Today September 1st 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
462 – Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle.
1355 – Tvrtko I writes in castro nostro Vizoka vocatum from old town Visoki.
1532 – Lady Anne Boleyn is made Marchioness of Pembroke by her fiancé, King Henry VIII of England.
1644 – Battle of Tippermuir, Montrose defeats Elcho s Covenanters, reviving Royalist cause.
1715 – King Louis XIV of France dies after a reign of 72 years—the longest of any major European monarch.
1752 – The Liberty Bell arrives in Philadelphia.
1763 – Catherine II of Russia endorses Ivan Betskoy s plans for a Foundling Home in Moscow
1772 – Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa founded in San Luis Obispo, California.
1804 – Juno, one of the largest main belt asteroids, was discovered by German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding.
1807 – Former US Vice President Aaron Burr is acquitted of treason.
1836 – Narcissa Whitman, one of the first white women to settle west of the Rocky Mountains, arrives at Walla Walla, Washington.
1859 – A solar superstorm affects electrical telegraph service.
1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Chantilly – Confederate forces attack retreating Union troops in Chantilly, Virginia.
1864 – American Civil War: Confederate General John Bell Hood evacuates Atlanta, Georgia after a four-month siege by General Sherman.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Sedan is fought, resulting in a decisive Prussian victory.
1873 – Cetshwayo ascends to the throne as king of the Zulu nation following the death of his father Mpande.
1875 – A murder conviction effectively forces the violent Irish anti-owner coal miners, the Molly Maguires, to disband.
1894 – Great Hinckley Fire: A forest fire in Hinckley, Minnesota, kills more than 400 people.
1897 – The Boston subway opens, becoming the first underground rapid transit system in North America.
1902 – A Trip to the Moon, considered one of the first science fiction films, is released in France.
1905 – Alberta and Saskatchewan join the Canadian confederation.
1906 – The International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI) is established.
1914 – St. Petersburg, Russia changes its name to Petrograd.
1914 – The last passenger pigeon, a female named Martha, dies in captivity in the Cincinnati Zoo.
1923 – The Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo and Yokohama, killing about 105,000 people.
1928 – Ahmet Zogu declares Albania to be a monarchy and proclaims himself king.
1934 – SMJK Sam Tet was founded by Father Fourgs from the St. Michael Church, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
1939 – World War II: Nazi Germany attacks Poland, beginning the war in Europe. (See Invasion of Poland.)
1939 – George C. Marshall becomes Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
1939 – The Wound Badge for Wehrmacht, SS, Kriegsmarine, and Luftwaffe soldiers is instituted. The final version of the Iron Cross was also instituted on this date.
1939 – Switzerland mobilizes its forces and the Swiss Parliament elects Henri Guisan to head the Swiss Army (an event that can happen only during war or mobilization).
1951 – The United States, Australia and New Zealand sign a mutual defense pact, called the ANZUS Treaty.
1961 – The Eritrean War of Independence officially begins with the shooting of the Ethiopian police by Hamid Idris Awate
1962 – Channel Television launches to 54,000 households in the Channel Islands.
1964 – Indian Oil Corporation formed after merging Indian Oil Refineries and Indian Oil Company.
1969 – A revolution in Libya brings Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi to power, which was later transferred to the People s Committees.
1970 – Attempted assassination of King Hussein of Jordan by Palestinian guerillas, who attacked his motorcade.
1972 – In Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bobby Fischer beats Russian Boris Spassky and becomes the world chess champion.
1974 – The SR-71 Blackbird sets (and holds) the record for flying from New York to London: 1 hour 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds.
1979 – The American space probe Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft to visit Saturn when it passes the planet at a distance of 21,000 km.
1980 – Terry Fox s Marathon of Hope ends in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
1981 – A coup d état in the Central African Republic overthrows President David Dacko.
1982 – Canada adopts a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as part of its Constitution.
1982 – The United States Air Force Space Command is founded.
1983 – Cold War: Korean Air Flight 007 is shot down by a Soviet Union jet fighter when the commercial aircraft enters Soviet airspace. All 269 on board are killed, including United States Congressmen Lawrence McDonald.
1985 – A joint American-French expedition locates the wreck of the RMS Titanic.
1990 – The Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist is founded, following a split from the Communist Labour Party of Turkey.
1991 – Uzbekistan declares independence from the Soviet Union
2004 – Beslan school hostage crisis: Day 1: The Beslan School hostage crisis commences when armed terrorists take hundreds of school children and adults hostage in the Russian town of Beslan in North Ossetia. The crisis would go on to last for another two days, ending on September 3.
2005 – Seven members and former members of the AFL-CIO form a new trade union organization, the Change to Win Federation.
2006 – Luxembourg became the first country to complete the move to all digital television broadcasting.
Births
1286 – Elisabeth Richeza of Poland, Queen of Poland (d. 1335)
1453 – Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Spanish general (d. 1515)
1566 – Edward Alleyn, English actor (d. 1626)
1588 – Henry II, Prince of Condé, French nobleman (d. 1646)
1651 – Nataliya Kyrillovna Naryshkina, Tsaritsa of Russia (d. 1694)
1653 – Johann Pachelbel, German composer (d. 1706)
1711 – William IV, Prince of Orange (d. 1759)
1795 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr., American newspaper publisher (d. 1872)
1848 – Auguste-Henri Forel, Swiss entomologist (d. 1931)
1854 – Engelbert Humperdinck, German composer (d. 1921)
1855 – Innokenty Annensky, Russian poet (d. 1909)
1856 – Sergei Winogradsky, Russian scientist (d. 1953)
1866 – James J. Corbett, American heavyweight boxer (d. 1933)
1868 – Henri Bourassa, French Canadian politician and publisher (d. 1952)
1871 – J. Reuben Clark, Jr., American Undersecretary of State (d. 1961)
1875 – Edgar Rice Burroughs, American writer (d. 1950)
1876 – Harriet Shaw Weaver, English political activist (d. 1961)
1877 – Francis William Aston, Nobel laureate (d. 1945)
1878 – Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1942)
1883 – Didier Pitre, French Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1934)
1884 – Sigurd Wallén, Swedish actor and filmdirector (d. 1947)
1886 – Othmar Schoeck, Swiss composer and conductor (d. 1957)
1887 – Blaise Cendrars, Swiss writer (d. 1961)
1888 – Andrija Štampar, Croatian physician (d. 1958)
1889 – Richard Arlen, American actor (d. 1976)
1892 – Leverett Saltonstall, 55th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1979)
1895 – Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, Indian musician (d. 1974)
1896 – A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Indian theologian (d. 1977)
1897 – Andy Kennedy, Irish footballer (d. 1963)
1899 – Andrei Platonov, Russian writer (d. 1951)
1904 – Johnny Mack Brown, American actor (d. 1974)
1905 – Elvera Sanchez, Puerto Rican dancer (d. 2000)
1906 – Joaquín Balaguer, President of the Dominican Republic (d. 2002)
1906 – Franz Biebl, German composer (d. 2001)
1907 – Walter Reuther, American labor union leader (d. 1970)
1908 – Amir Elahi, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1980)
1909 – E. Herbert Norman, Canadian diplomat (d. 1957)
1913 – Ludwig Merwart, Austrian painter and graphic artist (d. 1979)
1913 – Christian Nyby, American director and film editor (d. 1993)
1919 – Ossie Dawson, South African cricketer
1920 – Richard Farnsworth, American actor (d. 2000)
1921 – Willem Frederik Hermans, Dutch writer (d. 1995)
1921 – Madhav Mantri, Indian cricketer
1922 – Yvonne De Carlo, Canadian-born actress (d. 2007)
1922 – Vittorio Gassman, Italian actor (d. 2000)
1923 – Rocky Marciano, American boxer (d. 1969)
1923 – Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian businessman (d. 2006)
1925 – Art Pepper, American musician (d. 1982)
1926 – Abdur Rahman Biswas, President of Bangladesh
1926 – Gene Colan, American comic book artist
1928 – Clifford Lincoln, Canadian politician
1928 – George Maharis, American actor
1929 – Anne Ramsey, American actress (d. 1988)
1931 – Boxcar Willie, American country musician (d. 1999)
1932 – Derog Gioura, Nauruan politician
1933 – Ann W. Richards, American politician (d. 2006)
1933 – Conway Twitty, American singer (d. 1993)
1935 – Seiji Ozawa, Japanese conductor
1937 – Al Geiberger, American golfer
1937 – Ron O Neal, American actor, film director and screenwriter (d. 2004)
1939 – Lily Tomlin, American actress and comedian
1941 – Graeme Langlands, Australian rugby league footballer
1942 – C. J. Cherryh, American writer
1943 – Don Stroud, American actor
1944 – Leonard Slatkin, American conductor
1945 – Mustafa Balel, Turkish writer
1946 – Greg Errico, American drummer (Sly & the Family Stone)
1946 – Barry Gibb, English singer (Bee Gees)
1946 – Roh Moo-Hyun, President of South Korea
1947 – Al Green, American politician
1948 – Józef Zycinski, Polish archbishop and philosopher
1949 – P.A. Sangma, Indian politician
1950 – Phillip Fulmer, American football coach
1950 – Dr. Phil McGraw, American talk show host
1951 – Nicu Ceausescu, Romanian politician (d. 1996)
1951 – David Bairstow, England cricketer (d. 1998)
1952 – Phil Hendrie, American radio personality
1953 – Beau Billingslea, American voice actor
1953 – Ted Petty, American professional wrestler (d. 2002)
1954 – Dave Lumley, Canadian ice hockey player
1955 – Billy Blanks, American martial artist
1955 – Bruce Foxton, English bassist (The Jam)
1956 – Philece Sampler, American voice artist
1957 – Gloria Estefan, Cuban/American singer
1957 – Duško Ivanovic, Montenegrin basketball coach
1958 – Armi Aavikko, Finnish singer (d. 2002)
1959 – Kenny Mayne, American sports journalist
1961 – Bam Bam Bigelow, American professional wrestler (d. 2007)
1962 – Ruud Gullit, Dutch footballer
1962 – Tony Cascarino, Irish footballer
1963 – Stephen Kernahan, Australian rules footballer
1963 – Carola Smit, Dutch singer
1964 – Brian Bellows, Canadian ice hockey player
1964 – Cécilia Rhode, Swedish model
1964 – Ray D Arcy, Irish DJ and TV presenter
1966 – Tim Hardaway, American basketball player
1967 – David Whissell, Quebec politician
1968 – Mohammed Atta, Egyptian terrorist (d. 2001)
1969 – Henning Berg, Norwegian footballer
1970 – Hwang Jung-min, South Korean actor
1970 – Padma Lakshmi, Indian actress
1970 – Mitsou, Quebec singer, television and radio host, actress
1970 – Vanna, Croatian singer
1971 – Ricardo Antonio Chavira, American actor
1971 – Joe Enochs, American soccer player
1971 – Yoshitaka Hirota, Japanese composer
1971 – Lââm, French singer
1971 – Jimmy Snuka, Jr., American professional wrestler
1971 – Hakan Sükür, Turkish footballer
1972 – Doug Williams, British professional wrestler
1973 – Ram Kapoor, Indian actor
1973 – J. D. Fortune, Canadian singer (INXS)
1973 – Zach Thomas, American football player
1974 – Jason Taylor, American football player
1974 – Jhonen Vasquez, American comic book artist
1975 – Scott Speedman, English-born actor
1975 – Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Australian actress and singer
1975 – Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Puerto Rican guitarist
1975 – Cuttino Mobley, American basketball player
1976 – Marcos Ambrose, Australian racing driver
1976 – Erik Morales, Mexican boxer
1976 – Jada Fire, American porn actress
1976 – Polly Shannon, Canadian actress
1976 – Sebastián Rozental, Chilean footballer
1976 – Clare Connor, England Woman cricketer
1977 – Aaron Schobel, American football player
1977 – Raffaele Giammaria, Italian racing driver
1977 – Shoshana Bean, American stage actress
1977 – Aamir Ali, Indian television actor
1977 – David Albelda, Spanish footballer
1978 – Max Vieri, Australian soccer player
1978 – Lucie Blackman, English murder victim (d. 2000)
1979 – James O Connor, Irish footballer
1980 – Chris Riggott, English footballer
1980 – Sammy Adjei, Ghanaian footballer
1981 – Clinton Portis, American football player
1981 – Adam Quick, Australian basketball player
1982 – Ryan Gomes, American basketball player
1982 – Paul Dumbrell, Australian racing driver
1982 – Jeffrey Buttle, Canadian figure skater
1983 – José Antonio Reyes, Spanish footballer
1983 – Jeff Woywitka, Canadian ice hockey player
1984 – Joseph Trohman, American musician (Fall Out Boy)
1984 – Nick Noble, American soccer player
1985 – Camile Velasco, Filipino-American singer
1986 – Gaël Monfils, French tennis player
1986 – Anthony Allen, English rugby union player
1987 – Dann Hume, New Zealand musician (Evermore)
1988 – Gabriel Ferrari, American soccer player
1988 – Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladeshi cricketer
1989 – Juliana Lohmann, Brazilian actress
1993 – Ilona Mitrecey, French singer
1994 – Bianca Ryan, American singer
Deaths
1067 – Baldwin V of Flanders
1159 – Pope Adrian IV (b. 1100)
1256 – Kujo Yoritsune, Japanese shogun (b. 1218)
1414 – William de Ros, 7th Baron de Ros, Lord Treasurer of England (b. 1369)
1557 – Jacques Cartier, French explorer (b. 1491)
1581 – Guru Ram Das, fourth Sikh Guru (b. 1534)
1600 – Tadeáš Hájek, Czech physician (b. 1525)
1615 – Étienne Pasquier, French lawyer (b. 1529)
1648 – Marin Mersenne, French mathematician (b. 1588)
1685 – Leoline Jenkins, Welsh lawyer (b. 1625)
1687 – Henry More, English philosopher (b. 1614)
1715 – François Girardon, French sculptor (b. 1628)
1715 – King Louis XIV of France (b. 1638)
1818 – Robert Calder, British naval officer (b. 1745)
1838 – William Clark, American explorer, part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (b. 1770)
1943 – Charles Atangana, Cameroonian chief (b. 1880)
1947 – Frederick Russell Burnham, father of the international Scouting movement (b. 1861)
1953 – Bernard O Dowd, Australian poet (b. 1866)
1957 – Dennis Brain, English musician (b. 1921)
1967 – Siegfried Sassoon, English poet (b. 1886)
1967 – Ilse Koch, Nazi war criminal (b. 1906)
1969 – Drew Pearson, American newspaper columnist (b. 1897)
1970 – François Mauriac, French writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1885)
1977 – Ethel Waters, American singer (b. 1896)
1981 – Albert Speer, Nazi official (b. 1905)
1981 – Ann Harding, American actress (b. 1901)
1982 – Haskell Curry, American mathematician (b. 1900)
1982 – Wladyslaw Gomulka, Polish communist leader (b. 1905)
1983 – Henry M. Jackson, American politician (b. 1912)
1983 – Larry McDonald, American congressman (b. 1935)
1985 – Stefan Bellof, German race car driver (b. 1957)
1985 – Jay Youngblood, American wrestler (b. 1955)
1986 – Murray Hamilton, American actor (b. 1923)
1988 – Luis Alvarez, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1911)
1989 – A. Bartlett Giamatti, American baseball commissioner (b. 1938)
1989 – Tadeusz Sendzimir, American inventor (b. 1894)
1994 – Boris Malenko, American professional wrestler (b. 1933)
1998 – Józef Krupinski, Polish poet (b. 1930)
1998 – Cary Middlecoff, American golfer (b. 1921)
1999 – W. Richard Stevens, Zambian computer scientist (b. 1951)
2001 – Brian Moore British sports commentator (b. 1932)
2003 – Sir Terry Frost, British artist (b. 1915)
2004 – Ahmed Kuftaro, Grand Mufti of Syria (b. 1915)
2005 – R. L. Burnside, American musician (b. 1926)
2005 – Thanos Leivaditis, Greek actor (b. 1934)
2006 – Sir Kyffin Williams, Welsh landscape painter (b. 1918)
2006 – Bob O Connor, mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (b. 1944)
2006 – Nellie Connally, wife of Texas governor John Connally (b. 1919)
2006 – Warren Mitofsky, American pollster (b. 1934)
2007 – Roy McKenzie, New Zealand philanthropist (b. 1922)
2008 – Don LaFontaine, American voice actor (b. 1940)
Holidays and observances
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the new liturgical year begins on September 1. Also see September 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).
Eastern (Byzantine) Catholic Church, the new Liturgical Year (Indiction) also begins.
Church of England – Saint Giles.
Libya – Revolution Day (1969).
New Zealand – National R.A.K. (Random Act of Kindness) Day
Russia – Knowledge Day.
Singapore – Teachers Day.
Slovakia – Constitution Day.
Uzbekistan – Independence Day (from USSR, 1991).
Start of the season when oysters are fit to eat (when month names contain an R).
Start of the partridge-shooting season (St. Partridge).
First day of Spring in Australia and New Zealand.
Aaron, brother of Moses
Saint Giles