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)

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