September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 101 days remaining until the end of the year.
[edit] Events
- 455 – Emperor Avitus enters Rome with a Gallic army and consolidates his power.
- 1217 – Livonian Crusade: The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu and Livonian leader Kaupo are killed in Battle of St. Matthew's Day.
- 1338 – Hundred Years' War : The Battle of Arnemuiden was the first naval battle in history involving artillery.
- 1435 – An agreement between Charles VII of France and Philip the Good ends the partnership between the English and Burgundy in Hundred Years' War.
- 1745 – Battle of Prestonpans: A Hanoverian army under the command of Sir John Cope is defeated, in ten minutes, by the Jacobite forces of Prince Charles Edward Stuart
- 1776 – Part of New York City is burned shortly after being occupied by British forces.
- 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Benedict Arnold gives the British the plans to West Point.
- 1792 – The National Convention declares France a republic and abolishes the monarchy.
- 1823 – Joseph Smith is reportedly visited by the angel Moroni, who told him the location of gold plates, which Smith obtained four years later and partially translated into The Book of Mormon.
- 1860 – In the Second Opium War, an Anglo-French force defeats Chinese troops at the Battle of Palikao.
- 1896 – British force under Horatio Kitchener takes Dongola in the Sudan.
- 1897 – The "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" editorial is published in the New York Sun.
- 1898 – Empress Dowager Cixi seizes power and ends the Hundred Days' Reform in China.
- 1921 – A storage silo in Oppau, Germany, explodes, killing 500-600 people.
- 1933 – Salvador Lutteroth ran the first ever EMLL (now CMLL) show in Mexico, marking the birth of Lucha Libre
- 1934 – A large typhoon hits western Honshū, Japan, killing 3,036 people.
- 1937 – J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is published.
- 1938 – The Great Hurricane of 1938 makes landfall on Long Island in New York. The death toll is estimated at 500-700 people.
- 1939 – Romanian Prime Minister Armand Calinescu is assassinated by ultranationalist members of the Iron Guard.
- 1942 – On the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, Nazis send over 1,000 Jews of Pidhaytsi (west Ukraine) to Belzec extermination camp.
- 1942 – In Poland, at the end of Yom Kippur, Germans order Jews to permanently evacuate Konstantynów and move to the Ghetto in Biała Podlaska, established to assemble Jews from seven nearby towns, including Janów Podlaski, Rossosz and Terespol.
- 1942 – In Dunaivtsi, Ukraine, Nazis murder 2,588 Jews.
- 1942 – The B-29 Superfortress makes its maiden flight.
- 1953 – LT No Kum-Sok a North Korean pilot defected to South Korea and is associated with Operation Moolah.
- 1961 – Maiden flight of the CH-47 Chinook transportation helicopter.
- 1964 – Malta becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1964 – The North American XB-70 Valkyrie, the world's first Mach 3 bomber, makes its maiden flight from Palmdale, California.
- 1965 – Gambia, Maldives and Singapore are admitted as members of the United Nations.
- 1971 – Bahrain, Bhutan and Qatar join the United Nations.
- 1972 – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos signs Proclamation № 1081, placing the entire country under martial law.
- 1976 – Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Chilean socialist government of Salvador Allende, overthrown in 1973 by Augusto Pinochet.
- 1976 – Seychelles joins the United Nations.
- 1981 – Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1981 – Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.
- 1984 – Brunei joins the United Nations.
- 1991 – Armenia is granted independence from Soviet Union.
- 1993 – Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspends parliament and scraps the then-functioning constitution, thus triggering the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993.
- 1999 – Chi-Chi earthquake occurs in central Taiwan, leaving about 2,400 people dead.
- 2001 – Deep Space 1 flies within 2,200 km of Comet Borrelly.
- 2001 – America: A Tribute to Heroes is broadcast by over 35 network and cable channels, raising over $200 million for the September 11 attack victims.
- 2003 – Galileo mission is terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter's atmosphere, where it is crushed by the pressure at the lower altitudes.
[edit] Births
- 1051 – Bertha of Savoy, German queen and Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1087)
- 1328 – Hongwu Emperor of China (d. 1398)
- 1411 – Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, claimant to the English throne (d. 1460)
- 1415 – Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1493)
- 1428 – Jingtai Emperor of China (d. 1457)
- 1452 – Girolamo Savonarola, Dominican priest and ruler of Florence (d. 1498)
- 1559 – Cigoli, Florentine painter, architect, and sculptor (d. 1613)
- 1629 – Philip Howard, English Catholic cardinal (d. 1694)
- 1645 – Louis Joliet, Canadian explorer (d. 1700)
- 1706 – Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg, queen of Sardinia (d. 1735)
- 1756 – John MacAdam, Scottish engineer and road-builder (d. 1836)
- 1758 – Christopher Gore, 8th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1827)
- 1760 – Ivan Dmitriev, Russian statesman (d. 1837)
- 1819 – Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France (d. 1864)
- 1840 – Murad V, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1904)
- 1842 – Abdul Hamid II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1918)
- 1846 – Mihály Kolossa, Hungarian Slovene writer (d. 1906)
- 1849 – Maurice Barrymore, Indian-born patriarch of the Barrymore family (d. 1905)
- 1853 – Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1926)
- 1859 – Francesc Macià i Llussà, Catalan politician (d. 1933)
- 1860 – Wilson Kettle, Canadian centenarian (d. 1963)
- 1862 – James E. Talmage, American religious figure and author (d. 1933)
- 1863 – John Bunny, American film comedian (d. 1915)
- 1866 – H. G. Wells, English writer (d. 1946)
- 1866 – Charles Nicolle, French bacteriologist, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1936)
- 1872 – Henry Tingle Wilde, English Chief Officer on the RMS Titanic (d. 1912)
- 1873 – Papa Jack Laine, American musician (d. 1966)
- 1874 – Gustav Holst, English composer (d. 1934)
- 1882 – Geevarghese Mar Ivanios, Indian Syrian Catholic bishop (d. 1953)
- 1890 – Max Immelmann, German WWI fighter pilot (d. 1916)
- 1890 – Charles William Train, English recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 1965)
- 1895 – Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet (d. 1925)
- 1896 – Walter Breuning, American supercentenarian (d. 2011)
- 1899 – Frederick Coutts, the 8th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1986)
- 1902 – Luis Cernuda, Spanish poet (d. 1963)
- 1902 – Sir Allen Lane, British book publisher (d. 1970)
- 1903 – Preston Tucker, American automobile designer (d. 1956)
- 1905 – Robert Lebel, French Canadian ice hockey executive (d. 1999)
- 1906 – Henry Beachell, American plant breeder (d. 2006)
- 1909 – Kwame Nkrumah, Ghanaian statesman (d. 1972)
- 1912 – Chuck Jones, American animator (d. 2002)
- 1912 – György Sándor, Hungarian pianist (d. 2005)
- 1914 – Slam Stewart, African American jazz bass player (d. 1987)
- 1916 – Françoise Giroud, French journalist and politician (d. 2003)
- 1917 – Phyllis Nicolson, British mathematician (d. 1968)
- 1918 – John Gofman, American Manhattan Project scientist and advocate (d. 2007)
- 1918 – Karl Slover, German-born American actor
- 1919 – Mario Bunge, Argentine philosopher and physicist
- 1919 – Fazlur Rahman Malik, Pakistani scholar (d. 1988)
- 1919 – Herman Fowlkes, Jr., American jazz musician and educator (d. 1993)
- 1921 – John McHale, American baseball player and executive (d. 2008)
- 1921 – Chico Hamilton, American jazz drummer and bandleader
- 1924 – Hermann Buhl, Austrian mountaineer (d. 1957)
- 1926 – Donald A. Glaser, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1926 – Noor Jehan, Pakistani singer and actress (d. 2000)
- 1926 – Fereydoon Moshiri, Iranian contemporary poet (d. 2000)
- 1927 – Ward Swingle, American vocalist and jazz musician
- 1929 – Sándor Kocsis, Hungarian footballer (d. 1979)
- 1929 – Bernard Williams, English philosopher (d. 2003)
- 1929 – Shafi Hadi, American jazz tenor and alto saxophonist
- 1930 – John Morgan, Welsh-born Canadian comedian (d. 2004)
- 1930 – Bob Stokoe, English football and manager (d. 2004)
- 1931 – Larry Hagman, American actor
- 1933 – Allan Jeans, Australian football player and coach (d. 2011)
- 1933 – Dick Simon, American racing driver
- 1934 – Leonard Cohen, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1935 – Jimmy Armfield, English footballer and manager
- 1935 – Henry Gibson, American actor (d. 2009)
- 1936 – Dickey Lee, American singer and songwriter
- 1936 – Yuriy Luzhkov, Russian politician, mayor of Moscow
- 1936 – Diane Rehm, American radio talk show host
- 1936 – Sunny Murray, American free jazz drumming pioneer
- 1937 – John D'Amico, Canadian ice hockey official (d. 2005)
- 1938 – Doug Moe, American basketball player and coach
- 1939 – Agnivesh, Indian social activist
- 1939 – Rory Storm, English musician (d. 1972)
- 1940 – Hermann Knoflacher, Austrian civil engineer
- 1940 – Bill Kurtis, American television journalist
- 1941 – Jack Brisco, American professional wrestler
- 1941 – R. James Woolsey, Jr., American Central Intelligence Agency director
- 1942 – U-Roy, Jamaican musician, toasting pioneer
- 1944 – Fannie Flagg, American actress and novelist
- 1944 – Hamilton Jordan, American chief of staff for Jimmy Carter (d. 2008)
- 1944 – Steve Beshear, American politician
- 1944 – Bobby Tench, British vocalist and guitarist
- 1945 – Jerry Bruckheimer, American film and television producer
- 1945 – Richard Childress, American NASCAR team owner
- 1945 – G.C. Cameron, American soul and R&B singer
- 1945 – Shaw Clifton, the 18th General of The Salvation Army
- 1946 – Moritz Leuenberger, Swiss jurist
- 1947 – Stephen King, American author
- 1947 – Marsha Norman, American playwright
- 1947 – Don Felder, American guitarist (Eagles)
- 1949 – Artis Gilmore, American basketball player
- 1949 – Henry Butler, American jazz pianist
- 1950 – Charles Clarke, British politician
- 1950 – Bill Murray, American comedian and actor
- 1951 – Bruce Arena, American soccer coach
- 1951 – Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen rebel leader (d. 2005)
- 1952 – Dave Gregory, English guitar and keyboard player (XTC)
- 1952 – Anneliese Michel, German exorcism victim (d. 1976)
- 1953 – Arie Luyendyk, Dutch race car driver
- 1954 – Shinzo Abe, Japanese politician
- 1954 – Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, British musician (Motörhead)
- 1955 – François Cluzet, French actor
- 1955 – Gulshan Grover, Indian actor
- 1955 – Richard Hieb, American astronaut
- 1955 – Mika Kaurismäki, Finnish director
- 1956 – Jack Givens, American basketball player
- 1956 – Marta Kauffman, American television producer
- 1956 – Ricky Morton, American professional wrestler
- 1957 – Ethan Coen, American film director
- 1957 – Mark Levin, American attorney, radio talk show host and author
- 1957 – Sidney Moncrief, American basketball player
- 1957 – Kevin Rudd, 26th Prime Minister of Australia
- 1957 – Penny Smith, English television presenter
- 1958 – Bruno Fitoussi, French poker player
- 1958 – Rick Mahorn, American basketball player
- 1959 – Dave Coulier, American actor
- 1959 – Danny Cox, American baseball player
- 1959 – Corinne Drewery, British singer (Swing Out Sister)
- 1959 – André Hennicke, German actor
- 1960 – David James Elliott, Canadian actor
- 1961 – Nancy Travis, American actress
- 1961 – Billy Collins, Irish-American professional boxer (d. 1984)
- 1962 – Rob Morrow, American actor
- 1963 – Curtly Ambrose, Antiguan cricketer
- 1963 – Cecil Fielder, American baseball player
- 1963 – Angus Macfadyen, Scottish actor
- 1964 – Jorge Drexler, Uruguayan singer and composer
- 1964 – Lester Quitzau, Canadian folk and blues guitarist
- 1965 – Frédéric Beigbeder, French writer and critic
- 1965 – Cheryl Hines, American actress
- 1965 – David Wenham, Australian actor
- 1965 – Johanna Vuoksenmaa, Finnish film director
- 1966 – Ronna Reeves, country music singer
- 1967 – Glen Benton, American musician (Deicide)
- 1967 – Faith Hill, American singer
- 1967 – Tyler Stewart, Canadian drummer (Barenaked Ladies)
- 1968 – David Jude Jolicoeur, American Rapper and Producer
- 1968 – Ricki Lake, American actress and talk show hostess
- 1969 – Jason Christiansen, American baseball player
- 1969 – Curtis Leschyshyn, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1970 – John Cudia, American actor
- 1970 – Melissa Ferrick, American singer-songwriter
- 1971 – John Crawley, English cricketer
- 1971 – Alfonso Ribeiro, American actor
- 1971 – David Vetter, The Boy in the Bubble (d. 1984)
- 1971 – Luke Wilson, American actor
- 1972 – Olivia Bonamy, French actress
- 1972 – Liam Gallagher, English singer (Oasis and Beady Eye)
- 1972 – Jon Kitna, American football player
- 1972 – David Silveria, American drummer (KoЯn)
- 1972 – Scott Spiezio, American baseball player
- 1973 – Heather Brewer, American author.
- 1973 – Vanessa Grigoriadis, American journalist
- 1973 – Oswaldo Sanchez, Mexican footballer
- 1974 – Bryce Drew, American basketball player
- 1974 – Taral Hicks, American musician
- 1974 – Jana Kandarr, German tennis player
- 1974 – Andy Todd, English footballer
- 1975 – Doug Davis, American baseball player
- 1976 – Jonas Bjerre, Danish singer and guitarist (Mew)
- 1976 – Poul Hübertz, Danish footballer
- 1977 – Brian Tallet, American baseball player
- 1978 – Luke Godden, Australian rules footballer
- 1978 – Doug Howlett, New Zealand rugby union footballer
- 1978 – Mario Miranda, Brazilian mixed martial artist
- 1979 – James Allan, Scottish singer (Glasvegas)
- 1979 – Bradford Anderson, American actor
- 1979 – Richard Dunne, Irish footballer
- 1979 – Chris Gayle, Jamaican cricketer
- 1979 – Julian Gray, English footballer
- 1979 – Monika Merl, German athlete
- 1979 – Jaymee Ong, Australian model
- 1980 – Stacy Clark, American singer-songwriter
- 1980 – Robert Hoffman, American actor
- 1980 – Kareena Kapoor, Indian actress
- 1980 – Nyree Lewis, British Paralympic swimmer
- 1980 – Aleksa Palladino, American actress
- 1980 – Autumn Reeser, American actress
- 1980 – Tomas Scheckter, South African racing driver
- 1981 – Nicole Richie, American socialite
- 1981 – Rimi Sen, Indian actress
- 1982 – Eduardo Azevedo, Brazilian racing driver
- 1982 – Marat Izmailov, Russian footballer
- 1982 – Danny Kass, American snowboarder
- 1982 – Parvati Shallow, American reality show contestant
- 1982 – Christos Tapoutos, Greek basketball player
- 1982 – Rowan Vine, English footballer
- 1983 – Fernando Cavenaghi, Argentinian footballer
- 1983 – Maggie Grace, American actress
- 1983 – Joseph Mazzello, American actor
- 1983 – Anna Meares, Australian cyclist
- 1984 – Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner, American swimmer
- 1985 – Justin Durant, American football player
- 1985 – Maryam Hassouni, Dutch actress
- 1986 – Faris Badwan, English singer
- 1986 – Lindsey Stirling, American violinist, composer
- 1987 – Jimmy Clausen, American football player
- 1987 – Marcelo Estigarribia, Paraguayan footballer
- 1987 – Ashley Paris, American basketball player
- 1987 – Courtney Paris, American basketball player
- 1988 – Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistani politician
- 1989 – Jason Derulo, American pop singer
- 1990 – Al-Farouq Aminu, American basketball player
- 1990 – Allison Scagliotti, American actress
- 1990 – Christian Serratos, American actress, model and singer
[edit] Deaths
- 454 – Aëtius, Roman general (b. c.396)
- 687 – Conon, Pope 686-687 (b. 630)
- 1217 – Caupo of Turaida, Livonian military leader
- 1217 – Lembitu of Lehola, Estonian military leader
- 1327 – King Edward II of England (b. 1284)
- 1397 – Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel, English military leader (executed) (b. 1346)
- 1558 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1500)
- 1576 – Gerolamo Cardano, Italian mathematician (b. 1501)
- 1586 – Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, French church leader (b. 1517)
- 1626 – François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières, Constable of France (b. 1543)
- 1719 – Johann Heinrich Acker, German writer (b. 1647)
- 1743 – Jai Singh II, King of Amber-Juiper (b. 1688)
- 1748 – John Balguy, English philosopher (b. 1686)
- 1796 – François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, French general (b. 1769)
- 1798 – George Read, American lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1733)
- 1812 – Emmanuel Schikaneder, German singer (b. 1751)
- 1832 – Sir Walter Scott, Scottish writer (b. 1771)
- 1860 – Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (b. 1788)
- 1874 – Jean-Baptiste Élie de Beaumont, French geologist (b. 1794)
- 1875 – Princess Alexandra of Bavaria (b. 1826)
- 1880 – Manuel Montt, Chilean politician and scholar, 6th President of Chile (b. 1809)
- 1897 – Wilhelm Wattenbach, German historian (b. 1819)
- 1904 – Chief Joseph, Nez Perce leader (b. 1840)
- 1906 – Samuel Arnold, Lincoln conspirator (b. 1838)
- 1926 – Leon Charles Thevenin, French telegraph engineer (b. 1857)
- 1938 – Ivana Brlic-Mazuranic, Croatian writer (b. 1874)
- 1939 – Armand Călinescu, Romanian prime-minister (assassinated) (b. 1893)
- 1942 – John Symes, English cricket player (b. 1879)
- 1944 – Artur Phleps, German Waffen-SS officer (b. 1881)
- 1946 – Olga Engl, Austrian actress (b. 1871)
- 1954 – Kokichi Mikimoto, Japanese inventor (b. 1858)
- 1956 – Bill Struth, 2nd manager of Rangers FC (b. 1875)
- 1957 – King Haakon VII of Norway (b. 1872)
- 1962 – Bo Carter, American blues musician (b. 1892)
- 1963 – Paulino Masip, Spanish playwright (b. 1899)
- 1966 – Paul Reynaud, French politician (b. 1878)
- 1971 – Bernardo Houssay, Argentine physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
- 1972 – Henry de Montherlant, French writer (b. 1896)
- 1974 – Walter Brennan, American actor (b. 1894)
- 1974 – Jacqueline Susann, American novelist (b. 1918)
- 1976 – Orlando Letelier, Chilean diplomat (b. 1932)
- 1982 – Hovhannes Bagramyan, Soviet general (b. 1897)
- 1985 – Gu Long, Taiwanese writer of wuxia novels (b. 1937)
- 1987 – Jaco Pastorius, American bassist (b. 1951)
- 1988 – Glenn Robert Davis, member of United States Congress (b. 1914)
- 1990 – Takis Kanellopoulos, Greek film director and screenwriter (b. 1933)
- 1992 – Tarachand Barjatya, Indian Film Producer and founder of Rajshri Productions (b. 1914)
- 1995 – Rudy Perpich, American politician (b. 1928)
- 1997 – Jennifer Holt, American actress (b. 1920)
- 1998 – Florence Griffith Joyner, American athlete (b. 1959)
- 2000 – Jacques Flynn, Canadian politician and senator (b. 1915)
- 2000 – Leonid Rogozov, Russian general practitioner and surgeon (b. 1934)
- 2002 – Robert L. Forward, American physicist and writer (b. 1932)
- 2002 – Rocco Rock, American wrestler (b. 1953)
- 2004 – Bob Mason, British actor (b. 1952)
- 2006 – Tasos Athanasiadis, Greek writer (b. 1913)
- 2006 – Boz Burrell, English rock musician (b. 1946)
- 2007 – Hallgeir Brenden, Norwegian Olympic gold medalist (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Alice Ghostley, American actress (b. 1926)
- 2007 – Rex Humbard, American television evangelist (b. 1919)
- 2011 – Pamela Ann Rymer, American federal appellate judge (b. 1941)
- 2011 – Troy Anthony Davis, American high-profile death row inmate (executed) (b. 1968)
- 2011 – Jun Henmi, Japanese writer and poet (b. 1939)
[edit] Holidays and observances
