History Today: Remembering the youngest and oldest victims of the deadly 9/11 terror attack

The world came to a standstill on this day in 2001, when nearly 3,000 people were killed after 19 al-Qaeda hijackers took over four planes in the United States, crashing three of them into buildings.

Among the victims was Christine Lee Hanson, a toddler who was the youngest of the eight children killed. The oldest victim was Robert Norton, aged 82. Both were passengers on the flights.

Also on this day in 1941, work began on the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. It would go on to become one of the largest office buildings in the world and now serves as the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, housing the Army, Navy and Air Force.

As part of Firstpost Explainers’ History Today series, here’s a look at what happened on September 11:

September 11 attacks

On this day in 2001, terrorists belonging to the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, hijacked four passenger planes and launched suicide attacks in the United States.

Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, bringing down the twin towers within hours and destroying much of lower Manhattan.

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A third plane struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, near Washington, DC.

On the fourth plane, passengers and crew resisted the hijackers, and the aircraft crashed in a field close to Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Nearly 3,000 people died in the 9/11 attacks, along with the 19 hijackers. The events were broadcast worldwide and left people everywhere shocked.

The administration of President George W Bush declared a “war on terrorism,” which led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the US invasion of Afghanistan.

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In total, 2,977 people were killed, not including the hijackers. Citizens from 77 nations were among the dead.

All 246 passengers and crew aboard the four flights were killed. At the Twin Towers, 2,606 people died either at the site or later from their injuries. At the Pentagon, 125 lives were lost.

Christine Lee Hanson, aged two and a half, was the youngest victim. She boarded United Flight 175 at Logan Airport in Boston with her parents, Peter and Sue Kim Hanson. The family from Groton, Massachusetts, were travelling to Los Angeles to visit relatives before a planned trip to Disneyland.

Robert Grant Norton, aged 85, was the oldest victim. A resident of Lubec, Maine, he was on American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to hit the World Trade Center. He and his wife Jacqueline, were flying to California for his stepson’s wedding scheduled for the next day.

Thousands were injured or later developed health problems linked to the attacks, including many firefighters who had worked in the toxic debris.

Osama bin Laden, who planned the attacks, remained in hiding until May 2, 2011, when U.S. forces tracked him down and killed him in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Construction of the Pentagon began

On this day in 1941, work started on the five-sided building in Arlington County, Virginia, close to Washington, DC, which came to be known as the Pentagon.

It became the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, housing the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The project was designed to bring together the War Department offices, which had been spread across 17 different locations in Washington.

After the United States entered World War II in December 1941, just three months after building had begun, finishing the project turned into a national priority.

More than 13,000 labourers worked day and night, and within eight months of construction beginning, Secretary of War Henry Stimson moved his offices into the building.

When completed in January 1943 at a cost of $83 million, the Pentagon was the largest office building in the world.

It covered 29 acres (12 hectares), including a central courtyard of 5 acres (2 hectares), and provided about 3,700,000 square feet (344,000 square metres) of working space for nearly 25,000 staff.

This Day, That Year

1971: Former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, a key figure during the Cold War, died.

1973: Chilean President Salvador Allende died in a violent coup led by General Augusto Pinochet.

2023: More than 4,000 people were killed and thousands went missing after Storm Daniel caused two dams to collapse, flooding the city of Derna in Libya.