Today in History, September 11, 2001: Terrorists killed nearly 3,000 by crashing planes into World Trade Center, Pentagon

Today is Sept. 11. On this date:

1789

Alexander Hamilton was appointed the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.

1814

An American fleet scored a decisive victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Champlain in the War of 1812.

1857

The Mountain Meadows Massacre took place in present-day southern Utah as a 120-member Arkansas immigrant party was slaughtered by Mormon militiamen aided by Paiute Indians.

1936

Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) began operation as President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a key in Washington to signal the startup of the dam’s first hydroelectric generator.

1941

Groundbreaking took place for the Pentagon.

1954

The Miss America pageant made its network TV debut on ABC; Miss California, Lee Meriwether, was crowned the winner.

1967

The comedy-variety program “The Carol Burnett Show” premiered on CBS.

1985

Cincinnati Reds player-manager Pete Rose hit a single for his 4,192nd hit, breaking Ty Cobb’s all-time Major League hit record at Riverfront Stadium

2001

On America’s single-worst day of terrorism, nearly 3,000 people were killed as 19 al-Qaida members hijacked four passenger jetliners, sending two of the planes smashing into New York’s World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon and the fourth into a field in western Pennsylvania.

Photos:These iconic images from 9/11 are truly unforgettable

2012

A mob armed with guns and grenades launched a fiery nightlong attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost and a CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya, killing U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.