September 5 in History

Black September terrorists seized eleven Israeli athletes and a German police officer during the Munich Olympics, demanding the release of 234 prisoners including Red Army Faction founders. The failed rescue attempt killed five attackers and three hostages, but West Germany later freed the remaining three captives after a Lufthansa hijacking. This surrender triggered Mossad's Operation "Wrath of God," which systematically hunted down and eliminated Palestinians suspected of involvement in the massacre.

Fifty-six delegates from twelve colonies (Georgia didn't attend) convened at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, forming the First Continental Congress. The delegates included George Washington, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and John Jay. They were responding to Britain's Intolerable Acts, which had closed Boston Harbor and suspended Massachusetts' self-governance after the Tea Party. Congress adopted the Continental Association, a comprehensive boycott of British goods enforced by local committees that effectively became shadow governments. They also drafted a petition to King George III listing their grievances. The petition was ignored. The Congress agreed to reconvene in May 1775 if their demands were not met. By then, shots had already been fired at Lexington and Concord.

Sam Houston was elected the first president of the Republic of Texas on September 5, 1836, winning 79% of the vote against two opponents. Houston, a former governor of Tennessee and close friend of Andrew Jackson, had led the Texan army to victory over Mexican President Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto five months earlier, capturing Santa Anna himself. As president, Houston inherited a bankrupt republic threatened by Mexico, which refused to recognize Texas independence, and by the Comanche, who controlled most of western Texas. Houston sought annexation by the United States, but the slavery question delayed American acceptance until 1845. Texas entered the Union as the 28th state, triggering the Mexican-American War.

Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997 — five days after Princess Diana. The world had barely finished mourning one when it lost the other. She'd founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta in 1950 with twelve members. By the time of her death, it ran over 600 missions in 123 countries. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and used the acceptance ceremony to speak against abortion — which startled the committee. Her methods were controversial among aid workers who questioned her approach to suffering. Her faith was not. She was canonized a saint by the Catholic Church in 2016.

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a devoted follower of Charles Manson, pointed a Colt M1911 .45-caliber pistol at President Gerald Ford from approximately two feet away in Sacramento, California, on September 5, 1975. Secret Service agent Larry Buendorf grabbed the weapon before she could fire. The gun had four rounds in the magazine but none in the chamber, meaning it could not have fired even if Buendorf had missed. Fromme said she wanted to draw attention to California's redwood forests and Manson's environmental concerns. She was sentenced to life in prison. Just seventeen days later, Sara Jane Moore fired an actual shot at Ford in San Francisco, making Ford the only sitting president to survive two assassination attempts in the same month.

Crazy Horse was bayoneted by Private William Gentles at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, on September 5, 1877, while two soldiers held his arms. He was 36. Crazy Horse had been the most successful military leader the Lakota ever produced, leading the decoy charge at the Fetterman Fight in 1866 and commanding the warriors who destroyed Custer's command at the Little Bighorn in 1876. He surrendered in May 1877 with roughly 900 followers, the last major group of free Sioux. Rumors that he was planning to escape led to his arrest. He resisted when he saw the prison cells. In the struggle, the bayonet pierced his kidney. He died that night. No authenticated photograph of him exists. His burial site has never been confirmed.

Theodore Roosevelt mediated the Treaty of Portsmouth between Russia and Japan on September 5, 1905, ending the Russo-Japanese War in a deal that left both sides dissatisfied. Japan had won every major battle on land and sea but was financially exhausted and unable to continue the war. Roosevelt persuaded Japan to accept control of Korea and the southern half of Sakhalin without the cash indemnity it demanded. The treaty was signed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906, the first American to win a Nobel in any category. In Tokyo, news of the treaty terms triggered three days of anti-American riots. In Russia, the humiliating defeat helped ignite the 1905 Revolution.