Today in History: September 10, Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court nomination hearings begin

Today in History

Today is Thursday, Sept. 10, the 253rd day of 2025. There are 112 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Sept. 10, 1991, the Senate Judiciary Committee opened hearings on the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court. The proceedings would become a watershed moment in the discussion of sexual harassment when Anita Hill, a law professor who had previously worked under Thomas, came forward with allegations against him.

Also on this date:

In 1608, John Smith was elected president of the Jamestown colony council in Virginia.

In 1846, Elias Howe received a patent for his sewing machine.

In 1960, running barefoot, Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won the Olympic marathon in Rome, becoming the first Black African to win Olympic gold.

In 1960, Hurricane Donna, a dangerous Category 4 storm blamed for 364 deaths, struck the Florida Keys.

In 1963, 20 Black students entered Alabama public schools following a standoff between federal authorities and Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace.

In 1979, four Puerto Rican nationalists imprisoned for a 1954 attack on the U.S. House of Representatives and a 1950 attempted killing of President Harry S. Truman were freed from prison after being granted clemency by President Jimmy Carter.

In 1987, Pope John Paul II arrived in Miami, where he was welcomed by President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan as he began a 10-day tour of the United States.

In 2005, teams of forensic workers and cadaver dogs fanned out across New Orleans to collect the corpses left behind by Hurricane Katrina.

In 2008, the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) was powered up for the first time, successfully firing the first beam of protons through its 17-mile (27-kilometer) underground ring tunnel.

In 2022, King Charles III was officially proclaimed Britain’s monarch in a pomp-filled ceremony two days after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

In 2025, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who had an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, was shot and killed at an outdoor speaking engagement at a Utah university.

Today’s Birthdays: Scientist-author Jared Diamond is 89. Singer José Feliciano is 81. Former Canadian first lady Margaret Trudeau is 78. Rock musician Joe Perry (Aerosmith) is 76. Actor Amy Irving is 73. Actor-director Clark Johnson is 72. Actor Kate Burton is 69. Film director Chris Columbus is 68. Actor Colin Firth is 66. Cartoonist Alison Bechdel is 66. Baseball Hall of Famer Randy Johnson is 63. Actor Raymond Cruz is 62. Rapper Big Daddy Kane is 58. Film director Guy Ritchie is 58. Actor Ryan Phillippe is 52. Ballerina Misty Copeland is 44. Former MLB All-Star Joey Votto is 43. Actor Gabriel Bateman is 22.