On This Day In History
September 15th
1616 First non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy
1821 Act of Independence of Central America: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras & Nicaragua declare their independence from the Spanish Empire
1835 HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin on board reaches the Galapagos Islands
1916 first use of tanks in warfare, “Little Willies” at Battle of Flers-Courcelette, part of the Battle of the Somme
1928 Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin while studying influenza
1940 Battle of Britain Day: climax of the Battle of Britain, tide begins to turn as the Royal Air Force repulses a major Luftwaffe attack, losing 29 aircraft to the Germans’ 57-61
1992 George Soros‘ Quantum Fund begins selling large amounts of pound sterling, labelled “the man who broke the Bank of England” when pound crashes out of the ERM next day
Did You Know?
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.
Today in History in 1981
Would You Believe?
Google.com is registered as a domain name
Today in History in 1997
Quote from Charlie Charles IV on September 15, 2024, 11:27 am
Watching the first item on the video about the 4 black girls being killed by a KKK bomb at a church in Alabama 60 odd years ago made me think of the similarities with Oakland, Ohio in the present day.
That lunatic Trump is a dangerous man …
September 16th
1620 The Mayflower departs Plymouth, England, with 102 Pilgrims and about 30 crew for the New World (O.S. 6 Sept)
1795 British capture Capetown, South Africa, from the Dutch
1810 Mexico issues Grito de Dolores, calling for the end of Spanish rule (Mexican Independence Day)
1848 Slavery abolished in all French territories
1906 Douglas Mawson, Edgeworth David and Alistair Mackay claim to have discovered the Magnetic South Pole in Antarctica
1963 Federation of Malaysia formed by Malaya, Singapore, British North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak
1978 25,000 die in 7.7 earthquake in Tabar, Iran
1997 Apple Computer Inc names co-founder Steve Jobs interim CEO
Did You Know?
Carriage-maker, William C. Durant, founds General Motors in Flint, Michigan
Today in History in 1908
Would You Believe?
700 million malaria cases prevented in Africa since 2000 in report by University of Oxford in “Nature” journal
Today in History in 2015
September 17th
642 Arab forces under Amr ibn al-‘As conquer Alexandria
1683 Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is the first to report the existence of bacteria
1787 The US Constitution is signed by delegates at the Philadelphia Convention
1862 Battle of Antietam [Battle of Sharpsburg], bloodiest day in the American Civil War: 22,000 dead, wounded or missing in first battle on Union soil
1916 WWI flying ace The Red Baron of the German Luftstreitkräfte, wins his first aerial combat near Cambrai, France
1940 Adolf Hitler indefinitely postpones Operation Sealion, the planned German invasion of Great Britain
1978 Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Camp David Accords, frameworks for peace in the Middle East and between Egypt and Israel
Did You Know?
NASA publicly unveils space shuttle Enterprise in Palmdale, California, named after Star Trek Enterprise with cast attending
Today in History in 1976
Would You Believe?
Joshua Abraham Norton, English-born resident of San Francisco, proclaims himself his Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, Emperor of the United States of America
Today in History in 1859
September 18th
1811 British East India Company force led by Baron Minto conquers Java, part of the Dutch East Indies, Stamford Raffles appointed lieutenant governor
1812 Great Fire of Moscow burns out after 5 days, 75% of the city destroyed and 12,000 killed
1873 Government bond agent Jay Cooke & Co collapses, causing panic on Wall St, the start of the panic of 1873 and the Long depression
1914 Irish Home Rule bill receives Royal assent
1931 To create a pretext for the invasion of Manchuria, China, a railway explosion is faked by the Japanese
1947 The Central Intelligence Agency officially comes into existence after being established by President Truman in July
1976 Mao Zedong‘s funeral takes place in Beijing
Did You Know?
US President George Washington lays the cornerstone of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
Today in History in 1793
Would You Believe?
Government of Uttar Pradesh, India, confirms 2.3 million people applied for 238 menial office jobs
Today in History in 2015
September 19th
1356 English forces under Edward the Black Prince defeat French at the Battle of Poitiers and capture the French King John II during the Hundred Years’ War
1870 Siege of Paris by Prussian Forces begins (lasts until January 28 1871)
1893 New Zealand becomes the first country to grant all women the right to vote
1985 8.1 earthquake in Mexico City kills an estimated 10,000 and leaves 250,000 homeless
1986 US Federal health officials announce AZT will be available to AIDS patients
Did You Know?
One of first known modern beauty contests held in Spa, Belgium
Today in History in 1888
Would You Believe?
Ötzi the Iceman, 3,300 BCE old mummy discovered by German tourists in Italian alps
Today in History in 1991
September 20th
622 Islamic Prophet Muhammed/Abu Bakr arrives in Jathrib (Medina)
1519 Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan sets off on the 1st successful circumnavigation of the globe (Magellan killed on route)
1854 Battle of the Alma: British, French and Ottoman alliance defeat the Russian Empire in the 1st major battle of the Crimean War
1990 Both East and West Germany ratify reunification
2001 In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, US President George W. Bush declares a “war on terror”
2019 Students from 185 countries stage the world’s largest-ever protest on climate change culminating in Manhattan rally led by Greta Thunberg
Did You Know?
Maryland passes 1st anti-amalgamation law to stop intermarriage of English women & black men
Today in History in 1664
Would You Believe?
Capture of Rome by Italian army, Pope Pius IX surrenders to King Victor Emmanuel which unifies Italy and ends 1,116 year reign of Papal States
Today in History in 1870
September 21st
1621 King James I of England gives Sir William Alexander a royal charter for colonisation of Nova Scotia
1792 French Revolution: The National Convention passes a proclamation announcing the formal abolition of the French monarchy
1898 Empress Dowager Cixi seizes power and ends the Hundred Days’ Reform in China, imprisoning the Guangxu Emperor
1915 Cecil Chubb buys English prehistoric monument Stonehenge for £6,600
1922 US President Warren G. Harding signs a joint resolution of approval to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine
1936 Spanish fascist junta names Francisco Franco to Generalissimo and Supreme Commander
1949 Chinese Communist leaders proclaim the People’s Republic of China