September
1288
Elisabeth Richeza, the Queen of Poland
1453
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, a Spanish general
1715
King Louis XIV of France dies on this day. His reign spanned 72 years, making him it the longest rule of any major monarch in Europe.
1848
Auguste-Henri Forel, a Swiss entomologist
1874
Heinrich Otto Ludwig, a composer
1939
Germany attacks the city of Danzig on this day. This attack marks the official start of World War II.
1941
On this day, any Jewish people living in Germany are made to wear a yellow Star of David as an identifying symbol.
1945
This day marks the formal surrender of Japan and an end to World War II.
1951
The United States, New Zealand, and Australia sign the ANZUS Treaty.
1969
A revolution in Libya spurs Muammar Gaddafi to depose his rival King Idris.
31 B.C.
Octavian’s army defeats Mark Antony and Cleopatra’s forces at the Battle of Actium, effectively ending the Roman Republic.
1192
Richard the Lionheart meets with Saladin to sign a treaty regarding Jerusalem.
1548
Vincenzo Scamozzi, an Italian architect
1661
Georg Bohm, a German organist and composer
1675
William Somervile, an English poet
1792
The September Massacres take place as mobs kill three bishops and several hundred priests they think are sympathetic to the royal cause.
1850
Eugene Field, a journalist and author famous for the creation of “Little Boy Blue”.
1850
Woldemar Voigt, German physicist
1852
Paul Bourget, French critic, novelist, and writer
1864
General Sherman of the Union captures the city of Atlanta and sets it ablaze.
1944
Nazi forces send Anne Frank to Auschwitz.
1948
Terry Bradshaw, an NFL quarterback and later sports announcer
1568
Adriano Banchieri, Italian organist and composer
1710
Abraham Trembley, Swiss zoologist and biologist
1752
The British Empire and the colonies in America adopt the Gregorian Calendar. This causes people to riot at the loss of 11 days of the year.
1777
The United States flies its own flag in battle for the first time in Delaware during the Revolutionary War.
1814
James Joseph Sylvester, English academic skilled in mathematics
1833
The New York Sun officially begins publishing the first daily newspaper.
1838
Frederick Douglass disguises himself as a sailor to escape from slavery.
1913
Alan Ladd, American actor and later producer
1914
Giacome della Chiesa, cardinal, becomes Pope Benedict XV
1916
Allied forces repel Germany at the Battle of Verdun.
1948
Lyudmila Karachkina, Ukrainian astronomer
1975
Redfoo, American singer, songwriter, dancer, and producer
476
The last Western Emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustulus, surrenders the throne after Odoacer’s forces invade. This marks the end of the Western Empire of Rome.
1241
Alexander III of Scotland
1609
European navigator Henry Hudson becomes the first man to discover the island of Manhattan.
1682
Edmond Halley, an English astronomer, observes a comet that would later be named after him.
1851
John Dillon, Irish politician, poet, and activist
1862
As part of the Civil War in the US, General Robert E. Lee leads thousands of Confederate troops to invade Maryland.
1882
This date marks the first successful test of Thomas Edison’s light bulb invention in widespread use.
1885
Antonio Bacci, prominent Italian cardinal
1886
Geronimo agrees to a surrender. This action marks an effective end to the US-Indian conflicts throughout the region.
1886
Albert Orsborn, Englishman and General of The Salvation Army
1893
English author Beatrix Potter pens her first “Peter Rabbit” story for a young boy.
1917
Henry Ford II, American businessman
1918
Paul Harvey, American radio host and personality
1639
Louis XIV, French monarch
1666
The Great Fire of London ends. In its wake, thousands of homes are destroyed and eight people are dead.
1774
Nearly all of America’s thirteen new colonies agree to a trade embargo with Britain during the first Continental Congress. This event is held at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia.
1839
China begins its First Opium War.
1847
Jesse James, American outlaw
1914
World War I’s Battle of Marne begins now, and French and British forces prevent German advance on Paris.
1929
Bob Newhart, American actor
1940
Raquel Welch,American actress
1946
Freddie Mercury, British songwriter, singer, and producer
1951
Michael Keaton, American actor
2017
Experts record Hurricane Irma as the most powerful Atlantic Ocean one in history. Its wind speeds reached 185 miles per hour.
1522
An expedition returns to Spain to report their success at circumnavigating the earth. The force lost Ferdinand Magellan, their captain.
1620
The Mayflower departs from Plymouth to sail to America. It has just over 100 pilgrims on board.
1757
Marquis de Lafayette, French military officer who took part in the American Revolutionary War
1860
Jane Addams, American activist and social reformer, commonly referred to as the “mother” of social work
1888
Joseph P. Kennedy, an American investor, businessman, and politician
1901
Anarchist Leon Czolgosz shoots American President William McKinley while the latter visits New York’s Pan-American Exposition.
1909
The rest of the world finally receives news that explorer Robert Peary discovered the North Pole five months earlier.
1916
Clarence Saunders opens the Piggly Wiggly in Memphis, Tennessee. It becomes the first true supermarket.
1943
Roger Waters, English bassist, songwriter, and singer
1947
Jane Curtin, American actress
70
General Titus leads the Roman army to both occupy and plunder the city of Jerusalem.
1533
Elizabeth I, Queen of England, Ireland, and the last monarch of the House of Tudor
1714
The War of Spanish Succession ends thanks to Emperor Charles VI and the Treaty of Baden.
1822
Pedro I declares that Brazil is officially independent from Portugal and marks the former’s national day of celebration.
1860
Grandma Moses, American artist
1888
A child named Edith McLean becomes the first baby to use an incubator. The State Emigrant Hospital cares for her.
1908
Paul Brown, American football coach
1909
Eugene Lefebvre dies in an aircraft during a test of the Wright biplane. He is the first official pilot to die in this way.
1923
Louise Suggs, professional golfer
1936
Buddy Holly, American singer and songwriter
1942
Roy DeMeo, American hitman working for the Mafia
1157
Richard I, also known as Richard the Lionheart, the King of England
1380
Dimitry defeats the Mongols at the Battle of Kulikovo.
1504
Michelangelo unveils his David in the city of Florence.
1522
Juan de Elcano, a Spanish navigator, returns to Spain.
1565
St. Augustine, Florida plays host to the first permanent European settlement in America.
1664
The Dutch surrender the New Netherlands colony to English soldiers. This surrender includes New York.
1841
Charles J. Guiteau, American assassin known for killing James Garfield
1925
Peter Sellers, British actor and voice artist
1932
Patsy Cline, American singer and songwriter
1941
Bernie Sanders, American politician and activist
1970
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijack and destroy three airliners.
1979
Pink, American musician
1986
“The Oprah Winfrey Show” receives its first national broadcast.
1000
King Olaf is defeated at the Battle of Svolder in one of the greatest battles of the Viking Age.
1776
The United Colonies officially become the United States of America.
1817
Alexander Twilight receives his bachelor’s degree and is likely the first African-American to graduate from college.
1828
Leo Tolstoy, Russian author
1853
Fred Spofforth, Australian cricketer
1890
Colonel Sanders, American businessman and entrepreneur
1914
The British Army creates its first mechanized unit.
1923
Cliff Robertson, American actor
1966
Adam Sandler, American comedian and actor
1993
The Palestine Liberation Organization exchanges letters of recognition with Israel.
2015
Queen Elizabeth II sets a record for the longest-reigning monarch in Britain, having ruled for 63 years and seven months by this point.
1638
Maria Theresa of Spain, the last ruler of the House of Hapsburg
1776
Nathan Hale volunteers to be a spy at George Washington’s request.
1846
Elias Howe secures a patent for his sewing machine.
1890
Elsa Schiaparelli, Italian fashion designer
1924
Leopold and Loeb receive guilty verdicts for the murder of Robert Franks.
1929
Arnold Palmer, American golfer
1934
Roger Maris, American baseball player
1941
Stephen J. Gould, historian and evolutionary biologist
1960
Colin Firth, British actor
1977
Hamida Djandoubi becomes the last person to receive an execution via Guillotine in France.
2008
CERN powers up its Large Hadron Collider. Many feel it is the biggest science experiment in history.
1297
William Wallace, a Scottish rebel, defeats English forces at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
1609
Spain announces an expulsion order against the Moriscos of Valencia.
1697
Prince Eugen defeats Turkish forces at the Battle of Zenta, putting an end to Ottoman control in Central Europe.
1708
Charles XII halts his march on Moscow outside the city of Smolensk.
1885
D. H. Lawrence, English painter, literary critic, poet, and novelist
1916
Ed Sabol, American filmmaker
1917
Ferdinand Marcos, leader of the Philippines
1924
Tom Landry, American coach and football player
1965
Bashar al-Assad, Syrian politician and President of Syria
1967
Harry Connick, Jr., American singer, actor, and composer
2001
Terrorists hijack and crash three planes into the Pentagon and the two World Trade Centers. A fourth plane crashes in a field after passengers attempt to retake it.
1575
Henry Hudson, English navigator and explorer
1758
Charles Messier begins his Messier Catalogue by mistakenly identifying the Crab Nebula.
1909
Fritz Hofmann obtains the first patent for synthetic rubber
1913
Jessie Owens, American athlete
1933
Leó Szilárd first entertains the idea of a nuclear reactor.
1940
Four teenagers near Lascaux discover the Lascaux Cave Paintings.
1944
Barry White,American singer and songwriter
1958
The Supreme Court orders Central High in Little Rock, an all-white school, to begin integration procedures.
1959
The USSR launches the first spacecraft to make an impact on the Moon.
1973
Paul Walker, American actor
1981
Jennifer Hudson, American actress and spokesperson
335
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre receives its consecration in Jerusalem.
1224
Francis of Assisi receives stigmata after praying on Mount Verna.
1630
Daniel Defoe, English writer and trader
1847
US General Winfield Scott captures Mexico City during the American-Mexican War.
1857
Milton Hershey, American businessman
1860
John. J. Pershing, an Army general for the United States during World War I.
1874
Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian-American composer
1903
Claudette Colbert, French-American actress
1916
Ronald Dahl, British novelist, fighter pilot, and screenwriter
1956
IBM’s first commercial computer with a hard drive, the RAMAC 305, weighs over one ton.
1993
Norway unveils the Oslo Accords, a peace agreement the country brokered between Israel and Palestine.
1752
Britain and the colonies in America adopt the Gregorian calendar.
1769
Alexander von Humboldt, a Prussian naturalist, explorer, and geographer
1812
Napoleon occupies Moscow and the fires start, extinguished by the 19th.
1849
Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist
1939
The first helicopter takes a tethered flight in Connecticut.
1947
Sam Neill, a New Zealand actor of Irish descent
1949
Hindi becomes an official language in India, and the population celebrates this day as Hindi Day.
1956
A facility in Washington, D.C. performs the world’s first prefrontal lobotomy.
1960
Saudi-Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, Iran, and Iraq form OPEC.
1965
Dmitry Medvedev, Russian Prime Minister and ex-president
1983
Amy Winehouse, an American singer and songwriter
1254
Marco Polo, a Venetian explorer and merchant
1616
The first free public school for non-aristocrats in Europe opens in Italy.
1821
The countries of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua declare their independence from Spain.
1835
Scientist Charles Darwin reaches the Galapagos Islands.
1857
William Howard Taft, an American president
1890
Agatha Christie, an English mystery novelist
1928
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin.
1936
Ashley Cooper, an Australian tennis player
1940
The tide turns at the Battle of Britain as the Luftwaffe loses 56 of its planes.
1961
Dan Marino, an American footballer
1977
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian writer
1998
Developers register “Google.com” as a domain name.
1795
British forces take Cape Town from the Dutch.
1810
Mexico calls for an end to Spanish rule.
1848
All French territories move to abolish slavery.
1858
Bonar Law, a UK prime minister
1875
James Cash Penney, an American businessman
1891
Karl Dönitz, an admiral during World War II and President of Germany
1906
Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, finds the Magnetic South Pole.
1925
B.B. King, an American blues musician
1934
Elgin Baylor, an American basketball player
1959
Tim Raines, an American baseball player
1963
Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore, and Malaya form the Federation of Malaysia.
1978
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Tabar, Iran.
1997
Steve Jobs is named interim CEO of Apple.
642
Amr ibn al-‘As and his forces conquer Alexandria. Arab forces under Amr ibn al-‘As conquer Alexandria.
1683
Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek makes the first known report of the existence of bacteria. is the first to report the existence of bacteria.
1730
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a continental army general
1743
Marquis de Condorcet, a French philosopher
1862
The Battle of Antietam marks the bloodiest day in the history of the Civil War. Over 23,000 soldiers are killed on Union ground.
1900
Commonwealth of Australia comes into existence.
1916
The famous Red Baron scores his first aerial victory near Cambrai.
1923
Hank Williams, an American musician and singer
1931
Anne Bancroft, an American actress
1945
Phil Jackson, a Basketball player and coach
1950
Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India
1978
The Camp David Accords provide a framework for possible peace between Egypt and Israel.
53
Trajan, the Emperor of Ancient Rome
1811
An expeditionary force from Britain conquers parts of the Dutch Indies.
1812
Three-quarters of Moscow is destroyed by a fire that finally extinguishes after five days.
1873
Jay Cooke & Co, a bond agency, collapses and begins the panic that will start the Long Depression.
1895
John Diefenbaker, a Canadian prime minister
1905
Greta Garbo, a Swedish-American actress
1914
Royal rulers approve the Irish Home Rule bill.
1931
Japanese forces fake a railway explosion as a pretext for invading Manchuria.
1933
Scotty Bowman, an ice hockey coach
1942
The Minister of Justice for the Nazi Party approves the extermination of “asocials”.
1961
James Gandolfini, an American actor
1971
Lance Armstrong, an American cyclist
1976
The city of Bejing holds a funeral for Mao Zedong.
86
Antoninus Pius, a Roman emperor
1356
The Black Prince and forces from England defeat France and capture its king.
1749
Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre, a French astronomer and mathematician
1870
Prussian forces besiege Paris.
1893
All women in New Zealand get the right to vote in elections.
1948
Jeremy Irons, a British actor
1974
Jimmy Fallon, an American television presenter
1985
An 8.1 magnitude earthquake devastates the people of Mexico City.
1986
AZT becomes available to AIDS patients.
1993
William Golding, a British novelist
451
Flavius Aetius defeats Attila the Hun and halts the Hun invasion.
622
Muhammad comes to Medina.
1519
Magellan’s expeditionary force sets off to circumnavigate the globe.
1878
Upton Sinclair, an American novelist, journalist, and activist
1884
Maxwell Perkins, an American literary editor
1917
Red Auerbach, an American basketball coach
1934
Sophia Loren, an Italian actress
1943
Sani Abacha, a politician and military leader
1951
Guy Lafluer, a Canadians ice hockey player
1854
An alliance of British and French troops defeat Russian forces at the first battle of the Crimean War.
1990
The eastern and western sides of Germany seek to ratify reunification.
2001
President of the United States George W. Bush officially declares war on terror.
1621
King James I grants Alexander Sterling a charter to colonize Nova Scotia.
1792
The National Convention formally abolishes the French monarchy via a charter during the Revolution.
1866
H. G. Wells, an English writer
1898
Empress Dowager Cixi ends the Hundred Days’ reform and seizes power in China.
1909
Kwame Nkrumah, President and Prime Minister of Ghana
1915
Cecil Chubb purchases Stonehenge.
1922
Warren G. Harding approves a resolution for a Jewish homeland within Palestine.
1934
Leonard Cohen, a Canadian poet and singer
1936
The Spanish junta promotes Franco to Supreme Commander.
1947
Stephen King, an American author
1949
Communist leaders in China establish the People’s Republic.
1950
Bill Murray, an American actor
1967
Faith Hill, an American country music singer
1515
Anne of Cleves, a consort to Henry VIII
1692
The Salem Witch Trials perform the final hangings for those found guilty of witchcraft in the United States.
1792
The French First Republic is formed and strips the French king of his influence.
1862
President Lincoln announces his intention to free slaves next year.
1870
Charlotte Cooper, an English tennis player
1895
Paul Muni, a stage and film actor
1927
Tom Lasorda, an American coach and baseball player
1958
Andrea Bocelli, an Italian singer and songwriter
1962
Martin Crowe, a New Zealand cricketer
1965
The Indo-Pakistani war ends.
1980
Iraq invades Iran.
2011
Scientists at CERN discover neutrinos that break the speed of light.
63 BC
Augustus Caesar, the first Emperor of Rome
1122
The Concordat of Worms goes into effect.
1215
Kublai Khan, founder of the Yuan Dynasty
1821
Tripolitsa falls during the Greek War of Independence.
1869
Mary Mallon, or “Typhoid Mary,” the first person identified as an asymptomatic carrier of the disease
1884
Herman Hollerith patents a machine that marks the beginning of data processing.
1889
Fusajiro Yamauchi founds Nintendo Koppai as a way to market the Hanafuda card game.
1916
Aldo Moro, an Italian politician
1930
Ray Charles, an American musician
1942
The “Manhattan Project” begins.
1943
Marty Schottenheimer, an American football coach and player
1180
The Byzantine Empire begins its decline with the death of Manuel I Komnenos.
1501
Girolamo Cardano, an Italian mathematician and physician
1755
John Marshall, an American politician
1789
The Federal Judiciary act creates a six-person Supreme Court within the US.
1869
Panic erupts on Wall Street as Gould & Fisk seek to corner the gold market.
1877
The Imperial Japanese Army wins the Battle of Shiroyama.
1896
F. Scott Fitzgerald, an American screenwriter and novelist
1902
Ayatollah Khomeini, religious leader and politician
1936
Jim Henson, an American puppeteer
1948
Phil Hartman, a Canadian actor and comedian
1950
All Jews living in Yemen move to Israel.
1957
Schools in Little Rock receive executive orders to desegregate.
1066
King Harold Godwinson and his English forces defeat invading Norwegian forces.
1513
Vasco Nunez de Balboa is the first European to see the Pacific Ocean.
1789
The United States Congress lays out a proposal for the Bill of Rights.
1897
William Faulkner, an American novelist
1906
Leonardo Torres Quevedo’s remote guiding of a boat is considered the first remote control.
1915
Ethel Rosenberg, an American citizen convicted of spying for the Soviet Union
1944
Michael Douglas, an American actor
1952
Christopher Reeve, an American actor
1956
The first transatlantic phone cable goes into use.
1968
Will Smith, an American actor and rapper
1969
Catherine Zeta-Jones, a Welsh actress
1181
Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order
1580
Frances Drake completes his circumnavigation of the earth.
1687
A Venetian army damages the Parthenon after it attacks the Acropolis.
1687
Support for the Glorious Revolution begins.
1815
Austria, Prussia, and Russian form the Holy Alliance with one another.
1874
Charles Vyner Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak
1888
T. S. Eliot, an English author
1902
Albert Anastasia, an Italian mobster
1918
The largest and most costly offensive of World War I, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, begins.
1948
Olivia Newton-John, an Australian singer and actress
1981
Serena Williams, an American tennis player
1066
Troops led by William the Conqueror sail for England.
1290
A massive earthquake occurs near China.
1540
Ignatius Loyola founds the society of Jesuits.
1722
Samuel Adams, an American statesman
1779
John Adams opens negotiations with Great Britain.
1783
Agustín de Iturbide, a Mexican general and politician
1821
Agustin de Iturbide and his forces occupy Mexico City and end the War of Independence.
1822
Scholar Jean-François Champollion deciphers the Rosetta stone.
1905
A physics journal introduces the world to Einstein’s “mass-energy equivalence” equation.
1907
Bhagat Singh, an Indian revolutionary
1908
The first Ford Model T car rolls off the assembly line.
1939
Kathy Whitworth, a professional golfer
1972
Gwyneth Paltrow, an American actress
1984
Avril Lavigne, a Canadian singer
551 BC
Confucius, a Chinese philosopher
58 BC
Livia, a Roman empress
1066
William the Conqueror and his forces invade England at Pevensey Bay.
1735
Augustus FitzRoy, a British nobleman
1781
The Siege of Yorktown begins.
1887
The Yellow River floods, leading to one of history’s deadliest disasters.
1913
Alice Marble, an American tennis player
1916
Peter Finch, an Australian actor
1939
Most of Lithuania goes to the USSR as part of the German-Soviet Frontier Treaty.
1987
Hilary Duff, an American actress
522 BC
Darius I of Persia becomes King of the Persian Empire.
480 BC
Themistocles defeats Xerxes I at the Battle of Salamis.
106 BC
Pompey the Great, a Roman general
1547
Miguel de Cervantes, a Spanish novelist
1567
The War of Religion begins in France.
1758
Horatio Nelson, an admiral in the Royal Navy
1829
The London Metropolitan Police releases its first units.
1931
Anita Ekberg, a Swedish actress and model
1935
Jerry Lee Lewis, an American singer and pianist
1943
Lech Wałęsa, a Polish politician
2008
The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffers its largest single-day point loss.
1846
American dentist William Morton is the first person to use anesthetic ether.
1862
Otto von Bismarck delivers his famous “Blood and Iron” speech”.
1917
Buddy Rich, an American jazz drummer
1924
Truman Capote, an American author
1928
Elie Wiesel, a Jewish writer, activist, and Holocaust survivor
1938
Chamberlain, Hitler, Daladier, and Mussolini sign the Treaty of Munich.
1946
Nuremberg finds twenty-two leaders of the Nazi Party guilty of war crimes.
1975
Marion Cotillard, a French actress
1980
Martina Hingis, a Swiss tennis player
2002
Maddie Ziegler, an American dancer