September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 106 days remaining until the end of the year.
[edit] Events
- 307 Severus II is captured and imprisoned at Tres Tabernae. He is later executed (or forced to commit suicide) after Emperor Galerius unsuccessfully invades Italy.
- 1400 Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers.
- 1620 The Mayflower starts her voyage to North America
- 1701 James Francis Edward Stuart, sometimes called the "Old Pretender", becomes the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England and Scotland.
- 1776 American Revolutionary War: the Battle of Harlem Heights is fought.
- 1779 American Revolutionary War: The Franco-American Siege of Savannah begins.
- 1795 The first occupation by United Kingdom of Cape Colony, South Africa with the Battle of Hout Bay, after successive victories at the Battle of Muizenberg and Wynberg, after William V requested protection against revolutionary France's occupation of the Netherlands.
- 1810 With the Grito de Dolores, Father Miguel Hidalgo begins Mexico's fight for independence from Spain.
- 1812 The Fire of Moscow (1812) begins shortly after midnight and destroys three quarters of the city days later.
- 1863 Robert College of Istanbul-Turkey, the first American educational institution outside the United States, is founded by Christopher Robert, an American philanthropist.
- 1880 The Cornell Daily Sun prints its first issue in Ithaca, New York. The Sun is the nation's oldest, continuously-independent college daily in the United States.
- 1893 Settlers make a land run for prime land in the Cherokee Strip in Oklahoma.
- 1908 The General Motors Corporation is founded.
- 1919 The American Legion is incorporated.
- 1920 The Wall Street bombing: a bomb in a horse wagon explodes in front of the J. P. Morgan building in New York City 38 are killed and 400 injured.
- 1940 World War II: Italian troops conquer Sidi Barrani.
- 1941 World War II: Concerned that Reza Pahlavi the Shah of Persia is about to ally his petroleum-rich empire with Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union invade Iran in late August and force the Shah to abdicate in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
- 1943 World War II: The Allied invasion of Italy concludes when Heinrich von Vietinghoff, commander of the German Tenth Army, orders his troops to withdraw from Salerno.
- 1945 World War II: The surrender of the Japanese troops in Hong Kong. The surrender is accepted by the Royal Navy Admiral Sir Cecil Harcourt.
- 1947 Typhoon Kathleen hits Saitama, Tokyo and Tone River area, at least 1,930 killed.
- 1955 Juan Perσn is deposed as the ruler of Argentina.
- 1955 A Soviet Navy Zulu class submarine becomes the first submarine to launch a ballistic missile.
- 1959 The first successful photocopier, the Xerox 914, is introduced in a demonstration on live television from New York City.
- 1961 The United States National Hurricane Research Project drops eight cylinders of silver iodide into the eyewall of Hurricane Esther. Wind speed reduces by 10%, giving rise to Project Stormfury.
- 1963 Malaysia is formed from the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, British North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak. However, Singapore soon leaves this new country,
- 1966 The Metropolitan Opera House opens at Lincoln Center in New York City with the world premiere of Samuel Barber's opera, Antony and Cleopatra.
- 1970 King Hussein of Jordan declares military rule following the hijacking of four civilian airliners by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). This results in the formation of the Black September Palestinian paramilitary unit.
- 1971 Typhoon Nancy, with possibly the strongest winds ever measured in a tropical cyclone, makes landfall in Osaka, Japan, killing 173 people.
- 1975 Papua New Guinea gains its independence from Australia.
- 1975 The Cape Verde Islands, Mozambique, and Sao Tome and Principe join the United Nations.
- 1975 The first prototype of the MiG-31 interceptor makes its maiden flight.
- 1976 Shavarsh Karapetyan saves 20 people from the trolleybus that had fallen into Erevan reservoir.
- 1978 An earthquake measuring 7.5 to 7.9 on the Richter scale hits the city of Tabas, Iran killing about 25,000 people.
- 1980 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines join the United Nations.
- 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon.
- 1987 The Montreal Protocol is signed to protect the ozone layer from depletion.
- 1990 The railroad between the People's Republic of China and Kazakhstan becomes complete at Dostyk, adding a sizable link to the concept of the Eurasian Land Bridge.
- 1991 The trial of the deposed Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega begins in the United States.
- 1992 Black Wednesday: the Pound Sterling is forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism by currency speculators and is forced to devalue against the German mark.
- 2005 The Camorra organized crime boss Paolo Di Lauro gets arrested in Naples, Italy.
- 2007 One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 carrying 128 crew and passengers crashes in Thailand killing 89 people.
- 2007 Mercenaries working for Blackwater Worldwide allegedly shoot and kill 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisour Square, Baghdad; all criminal charges against them are later dismissed, sparking outrage in the Arab world.
[edit] Births
- 16 Drusilla, daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder (d. 38)
- 1386 King Henry V of England, (d. 1422)
- 1507 Jiajing, Emperor of China (d. 1567)
- 1557 Jacques Mauduit, French composer (d. 1627)
- 1615 Heinrich Bach, German organist, composer (d. 1692)
- 1651 Engelbert Kaempfer, German physician and traveler (d. 1716)
- 1666 Antoine Parent, French mathematician (d. 1716)
- 1678 Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, English statesman and philosopher (d. 1751)
- 1716 Angelo Maria Amorevoli, Italian Baroque tenor (d. 1798)
- 1722 Gabriel Christie, British general (d. 1799)
- 1725 Nicolas Desmarest, French geologist (d. 1815)
- 1745 Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, Russian field marshal (d. 1813)
- 1777 Nathan Mayer Rothschild, British financier (d. 1836)
- 1782 Daoguang, Emperor of China (d. 1850)
- 1823 Francis Parkman, American historian (d. 1893)
- 1827 Jean Albert Gaudry, French geologist (d. 1908)
- 1830 Patrick Francis Moran, Irish-Australian cardinal (d. 1911)
- 1837 King Pedro V of Portugal (d. 1861)
- 1844 Paul Taffanel, French flautist (d. 1908)
- 1846 Anna Kingsford, English doctor (d. 1888)
- 1853 Albrecht Kossel, German physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1927)
- 1858 Andrew Bonar Law, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1923)
- 1858 Edward Marshall Hall, English barrister (d. 1927)
- 1859 Yuan Shikai, Chinese politician (d. 1916)
- 1866 Georg Voigt, German politician (d. 1927)
- 1870 John Pius Boland, Irish politician and gold medalist tennis player (d. 1958)
- 1875 James C. Penney, American department store founder (d. 1971)
- 1876 Eduardo Camet, Argentine fencer (d. 1931)
- 1877 Jacob Schick, American-Canadian electric razor inventor (d. 1937)
- 1880 Alfred Noyes, English poet (d. 1958)
- 1881 Clive Bell, English art critic (d. 1964)
- 1883 T. E. Hulme, English writer (d. 1917)
- 1886 Jean Arp, Alsatian sculptor and painter (d. 1966)
- 1887 Nadia Boulanger, French composer and teacher (d. 1979)
- 1888 Frans Eemil Sillanpδδ, Finnish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
- 1891 Stephanie von Hohenlohe, Austrian-born German spy (d. 1972)
- 1891 Karl Dφnitz, German naval leader (d. 1980)
- 1893 Alexander Korda, Hungarian film director (d. 1956)
- 1893 Albert Szent-Gyφrgyi, Hungarian physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
- 1896 Margaret Fitzgerald, Canadian supercentenarian (d. 2009)
- 1897 Milt Franklyn, American musician (d. 1962)
- 1898 H.A. Rey, American children's author (d. 1977)
- 1899 Hans Swarowsky, Austrian conductor (d. 1975)
- 1903 Joe Venuti, Italian-American jazz violinist (d. 1978)
- 1905 Vladimνr Holan, Czech poet (d. 1980)
- 1906 Jack Churchill, English soldier (d. 1996)
- 1910 Karl Kling, German race car driver (d. 2003)
- 1910 Erich Kempka, Adolf Hitler's chauffeur (d. 1975)
- 1911 Wilfred Burchett, Australian journalist (d. 1983)
- 1911 Paul Henning, American producer and writer (d. 2005)
- 1914 Allen Funt, American radio and television personality (d. 1999)
- 1915 Cy Walter, American pianist (d. 1968)
- 1916 Robert Bradshaw, Saint Kitts and Nevis politician (d. 1978)
- 1916 M.S. Subbulakshmi, Indian singer (d. 2004)
- 1916 Frank Leslie Walcott, Barbadian labour leader (d. 1999)
- 1918 W³adys³aw Kκdra, Polish pianist (d. 1968)
- 1919 Laurence J. Peter, Canadian born educator and writer (d. 1990)
- 1919 Andy Russell, American popular vocalist (d. 1992)
- 1920 Art Sansom, American cartoonist (The Born Loser) (d. 1991)
- 1921 Jon Hendricks, American jazz singer
- 1921 Korla Pandit, American musician and composer (d. 1998)
- 1922 Guy Hamilton, English film director
- 1922 Marcel Mouloudji, French actor and singer (d. 1994)
- 1922 Janis Paige, American actress
- 1923 Lee Kuan Yew, first Prime Minister and former Minister Mentor of Singapore
- 1924 Lauren Bacall, American actress
- 1925 Charlie Byrd, American musician (d. 1999)
- 1925 Charles Haughey, Prime Minister of Ireland (d. 2006)
- 1925 B. B. King, American musician
- 1926 Tommy Bond, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1926 Eric Gross, Austrian-Australian composer (d. 2011)
- 1926 Takao Tanabe, Canadian painter
- 1927 Peter Falk, American actor (d. 2011)
- 1927 Jack Kelly, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1928 Lady Gwen Thompson, British occultist (d. 1986)
- 1930 Anne Francis, American actress (d. 2011)
- 1931 Little Willie Littlefield, American R&B pianist and singer
- 1934 Elgin Baylor, American basketball player
- 1934 George Chakiris, American actor
- 1934 Ronnie Drew, Irish singer (d. 2008)
- 1934 Dick Heckstall-Smith, English jazz and blues saxophonist (d. 2004)
- 1935 Carl Andre, American artist
- 1935 Billy Boy Arnold, American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter
- 1935 Jules Bass, American author, producer, director and composer
- 1935 Bob Kiley, American public transit specialist
- 1935 Esther Vilar, German-Argentinian writer
- 1937 Alexander Medved, Russian wrestler
- 1937 Vince Naimoli, American former MLB team owner
- 1939 Breyten Breytenbach, South African writer and painter
- 1940 Hamiet Bluiett, American musician and composer
- 1941 Richard Perle, American political advisor
- 1942 Bernie Calvert, British musician (The Hollies)
- 1942 Dennis Conner, American yachtsman
- 1942 Tadamasa Goto, Japanese yakuza boss
- 1943 James Alan McPherson, American writer
- 1944 Winston Grennan, Jamaican American drummer
- 1945 Pat Stevens, American actress and voice actress (d. 2010)
- 1946 Cathee Dahmen, American fashion model (d. 1997)
- 1946 Mike Reynolds, Australian politician
- 1946 Camilo Sesto, Spanish singer
- 1947 Russ Abbot, British comedian
- 1947 Enrique Krauze, Mexican historian and writer
- 1948 Ron Blair, American bassist
- 1948 Rosemary Casals, American tennis player
- 1948 Kenney Jones, English musician (The Small Faces; Faces; The Who)
- 1948 Susan Ruttan, American actress
- 1949 Ed Begley, Jr., American actor
- 1950 David Bellamy, American guitarist and singer
- 1950 Henry Louis Gates, American scholar
- 1950 Loyd Grossman, American television presenter
- 1951 Vince Bell, Texas singer and songwriter
- 1952 Mickey Rourke, American actor
- 1953 Alan Barton, English musician (Black Lace, Smokie) (d. 1995)
- 1953 Kurt Fuller, American actor
- 1953 Nancy Huston, Canadian-born novelist and essayist
- 1953 Jerry Pate, American golfer
- 1953 Eric Vail, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1954 Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, Bengali Hindustani classical sitar player
- 1954 Earl Klugh, American jazz guitarist
- 1954 William McKeen, American author
- 1954 Colin Newman, English musician (Wire)
- 1954 Frank Reed, American singer (The Chi-Lites)
- 1955 Ron Brewer, American basketball player
- 1955 Janet Ellis, British television presenter
- 1955 Yolandita Monge, Puerto Rican singer
- 1955 Robin Yount, American baseball player
- 1956 David Copperfield, American magician
- 1956 Dave Schulthise, American musician (Dead Milkmen) (d. 2004)
- 1957 David McCreery, Irish footballer
- 1957 Anca Parghel, Romanian jazz singer
- 1958 Orel Hershiser, American baseball player
- 1958 Neville Southall, Welsh footballer
- 1958 Jennifer Tilly, American actress
- 1958 Maura O'Connell, Irish singer and actress
- 1959 Peter Keleghan, Canadian actor
- 1959 Tim Raines, American baseball player
- 1959 Dave Richardson, South African cricketer
- 1959 Victory Tischler-Blue, American musician, film and television producer
- 1960 Jayne Brook, American actress
- 1960 Kurt Busiek, American comic book writer
- 1960 Ean Evans, American musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 2009)
- 1960 Graham Haynes, American musician and composer
- 1960 Danny John-Jules, British actor
- 1960 Yianna Katsoulos, French singer
- 1961 Bilinda Butcher, British singer (My Bloody Valentine)
- 1961 T La Rock, American old-school emcee
- 1962 Seth (cartoonist), Canadian artist and writer
- 1963 Richard Marx, American singer
- 1964 Mary Coustas, Australian entertainer
- 1964 Molly Shannon, American actress
- 1964 Rossy de Palma, Spanish actress
- 1964 Dave Sabo, American musician (Skid Row)
- 1965 Katy Kurtzman, American actress
- 1965 Karl-Heinz Riedle, German footballer
- 1966 Kevin Young, American athlete
- 1967 Hiroya Oku, Japanese manga artist
- 1968 Marc Anthony, American singer
- 1968 Walt Becker, American director and writer
- 1969 Justine Frischmann, English musician (Elastica)
- 1969 Janno Gibbs, Filipino singer
- 1969 Emanuele Guidi, Sammarinese archer
- 1970 Mark Schultz, American musician
- 1971 Amy Poehler, American comedian (Saturday Night Live)
- 1972 Mark Bruener, American football player
- 1972 Sprent Dabwido, Nauruan politician
- 1972 Shalane McCall, American actress
- 1972 James Westman, Canadian operatic baritone
- 1972 Erik Mana, Filipino-Canadian Magician and Mentalist
- 1973 George Corrie, English footballer
- 1973 Justin Haythe, American writer
- 1973 Alexander Vinokourov, Kazakh cyclist
- 1974 Monique Brumby, Australian Indie pop/rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
- 1974 Joaquνn Castro, American lawyer and politician
- 1974 Julian Castro, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of San Antonio
- 1975 Gal Fridman, Israeli windsurfer
- 1975 Shannon Noll, Australian singer and songwriter
- 1976 Tina Barrett, British singer (S Club)
- 1976 Greg Buckner, American basketball player
- 1977 Greg Ball, American politician
- 1978 Dan Dickau, American basketball player
- 1978 Claudia Marx, German athlete
- 1978 Matthew Rogers, American singer
- 1979 Aileen Celeste, Venezuelan actress
- 1979 Bobby Korecky, American baseball player
- 1979 Fanny, French singer
- 1980 Patrik tefan, Czech ice hockey player
- 1981 Fan Bingbing, Chinese actress
- 1981 Alexis Bledel, American actress
- 1981 LaVerne Jones-Ferrette, Virgin Islander sprinter
- 1982 Leon Knight, English footballer
- 1982 Michele Rizzo, Italian rugby player
- 1982 Fiete Sykora, German footballer
- 1982 Ryan Thomson, Scottish footballer
- 1983 John Afoa, New Zealand rugby player
- 1983 Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwean swimmer
- 1983 Brandon Moss, American baseball player
- 1983 Legedu Naanee, American football player
- 1984 Sabrina Bryan, American actress and singer (The Cheetah Girls)
- 1984 Katie Melua, Georgian/British singer
- 1984 Serginho, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 Madeline Zima, American actress
- 1986 Gordon Beckham, American baseball player
- 1986 Ian Harding, American actor
- 1986 Kyla Pratt, American actress
- 1987 Daren Kagasoff, American actor
- 1987 Kyle Lafferty, Northern Irish footballer
- 1987 Louis Clιment Ngwat-Mahop, Cameroonian football player
- 1987 Travis Wall, American dancer and dance instructor
- 1988 Teddy Geiger, American singer
- 1988 Sarah Steele, American actress
- 1989 Braden Holtby, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 Dustin Tokarski, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 Josι Salomσn Rondσn, Venezuelan footballer
- 1991 Alexandra Paul (figure skater), Canadian figure skater
- 1992 Nick Jonas, American singer and musician (Jonas Brothers)
- 1992 Jake Roche, English actor
- 2005 Princess Jalilah bint Ali of Jordan
[edit] Deaths
- 307 Severus II, Roman Emperor
- 827 Pope Valentine
- 1087 Pope Victor III (b. 1026)
- 1100 Bernold of Constance, German chronicler (b. 1054)
- 1345 John IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1295)
- 1380 King Charles V of France (b. 1338)
- 1394 Avignon Pope Clement VII (b. 1342)
- 1406 Cyprian, Metropolitan of Moscow (b. 1336)
- 1498 Tomαs de Torquemada, first grand inquisitor of Spain (b. 1420)
- 1589 Michael Baius, Flemish theologian (b. 1513)
- 1672 Anne Bradstreet, American colonial poet (b. 1612)
- 1701 James II of England and VII of Scotland (b. 1633)
- 1736 Gabriel Fahrenheit, German physicist (b. 1686)
- 1775 Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst, English privy councillor (b. 1684)
- 1782 Farinelli, Italian castrato singer (b. 1705)
- 1792 Quang Trung, Tay Son dynasty's emperor of Viet Nam (b. 1753)
- 1803 Nicolas Baudin, French explorer (b. 1754)
- 1819 John Jeffries, American physician, balloonist, pioneer meteorologist (b. 1744)
- 1824 King Louis XVIII of France (b. 1755)
- 1843 Ezekiel Hart, Canadian entrepreneur and politician, and the first Jew to be elected to public office in the British Empire (b. 1770)
- 1865 Christian Julius De Meza, Danish general (b. 1792)
- 1887 Sakaigawa Namiemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 14th Yokozuna (b. 1841)
- 1896 Antτnio Carlos Gomes, Brazilian composer (b. 1836)
- 1898 Ramσn Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican politician, medical doctor and diplomat (b. 1827)
- 1911 Edward Whymper, English mountain climber (b. 1840)
- 1925 Leo Fall, Austrian operetta composer (b. 1873)
- 1925 Alexander Alexandrovich Friedman, Russian physicist (b. 1888)
- 1932 Ronald Ross, English physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1857)
- 1933 George Gore, American baseball player (b. 1857)
- 1936 Jean-Baptiste Charcot, French scientist and medical doctor (b. 1867)
- 1940 Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, Governor of Queensland, Governor of Bombay (b. 1860)
- 1944 Gustav Bauer, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1870)
- 1945 John McCormack, Irish tenor (b. 1884)
- 1946 Sir James Hopwood Jeans, English physicist and astronomer (b. 1877)
- 1950 Pedro de Cordoba, American actor (b. 1881)
- 1955 L.S. Amery, British politician (b. 1873)
- 1957 Qi Baishi, Chinese painter (b. 1864)
- 1965 Ahn Eak-tai, Korean musician, composer, and conductor (b. 1906)
- 1965 Fred Quimby, American cartoon producer (b. 1886)
- 1973 Vνctor Jara, Chilean musician (b. 1932)
- 1975 Irene Hayes, Ziegfeld girl and businesswoman (b. 1896)
- 1977 Marc Bolan, English musician (b. 1947)
- 1977 Maria Callas, Greek-American soprano (b. 1923)
- 1978 Lavrentis Dianellos, Greek actor (b. 1911)
- 1980 Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist (b. 1896)
- 1984 Louis Rιard, French designer of the bikini (b. 1897)
- 1987 Howard Moss, American poet, dramatist, and critic (b. 1922)
- 1987 Christopher Soames, Baron Soames, British politician (b. 1920)
- 1991 Olga Spessivtseva, Russian ballerina (b. 1895)
- 1991 Carol White, British actress (b. 1943)
- 1992 Millicent Fenwick, American politician and writer (b. 1910)
- 1993 Frantiek Jνlek, Czech conductor (b. 1913)
- 1993 Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Australian poet, aboriginal activist (b. 1920)
- 1993 Rok Petroviθ, Slovenian skier (b. 1966)
- 1996 McGeorge Bundy, U.S. National Security Advisor (b. 1919)
- 1996 Gene Nelson, American actor (b. 1920)
- 2000 Georgiy Gongadze, Ukrainian journalist (b. 1969)
- 2001 Samuel Z. Arkoff, American film producer (b. 1918)
- 2002 James Gregory, American actor (b. 1911)
- 2003 Sheb Wooley, singer and actor (b. 1921)
- 2004 Michael Donaghy Poet, (b. 1954)
- 2005 Harry Freedman, Canadian composer and music educator (b. 1922)
- 2005 Gordon Gould, inventor of the laser (b. 1920)
- 2006 Floyd Curry, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1925)
- 2006 Rob Levin, creator of Freenode (b. 1955)
- 2007 Robert Jordan, author of the Wheel of Time series (b. 1948)
- 2008 Norman Whitfield, associated with the Temptations (b. 1940)
- 2009 Myles Brand, NCAA President (b. 1942)
- 2009 Ernst Mδrzendorfer, Austrian conductor (b. 1921)
- 2009 Mary Travers, American singer (Peter, Paul, and Mary) (b. 1936)
- 2010 George N. Parks, director of the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band (b. 1953)
- 2010 Jim Towers, English footballer (b. 1933)
- 2010 Richard Livsey, Welsh Liberal Democrat politician (b.1935)
[edit] Holidays and observances