On this day in History - Sep. 15

• 0608 - Saint Boniface IV becomes Pope.
• 0668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse, Italy.
• 0866 - Robert the Strong dies. Margrave of Neustria
• 0921 - Saint Ludmila is murdered at the command of her daughter-in-law at Tetin.
• 0973 - Al-Biruni was born (d. 1048). Mathematician.
• 1231 - Louis I, Duke of Bavaria dies (b. 1173)
• 1254 - Marco Polo was born (d. 1324). Italian explorer.
• 1352 - Ewostatewos dies (b. 1273). Ethiopian monk and religious leader.
• 1500 - John Morton dies. Archbishop of Canterbury
• 1514 - Thomas Wolsey is appointed Archbishop of York.
• 1556 - Vlissingen ex-emperor Charles V returns to Spain.
• 1580 - Charles Annibal Fabrot was born (d. 1659). French lawyer
• 1584 - San Lorenzo del Escorial Palace in Madrid is finished.
• 1590 - Giambattista Catagna is elected as Pope Urban VII.
• 1596 - Leonhard Rauwolf dies (b. 1535). German physician and botanist
• 1613 - François de La Rochefoucauld was born (d. 1680). French writer.
• 1613 - Thomas Overbury dies murdered (b. 1581). English writer.
• 1643 - Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork dies (b. 1566). Irish politician
• 1644 - Giambattista Pamfili becomes Pope Innocent X, succeeding Pope Urban VII.
• 1649 - Titus Oates was born (d. 1705). English minister and plotter.
• 1649 - John Floyd dies (b. 1572). English Jesuit preacher
• 1656 - England & France sign peace treaty.
• 1656 - Afonso VI is aclaimed King of Portugal
• 1683 - Germantown, Pennsylvania is founded by 13 immigrant families.
• 1700 - André Le Nôtre dies (b. 1613). French landscape architect
• 1701 - Edmé Boursault dies (b. 1638). French writer
• 1707 - George Stepney dies (b. 1663). English poet and diplomat
• 1712 - Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin dies. English politician
• 1715 - Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval was born (d. 1789). French artillery specialist
• 1749 - According to mathematical calculations, Pluto moves outside Neptune's orbit to remain the outermost planet until 1979.
• 1750 - Charles Theodore Pachelbel dies (b. 1690). German composer
• 1765 - Barbosa du Bocage was born (d. 1805). Portuguese poet / Nascia, em Setúbal, Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage (Elmano Sadino) (m. 21 Dez 1805). Poeta português, possivelmente, o maior representante do arcadismo lusitano
• 1776 - American Revolutionary War: British land at Kip's Bay during the New York Campaign.
• 1789 - The United States Department of State is established (formerly known as Department of Foreign Affairs).
• 1789 - James Fenimore Cooper was born (d. 1851). American novelist
• 1793 - Nasce Marquês de Sapucaí (m. 1875)
• 1794 - Abraham Clark dies (b. 1725). American signer of the Declaration of Independence
• 1803 - Gian Francesco Albani dies (b. 1719). Italian Catholic cardinal.
• 1812 - The French army under Napoleon reaches the Kremlin in Moscow.
• 1821 - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua jointly declare independence from Spain.
• 1828 - Aleksandr Mikhailovich Butlerov was born (d. 1886). Russian chemist.
• 1830 - The Liverpool to Manchester railway line opens (see also deaths, below).
• 1830 - Porfirio Díaz was born (d. 1915). President of Mexico.
• 1830 - William Huskisson dies (b. 1770). First rail fatality
• 1831 - The locomotive John Bull operates for the first time in New Jersey on the Camden and Amboy Railroad.
• 1835 - The HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galápagos Islands.
• 1835 - Sarah Knox Taylor dies (b. 1814). Wife of Jefferson Davis.
• 1842 - Francisco Morazán was born. Center American politician.
• 1842 - Pierre Baillot dies (b. 1771). French violinist and composer.
• 1851 - Saint Joseph's University is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 1852 - Edward Bouchet was born (d. 1918). American physicist.
• 1857 - William Howard Taft was born (d. 1930). President of the United States and Supreme Court Justice
• 1857 - Timothy Alder patents the typesetting machine.
• 1858 - Jenő Hubay was born (d. 1937). Hungarian violinist.
• 1859 - Isambard Kingdom Brunel dies (b. 1806). British engineer.
• 1860 - Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya was born. Indian engineer
• 1862 - American Civil War: Confederate forces capture Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
• 1863 - Horatio Parker was born (d. 1919). American composer.
• 1864 - John Hanning Speke dies (b. 1827). British explorer of Africa
• 1867 - Vladimir May-Mayevsky was born (d. 1920). Russian counter-revolutionary.
• 1873 - Franco-Prussian War: The last German troops leave France upon completion of payment of indemnity.
• 1876 - Argentina: First issue of The Buenos Aires Herald.
• 1876 - Bruno Walter was born (d. 1962). German conductor.
• 1876 - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay was born (d. 1938). Indian novelist.
• 1877 - Jakob Ehrlich was born (d. 1938). Austrian politician and zionist.
• 1879 - Joseph Lyons was born (d. 1939). Tenth Prime Minister of Australia
• 1881 - Ettore Bugatti was born (d. 1947). Automobile engineer and designer
• 1883 - Esteban Terradas i Illa was born (d. 1950). Catalan mathematician, scientist, and engineer
• 1883 - The Bombay Natural History Society is founded in Bombay (now Mumbai), India.
• 1883 - Joseph Plateau dies (b. 1801). Belgian physicist.
• 1885 - Jumbo dies (hit by a train). P. T. Barnum's circus elephant
• 1887 - Carlos Dávila was born (d. 1955). President of Chile and Secretary General of the Organization of American States.
• 1888 - Antonio Ascari was born (d. 1925). Italian racing driver.
• 1889 - Robert Benchley was born (d. 1945). American author
• 1890 - Agatha Christie was born (d. 1976). English writer (Death on the Nile ; And Then There Were None).
• 1890 - Frank Martin was born (d. 1974). Swiss composer.
• 1892 - Silpa Bhirasri was born (d. 1962). Italian sculptor.
• 1893 - Thomas Hawksley dies (b. 1807). English civil engineer.
• 1894 - Jean Renoir was born (d. 1979). French film director (Grand Illusion , The Rules of the Game)
• 1894 - Oskar Klein was born (d. 1977). Swedish physicist.
• 1894 - First Sino-Japanese War: Japan defeats China in the Battle of Ping Yang.
• 1895 - Magda Lupescu was born (d. 1977). Consort of King Carol II of Romania
• 1898 - J. Slauerhoff was born. Dutch poet and novelist
• 1901 - Sir Donald Bailey was born (d. 1985). Civil engineer.
• 1903 - Roy Acuff was born (d. 1992). Country musician.
• 1903 - Fundação de um dos maiores clubes de futebol do Brasil: o Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense
• 1904 - King Umberto II of Italy was born (d. 1983)
• 1906 - Jacques Becker was born (d. 1960). French screewriter and director.
• 1907 - Fay Wray was born (d. 2004). Actress.
• 1908 - Penny Singleton was born (d. 2003). American actress.
• 1909 - Carlos Estrada was born. Uruguayan composer
• 1909 - C.N.Annadurai was born. Former Chief Minnister of Tamilnadu
• 1911 - Karsten Solheim was born (d. 2000). Norwegian-born American golf entrepreneur.
• 1913 - John N. Mitchell was born (d. 1988). United States Attorney General and convicted Watergate criminal
• 1914 - Adolfo Bioy Casares was born (d. 1999). Argentine writer.
• 1914 - Creighton Abrams was born (d. 1974). American Army general.
• 1914 - World War I: The Battle of Aisne begins between Germany and France.
• 1915 - Igor Cassini was born (d. 2002). Fashion designer.
• 1915 - Albert Whitlock was born (d. 1999). English motion picture matte artist.
• 1916 - World War I: Tanks are used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme.
• 1916 - Margaret Lockwood was born (d. 1990). British actress.
• 1916 - José Echegaray dies. Spanish dramatist and scientist.
• 1917 - First issue of Forbes magazine published.
• 1918 - Nipsey Russell was born (d. 2005). American comedian.
• 1919 - Fausto Coppi was born (d. 1960). Italian racing cyclist.
• 1919 - Nelson Gidding was born (d. 2004). American screenwriter.
• 1921 - Norma MacMillan was born (d. 2001). Canadian actress.
• 1921 - Roman Ungern von Sternberg dies (b. 1886). Russian counter-revolutionary.
• 1922 - Bob Anderson (fencer) was born. English sword-master.
• 1922 - Jackie Cooper was born. American actor, director.
• 1923 - Anton Heiller was born (d. 1979). Austrian organist.
• 1924 - Bobby Short was born (d. 2005). American jazz musician
• 1924 - Lucebert was born. Dutch painter and poet
• 1926 - Jean-Pierre Serre was born. French mathematician.
• 1926 - Shohei Imamura was born (d. 2006). Japanese film director.
• 1926 - Rudolf Christoph Eucken dies (b. 1846). German writer who won the 1908 Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1928 - Cannonball Adderley was born (d. 1975). Saxophonist and bandleader
• 1928 - Sir Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin.
• 1928 - Tich Freeman becomes the only bowler to take 300 wickets in an English cricket season.
• 1929 - Murray Gell-Mann was born. American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1929 - Eva Burrows was born. 13th General of the Salvation Army.
• 1929 - Varela Silva was born. Portuguese actor.
• 1930 - Milton Sills dies (b. 1882). American actor.
• 1931 - In Scotland, the two-day Invergordon Mutiny against Royal Navy pay cuts begins.
• 1933 - Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos was born. Spanish conductor.
• 1933 - Nasce, em Boa Esperança - MG, Rubem Alves. Educador, psicanalista, teólogo, autor de livros infantis e poeta brasileiro.
• 1933 - Henry Darrow was born. American actor
• 1933 - Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos was born. Spanish conductor
• 1934 - Fred Nile was born. Australian politician
• 1935 - Nuremberg Laws deprive German Jews of citizenship.
• 1935 - Nazi Germany adopts a new national flag with the swastika.
• 1937 - Fernando de la Rúa was born. President of Argentina.
• 1937 - Robert Lucas, Jr. was born. American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1938 - Lya Luft was born. Brazilian writer
• 1938 - Gaylord Perry was born. Baseball player
• 1939 - Vítor Manuel de Aguiar e Silva was born. Portuguese professor.
• 1940 - World War II: The Battle of Britain ends with a Royal Air Force victory over the Luftwaffe.
• 1940 - Merlin Olsen was born. American football player and actor
• 1940 - Norman Spinrad was born. American science fiction author
• 1941 - The U.S. Attorney General rules that the Neutrality Act is not violated when U.S. ships carry war materiel to British territories, opening the door for the Lend-Lease Act.
• 1941 - Flórián Albert was born. Hungarian football player.
• 1941 - Signe Toly Anderson was born. American singer
• 1941 - Mirosław Hermaszewski was born. First Polish Cosmonaut in Space
• 1941 - Yuri Norstein was born. Award-winning Russian animator
• 1941 - Viktor Zubkov was born. Russian government official
• 1942 - World War II: The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Wasp is torpedoed at Guadalcanal.
• 1943 - Benito Mussolini forms a fascist government in Italy to rival Adolf Hitler's.
• 1944 - Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet in Quebec as part of the Octagon Conference to discuss strategy.
• 1944 - Francisco Lucas Pires was born. Portuguese politician and professor.
• 1945 - A hurricane in southern Florida and the Bahamas destroys 366 planes and 25 blimps at NAS Richmond.
• 1945 - Carmen Maura was born. Spanish actress.
• 1945 - Jessye Norman was born. American opera singer
• 1945 - Ron Shelton was born. American film director
• 1945 - Jessye Norman was born. American opera singer.
• 1945 - André Tardieu dies (b. 1876). Prime Minister of France
• 1945 - Anton Webern dies (b. 1883). Austrian composer.
• 1946 - Baseball: The Brooklyn Dodgers are beating the Chicago Cubs, 2-0, in the 5th inning when a swarm of gnats causes the game to be postponed.
• 1946 - Tommy Lee Jones was born. American actor
• 1946 - Oliver Stone was born. Film director (Platoon, JFK )
• 1946 - Howard Waldrop was born. American science fiction author
• 1947 - RCA releases the 12AX7 vacuum tube.
• 1947 - The U.S. Air Force is separated from the US Army to become a separate branch.
• 1947 - Carlos Julio Arosemena Tola becomes President of Ecuador.
• 1948 - The F-86 Sabre sets the world aircraft speed record at 1080 km/h.
• 1948 - Suzyn Waldman was born. American Sportscaster
• 1949 - The radio series The Lone Ranger premieres on the ABC.
• 1949 - Joe Barton was born. American politician
• 1950 - Korean War: United States forces land at Incheon, Korea.
• 1951 - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes closes on Broadway in New York City after 740 performances.
• 1951 - Johan Neeskens was born. Dutch football player.
• 1951 - Pete Carroll was born. American football coach
• 1952 - United Nations gives Eritrea to Ethiopia.
• 1954 - The U.S. Postal Service issues its 2¢ Thomas Jefferson Liberty Series stamp.
• 1954 - Hrant Dink was born (d. 2007). Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor.
• 1955 - The I Love Lucy episode featuring John Wayne premieres.
• 1955 - Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita is published in Paris by Olympia Press.
• 1955 - Theodore Long was born. American professional wrestling general manager.
• 1955 - Željka Antunović was born. Croatian politician
• 1956 - Maggie Reilly was born. Scottish folk singer.
• 1957 - West Germany holds its third parliamentary election. Konrad Adenauer remains chancellor.
• 1958 - A Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train runs through an open drawbridge at the Newark Bay, killing 58. A New Jersey commuter train crashes through a drawbridge, killing 58.
• 1958 - Joel Quenneville was born. National Hockey League player
• 1958 - Wendie Jo Sperber was born (d. 2005). American actress.
• 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.
• 1961 - Dan Marino was born. American football player
• 1961 - Terry Lamb was born. Australian rugby league player
• 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 kills four children at an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama, United States.
• 1964 - The Beatles play at a public auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio, United States.
• 1964 - The Sun newspaper launches, replacing the Daily Herald.
• 1965 - The television series Lost in Space premieres.
• 1965 - Steve Brown dies (b. 1890). American jazz musician.
• 1966 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, writes a letter to the United States Congress urging the enactment of gun control legislation.
• 1966 - The spaceship Gemini XI, with astronauts Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon aboard, returns to earth.
• 1966 - Fernanda Torres was born in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian actress
• 1967 - Former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas, writes a letter to the United States Congress urging the enactment of gun control legislation.
• 1968 - The Soviet Zond 5 spaceship is launched, becoing the first spacecraft to fly around the Moon and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.
• 1968 - Danny Nucci was born. American actor
• 1969 - Baseball: St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Steve Carlton sets a record by striking out 19 New York Mets in a single game.
• 1969 - Jim Curtiss was born. American writer .
• 1971 - Nathan Astle was born. New Zealand cricket player
• 1971 - Baseball: In a game against the Houston Astros, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 636th home run, tying Mickey Mantle for third spot on the career home runs list.
• 1972 - A magnitude 4.5 earthquake shakes Northern Illinois.
• 1972 - Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano was born. Princess of Spain
• 1972 - Jimmy Carr was born. British comedian
• 1972 - Kit Chan was born. Singaporean singer
• 1972 - An SAS domestic flight from Gothenburg to Stockholm was hijacked and flown to Malmö-Bulltofta Airport.
• 1972 - Geoffrey Fisher dies (b. 1887). Archbishop of Canterbury.
• 1973 - Julie Cox was born. English actress
• 1973 - King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden dies.
• 1973 - Secretariat wins the Marlboro Cup in world record time.
• 1973 - Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden dies (b. 1882).
• 1973 - Victor Jara dies (b. 1941). Chilean musician.
• 1974 - Air Vietnam flight 727 is hijacked, then crashes while attempting to land with 75 on board.
• 1975 - The French department of Corse (the entire island of Corsica) is divided into two: Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud.
• 1975 - Progressive Rock artists Pink Floyd release Wish You Were Here.
• 1975 - Jamie Stevens was born. German pop singer.
• 1976 - Soyuz 22 carries two cosmonauts into earth orbit for eight days.
• 1976 - Paul Thomson was born. Scottish drummer (Franz Ferdinand)
• 1976 - Matt Thornton was born. American baseball player
• 1977 - Jason Terry was born. American basketball player
• 1977 - Sophie Dahl was born. British model
• 1978 - Muhammad Ali beats Leon Spinks for the world heavyweight boxing title.
• 1978 - Eidur Gudjohnsen was born. Icelandic footballer.
• 1978 - Willy Messerschmitt dies (b. 1898). German aircraft designer.
• 1978 - Robert Cliche dies (b. 1921). French Canadian politician and judge.
• 1979 - Amy Davidson was born. American actress.
• 1979 - Patrick Marleau was born. Canadian Hockey Player
• 1980 - David Diehl was born. American football player
• 1980 - Mike Dunleavy, Jr. was born. American basketball player
• 1980 - Jolin Tsai was born. Taiwanese pop singer
• 1980 - Paul McCartney releases "Temporary Secretary".
• 1980 - Bill Evans dies. American jazz pianist.
• 1981 - Vanuatu becomes a member of the United Nations
• 1981 - The United States Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor to the United States Supreme Court.
• 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, DC.
• 1982 - The first issue of USA Today is published by Gannett.
• 1983 - Israeli premier Menachem Begin resigns.
• 1984 - Prince Harry of Wales was born.
• 1985 - Willie Nelson's Farm Aid concert begins.
• 1985 - Cootie Williams dies (b. 1910). American jazz trumpeter.
• 1986 - First broadcast of the TV show LA Law on NBC.
• 1987 - U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze sign a treaty to establish centers to reduce the risk of nuclear war.
• 1987 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You,'' Michael Jackson with Siedah Garrett.
• 1987 - Vova Galchenko was born. Russian juggler
• 1987 - Steven Tuomi dies (b. 1963). Murder victim of Jeffery Dahmer
• 1988 - Lillehammer, Norway, beats Anchorage, Alaska, United States, to host the 1994 Winter Olympics.
• 1989 - The U.S. Congress recognizes Terry Anderson's continued captivity in Beirut.
• 1989 - Robert Penn Warren dies at 84. American Pulitzer Prize winning author.
• 1989 - O cineasta português João César Monteiro conquista o Prémio Leão de Prata do Festival de Veneza, com o filme Recordações da Casa Amarela
• 1989 - Robert Penn Warren dies (b. 1905). American writer.
• 1990 - France announces it will send 4,000 troops to the Persian Gulf.
• 1991 - U.S. women's gymnastics team wins its first World Championship medal (silver).
• 1993 - Liechtenstein Prince Hans-Adam II disbands parliament.
• 1993 - Maurice Yaméogo dies. President of Burkina Faso (1960-1966)
• 1994 - Muslim fundamentalists kidnap & behead 16 people in Algeria.
• 1995 - Harry Calder dies (b. 1901). South African cricketer.
• 1997 - Norwegian parliamentary election, 1997
• 1997 - Hastings Wise murders four at a lawn mower parts factory in Aiken, South Carolina.
• 1998 - WorldCom and MCI Communications finish their landmark merger, forming MCI WorldCom which would later be renamed WorldCom and become the largest bankruptcy in United States history.
• 2000 - Sydney 2000: In Australia the XXVII Olympic Games opened in Sidney
• 2000 - Vincent Canby dies (b. 1924). American movie critic.
• 2001 - Alex Zanardi, driving in a CART race is injured in Germany, resulting in both legs being amputated below the knee.
• 2003 - Madonna's first children's book is published in 42 languages in more than 100 countries. The release of "The English Roses" by Callaway Editions and Penguin Group, in association with various publishers around the world, is touted as the largest simultaneous worldwide release of a book in history.
• 2003 - Jack Brymer dies. British clarinetist
• 2003 - Josef Hirsal dies. Czech novelist.
• 2004 - Footballl(soccer): Match Roma -Dinamo de Kyiv is suspended after agression to the the Swedish referee Anders Frisk.
• 2004 - Football (soccer): José Néstor Pekerman accepts to train the Argentinian nacional team
• 2004 - Davíð Oddsson the longest serving Prime Minister of Iceland, steps down after serving in office from 1991, and becomes minister for foreign affairs. At the time he was the longest serving PM in Europe
• 2004 - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced a lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office.
• 2004 - With three awards each, Usher and OutKast are the top winners at the 16th annual World Music Awards.
• 2004 - Johnny Ramone dies (b. 1948). Guitarist (The Ramones)
• 2004 - Walter Stewart dies (b. 1931). Canadian journalist.
• 2005 - Most of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly call for eliminating poverty
• 2005 - Sidney Luft dies (b. 1915). American movie director.
• 2006 - UPN ceased operations after eleven and a half years. The CW Television Network launched 3 days later.
• 2006 - Raymond Baxter dies (b. 1922). British television presenter.
• 2006 - Oriana Fallaci dies (b. 1929). Italian journalist and writer.
• 2006 - Pablo Santos dies (b. 1987). Mexican actor.
• 2006 - Rob Levin dies (b. 1955). Freenode IRC Network Founder.
• In Slovakia - Holy day of the Seven sorrows of Virgin Mary.
• In ancient Greece, the second day of the Eleusinian Mysteries, when the priests of Demeter declared the public start of the rites.
• RC Saints - Feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows.
• Britain - the British commemorate the Battle of Britain on the day of the last massive Luftwaffe attack in 1940.
• Independence Day from Spain (1821) for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
• Japan - Respect for the Aged Day before 2003; beginning in 2003, Respect for the Aged Day is held on the third Monday of September.
• Municipal holyday in Setúbal (Portugal) / Feriado municipal em Setúbal