Events
September
15
668
– Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is
assassinated in his bath at Syracuse,
Italy.
921 – At Tetin Saint Ludmila is murdered
at the command of her daughter-in-law.
994 – Major Fatimid victory over the Byzantine
Empire at the Battle of the Orontes.
1440 – Gilles de Rais, one of the earliest
known serial killers, is taken into custody
upon an accusation brought against him
by the Bishop of Nantes.
1556 – Departing from Vlissingen, ex-Holy
Roman Emperor Charles V returns to Spain.
1616 – The first non-aristocratic, free
public school in Europe is opened in Frascati,
Italy.
1762 – Seven Years War: Battle of Signal
Hill.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: British
forces land at Kip's Bay during the New
York Campaign.
1789 – The United States Department of
State is established (formerly known as
the "Department of Foreign Affairs").
1812 – The French army under Napoleon
reaches the Kremlin in Moscow.
1812 – War of 1812: A second supply train
sent to relieve Fort Harrison is ambushed
in the Attack at the Narrows.
1816 – HMS Whiting ran aground on the
Doom Bar
1820 – Constitutionalist revolution in
Lisbon, Portugal.
1821 – Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras,
Nicaragua, and Costa Rica jointly declare
independence from Spain.
1830 – The Liverpool to Manchester railway
line opens.
1831 – The locomotive John Bull operates
for the first time in New Jersey on the
Camden and Amboy Railroad.
1835 – HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin
aboard, reaches the Galápagos Islands.
The ship lands at Chatham or San Cristobal,
the easternmost of the archipielago.
1851 – Saint Joseph's University is founded
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1862 – American Civil War: Confederate
forces capture Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
1873 – Franco-Prussian War: The last German
troops leave France upon completion of
payment of indemnity.
1894 – First Sino-Japanese War: Japan
defeats China in the Battle of Pyongyang.
1916 – World War I: Tanks are used for
the first time in battle, at the Battle
of the Somme.
1935 – India's first all-boys public school,
The Doon School, was founded.
1935 – The Nuremberg Laws deprive German
Jews of citizenship.
1935 – Nazi Germany adopts a new national
flag with the swastika.
1940 – World War II: The climax of the
Battle of Britain, when the Royal Air
Force shoots down large numbers of Luftwaffe
aircraft.
1942 – World War II: U.S. Navy aircraft
carrier USS Wasp is torpedoed at Guadalcanal.
1944 – Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston
Churchill meet in Quebec as part of the
Octagon Conference to discuss strategy.
1944 – Battle of Peleliu begins as the
United States Marine Corps' 1st Marine
Division and the United States Army's
81st Infantry Division hit White and Orange
beaches under heavy fire from Japanese
infantry and artillery.
1945 – A hurricane in southern Florida
and the Bahamas destroys 366 planes and
25 blimps at NAS Richmond.
1947 – RCA releases the 12AX7 vacuum tube.
1947 – Typhoon Kathleen hit the Kanto
Region in Japan killing 1,077.
1948 – The F-86 Sabre sets the world aircraft
speed record at 671 miles per hour (1,080
km/h).
1950 – Korean War: United States forces
land at Inchon
1952 – United Nations gives Eritrea to
Ethiopia.
1958 – A Central Railroad of New Jersey
commuter train runs through an open drawbridge
at the Newark Bay, killing 58.
1959 – Nikita Khrushchev becomes the first
Soviet leader to visit the United States.
1961 – Hurricane Carla strikes Texas with
winds of 175 miles per hour.
1962 – The Soviet ship Poltava heads toward
Cuba, one of the events that sets into
motion the Cuban Missile Crisis.
1963 – The 16th Street Baptist Church
bombing: Four children killed at an African-American
church in Birmingham, Alabama, United
States
1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson,
responding to a sniper attack at the University
of Texas at Austin, writes a letter to
Congress urging the enactment of gun control
legislation.
1968 – The Soviet Zond 5 spaceship is
launched, becoming the first spacecraft
to fly around the Moon and re-enter the
Earth's atmosphere.
1972 – A Scandinavian Airlines System
domestic flight from Gothenburg to Stockholm
is hijacked and flown to Malmö-Bulltofta
Airport.
1974 – Air Vietnam flight 727 is hijacked,
then crashes while attempting to land
with 75 on board.
1975 – The French département of Corse
(the entire island of Corsica) is divided
into two: Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud.
1981 – The Senate Judiciary Committee
unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor
to become the first female justice of
the Supreme Court of the United States
1981 – The John Bull becomes the oldest
operable steam locomotive in the world
when the Smithsonian Institution operates
it under its own power outside Washington,
D.C.
1981 – Vanuatu becomes a member of the
United Nations.
1983 – Israeli premier Menachem Begin
resigns.
1987 – United States Secretary of State
George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister
Eduard Shevardnadze sign a treaty to establish
centers to reduce the risk of nuclear
war.
1990 – France announces it will send 4,000
troops to the Persian Gulf.
1993 – Liechtenstein Prince Hans-Adam
II disbands Parliament
1998 – With the landmark merger of WorldCom
and MCI Communications completed the day
prior, the new MCI WorldCom opens its
doors for business.
2004 – National Hockey League commissioner
Gary Bettman announces lockout of the
players union and cessation of operations
by the NHL head office.
2008 – Lehman Brothers files for Chapter
11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy
filing in U.S. history.
Holidays
and observances
Battle
of Britain Day (United Kingdom)
Christian Feast Day:
Catherine of Genoa
Joseph Abibos
Nicomedes
Our Lady of Sorrows
September 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).
"Cry of Dolores" or Grito de
Dolores, celebrated on the eve of the
Independence Day. (Mexico)
Earliest day on which POW/MIA Recognition
Day can fall, celebrated on the third
Friday in September. (United States)
Earliest day on which Prinsjesdag can
fall, celebrated on the third Tuesday
in September. (Netherlands)
Earliest day on which German-American
Steuben Parade can fall, celebrated on
the third Saturday in September. (United
States, especially New York City)
Engineer's Day (India)
Independence Day, celebrates the independence
of Guatemala (a Patriotic Day), El Salvador,
Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica from
Spain in 1821.
International Day of Democracy (International)
Respect for the Aged Day before 2003;
beginning in 2003, the day is held on
the third Monday of September. (Japan)
Restoration of Primorska to the Motherland
Day (Slovenia)
Silpa Bhirasri Day (Thailand)
The beginning of National Hispanic Heritage
Month, celebrated until October 15. (United
States)
For details, contact Datacentre
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