September
Sept 1 - 1939 World War II began as Nazi Germany invaded Poland.
- 1989 New car safety legislation requires all newly manufactured cars to include an airbag on the driver’s side Sept 2 - 1945 Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri, ending World War II - 1989 Reverend Al Sharpton leads a civil rights march through Bensonhurst Sept 3 - 1838 Frederick Douglas escapes from slavery disguised as a sailor - 1976 The unmanned U.S spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the planet’s surface Sept 4 - 1957 Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock - 1972 U.S swimmer Mark Spitz becomes 1st athlete to win 7 Olympic gold medals Sept 5 - 1882 10,000 workers march in 1st labor day parade in New York City - 1972 Arab terrorists attacked the Israeli delegation at the Munich Olympic games; 11 Israelis, five guerrilas, and a police officer were killed in the siege Sept 6 - 1853 Women’s Rights convention meets in New York City - 1840 President McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. Sept 7 - 1940 Nazi Germany began its initial blitz on London during WWII - 1954 Integration begins in Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland public schools Sept 8 - 1974 President Ford granted an unconditional pardon to former President Nixon - 1975 Boston begins court ordered busing of public schools Sept 9 - 1957 President Eisenhower signs 1st civil rights bill since Reconstruction - 2010 Pastor Terry Jones threatens to organize an international Burn a Koran day in retaliation for plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero Sept 10 - 1919 New York City welcomed home General John J. Pershing and 25,000 soldiers who had served in the United States 1st Division during WWI - 1990 Ellis Island reopens as a museum Sept 11 - 1959 Congress passes a bill authorizing food stamps for poor Americans - 2001 Suicide hijackers crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center in New York, causing the 110-story twin towers to collapse. Another hijacked airliner hit the pentagon and a fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania Sept 12 - 1977 South African black student leader Steven Biko died while in police custody and triggered an international outcry - 1910 World’s first female police officer, Alice Stebbins Wells, gets appointed to LAPD Sept 13 - 1948 Margaret Chase Smith (R-Me) is elected senator, 1st woman to serve in both houses of congress - 1993 Queens New York begins required recycling Sept 14 - 1959 Soviet space probe Luna 2 became the first man-made object to reach the moon as it crashed onto the lunar surface - 1964 Walt Disney awarded Medal of Freedom at the White House Sept 15 - 1963 Four children were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday service at a black Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama - 1853 First U.S woman ordained a minister, Antoinette Blackwell Sept 16 - 1972 First T.V series about mixed marriage appears in “Bridgit Loves Bernie” - 2010 Poverty rates in the United States hit a 15 year high of 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million people Sept 17 - 1962 Justice department files first suit to end segregation - 1987 Philadelphia celebrates 200th anniversary of the Constitution Sept 18 - 1947 The National Security Act, which unified the Army, Navy, and newly formed Air Force, went into effect - 1945 1,000 whites walk out of Gary, Indiana schools to protest integration Sept 19 - 1881 The 20th president of the United States, James A. Garfield, died of wounds inflicted by an assassin - 1947 Jackie Robinson, African American baseball star, is named 1947 “Rookie of the Year” Sept 20 - 1884 Equal Rights Party nominates female candidates for President and Vice President (1884) - 2011 The U.S officially ends Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell military policy, allowing gay and lesbian personnel to publicly declare their sexual orientation Sept 21 - 1938 A hurricane struck parts of New York and New England, causing widespread damage and claiming more than 600 lives - 1981 Sandra Day O’Conner becomes first female Supreme Court Justice Sept 22 - 1862 President Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves in rebel states should be free as of Jan. 1 1863 - 1975 Sara Jane Moore tries to assassinate President Ford in San Francisco, California Sept 23 - 1938 A time capsule, to be opened in 6939, buried at World’s Fair in New York City - 1942 Auschwitz begins experimental gassing executions Sept 24 - 1996 The United States and the world’s other major nuclear powers signed a treaty to end all testing and development of nuclear weapons - 1988 Carl Lewis runs world record 100 m in 9.92 seconds Sept 25 - 1957 With 300 United States Army troops standing guard, nine black children were escorted to Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, days after unruly white crowds had forced them to withdraw - 1992 Gregory Kingsley, 12, wins right to divorce his parents and live with his foster parents Sept 26 - 1772 New Jersey passes bill requiring a license to practice medicine - 1964 The first televised debate between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy took place in Chicago Sept 27 - 1916 First Native American Day celebrated, honoring American Indians - 1940 Black leaders protest discrimination in U.S Armed Forces Sept 28 - 1924 The United States Army planes landed in Seattle, Washington, having completed the first round-the-world flight in 175 days - 1975 Bill authorizes admission of women to military academies Sept 29 - 1950 Telephone answering machine created by Bell Laboratories - 1995 O.J Simpson trial sent to the jury Sept 30 - 1898 City of New York is established - 1960 Flintstones premieres, 1st prime-time animation show |