Events

• 451 – The Battle of Chalons takes place in North Eastern France. Flavius Aetius's victory over Attila the Hun in a day of combat, is considered to be the largest battle in the ancient world.

• 1187 – Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem.

• 1378 – Cardinal Robert of Geneva, called by some the Butcher of Cesena, is elected as Avignon Pope Clement VII, beginning the Papal schism.

• 1519 – Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Sanlúcar de Barrameda with about 270 men on his expedition to circumnavigate the globe.

• 1596 – Diego de Montemayor founded the city of Monterrey in New Spain.

• 1633 – Galileo Galilei is tried before the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for teaching that the Earth orbits the Sun.

• 1697 – The Treaty of Rijswijk is signed by France, England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic ending the Nine Years' War (1688–97).

• 1737 – The finish of the Walking Purchase which forces the cession of 1.2 million acres (4,860 km²) of Lenape-Delaware tribal land to the Pennsylvania Colony.

• 1792 – French troops stop allied invasion of France, during the War of the First Coalition at Valmy.

• 1835 – Farroupilha's Revolution begins in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

• 1848 – The American Association for the Advancement of Science is created.

• 1854 – Battle of Alma: British and French troops defeat Russians in the Crimea.

• 1857 – The Indian Rebellion of 1857 ends with the recapture of Delhi by troops loyal to the East India Company.

• 1860 – The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) visits the United States.

• 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chickamauga ends.

• 1870 – Bersaglieri corps enter Rome through the Porta Pia and completes the unification of Italy; see capture of Rome.

• 1871 – Bishop John Coleridge Patteson martyred on the island of Nukapu, a Polynesian outlier island now in the Temotu province of the Solomon Islands. He is the first bishop of Melanesia.

• 1881 – Chester A. Arthur is inaugurated as the 21st President of the United States following the assassination of James Garfield.

• 1891 – The first gasoline-powered car debuts in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.

• 1906 – Cunard Line's RMS Mauretania is launched at the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipyard in Newcastle, England.

• 1920 – Foundation of the Spanish Legion.

• 1930 – Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is formed by Archbishop Mar Ivanios.

• 1942 – Holocaust in Letychiv, Ukraine. In the course of two days German SS murders at least 3,000 Jews.

• 1946 – The first Cannes Film Festival is held.

• 1954 – New Zealand's Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents reports just ten days after concluding hearings.

• 1962 – James Meredith, an African-American, is temporarily barred from entering the University of Mississippi.

• 1967 – The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 is launched at John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland. It is operated by the Cunard Line.

• 1970 – Syrian tanks roll into Jordan in response to continued fighting between Jordan and the fedayeen.

• 1973 – Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in The Battle of the Sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas.

• 1977 – The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is admitted to the United Nations.

• 1979 – Lee Iacocca is elected president of the Chrysler Corporation.

• 1979 – A coup d'état in the Central African Empire overthrows Emperor Bokasa I.

• 1979 – Assassination of French left-wing militant Pierre Goldman.

• 1982 – The National Football League players begin a 57-day strike.

• 1984 – A suicide bomber in a car attacks the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing twenty-two people.

• 1990 – South Ossetia declares its independence from Georgia.

• 2000 – The British MI6 Secret Intelligence Service building is attacked by a Russian-built Mark 22 anti-tank missile.

• 2001 – In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, U.S. President George W. Bush declares a "war on terror".

• 2002 – The Kolka-Karmadon rock/ice slide started.

• 2003 – Maldives civil unrest: the death of prisoner Hassan Evan Naseem sparks a day of rioting in Malé.

Births

• 524 – Kan B'alam I, ruler of Maya state of Palenque (d. 583)

• 1486 – Arthur, Prince of Wales, son of King Henry VII of England (d. 1502)

• 1599 – Christian the Younger, German Protestant military leader (d. 1623)

• 1744 – Thomas Grosvenor, American Revolutionary War hero (d. 1825)

• 1746 – Móric Benyovszky Hungarian count (d. 1786)

• 1778 – Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian naval officer and explorer (d. 1852)

• 1831 – Kate Harrington, American teacher, writer and poet (d. 1917)

• 1833 – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1918)

• 1842 – James Dewar, Scottish chemist (d. 1923)

• 1844 – William H. Illingworth, American photographer (d. 1893)

• 1851 – Henry Arthur Jones, English writer (d. 1929)

• 1853 – Rama V, King of Thailand (d. 1910)

• 1861 – Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress (d. 1955)

• 1872 – Maurice Gamelin, French army general (d. 1958)

• 1873 – Sidney Olcott, Canadian film director (d. 1949)

• 1873 – Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian race car driver (d. 1944)

• 1878 – Upton Sinclair, American writer (d. 1968)

• 1880 – Louise Peete, American murderess (d. 1947)

• 1884 – Maxwell Perkins, American editor and publisher (d. 1947)

• 1885 – Jelly Roll Morton, American jazz pianist, bandleader and composer (d. 1941)

• 1886 – Charles Williams, British author (d. 1945)

• 1889 – Charles Reidpath, American athlete (d. 1975)

• 1899 – Leo Strauss, German-born philosopher (d. 1973)

• 1902 – Stevie Smith, British poet (d. 1971)

• 1911 – Shriram Sharma Acharya, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1991)

• 1914 – Kenneth More, English actor (d. 1982)

• 1916 – Malik Meraj Khalid, Former Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 2003)

• 1917 – Red Auerbach, American basketball coach (d. 2006)

• 1917 – Fernando Rey, Spanish-born actor (d. 1994)

• 1917 – Don Starr, American-born actor (d. 2005)

• 1920 – Jay Ward, American animated cartoonist (d. 1989)

• 1920 – Alberto de Lacerda, Portuguese poet (d. 2007)

• 1922 – William Kapell, American pianist (d. 1953)

• 1923 – Geraldine Clinton Little, Irish-born poet (d. 1997)

• 1924 – Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Telugu Actor

• 1924 – Gogi Grant, American singer

• 1925 – Ananda Mahidol, King of Thailand (d. 1946)

• 1925 – Bobby Nunn, American singer (The Coasters) (d. 1986)

• 1927 – Johnny Dankworth, English musician and composer

• 1927 – Rachel Roberts, English actress (d. 1980)

• 1928 – Kirsten Rolffes, Danish actress (d. 2000)

• 1928 – Donald Hall, American poet and US Poet Laureate

• 1929 – Anne Meara, American comic and actress

• 1931 – Cherd Songsri, Thai filmmaker (d. 2006)

• 1933 – Dennis Viollet, English former footballer (d. 1999)

• 1934 – Sophia Loren, Italian actress

• 1934 – Soke Kubota Takayuki(宗家 窪田 孝行),Grand Master 10 Dan, founder of the Gosoku-ryu style of karate,founder and president of the International Karate Association Inc.

• 1935 – Jim Taylor, American football player

• 1935 – Keith Roberts, British science fiction author (d. 2000)

• 1935 – David Pegg, English footballer (d. 1958)

• 1937 – Birgitta Dahl, Swedish politician

• 1937 – Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress and singer (d. 2005)

• 1939 – Robert L. Gerry III, American businessman

• 1940 – Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan

• 1941 – Dale Chihuly, American glass artist

• 1942 – Gérald Tremblay, Québec politician

• 1947 – Mia Martini, Italian singer (d. 1995)

• 1947 – Bruce Pasternack, American CEO

• 1947 – Steve Gerber, American comics writer (d. 2008)

• 1948 – George R. R. Martin, American writer

• 1948 – Chuck Panozzo and John Panozzo (d. 1996), American musicians (Styx)

• 1949 – Mahesh Bhatt. Indian film director

• 1949 – Anthony Denison, American actor

• 1949 – John W. Henry, American MLB team owner

• 1951 – Guy Lafleur, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1951 – Javier Marías, Spanish author, translator and academic

• 1954 – Henry Samueli, American NHL team owner

• 1956 – Gary Cole, American actor

• 1957 – Alannah Currie, New Zealander musician (Thompson Twins)

• 1957 – Rich DiSilvio, American new media developer & artist

• 1958 – Arn Anderson, American wrestler

• 1959 – Danny Devos, Belgian artist

• 1960 – Deborah Roberts, American journalist and TV reporter

• 1961 – Lisa Bloom, American lawyer and television personality

• 1964 – Maggie Cheung, Hong Kong actress

• 1965 – Robert Rusler, American actor

• 1966 – Nuno Bettencourt, Portuguese rock musician

• 1967 – Martin Harrison, American football player

• 1967 – Kristen Johnston, American actress

• 1967 – Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, American musicians (Nelson)

• 1968 – Leah Pinsent, Canadian actress

• 1968 – Darrell Russell, American race car driver (d. 2004)

• 1968 – Tim Rogers, Australian singer / songwriter

• 1968 – Vik Foxx, American rock musician

• 1969 – Victoria Dillard, American actress

• 1969 – Megumi Kudo, Japanese pro-wrestler

• 1969 – Richard Witschge, former Dutch footballer

• 1971 – Henrik Larsson, Swedish footballer

• 1971 – Masashi Hamauzu, Japanese composer

• 1971 – Todd Blackadder, New Zealand rugby player

• 1971 – Dominika Peczynski, Swedish singer (Army of Lovers)

• 1973 – Ronald McKinnon, American football player

• 1974 – Michael Waddington, American defense lawyer

• 1975 – Asia Argento, Italian actress

• 1975 – Moon Bloodgood, American actress

• 1975 – Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombian race car driver

• 1976 – Yo Hitoto, Japanese pop singer

• 1976 – Yui Horie, Japanese seiyuu

• 1976 – Enuka Okuma, Canadian actress

• 1976 – Reuben Singh, British entrepreneur

• 1977 – Namie Amuro, Japanese pop singer

• 1978 – Jason Bay, Canadian baseball player

• 1978 – Patrizio Buanne, Italian singer

• 1978 – Sarit Hadad, Israeli singer

• 1978 – T.J. Tucker, American baseball player

• 1978 – Dante Hall, American football player

• 1979 – Sean Davis, English footballer

• 1980 – Mariacarla Boscono, Italian fashion model

• 1980 – Jonathan Le Billon, British actor

• 1980 – Vladimir Karpets, Russian cyclist

• 1981 – Joanie Dodds, America's Next Top Model contestant

• 1981 – Feliciano López, Spanish tennis player

• 1981 – Jordan Tata, American baseball player

• 1982– Brian Fortuna, Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer

• 1983 – Yuna Ito, Japanese singer and actress

• 1983 – Ángel Sánchez, Puerto Rican baseball player

• 1987 – Jack Lawless, American drummer for the Jonas Brothers

• 1990 – John Tavares, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1990 – Marilou, Quebec pop singer

• 1991 – Spencer Locke, American actress

• 1995 – Sammi Hanratty, American actress

Deaths

• 1246 – Mikhail of Chernigov, ruler of Kiev (b. 1185)

• 1384 – King Louis I of Naples (b. 1339)

• 1460 – Gilles Binchois, Flemish composer (b. 1400)

• 1586 – Chidiock Tichborne, English conspirator and poet (executed) (b. 1558)

• 1586 – John Ballard, English Jesuit priest and conspirator (executed)

• 1590 – Lodovico Agostini, Italian composer (b. 1534)

• 1625 – Heinrich Meibom, German historian and critic (b. 1555)

• 1627 – Jan Gruter, Dutch critic (b. 1560)

• 1630 – Claudio Saracini, Italian composer (b. 1586)

• 1639 – Johannes Meursius, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1579)

• 1643 – Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland, English politician and writer (b. 1610)

• 1721 – Thomas Doggett, Irish actor (b. 1640)

• 1803 – Robert Emmet, Irish patriot (b. 1780)

• 1810 – Mir Taqi Mir Urdu poet (b. 1723)

• 1815 – Nicolas Desmarest, French geologist (b. 1725)

• 1839 – Sir Thomas Hardy, Nelson's flag-captain on Victory (b.1769)

• 1852 – Philander Chase, American university founder (b. 1775)

• 1863 – Jacob Grimm, German writer and folklorist (b. 1785)

• 1884 – Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist (b. 1802)

• 1898 – Theodor Fontane, German writer (b. 1819)

• 1906 – Robert R. Hitt, American politician (b. 1834)

• 1908 – Pablo de Sarasate, Spanish violinist and composer (b. 1844)

• 1932 – Wovoka, Paiute visionary and founder of the Ghost Dance movement (b. 1856)

• 1933 – Annie Besant, women's rights activist (b. 1847)

• 1939 – Paul Bruchési, French Canadian Catholic archbishop of Montreal (b. 1855)

• 1945 – William Buehler Seabrook, Writer, journalist, occultist and explorer (b. 1884)

• 1945 – Augusto Tasso Fragoso, Brazilian president (b. 1869)

• 1945 – Eduard Wirths, Nazi physician at Auschwitz concentration camp (b. 1909)

• 1946 – Raimu, French actor (b. 1883)

• 1947 – Fiorello La Guardia, Mayor of New York City (b. 1882)

• 1957 – Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer (b. 1865)

• 1971 – Giorgos Seferis, Greek poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)

• 1973 – Jim Croce, American singer and songwriter (b. 1943)

• 1975 – Saint-John Perse, French diplomat and writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)

• 1979 – Ludvík Svoboda, President of Czechoslovakia (b. 1895)

• 1980 – Sanpei Hayashiya, Japanese comedian (b. 1925)

• 1984 – Steve Goodman, American folk music singer-songwriter (b. 1948)

• 1987 – Michael Stewart, American playwright (b. 1924)

• 1989 – Richie Ginther, American racing driver (b. 1930)

• 1993 – Erich Hartmann, German, world's most successful fighter pilot (352 'kills') (b. 1922)

• 1994 – Jule Styne, American songwriter (b. 1905)

• 1994 – Abioseh Nicol, Sierra Leonean diplomat and noted author (b. 1924)

• 1996 – Paul Erdős, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1913)

• 1997 – Nick Traina, American singer, Link 80 (b. 1978)

• 1999 – Raisa Gorbachyova, wife of Mikhail Gorbachev (b. 1932)

• 1999 – Robert Lebel, Quebec ice hockey administrator (b. 1905)

• 2000 – Gherman Titov, cosmonaut (b. 1935)

• 2002 – Sergei Bodrov, Jr., Russian actor (b. 1971)

• 2003 – Lord Williams of Mostyn, British politician (b. 1941)

• 2003 – Gordon Mitchell, American actor (b. 1923)

• 2003 – Simon Muzenda, Zimbabwe politician (b. 1922)

• 2004 – Brian Clough, English footballer and football manager (b. 1935)

• 2004 – Townsend Hoopes, American politician (b. 1922)

• 2005 – Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian-Jewish Nazi hunter (b. 1908)

• 2006 – Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (b. 1932)

• 2006 – John W. Peterson, American songwriter (b. 1921)

• 2007 – Johnny Gavin, Irish footballer (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances

• Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul only – Farroupilha's Revolution (1835)

• South Ossetia celebrates its independence day.

• In ancient Greece, the seventh day of the Eleusinian Mysteries, when the secret rites in the Telesterion began.

• Feast day of the following saints in the Roman Catholic Church:

• *St Eustace

• *The Korean Martyrs, including Andrew Kim Taegon and Laurent-Marie-Joseph Imbert

• *Thomas Johnson, John Davy, and companions (martyrs).

• Feast day of the following saint(s) in the Anglican Church:

• *John Coleridge Patteson.

• Also see September 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).