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By Mary Braswell

Each week Albany Herald researcher Mary Braswell looks for interesting events, places and people from the past. You can contact her at (229) 888-9371 or [email protected]. Follow @ABH_MBraswell on Twitter.

Most readers of this column well remember where they were when the news of the terrorist attacks by al-Qaida took place on Sept. 11, 2001. Today marks 15 years since those events that changed lives, laws and liberties of Americans forever. Here is a look back at that day.

TIMELINE (EDT)

— 8 a.m. — American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 with 92 people on board, took off from Boston’s Logan International Airport bound for Los Angeles.

— 8:14 a.m. — United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing 767 with 65 people on board, took off from Logan International, also bound for Los Angeles.

— 8:21 a.m. — American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757 with 64 people on board, took off from Washington Dulles International Airport for Los Angeles.

— 8:40 a.m. — The Federal Aviation Administration notified the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD) Northeast Air Defense Sector about suspected hijacking of Flight 11.

— 8:41 a.m. — United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 with 44 people on board, took off from Newark International Airport for San Francisco.

— 8:43 a.m. — FAA notified NORAD about suspected hijacking of United Flight 175.

— 8:46 a.m. — American Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

— 8:55 a.m. — President George W. Bush was at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla., as part of a scheduled tour to promote education. Presidential adviser Karl Rove informed Bush that a small twin-engine plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice spoke by phone from the White House to the president. She first told Bush it was a twin-engine aircraft and then a commercial aircraft that had struck the WTC, adding, “That’s all we know right now, Mr. President.”

— 9:03 a.m. — United Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower.

— 9:05 a.m. — Just as the president was about to start his story-time, Chief of Staff Andrew Card whispered in his ear, “A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack.”

— 9:08 a.m. — The FAA banned all takeoffs nationwide for flights going to or through the New York airspace.

— 9:21 a.m. — All bridges and tunnels into Manhattan were closed.

— 9:24 a.m. — NORAD was notified by the FAA of the suspected hijacking of American Flight 77.

— 9:26 a.m. — All civilian aircraft was banned from takeoff.

— 9:37 a.m. — Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon.

— 9:48 a.m. — The U.S. Capitol and the West Wing of the White House were evacuated.

— 9:59 a.m. — The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.

— 10:03 a.m. — United Flight 93 crashed into a Pennsylvania field.

— 10:28 a.m. — The North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.

— 1:04 p.m. — President Bush announced that the U.S. military was on high alert worldwide.

— 2:51 p.m. — Missile destroyers were dispatched to New York City and Washington, D.C.

— 5:25 p.m. — The 47-story 7 World Trade Center collapsed.

— 8:30 p.m. — President Bush addressed the nation. In part, he said, “Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America.”

— 11:30 p.m. — Before going to bed, President Bush wrote in his journal: “The Pearl Harbor of the 21st century took place today … We think it is Osama bin Laden.”

DID YOU KNOW?

— Salty and Roselle, two separate guide dogs, were in the World Trade Center during 9/11. They were on the 71st and 78th floor of Tower 1, respectively. They each led their owners safely out of the burning tower amidst the chaos, and both owners and dogs survived.

— On 9/11, when all transport out of the city was shut down, citizen boat owners managed to transport more than 500,000 people from Manhattan in an amazing act known as the 9/11 Boatlift.

— On 9/11, Canada landed 33,000 U.S.-bound passengers and 239 aircraft in what is known as Operation Yellow Ribbon. Locals then housed and fed the strangers for days afterward.

— The first firefighter to die on 9/11 was hit by a jumper.

— Jan Demczur, a window washer working in the World Trade Center on 9/11, became trapped in an elevator between floors after the first plane hit. Using his squeegee to pry open the doors, he then broke through the drywall and led the passengers out of the building moments before it collapsed.

— One bank that lost 66 employees in the 9/11 attacks has sent, as of 2015, 54 children of their fallen colleagues to college.

— According to 9/11 research on World Trade Center survivors, 20 people were pulled from the rubble alive. As a morale booster and to keep them searching, workers would occasionally hide so the hardworking rescue dogs could find a live person.

— Global financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald was the worst business affected by the 9/11 attacks. It lost two-thirds of its employees.

— On Sept. 11, 2001, Officer John Perry was at police headquarters filing his retirement papers when he was notified about the first airplane striking the first tower. He rushed to the scene to assist with rescue operations and was killed when one of the towers collapsed. He was the only off-duty officer killed on 9/11.

— After 9/11, the Masai tribesmen of Kenya donated 14 cows to the U.S. to help with the aftermath of 9/11. To the Masai, the cow equals life.

— In total, workers sifted through more than 1 million tons of debris looking for remains and personal effects. They found 65,000 items, including 437 watches and 144 wedding rings.

— The number of children who lost a parent in the events of 9/11 was 3,051. Seventeen babies were born to widows whose husbands died during the attacks.

While video accounts of the WTC attack aired immediately, no video footage of the Pentagon attack was publicly released until what year?

a) 2002

b) 2004

c) 2006

d) 2008

See the answer at the end of Mary Braswell’s Looking Back column.