Month: September 2023 (Page 2 of 2)

On September 7, 1940, 300 German bombers raid London, in the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing. This bombing “blitzkrieg” (lightning war) would continue until May 1941.

In 1972, the International Olympic Committee banned Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett from further competition for talking to each other on the victory stand during the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner” after winning gold and silver in the 400-meter run.

In 1976, ABBA were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Dancing Queen’, the group’s fourth UK No.1 single and their only US No.1 chart topper. The song was a No.1 hit in over a dozen countries and stayed at the top of the Swedish charts for 14 weeks.

In 1977, in Washington, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos sign a treaty agreeing to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama at the end of the 20th century.

In 1986, Desmond Tutu was installed as the first Black clergyman to lead the Anglican Church in southern Africa.

In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur was shot and mortally wounded on the Las Vegas Strip.

In 2015, Hillary Clinton said she did not need to apologize for using a private email account and server while at the State Department because “what I did was allowed.”

On Sept. 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York.

In 1972, the Summer Olympics resumed in Munich, West Germany, a day after the deadly hostage crisis that claimed the lives of eleven Israelis and five Arab abductors.

In 1975, 18-year-old tennis star Martina Navratilova of Czechoslovakia, in New York for the U.S. Open, requested political asylum in the United States.

In 1991, the Soviet Union recognized the independence of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

In 1995, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s record by playing his two-thousand-131st consecutive game.

In 2017, Hurricane Irma, the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic, pounded Puerto Rico.

On Sept. 5, 1774, the first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia.In 1864, voters in Louisiana approved a new state constitution abolishing slavery.

In 1836,, Sam Houston is elected as president of the Republic of Texas, which earned its independence from Mexico in a successful military rebellion.

In 1957, the novel “On the Road,” by Jack Kerouac, was first published.

In 1969, Lt. William Calley is charged with six specifications of premeditated murder in the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians at My Lai in March 1968.

In 1970, Janis Joplin started recording sessions recording a version of the Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster song ‘Me and Bobby McGee’. Joplin, (who was a lover and a friend of Kristofferson’s from the beginning of her career to her death), topped the US singles chart with the song in 1971 after her death, making the song the second posthumous No.1 single in US chart history after ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay’ by Otis Redding.

In 1972, during the 1972 Summer Olympics at Munich, in the early morning, a group of Palestinian terrorists storms the Olympic Village apartment of the Israeli athletes, killing two and taking nine others hostage.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford escaped an attempt on his life by Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a disciple of Charles Manson, in Sacramento, California.

In 1984, the space shuttle Discovery ended its inaugural flight.

In 2006, Katie Couric makes headlines—and TV history—with her highly publicized debut as the first female solo anchor of a weekday network evening news broadcast, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

In 2018, The New York Times published an opinion piece from an anonymous administration official claiming to be part of a“resistance” working to thwart President Donald Trump’s “worst inclinations;” Trump responded that if such a “gutless” person exists, “the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to the government at once!”

On Sept 4, 1893, Beatrix Potter first told the story of Peter Rabbit in the form of a “picture letter” to Noel Moore.

In 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus used Arkansas National Guardsmen to prevent nine Black students from entering all-white Central High School in Little Rock.

In 1972, U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz won a seventh gold medal at the Munich Olympics in the 400-meter medley relay.

In 1998, Google filed for incorporation in California.

In 2006, “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, 44, died after a stingray’s barb pierced his chest.

In 2014, comedian Joan Rivers died at a New York hospital at age 81.

In 2018, Amazon became the second publicly-traded company to reach $1 trillion in market value, following closely behind Apple.

On Sept. 3, 1783, the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War.

In 1976, America’s Viking 2 lander touched down on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the red planet’s surface.

In 1995, the online auction site eBay was founded in San Jose, California, by Pierre Omidyar under the name “AuctionWeb.”

In 2003, Paul Hill, a former minister who said he murdered an abortion doctor and his escort to save the lives of unborn babies, was executed in Florida by injection.

In 2005, President George W. Bush ordered more than 7,000 active duty forces to the Gulf Coast as his administration intensified efforts to rescue Katrina survivors and send aid to the hurricane-ravaged region in the face of criticism it did not act quickly enough.

On Sept. 2, 31 B.C., at the Battle of Actium, off the western coast of Greece, Roman leader Octavian wins a decisive victory against the forces of Roman Mark Antony and Cleopatra, queen of Egypt.

In 1666, the Great Fire of London broke out.

In 1789, the United States Treasury Department was established.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s forces occupied Atlanta.

In 1945, Japan formally surrendered, ending World War II.

In 1960, Wilma Rudolph of the United States won the first of three gold medals at the Rome Summer Olympics as she finished the 100-meter dash in 11 seconds.

In 1963, Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace prevented the integration of Tuskegee High School by encircling the building with state troopers. Also, “The CBS Evening News” with Walter Cronkite became the first half-hour nightly newscast.

In 1964, on tour in the USA The Beatles appeared at The Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Days before the concert, Philadelphia had experienced race-riots, The Beatles, who were Civil Rights supporters, were shocked to see that their audience of 13,000 was completely white.

In 1969, America’s first automatic teller machine (ATM) makes its public debut, dispensing cash to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville Centre, New York.

In 1995, Michael Jackson went to No.1 on the US singles chart with a song written by R. Kelly ‘You Are Not Alone’. It holds a Guinness World Record as the first song in the 37 year history of the Billboard Hot 100 to debut at No.1.

On Sept. 1, 1923, the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated by an earthquake.

In 1939, World War II began as Nazi Germany invaded Poland.

In 1957, the Biggest Show Of Stars package tour kicked off at Brooklyn Paramount featuring: Buddy Holly & The Crickets, The Drifters, The Everly Brothers and Frankie Lymon. On some dates artists were unable to play because of segregation laws.

In 1969, a coup in Libya brought Moammar Gadhafi to power.

In 1972, American Bobby Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik, Iceland, as Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union resigned before the resumption of Game 21.

In 1984, after a 25-year career, Tina Turner had her first solo No.1 single in the US with ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’. This song was originally written for Cliff Richard, however the song was rejected. It was then offered to Donna Summer, who has stated she sat with it for a couple of years but never recorded it.

In 1985, a U.S.-French expedition located the wreckage of the Titanic on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.

In 2009, Vermont’s law allowing same-sex marriage went into effect.

In 2015, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis denied marriage licenses to gay couples again in direct defiance of the federal courts, and vowed not to resign, even under the pressure of steep fines or jail.