Moments in Time - 8/18/11

The History Channel

• On Sept. 1, 1836, Narcissa Whitman, a missionary, arrives in Walla Walla, Wash., becoming one of the first Anglo women to settle west of the Rocky Mountains. In 1847, a measles epidemic killed many of the Cayuse Indians. In retaliation, a band of Cayuse killed 14 people, including Narcissa and her husband.

• On Sept. 4, 1886, Geronimo, the wiliest and most dangerous Apache warrior of his time, finally surrenders in Skeleton Canyon, Ariz. Geronimo never learned to use a gun, yet he armed his men with the best modern rifles he could obtain and even used field glasses to aid reconnaissance during his campaigns.

• On Sept. 2, 1923, aftershocks and out-of-control fires rock Tokyo, Japan, and the surrounding area following an 8.3-magnitude earthquake. In total, 143,000 people died in the disaster. The Imperial Hotel, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, sank 2 feet into the ground but still managed to stand.

• On Sept. 3, 1939, Britain and France declare war on Germany. The first casualty of that declaration was the British ocean liner Athenia, which was sunk that evening by a German submarine.

• On Aug. 31, 1955, William G. Cobb of the General Motors Corp. demonstrates his 15-inch-long “Sunmobile,” the world’s first solar-powered automobile. When sunlight hit 12 photoelectric cells made of selenium (a nonmetal substance with conducting properties) built into the Sunmobile, an electric current was produced that in turn powered a tiny motor.

• On Aug. 30, 1963, a “hot line” between Moscow and Washington goes into effect to speed communication between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union and help prevent the possibility of an accidental war. The hot line was never really necessary to prevent war, but it did provide a useful prop for movies about nuclear disaster, such as “Fail Safe” and “Dr. Strangelove.”

• On Aug. 29, 1982, the Swedish-born actress and three-time Academy Award winner Ingrid Bergman dies of cancer in London on her 67th birthday. Bergman was best known for her role as Ilsa Lund in “Casablanca.”

(c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.