Nine black students integrating Central High in Little Rock, Ark., are escorted to class by U.S. Army troops. Just two days before, the students had integrated the school and were forced to leave as a mob surrounded the school. The school was completely integrated in 1958.

1981. Sandra Day O'Connor becomes the first woman sworn in as an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court. She was nominated by President Reagan in the Rose Garden at the White House. Before her nomination, she had served at the Arizona Court of Appeals from 1979 to 1981.

1997. Marv Albert pleads guilty to assault and battery in a sex-related case brought against him by his mistress, Vanessa Perhach. The NBC sportscaster was fired by NBC after his plea and resigns as the announcer for the Madison Square Garden Network.

September 24

1789. The first Congress passes the Judiciary Act establishing an Attorney General and the Supreme Court.

1969. The trial of the "Chicago Seven" Vietnam protesters begins. Five years later convicted of crossing state lines to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Their convictions were later overturned.

1976. Heiress Patty Hearst is sentenced to seven years in prison for a 1974 bank robbery committed with her kidnappers, the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was captured by the FBI almost two years after the incident and was found guilty. Her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter and she was later pardoned by President Bill Clinton.

1999. Oregon teenager Kip Kinkel, accused of murdering his parents and two classmates and wounding 25 others, changes his plea from insanity to guilty. The plea changed his possible sentence which can range from 25 to 200 years in prison.

September 23

1957. Nine black students integrating Central High in Little Rock, Ark., are forced to leave as a mob surrounds the school. A 1954 Supreme Court ruling had made segregation illegal in public facilities, but black students were still being discriminated against in much of the South.

September 22

1975. An assassination attempt is made on President Ford by Sara Jane Moore in San Francisco. It was the second attempt on Ford's life in less than am month. The 45-year old Moore took a gun from her bag and shot toward the president. Although Ford was only 10 meters away, he was not hit by the bullet. Moore was sentenced to life in prison for her actions.

1999. In a landmark case, the Justice Department sues Big Tobacco for billions in a medical cost-recovery action. Prosecutors argued that tobacco companies engaged in consumer fraud by covering up the health risks that occur with cigarette smoking by targeting the public with misleading advertising campaigns. Tobacco companies named in the suit were Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, American Tobacco, Brown & Williamson, British-American Tobacco, Lorillard Tobacco, Liggett and Myers, the Council for Tobacco Research, and the Tobacco Institute.

1999. Singer Diana Ross is arrested at Heathrow airport after a scuffle with a security officer that had frisked Ross. Ross assaulted the female officer who was doing a routine security check on the singer, who set of an alarm when she walked through customs. Ross proceeded to board the plane, was escorted off by police and detained. She was eventually released, and the security guard did not press charges.

September 21

1998. A federal judge rules in favor of Jimmy Buffet, stating that the Miami restaurant chain "Cheeseburger in Paradise," violates the singer's trademark.

September 20

1999. The second defendant in the dragging death of James Byrd Jr. is convicted of capital murder. Lawrence Russel Brewer was later sentenced to death. Brewer was a member of a hate group, the Texas Rebel Soldiers, a branch of the Confederate Knights of America Prosecutors. He and two others also beat and decapitated Byrd because he was black. For more information on the trial and conviction of the third and last defendant Shawn Berry, visit Crime Library.

2000. A federal judge rules the government is not to blame for the deaths of 80 Branch Davidians in a fire stemming from a 1993 standoff with federal agents at the cult's Waco compound. During the investigation, Attorney General Janet Reno appointed special counsel, Republican Senator John Danforth, to re-examine how the fire started and whether the FBI attempted to cover up any information. The final ruling said that David Koresh was responsible for the fatal results of the 51-day siege. For more on the Waco standoff, click here.

September 19

1881. President James A. Garfield dies from an assassin's bullet wounds just six months after he took office. The assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, held a grudge against Garfield, who had refused to appoint him as U.S. consul in Paris. A jury convicted him, and he was hanged in 1882.

1934. Bruno Richard Hauptmann is arrested and charged with kidnapping and murdering Charles Lindbergh's baby. He was later convicted and sentenced to death.

1995. The Washington Post and New York Times publish a 35,000 word manifesto written by the Unabomber. Ted Kaczynski was later turned in by his brother and is currently serving a life sentence. More on the Unabomber from Crime Library.

September 18

1850. U.S. Congress passes the Fugitive Slave Act mandating the return of runaway slaves, regardless of their location in the Union, to their owners. The law, which was conceived to discourage slaves from escaping, also stipulated that it was illegal for any citizen to assist them. Officers of the law were not exempt from the harsh mandate. They faced a hefty fine of $1,000 if they refused to return runaway slaves. The Fugitive Slave Act, along with other laws, foreshadowed the divide that would result in the Civil War.

1975. Heiress Patty Hearst is captured by the FBI almost two years after she was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army and took part in a bank robbery. Hearst was found guilty, but her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter and she was later pardoned by President Bill Clinton.

September 17

1787. The U.S. Constitution is signed and sent to Congress. Copies were forwarded to the state legislatures and great debates ensued within the fledging nation. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay wrote the brilliant Federalist Papers in favor of the Constitution. George Mason, Elbridge Gerry and Patrick Henry led the Antifederalists in opposing it. Conventions in nine states ratified the Constitution and it became law by the end of June 1788.

1998. Dr. Jack Kevorkian injects a Michigan man, Thomas Youk, 52, with lethal drugs, videotapes the act and sends it to CBS. CBS later aired portions of the tape. Michigan authorities arrested Kevorkian and charged him with violating the assisted suicide law. Kevorkian chose to defend himself during his trial. He was convicted of second-degree murder in April 1999, and sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison.

September 16

1919. The American Legion is established by an act of Congress to assist wartime veterans and promote patriotism. Twenty officers who served France during World War I started the legion. Nearly 1,000 officers and enlisted men attended the first meeting in Paris. After the second meeting in St. Louis, Mo., the American Legion set up a temporary location in New York City. At the present time, the organization has nearly three million members and is community service oriented.

September 15

1935. The Nuremberg Laws are adopted by the NAZI party in Germany. Hitler declares the first two articles of the law at a rally in Nuremberg. Section one, the Law of the Reich Citizen, deprived Jews of citizenship rights. Section two, the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor, forbid the mixing of German and Jewish blood in order to preserve "purity" in the German race.

1963. Four young girls are killed when a bomb explodes during Sunday services in a Burmingham Baptist Church. The bomb was located in the women's lounge in the basement; the girls went to the basement during a break between their Sunday school lesson and an assembly. Fourteen other blacks were injured because of the explosion. Riots broke out following the incident and Governor George Wallace sent 500 National Guardsmen and 300 State police to the scene. Thirty-seven years later, Ku Klux Klan members Thomas E. Blanton Jr. and Bobby Frank Cherry (pictured) were convicted of the crime.

1997. Death Row Records founder Dr. Dre is sued for breach of contract by Set It Off Records over allegedly stealing a portion of a song from the group Milkbone.

September 14

1901. President McKinley dies from gunshot wounds in Buffalo, N.Y., after being shot by an assassin eight days earlier. McKinley was shot and mortally wounded at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. His assassin, Leon Czolgosz, was an independent anarchist who believed his actions would generate media attention for his cause. For more on the assassination, visit the Crime Library.

September 13

1971. The Attica prison revolt ends after four days as state police storm the facility. By the end of the ordeal, 43 people had died, including 10 hostages, when 1,500 state police and National Guard officers attempted to end the riot. Inmates had taken control of the maximum-security correctional facility outside Buffalo, N.Y., as a stand against cruel treatment by the prison guards.

1996. Rapper Tupac Shakur, 25, dies from gunshot wounds that resulted in complications including respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest. Shakur was shot with four bullets a week earlier while riding in Las Vegas with Death Row Records head Marion "Suge" Knight. The two had just left the Mike Tyson-Bruce Selden boxing match and were reportedly driving to a nightclub. The crime was rumored to be connected to the ongoing East Coast versus West Coast hip-hop feud.

September 12

1977. Steven Biko, a South African black student leader, dies in police custody. His death triggered an international outcry and increased racial tensions throughout South Africa. Biko was arrested on August 18 for suspicion of distributing documents urging blacks to overthrow apartheid. Authorities detained Biko under a clause the Terrorism Act that provides for indefinite detention without trial. He died after allegedly having been on a hunger strike for five days.

September 11

1998. The U.S. Congress releases independent counsel Kenneth Starr's report accusing President Clinton of 11 possible grounds for impeachment, including perjury, witness tampering, obstruction of justice and abuse of power. Issued after the eight-month grand jury investigation, the public report accused Clinton of lying and attempting to cover up his sexual affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

2000. Relatives of the late 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' creator file a lawsuit against Universal Studios charging that bad practices cost them millions of dollars in royalties. 2001. Nineteen hijackers crash two planes into New York's World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon, killing thousands. A fourth plane crashes in Pennsylvania after passengers fight back. Over 3000 people are killed in the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil. After the attack, a twentieth person, Zacarias Moussaoui, was charged with conspiring with Osama bin Laden, who was suspected of masterminding the scheme. Prosecutors are currently seeking the death penalty against Moussaoui.

September 10

1963. Twenty black students enter and desegregate an Alabama public school, ending a standoff between federal authorities and Governor George Wallace. That same year, Wallace stood in the doorway of the University of Alabama to block two black students from entering, despite President Kennedy's desegregation order. Wallace was later paralyzed by an assassin's bullet.

September 9

1935. President Dwight Eisenhower signs a Civil Rights Act into law. The act gave the Department of Justice power to protect black voters denied the right to vote in federal elections by obstacles or intimidation tactics. The act was the first significant civil rights legislation since 1875.

1971. The Attica Prison revolt begins near Buffalo, N.Y. Inmates take control of the maximum-security correctional facility as a stand against cruel treatment by the prison guards. By the end of the four-day the siege, 43 people, including 10 hostages, had died as a result of 1,500 state police and National Guard officers who attempted to end the riot.

1991. Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is indicted by the Indianapolis grand jury for raping former Miss Black America contestant Desiree Washington. Tyson was released two days later on a $30,000 bond. Washington met Tyson at a pageant dress rehearsal and later went to the boxer's hotel room, where the rape took place.

September 8

1935. Senator Huey P. Long is shot in the Louisiana Capitol Building. Part of the agenda for the evening was a bill, supported by Long, that would have not allowed Judge Henry Pavy to run for re-election based on a rumor about his having black ancestry. Pavy's son-in-law, Baton Rouge doctor Carl Austin Weiss, shot Long in the stomach to prevent the rumor from surfacing. Long's bodyguards' fired at Weiss, killing him, but also accidently hit Long as he was fleeing the scene. Long died two days later.

1974. President Ford grants an unconditional pardon to former President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal. The pardon dropped all charges brought against Nixon during his presidential term.

September 7

1977. Former FBI agent G. Gordon Liddy is released from prison after serving 52 months for being involved in the Watergate conspiracy. His 20-year sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter. At 66, Liddy was one of the seven men known to the world as a member of "CREEP," or the Committee to Re-elect the President, and was arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Headquarters and participating in the Watergate burglary.

1996. Rapper Tupac Shakur, 25, is shot with four bullets while riding in Las Vegas with Death Row Records head Marion "Suge" Knight. The two had just left the Mike Tyson-Bruce Selden boxing match and were reportedly driving to a nightclub. Shakur died a few days later from complications, including respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest. The crime was rumored to be connected to the ongoing East Coast versus West Coast hip-hop feud.

1999. Former Senator John Danforth is named to head an independent investigation into an alleged FBI coverup involving the 1993 Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, Texas. The FBI admitted that it had fired potentially incendiary tear gas cartridges into the compound during the standoff with the sect, contradicting testimony from Attorney General Janet Reno and others that the FBI couldn't have started the blaze that left 76 people dead.

September 6

1901. President McKinley is shot and mortally wounded at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. He died eight days later. His assassin, Leon Czolgosz, was an independent anarchist who believed his actions would generate media attention for his cause. For more on the assassination, visit the Crime Library.

1995. Former detective Mark Fuhrman returns to the witness stand and invokes the Fifth Amendment when asked whether he lied or planted evidence or filed false reports in the O.J. Simpson investigation. Fuhrman, who previously testified to finding a bloody glove on Simpson's estate the day after the murders, refused to answer a series of questions from defense attorney Gerald Uelmen. Among them were: "Was the testimony that you gave in the preliminary hearing in this case completely truthful?" "Have you ever falsified a police report?" and "Did you plant or manufacture any evidence in this case?" In each instance, Fuhrman turned to his lawyer, Darryl Mounger, and declared, "I wish to assert my Fifth Amendment privilege." The brief exchange, outside the presence of the jury, came during a hearing in which the defense asked Judge Lance Ito to suppress all the evidence gathered at Simpson's estate from the point when Fuhrman said he found blood on Simpson's car several hours after the murders.

Also in 1995, the Senate Ethics Committee votes unanimously to recommend the expulsion of Oregon Senator Bob Packwood for engaging in sexual misconduct and obstruction of justice. The committee found Packwood guilty of making unwanted sexual advances against 17 women. The next day, Packwood announced his resignation.

September 5

1774. The First Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia and drafts the Declaration of Rights and Grievances as a response to the British Government's Intolerant Acts, which sought to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party. The gathering, which included about 50 delegates from 12 colonies, laid the groundwork for the government that eventually led the colonies through the American Revolution.

1975. Manson family member Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme tries to assassinate President Gerald Ford in Sacramento, Calif. Fromme approached President Ford bearing a loaded pistol, but her attempt was thwarted when the gun misfired at close range. Fromme was later convicted to life in prison.

1995. O.J. Simpson jurors hear testimony that Detective Mark Fuhrman uttered racial slurs and advocated killing blacks. According to one witness, who met the detective in 1985 at a marine recruiting center, Fuhrman said, "If I had my way, I'd gather all the niggers together and burn them." In addition to one taped segment played aloud (lawyers had battled for a week over the admissibility of various recordings that allegedly showed Fuhrman's bias), jurors were also allowed to read a transcript of Fuhrman saying, "We have no niggers where I grew up."

September 4

1957. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus defies a court order and calls in the National Guard to prevent nine black students from integrating Little Rock High School. President Dwight Eisenhower responded by sending federal troops to protect the students. On September 23, they entered the high school amid the jeers and taunts of an angry mob. One of the nine was later expelled after fighting with boys who were harassing her.

1993. New York Yankee Darryl Strawberry is arrested for allegedly striking his girlfriend, Charisse Simon. Charges were never filed and the couple married three months later. Strawberry's former wife had also accused of him of physical abuse. His troubles only worsened as the decade wore on. He was indicted for tax invasion, diagnosed with colon cancer, charged with possession of cocaine and soliciting a prostitute, and spent time in and out of drug treatment clinics.

September 3

1999. A French judge officially closes the case on the fatal car crash that killed Princess Diana. He dismissed all charges against 10 members of the paparazzi, concluding the accident was caused by the intoxicated driver, Henri Paul. Diana's boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, and their chauffeur also died when the Mercedes crashed August 30, 1997, in a tunnel along the Seine River at the Pont de l'Alma bridge, less than a half mile north of the Eiffel Tower.

September 2

1963. Alabama Governor George Wallace prevents the court-ordered integration of a public high school by surrounding the campus with state troopers. Eight days later, President John Kennedy sends in the National Guard to break up the blockade. Although the gambit fails, it wins Wallace a following among southerners opposed to the civil rights movement and sets up his surprisingly strong showing as a third party candidate in the 1968 presidential election.

September 1

1807. Vice President Aaron Burr is found innocent of treason. He was accused by many politicians, including President Thomas Jefferson, of plotting to split the southwestern United States from the Union and establish his own country. The trial, presided over by John Marshall, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court credited with establishing judicial review, ended with an acquittal after several pieces of evidence were rejected.

1942. A California judge upholds the wartime internment of Japanese citizens ordered by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Executive Order 1066. The controversial policy, which consisted of curfews and internment camps for Japanese-Americans, was intended to keep Japanese-Americans working as spies for their homeland from sabotaging the war effort in the Pacific theater. The Supreme Court later upheld the internment policy in Korematsu v. United States, a decision often vilified in later years by court watchers and civil rights activists.

1979. Clayton Moore, the original Lone Ranger, is barred from donning the cowboy's famous black mask and appearing in character in public. The show's producers, who owned the rights to the character, got the restraining order because they were planning a Lone Ranger movie. After five years of legal battling, Moore's attorneys got the decision reversed in 1984 and again won him the right to put on the black mask.

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