Today in History: September 18, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies

Audio By Carbonatix

Today is Thursday, Sept. 18, the 261st day of 2025. There are 104 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Sept. 18, 2020, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a towering champion of women’s rights who became the court’s second female justice, died at her home in Washington at age 87, of complications from pancreatic cancer.

Also on this date:

In 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.

In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which created a force of federal commissioners charged with returning escaped slaves to their owners. The act was repealed in 1864 during the American Civil War.

In 1851, the first edition of The New York Times was published.

In 1947, the National Security Act, which created a National Military Establishment and the position of Secretary of Defense, went into effect.

In 1961, United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold (dahg HAWM’-ahr-shoold) was killed in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia).

In 1970, rock star Jimi Hendrix died in London at age 27.

In 1975, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was captured by the FBI in San Francisco, 19 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

In 2014, voters in Scotland rejected independence, opting to remain part of the United Kingdom in a historic referendum.

Today’s Birthdays: Hockey Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman is 92. Singer Frankie Avalon is 85. Actor Anna Deavere Smith is 75. Neurosurgeon-author-politician Ben Carson is 74. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino is 73. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, is 71. Hockey Hall of Famer Peter Šťastný is 69. Actor Holly Robinson Peete is 61. R&B singer Ricky Bell (Bell Biv Devoe, New Edition) is 58. Basketball Hall of Famer Toni Kukoč is 57. Actor Aisha Tyler is 55. Actor Jada Pinkett Smith is 54. Actor James Marsden is 52. Rapper-TV host Xzibit is 51. Comedian-actor Jason Sudeikis is 50. Former soccer player Ronaldo is 49. TV host Sara Haines is 48. Actor/comedian Billy Eichner is 47. Rapper Dizzee Rascal is 41. Country singer Tae Kerr (Maddie and Tae) is 30. Soccer player Christian Pulisic is 27.