A Blast from the Past

Today is Sept. 4.

For the first time since news of his affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky broke, President Clinton said he was "sorry" for what he had done. The presidential apology came on this date in 1998. It didn't stop the House of Representatives from impeaching him later in the year. (The Senate would acquit him in early 1999.)

The long, drawn-out, Iran-Iraq war began on this date in 1980 when Iraqi troops seized Iranian territory in a border dispute..

It was on this date in 1609 that Henry Hudson, an English explorer working for the Dutch, sailed into what's now known as New York Harbor and discovered the island of Manhattan.

In other exploratory news, the first passage of the fabled Northwest Passage was completed by icebreakers from the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard on this date in 1954.

In 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus sent National Guardsmen to prevent nine African-American students from entering Central High School in Little Rock.

American swimmer Mark Spitz became the hero of many kids (and adults) on this date in 1972 when he won his seventh Olympic gold medal. He was the first athlete to win that many Olympic gold medals.

And it was on this date in 1957 that the Ford Motor Co. introduced the Edsel automobile. The Edsel -- named for Henry Ford's son -- offered as standard items features that were optional on other models of cars. Despite that, the car was not a hit.

We now return you to the present, already in progress.