Today in History

On This Day In History, September 18th

1998 The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was founded
Author Esther Dyson became the first chairperson of the now non-profit organization, which was initially under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 2009, the Department of Commerce gave up its control over ICANN, which is responsible for maintaining the Domain Name System (DNS) on the Internet.

1973 West Germany adopts the Deutsche Mark
This action replaced the East German Mark and helped complete the economic reunification part of the union between East and West Germany.

1959 Vanguard 3 is launched into Earth's orbit
The geocentric satellite was launched into Earth's orbit by a Vanguard rocket, built by Glenn L. Martin Company, which is now known as Lockheed-Martin.

1934 USSR joins the League of Nations
It was expelled just a few years later for its aggressive actions towards Finland.

1872 Oscar II becomes King of Norway and Sweden
He succeeded his brother Charles XV and IV
 

Births On This Day, September 18th 🎂

1976 Ronaldo
Brazilian footballer

1971 Jada Pinkett Smith
American model, actress

1961 James Gandolfini
American actor

1905 Greta Garbo
Swedish actress

1709 Samuel Johnson
English author, lexicographer

Deaths On This Day, September 18th 🪦

1970 Jimi Hendrix
American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer

1961 Dag Hammarskjöld
Swedish diplomat, economist, author, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Prize Laureate

1830 William Hazlitt
English critic, painter

1783 Leonhard Euler
Swiss mathematician, physicist

96 Domitian
Roman Emperor
 
19th September 1957
16-year-old Cliff Richard, still known by his real name, Harry Webb, joins the Dick Teague Skiffle Group, (a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz) which will soon begin playing at UK venues around Ware, Cheshunt and Hoddesdon. During the day, he was still holding down a job at the Atlas Lighting Company.
 

On This Day In History, September 19th

2010 Oil rig Deepwater Horizon is declared sealed after a 5-month long spill in the Gulf of Mexico
Thought to be one of the biggest accidents in the oil and gas industry, the Deepwater Horizon spill or the BP oil spill began on April 20, 2010, when an explosion destroyed the rig and killed 11 people.

2006 A Military coup overthrows the elected government in Thailand
Forces loyal to General Sonthi Boonyaratglin overthrew the elected government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and dissolved the parliament and the constitution.

1983 Saint Kitts and Nevis gained their Independence from the British Crown
The first Europeans set foot on the Island country in the West Indies in the late 15th century during an expedition led by Columbus. In 1713, the control over the islands was passed from the French to the British.

1973 Carl XVI Gustaf succeeds his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf as the King of Sweden
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy, where the monarch is the ceremonial head of state. In 1980, Swedish law was changed to allow the firstborn of a monarch to become the crown's heir apparent, irrespective of their gender.

1944 The Moscow Armistice ends the Continuation War
The peace treaty was signed between the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and Finland. It put an end to the conflict between the USSR and Finland between 1941 and 1944.
 

Births On This Day, September 19th 🎂

1972 Ashot Nadanian
Armenian chess player, coach

1964 Trisha Yearwood
American singer-songwriter, actress

1934 Brian Epstein
English talent manager

1911 William Golding
English author, poet, playwright, Nobel Prize laureate

1802 Lajos Kossuth
Hungarian journalist, lawyer, politician

Deaths On This Day, September 19th 🪦

1995 Orville Redenbacher
American farmer, businessman

1985 Italo Calvino
Italian journalist, author

1968 Chester Carlson
American physicist invented Xerography

1944 Guy Gibson
English aviator, Victoria Cross recipient

1881 James A. Garfield
American politician, 20th President of the United States
 
On This Day In History, September 20th


2011 The official US military policy of "don't ask, don't tell" ends
The policy was instituted by the administration of Bill Clinton in 1994. Under the policy, openly gay personnel were not allowed to serve in the United States military, but they could serve as long as they did not reveal their LGBT status.

2001 American President, George W. Bush Declares War on Terror
The global military campaign against terrorism was first declared in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the United States. The phrase was used by President Bush in a speech given to the United States Congress.

1984 The Cosby Show Airs for the First Time
The popular television sitcom followed the lives of a Brooklyn-based African-American family called the Huxtables. The show ran for 8 years on NBC and was largely based on the stand-up comedy of Bill Cosby, who played the role of Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable, the father in the show.

1973 Billie Jean King Wins the Battle of the Sexes
The mixed-gender tennis match between top tennis player Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King was held in Houston, Texas after Riggs won another mixed gender match against Margaret Court earlier in the year. The matches were prompted by Riggs’ comments that even at the age of 55, he could beat any female tennis player. King beat Riggs and took home the $100,000 prize money. The match was and still is one of the most viewed tennis matches on television - it was watched by about 90 million people around the world.

1904 Wilbur Wright Makes the First Circular Flight
Wright, who with his brother Orville, is credited for inventing the first aeroplane, made a complete circle in 1 minute and 16 seconds on the Wright Flyer II.
 

Births On This Day, September 20th 🎂

1984 Brian Joubert
French figure skater

1975 Juan Pablo Montoya
Colombian race car driver

1948 George R. R. Martin
American screenwriter, author

1934 Sophia Loren
Italian actress

1899 Leo Strauss
German/American philosopher

Deaths On This Day, September 20th🪦

2005 Simon Wiesenthal
Austrian Holocaust survivor

2004 Brian Clough
English footballer, manager

1973 Jim Croce
American singer-songwriter

1933 Annie Besant
English activist, author

1930 Gombojab Tsybikov
Russian explorer
 
On This Day In History, September 21st

2013 The Westgate Mall is attacked in Nairobi, Kenya
In a daring siege, militants of the extremist group al-Shabaab took over the Mall. 63 shoppers were killed during the attack that lasted a few hours, and before the Kenyan security forces rescued the hostages, 4 terrorists were also killed. Al-Shabaab declared that it had undertaken the attack as retaliation for the presence of Kenyan armed forces in Somalia.

1964 Malta gains its independence from the UK
The southern European island country came under British control in 1814 as part of the Treaty of Paris. The country initially retained the Queen of England as its head of state but declared itself a republic on December 13, 1974.

1961 Boeing CH-47 Chinook takes flight for the first time
The American-made helicopter has been used by the US military in a variety of conflict-related operations including during the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It has also been often used for medical evacuation and search and rescue operations during natural disasters around the world.

1942 Boeing B-29 Superfortress flies for the first time
The bomber was used extensively by the US in World War II and the Korean War. The two planes – Enola Gay and Bockscar – that dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were from the silverplate series of Boeing B-29s.

1937 JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit is published for the first time
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again is a young adult fantasy novel that follows the adventures of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins as he traverses through Middle Earth to find treasure guarded by a dragon named Smaug.
 
Births On This Day, September 21st 🎂

1957 Kevin Rudd
Australian politician, 26th Prime Minister of Australia

1947 Stephen King
American author

1902 Luis Cernuda
Spanish poet

1867 Henry L. Stimson
American statesman, lawyer, politician

1866 H. G. Wells
English author

Deaths On This Day, September 21st 🪦

2011 Troy Davis
American murderer

1982 Ivan Bagramyan
Soviet military leader

1860 Arthur Schopenhauer
German philosopher

1832 Walter Scott
Scottish novelist, poet

1558 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
 
1895
America's 1st automotive producer,Duryea Motor Wagon Company is founded by Charles&J. Frank Duryea
1930
Johann Ostermyer parents the flashbulb
1957
TV show' Perry Mason' based on the character by author, Erle Stanley Gardner debuts on CBS. It stars Raymond Burr as'Mason',Barbara Hale' as his devoted secretary, 'Della Street', William Hopper as his personal detective' "Paul Drake', William Talman as DA 'Hamilton Burger' The show ran for 9yrs
1970
NYTimes starts modern op-ed page
1981
U.S. Senate confirms Sandra Day O'Connor 99-0,she becomes the 1st female Supreme Court Justice
2016
3 genetic studies published in 'Nature' conclude all non-Africans descended from 1 migration out of Africa 50-80,000 yrs ago
 
On This Day In History, September 22nd

1980 Iran-Iraq War begins with Iraq invading Iran
It is thought to be one of the 20th century's deadliest and longest conventional war. It ended 7 years later with no decisive victory and massive losses, both in terms of human lives and in terms of economy to both sides.

1979 The American-run Vela satellite detects a series of bright flashes over the Indian Ocean
The flashes were thought to be associated with atmospheric nuclear explosions. Some experts theorized that they were caused by joint Israeli and South African nuclear exercises. The governments of both countries denied this and to date, it hasn't been confirmed whether the flashes were indeed nuclear explosions, and who was responsible for them.

1975 Assassination attempt on US President Gerald Ford is foiled
FBI informant Sara Jane Moore's attempt to assassinate the president in San Francisco failed due to a faulty gun and the efforts of ex-FBI agent Oliver Sipple who tackled her.

1960 Mali Federation becomes Mali
In August 1960, Senegal opted out of the Mali Federation allowing the federation to take on the name of Mali.

1869 Richard Wagner's opera Das Rheingold or The Rhine Gold is heard for the first time
The first of 4 musical works of art that constitute Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, Das Rheingold was played at the National Theatre in Munich. The other three music dramas are Die Walküre or The Valkyrie, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung or Twilight of the Gods.
 
Births On This Day, September 22nd 🎂

1964 Liam Fox
Scottish politician

1958 Andrea Bocelli
Italian tenor, songwriter, producer

1902 Ruhollah Khomeini
Iranian religious leader, politician, 1st Supreme Leader of Iran

1791 Michael Faraday
English scientist

1515 Anne of Cleves

Deaths On This Day, September 22nd 🪦

2015 Yogi Berra
American baseball player, manager

2007 Marcel Marceau
French mime, actor

1989 Irving Berlin
American composer

1961 Marion Davies
American actress

1828 Shaka
Zulu leader
 
On This Day In History, September 23rd

What Happened On This Day – September 23
1965 The Indo-Pakistani War comes to an end after a UN-mandated ceasefire
Also known as the Second Kashmiri War, the war was fought between India and Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

1952 Nixon Makes his Checkers Speech
The televised speech was made by then-Vice Presidential candidate Richard Nixon as a response to accusations of corruption and use of campaign funds for private expenses. The speech received its name due to the mention of Checkers, a dog he had received as a gift for his children. In the speech, he emphasized that he intended to keep Checkers.

1932 The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is Founded
The Middle Eastern country was created by merging the kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd by Ibn Saud, the king of the House of Saud. The day is celebrated as Saudi National Day in the Kingdom.

1909 Phantom of the Opera makes its Literary Debut
The novel about a disfigured musical genius was written by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a series in the French newspaper, Le Gaulois. The novel was later adapted as a popular musical and as a film.

1889 Nintendo is Founded
The The release of Donkey Kong, an arcade game in 1981, brought Nintendo to the forefront of the electronic and video games industry. Japanese gaming company was created by entrepreneur Fusajiro Yamauchi a card company called Nintendo Koppai, which was based in Kyoto. The company originally produced and sold playing cards called Hanafuda.
 
Births On This Day, September 23rd 🎂

1949 Bruce Springsteen
American singer-songwriter, guitarist

1930 Ray Charles
American singer-songwriter, pianist, actor

1926 John Coltrane
American saxophonist, composer

1215 Kublai Khan
Mongolian Emperor

63 Augustus
Roman Emperor

Deaths On This Day, September 23rd 🪦

1994 Robert Bloch
American author

1988 Tibor Sekelj
Hungarian explorer, author

1973 Pablo Neruda
Chilean poet, Nobel Prize laureate

1968 Pio of Pietrelcina
Italian priest, saint

1939 Sigmund Freud
Austrian neurologist
 
Sept 24th:
1789
U.S. Congress established Post Office Department
1920
Future Hall of Fame slugger, Babe Ruth becomes the 1st MLB player to hit 50 HR's in a single season
1948
Honda Motor Company is founded in Hamamastu-city Japan
1952
fast food restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken{KFC} opens its 1st franchise in Salt Lake City,Utah
1968
60 Minutes, a newsmagazine show debuts on CBS, Its original journalists/ reporters were Mike Wallace, Harry Reasoner, Morley Safer,commentary by Andy Rooney..Its still on the air today with Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley, Bill Whitaker, Anderson Cooper
1988
Barbara C.Harris is elected as Massachusetts 1st Episcopal female bishop,she served for 13yrs
2017
plastic polystyrene rubbish was discovered for the 1st time by international team of scientists 1,000 miles from the North Pole
 
On This Day In History, September 25th

2008 China launches Shenzhou spacecraft with 3 astronauts
This was the third human-manned space flight mission of China's Space Program.

1992 NASA launches the Mars Observer
The robotic space probe's main goal was to study Mars. Almost a year later all communications with it were lost.

1977 Runners run the first Chicago Marathon
One of the world's six major marathons, which include the marathons in Berlin, Boston, London, New York, and Tokyo, the Chicago Marathon was initially called the Mayor Daley Marathon. The first race was won by Rhud Metzner.

1962 The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria is officially created
Ferhat Abbas was appointed as the President of the Algerian National Assembly, and Ben Bella was seated as the country's new Prime Minister.

1890 Sequoia National Park is established by the United States Congress
The park, situated in the state of California is famous for its giant sequoia trees.
 

Births On This Day, September 25th 🎂

1969 Catherine Zeta-Jones
Welsh actress

1952 Christopher Reeve
American actor

1932 Glenn Gould
Canadian pianist, composer

1903 Mark Rothko
Latvian/American painter

1897 William Faulkner
American author, Nobel Prize laureate

Deaths On This Day, September 25th 🪦

2011 Wangari Maathai
Kenyan environmentalist, Nobel Prize laureate

2003 Edward Said
Palestinian/American theoretician

1971 Hugo Black
American jurist, politician

1929 Miller Huggins
American baseball player, manager

1066 Harald Hardrada
Norwegian king
 
Sept 26th:
1887
Emile Berliner patents the Gramophone
1934
British ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary is launched wins the Blue Riband for being the fastest passenger crossing the Atlantic in 1936 It was retired in 1967,permantely moored and later converted into a hotel, tourist attraction,mueseum in Long Beach,Calif
1961
New York Yankee,outfielder, Roger Maris hits his 60th HR ties Babe Ruth's record
1973
Concorde makes it 1st non-stop crossing of the Atlantic from Washington,DC-Paris in record breaking time 3hrs,33 min
1988
NYC"s Rockefeller Center is declared a national landmark
2008
Swiss pilot& inventor, Yves Rossy becomes the 1st person to fly a jet engine-powered wing across the English Channel
 
On This Day In History, September 27th

1996 Taliban take over Kabul
Following the take-over, the Islamic fundamentalist group established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

1962 Establishment of Yemen Arab Republic
Gamal Abdel Nasser declared the establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic after staging a coup that deposed the King Muhammad Al-Badr

1940 Tripartite Pact is signed
It established the Axis powers during World War II and was signed by Germany, Italy and Imperial Japanese representatives.

1937 The Bali Tiger Goes Extinct
Native to the Indonesian island of Bali, the Bali Tiger was made extinct due to human activities and hunting. On this day, the last known adult Balinese tiger was shot dead.

1922 Constantine I of Greece abdicates
Constantine I of Greece abdicated in favour of his son, George II, after a military revolt.
 
Births On This Day, September 27th 🎂

1984 Avril Lavigne
Canadian singer-songwriter, actress, fashion designer

1982 Lil Wayne
American rapper, actor

1972 Gwyneth Paltrow
American actress, singer

1947 Meat Loaf
American singer-songwriter, producer, actor

1722 Samuel Adams
American politician, 4th Governor of Massachusetts

Deaths On This Day, September 27th 🪦

1965 Clara Bow
American actress

1944 Aimee Semple McPherson
Canadian/American evangelist founded the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel

1917 Edgar Degas
French painter

1876 Braxton Bragg
American general

1833 Ram Mohan Roy
 
1892
book matches are patented by Diamond Company
1908
Henry Ford's 1st Model T automobile leaves Piquette Plant in Detroit,Michigan
1937
The 1st Santa Claus school opens in Albion, NY,its now located in Midland, Michigan
1942
Glenn Miller&his orchestra give their final performance in Passaic, New Jersey. Miller disbands the group because he joined U.S. Army
1989
Sony purchases Columbia Pictures for $3.4 billion in cash
2015
a 'Super Moon' coincides with a lunar eclipse which created a' Blood Moon' over much of the earth
 
This Day In History, September 28th

2008 Falcon 1 is launched
Falcon 1, the first privately supported and funded spacecraft, was launched into space on its fourth attempt by SpaceX.

1995 Israel and PLO Sign the Oslo II Accords
The Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, also known as the Taba Agreement, divided Gaza and West Bank into 3 areas, and gave limited control over some of these areas to the Palestinians. The Accord, which was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, also called for Palestinian elections.

1980 Carl Sagan’s Cosmos: A Personal Voyage Makes its Debut
The widely popular 13-episode science television documentary series was broadcast on Public Broadcasting Service. It was presented by astronomer Carl Sagan and written by Ann Druyan, Sagan, and Steven Soter. It was, and remains, one of the most watched science-based TV documentaries.

1961 Dissolution of the United Arab Republic
A coup in Damascus led to the dissolution of the United Arab Republic, which was a short-lived union between Syria and Egypt.

1924 First Flight Around the World
On April 6, 1924, 4 teams of pilots from the United States Army Air Service set out from Seattle, Washington in an attempt to circumnavigate the world. The 4 Douglas World Cruiser planes were named Seattle, Chicago, Boston, and New Orleans. 175 days later, Chicago and New Orleans touched down in Seattle – Boston and Seattle did not complete the 27,500-mile journey around the world.
 
Births On This Day, September 28th 🎂

1968 Naomi Watts
English/Australian actress

1947 Sheikh Hasina
Bangladeshi politician, 10th Prime Minister of Bangladesh

1934 Brigitte Bardot
French actress, singer

1909 Al Capp
American cartoonist

1907 Bhagat Singh
Indian activist

Deaths On This Day, September 28th

2000 Pierre Trudeau
Canadian politician, 15th Prime Minister of Canada

1991 Miles Davis
American trumpet player, composer, bandleader

1978 Pope John Paul I

1895 Louis Pasteur
French chemist, microbiologist

1891 Herman Melville
American writer
 
On This Day In History, September 29th

1994 Sinking of MS Estonia
MS Estonia, a passenger and car ferry, sank in the Baltic Sea killing more than 800 passengers. It is considered to be the worst maritime peacetime disaster of the 20th century.

1991 Coup in Haiti
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed in a military coup. Aristide had been elected in a national election held 8 months before the coup.

1962 First Canadian Satellite
Canada launched its first-ever satellite, Alouette 1, on this day from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, United States. A joint venture between NASA and Defence Research and Development Canada, the satellite was sent to study the Earth's ionosphere.

1954 CERN established
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, popularly known as CERN, was established by 12 European governments.

1941 Babi Yar massacre
About 33,000 Soviet Jews were killed at the Babi Yar ravine in Kiev by the Nazis in a two-day massacre that started on this day.
 


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