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On This Day: Margaret Chase Smith is 1st woman elected to House, Senate

On Sept. 13, 1948, Margaret Chase Smith won election to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first woman to serve in both chambers of Congress.

By UPI Staff
On September 13, 1948, Margaret Chase Smith became the first woman to be serve in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, representing Maine as a Republican. File Photo courtesy of the U.S. Senate
1 of 3 | On September 13, 1948, Margaret Chase Smith became the first woman to be serve in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, representing Maine as a Republican. File Photo courtesy of the U.S. Senate

Sept. 13 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1814, during a British attack on Fort McHenry, Md., Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

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In 1922, the temperature at El Azizia, Libya, reached 136 degrees Fahrenheit, generally accepted as the world's highest recorded atmospheric temperature.

In 1940, the chapel at Buckingham Palace was destroyed in the German Blitz on London. The palace came under attack nine times during World War II. Ten days later, King George VI condemned the "wickedness against which we fight."

In 1948, Margaret Chase Smith won election to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first woman to serve in both chambers of Congress.

In 1971, New York state forces stormed and regained control of Attica state prison in a riot that killed 43 people.

In 1993, in a ceremony at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat signed a declaration of principles for Palestinian self-rule.

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File Photo by Leighton Mark/UPI

In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur died after he was shot in an ambush on Sept. 7.

In 2001, U.S. carriers were allowed to resume flights and airports were under strict new security requirements in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

In 2008, Hurricane Ike battered Galveston and Houston with heavy rain and 110-mph winds, forcing about 1 million people to flee and leaving millions without electricity. Officials later said deaths caused by Ike included more than 100 in the United States and about 75 in Haiti.

File Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/UPI

In 2013, an Indian court convicted four men on charges they raped and murdered a 23-year-old student on a private bus in Delhi -- a December 2012 attack that caused nationwide outrage. They were sentenced to death.

In 2017, the International Olympic Committee said Paris would host the 2024 Summer Olympics and Los Angeles the 2028 Summer Olympics in a historic double announcement.

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File Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI

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