Events

• 46 BC – Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to his mythical ancestor Venus Genetrix in accordance with a vow he made at the battle of Pharsalus.

• 715 – Ragenfrid defeats Theudoald at the Battle of Compiègne.

• 1212 – Golden Bull of Sicily is certified as an hereditary royal title in Bohemia for the Přemyslid dynasty.

• 1580 – Sir Francis Drake finishes his circumnavigation of the Earth.

• 1687 – The Parthenon in Athens is partially destroyed by an explosion caused by the bombing from Venetian forces led by Morosini who are besieging the Ottoman Turks stationed in Athens.

• 1687 – The city council of Amsterdam votes to support William of Orange's invasion of England, which became the Glorious Revolution.

• 1777 – British troops occupy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the American Revolution.

• 1783 – Fayette County, Pennsylvania is created.

• 1789 – Thomas Jefferson is appointed the first United States Secretary of State, John Jay is appointed the first Chief Justice of the United States, Samuel Osgood is appointed the first United States Postmaster General, and Edmund Randolph is appointed the first United States Attorney General.

• 1792 – Marc-David Lasource begins accusing Maximilien Robespierre of wanting a dictatorship for France.

• 1810 – A new Act of Succession is adopted by the Riksdag of the Estates and Jean Baptiste Bernadotte becomes heir to the Swedish throne.

• 1820 – Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson proved tomatoes weren't poisonous by eating several on the steps of the courthouse in Salem, New Jersey.

• 1872 – The first Shriners Temple (called Mecca) is established in New York City.

• 1907 – New Zealand and Newfoundland each become dominions within the British Empire.

• 1908 – Ed Reulbach becomes the first and only pitcher to throw two shutouts in one day against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

• 1914 – The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is established by the Federal Trade Commission Act.

• 1918 – World War I: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the bloodiest single battle in American history, begins.

• 1934 – Steamship is launched.

• 1944 – World War II: Operation Market Garden fails.

• 1944 – World War II: On the central front of the Gothic Line Brazilian troops control the Serchio valley region after ten days of fighting.

• 1950 – United Nations troops recapture Seoul from the North Koreans.

• 1950 – Indonesia is admitted to the United Nations.

• 1954 – Japanese rail ferry Toya Maru sinks during a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait, Japan killing 1,172.

• 1960 – In Chicago, the first televised debate takes place between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy.

• 1960 – Fidel Castro announces Cuba's support for the U.S.S.R.

• 1962 – The Yemen Arab Republic is proclaimed.

• 1969 – The Beatles release their last studio album, Abbey Road.

• 1970 – The Laguna Fire starts in San Diego County, California, burning 175,425 acres (710 km²).

• 1973 – Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time.

• 1981 – Baseball: Nolan Ryan sets a Major League record by throwing his fifth no-hitter.

• 1983 – Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov averts a likely worldwide nuclear war by correctly identifying a report of an incoming nuclear missile as a computer error and not an American first strike.

• 1983 – Australia II, the first non-American winner, wins the Americas Cup.

• 1984 – The United Kingdom agrees to handover of Hong Kong

• 1997 – A Garuda Indonesia Airbus A-300 crashes near Medan, Indonesia, airport, killing 234.

• 1997 – An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis at Assisi to collapse.

• 2000 – Anti-globalization protests in Prague (some 20,000 protesters) turn violent during the IMF and World Bank summits.

• 2000 – The sinks off Paros in the Agean sea killing 80 passengers.

• 2002 – The overcrowded Senegalese ferry MV Joola capsizes off the coast of Gambia killing more than 1,000.

• 2008 – Swiss pilot and inventor Yves Rossy becomes first person to fly a jet engine-powered wing across the English Channel.

Births

• 1329 – Anna of Bavaria, Queen of the Romans (d. 1353)

• 1406 – Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros, English soldier and politician (d. 1430)

• 1711 – Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, English politician (d. 1779)

• 1750 – Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, British admiral (d. 1810)

• 1758 – Cosme Argerich, Argentine physician, founder of the Medicine School of Buenos Aires (d. 1820)

• 1767 – Wenzel Müller, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1835)

• 1774 – Johnny Appleseed, American environmentalist (d. 1845)

• 1791 – Théodore Géricault, French painter (d. 1824)

• 1820 – Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bengali scholar (d. 1891)

• 1840 – Louis-Olivier Taillon, French Canadian politician (d. 1923)

• 1865 – Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford, English pilot and ornithologist (d. 1937)

• 1867 – Winsor McCay, animation pioneer (d. 1934)

• 1869 – Komitas, Armenian composer (d. 1935)

• 1870 – King Christian X of Denmark (d. 1947)

• 1871 – Winsor McCay, American cartoonist (d. 1934)

• 1873 – Wacław Berent, Polish novelist and translator (d. 1940)

• 1873 – Aleksey Shchusev, Russian architect (d. 1949)

• 1874 – Lewis Hine, American photographer and social activist (d. 1940)

• 1875 – Edmund Gwenn, Welsh actor (d. 1959)

• 1876 – Syed Ghulam Bhik Nairang, a poet and a prominent Indian/Pakistani Muslim leader (d.1952)

• 1876 – Edith Abbott, American social worker, educator, and author (d. 1957)

• 1877 – Ugo Cerletti, Italian neurologist (d. 1963)

• 1877 – Alfred Cortot, Swiss pianist (d. 1962)

• 1881 – Hiram Wesley Evans, American member of the Ku Klux Klan (d. 1966)

• 1884 – J. P. Bickell, Canadian businessman and sports team owner (d. 1951)

• 1886 – Archibald Vivian Hill, English physiologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1977)

• 1887 – Edwin Keppel Bennett, English writer (d. 1958)

• 1887 – Antonio Moreno, Spanish-born actor (d. 1967)

• 1887 – Sir Barnes Wallis, English scientist, engineer and inventor (d. 1979)

• 1888 – J. Frank Dobie, American folklorist and newspaper columnist (d. 1964)

• 1888 – T. S. Eliot, American-born British writer and poet, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)

• 1889 – Martin Heidegger, German philosopher (d. 1976)

• 1891 – Charles Münch, French conductor and violinist (d. 1968)

• 1893 – Gladys Brockwell, American actress (d. 1929)

• 1895 – George Raft, American actor (d. 1980)

• 1897 – Pope Paul VI (d. 1978)

• 1897 – Arthur Rhys Davids, English pilot (d. 1917)

• 1898 – George Gershwin, American composer (d. 1937)

• 1905 – Emilio Navarro, Puerto Rican baseball player

• 1907 – Anthony Blunt, English art historian and Soviet spy (d. 1983)

• 1907 – Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (d. 1992)

• 1909 – Bill France, Sr., American car racing executive (d. 1992)

• 1911 – Al Helfer, American radio sportscaster (d. 1975)

• 1913 – Frank Brimsek, American ice hockey player (d. 1998)

• 1914 – Jack LaLanne, American fitness, exercise and nutritional expert

• 1914 – Achille Compagnoni, Italian mountaineer, one of the first to reach the summit of K2 (d. 2009)

• 1917 – Réal Caouette, French Canadian politician (d. 1976)

• 1919 – Barbara Britton, American actress (d. 1980)

• 1919 – Matilde Camus, Spanish poet and researcher

• 1922 – Nicholas Romanov, French-born pretender to the Russian throne

• 1923 – Dev Anand, Indian actor and film producer

• 1925 – Norm Dussault, American ice hockey player

• 1925 – Marty Robbins, American singer (d. 1982)

• 1926 – Julie London, American singer and actress (d. 2000)

• 1926 – Manfred Mayrhofer, Austrian Indo-European Philologist

• 1927 – Robert Blackburn, Irish educationist (d. 1990)

• 1927 – Robert Cade, American physician and beverage inventor (d. 2007)

• 1927 – Patrick O'Neal, American actor (d. 1994)

• 1928 – Bob Van der Veken, Belgian actor

• 1930 – Fritz Wunderlich, German tenor (d. 1966)

• 1930 – Joe Brown, English mountain climber, made the first ascent of Kangchenjunga in 1955

• 1932 – Richard Herd, American actor

• 1932 – Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India

• 1932 – Vladimir Voinovich, Russian writer and dissident

• 1933 – Donna Douglas, American actress

• 1935 – Joe Sherlock, Irish Labour Party politician (d. 2007)

• 1936 – Winnie Mandela, South African anti-apartheid activist

• 1937 – Valentin Pavlov, Soviet politician (d. 2003)

• 1937 – Jerry Weintraub, American film producer

• 1939 – Ricky Tomlinson, English actor

• 1941 – Salvatore Accardo, Italian violinist and conductor

• 1942 – Kent McCord, American actor

• 1943 – Ian Chappell, Australian cricketer and broadcaster

• 1943 – Tim Schenken, Australian racing driver

• 1944 – Anne Robinson, English television host

• 1945 – Louise Beaudoin, French Canadian politician

• 1945 – Gal Costa, Brazilian singer

• 1945 – Bryan Ferry, English singer (Roxy Music)

• 1946 – Andrea Dworkin, American feminist (d. 2005)

• 1946 – Christine Todd Whitman, American politician

• 1946 – Radha Krishna Mainali, Nepalese politician

• 1946 – Louise Simonson, American comic book writer and editor

• 1947 – Lynn Anderson, American country music singer

• 1948 – Olivia Newton-John, English-born Australian singer and actress

• 1949 – Clodoaldo, Brazilian football player

• 1949 – Jane Smiley, American novelist

• 1949 – Minette Walters, English novelist

• 1951 – Stuart Tosh, Scottish musician

• 1952 – Predrag Miletić, Serbian actor

• 1953 – Joe Benigno, American radio personality

• 1953 – Dolores Keane, Irish folk singer

• 1953 – Aivars Lembergs, Latvian politician

• 1954 – Kevin Kennedy, American baseball manager and television host

• 1955 – Carlene Carter, American singer

• 1956 – Steve Butler, American racing driver

• 1956 – Linda Hamilton, American actress

• 1958 – Richard B. Weldon, Jr., American politician

• 1958 – Robert Kagan, American historian

• 1959 – Rich Gedman, American baseball player

• 1959 – Darby Crash, American Singer (The Germs) (d. 1980)

• 1961 – Will Self, English author

• 1962 – Melissa Sue Anderson, American actress

• 1962 – Peter Foster, Australian con-man

• 1963 – Lysette Anthony, English actress

• 1964 – Nicki French, English singer

• 1965 – Cindy Herron, American singer (En Vogue)

• 1965 – Alexandra Lencastre, Portuguese actress

• 1966 – Jillian Barberie, Canadian actress and television hostess

• 1966 – Christos Dantis, Greek composer and singer

• 1966 – Craig Heyward, American football player (d. 2006)

• 1967 – Shannon Hoon, American singer (Blind Melon) (d. 1995)

• 1967 – Kara Saun, American designer

• 1968 – James Caviezel, American actor

• 1968 – Ben Shenkman, American actor

• 1969 – Anthony Kavanagh, French-Canadian comedian, actor and singer

• 1969 – Andy Petterson, Australian footballer

• 1969 – Paul Warhurst, English footballer

• 1969 – David Ferguson, British murderer

• 1970 – Sheri Moon Zombie, American actress

• 1972 – Ras Kass, American rapper

• 1972 – Melanie Paxson, American actress

• 1972 – Shawn Stockman, American singer (Boyz II Men)

• 1973 – Marty Casey, American singer (Lovehammers)

• 1973 – Chris Small, Scottish snooker player

• 1973 – Olga Vasdeki, Greek triple jumper

• 1974 – Boris Cepeda,German-Ecuadorian pianist and diplomat

• 1974 – Gary Hall, Jr., American swimmer

• 1974 – Martin Müürsepp, Estonian basketball player

• 1975 – Emma Härdelin, Swedish singer (Garmarna and Triakel)

• 1975 – Jake Paltrow, American film director, brother of Gwyneth Paltrow

• 1976 – Michael Ballack, German footballer

• 1976 – Tyler Denk, American model and reality show contestant

• 1977 – Kaylynn, American porn star

• 1977 – André Hunger, German artist and designer

• 1978 – Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Kenyan long-distance runner

• 1979 – Jon Harley, English footballer

• 1979 – Fuifui Moimoi, New Zealand (Tongan) rugby league footballer

• 1979 – Jaycie Phelps, American gymnast

• 1979 – Jacob Tierney, Canadian actor

• 1979 – Naomichi Marufuji, Japanese professional wrestler

• 1980 – Jane Darling, Czech porn model/actress

• 1980 – Patrick Friesacher, Austrian race car driver

• 1980 – Brooks Orpik, American ice hockey player

• 1980 – Daniel Sedin, Swedish ice hockey player

• 1980 – Henrik Sedin, Swedish ice hockey player

• 1981 – Collien Fernandes, German TV host and actress

• 1981 – Christina Milian, American actress and singer

• 1981 – Serena Williams, American tennis player

• 1981 – Aras Baskauskas, Winner of Survivor: Panama

• 1982 – Miguel Alfredo Portillo, Argentine footballer

• 1982 – Rob Burrow, English rugby player

• 1983 – Ricardo Quaresma, Portuguese footballer

• 1983 – Samantha Hammel, American record producer and actress

• 1984 – Keisha Buchanan, English singer (Sugababes)

• 1984 – Thore Schölermann, German actor

• 1985 – Lenna Kuurmaa, Estonian singer (Vanilla Ninja)

• 1986 – Ashley Leggat, Canadian actress

• 1987 – Rosie Munter, Swedish singer (Play)

• 1988 – Kiira Korpi, Finnish figure skater

• 1988 – Mark Simpson, English clarinetist and composer

• 1989 – Emma Rigby, English actress

• 2000 – Princess Salma bint Al Abdullah II of Jordan

Deaths

• 1417 – Francesco Zabarella, Italian jurist (b. 1360)

• 1468 – Juan de Torquemada, Spanish Catholic cardinal (b. 1388)

• 1501 – Džore Držić, Croatian writer (b. 1461)

• 1620 – Taichang Emperor of China (b. 1582)

• 1626 – Wakisaka Yasuharu, Japanese warrior (b. 1554)

• 1716 – Antoine Parent, French mathematician (b. 1666)

• 1763 – John Byron, English poet (b. 1692)

• 1764 – Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro, Spanish scholar (b. 1767)

• 1800 – William Billings, American choral composer (b. 1746)

• 1802 – Baron Jurij Vega, Slovenian mathematician and military officer (b. 1754)

• 1820 – Daniel Boone, American frontiersman (b. 1734)

• 1868 – August Ferdinand Möbius, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1790)

• 1877 – Hermann Grassmann, German mathematician and physicist (b. 1809)

• 1902 – Levi Strauss, American clothing manufacturer (b. 1829)

• 1904 – John F. Stairs, Canadian businessman and statesman (b. 1848)

• 1904 – Lafcadio Hearn, Greek writer (b. 1850)

• 1937 – Bessie Smith, American singer (b. 1894)

• 1945 – Béla Bartók, Hungarian composer (b. 1881)

• 1947 – Hugh Lofting, English writer (b. 1886)

• 1951 – Hans Cloos, German geologist (b. 1885)

• 1952 – George Santayana, Spanish philosopher (b. 1863)

• 1953 – Xu Beihong, Chinese painter (b. 1895)

• 1954 – Ellen Roosevelt, American tennis player (b. 1868)

• 1965 – James Fitzmaurice, Irish aviation pioneer (b. 1898)

• 1968 – Daniel Johnson, Sr., French-Canadian politician (b. 1915)

• 1972 – Charles Correll, American radio actor (b. 1890)

• 1973 – Ralph Earnhardt, American race car driver (b. 1923)

• 1973 – Anna Magnani, Italian actress (b. 1908)

• 1976 – Lavoslav Ružička, Croatian chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1887)

• 1978 – Manne Siegbahn, Swedish physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1886)

• 1979 – Arthur Hunnicutt, American actor (b. 1910)

• 1982 – Alec Hurwood, Australian cricketer (b. 1902)

• 1983 – Tino Rossi, French singer and actor (b. 1907)

• 1984 – John Facenda, American sports announcer (b. 1913)

• 1984 – Paquirri, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1948)

• 1987 – Herbert Tichy, Austrian mountaineer, made the first ascent of Cho Oyu in 1954 (b. 1912)

• 1989 – Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Indian singer and composer (b. 1920)

• 1990 – Alberto Moravia, Italian author (b. 1907)

• 1991 – Billy Vaughn, American bandleader (b. 1919)

• 1998 – Betty Carter, American singer (b. 1930)

• 1999 – Oseola McCarty, American philanthropist (b. 1908)

• 2000 – Richard Mulligan, American actor (b. 1932)

• 2000 – Baden Powell, Brazilian guitarist (b. 1937)

• 2003 – Robert Palmer, English singer (b. 1949)

• 2003 – Shawn Lane, American guitarist (b. 1963)

• 2004 – Marianna Komlos, professional wrestling valet (b. 1969)

• 2005 – Helen Cresswell, British author (b. 1934)

• 2006 – Byron Nelson, American golfer (b. 1912)

• 2006 – Iva Toguri D'Aquino, alleged Tokyo Rose (b. 1916)

• 2007 – Dorothy Schwartz, American violinist (b. 1913)

• 2007 – Bill Wirtz, American sports team owner (b. 1929)

• 2008 – Paul Newman, American actor (b. 1925)

• 2008 – Marc Moulin, Belgian musician and journalist (b. 1942)

Holidays and observances

• Calendar of Saints – Sts. Cosmas and Damian.

• Also see September 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).

• Discordianism – Bureflux.

• European Day of Languages.

• French Republican Calendar – Cheval (Horse) Day, fifth day in the Month of Vendémiaire.