Today in History – September 8th

Published September 8, 2012 |

1157, King Richard I of England (d. 1199) was born.
1449, Battle of Tumu Fortress, Mongolians capture the Chinese emperor.
1504, Michelangelo’s David is unveiled in Florence.
1565, The Knights of Malta lift the Turkish siege of Malta that began on May 18.
1755, French and Indian War: Battle of Lake George.
1756, French and Indian War: Kittanning Expedition.
1761, Marriage of King George III of the UK to Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
1831, William IV and Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen are crowned King and Queen of the UK of Great Britain and Ireland.
1860, The Steamship Lady Elgin sinks on Lake Michigan, with the loss of around 300 lives.
1888, In England the 1st six Football League matches are played.
1888, In London, the body of Jack the Ripper’s second murder victim, Annie Chapman, is found.
1892, The Pledge of Allegiance is 1st recited.
1900, Galveston Hurricane of 1900: a powerful hurricane hits Galveston, Texas killing about 8,000 people.
1914, WWI: Private Thomas Highgate becomes the 1st British soldier to be executed for desertion during the war.
1923, Honda Point Disaster: nine US Navy destroyers run aground off the California coast. 7 are lost, and 23 sailors killed.
1925, Peter Sellers, English actor (d. 1980) was born.
1926, Germany is admitted to the League of Nations.
1930, 3M begins marketing Scotch transparent tape.
1932, Patsy Cline, American singer (d. 1963) was born.
1935, US Senator from Louisiana, Huey Long, nicknamed “Kingfish”, is fatally shot in the Louisiana capitol building.
1941, WWII: Siege of Leningrad begins. German forces begin a siege against the Soviet Union’s second-largest city, Leningrad.
1943, WWII: The O.B.S. (German General Headquarters for the Mediterranean zone) in Frascati is bombed by USAAF.
1943, WWII: US General Dwight D. Eisenhower publicly announces the Allied armistice with Italy.
1944, WWII: London is hit by a V-2 rocket for the 1st time.
1949, Richard Strauss, German composer (b. 1864) died.
1951, In San Francisco, 48 nations sign a peace treaty with Japan in formal recognition of the end of the Pacific War.
1952, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation makes its 1st televised broadcast on the second escape of the Boyd Gang.
1954, The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established.
1965, Dorothy Dandridge, American actress (b. 1922) died.
1966, The 1st Star Trek series premieres on NBC.
1966, The Severn Bridge is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
1971, In Washington, D.C., John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is inaugurated.
1977, Zero Mostel, American actor (b. 1915) died.
1991, The Republic of Macedonia becomes independent.
2004, Frank Thomas, American animator (b. 1913) died.
2004, NASA’s unmanned spacecraft Genesis crash-lands when its parachute fails to open.

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Chris Rivait

Chris loves history and hopes that Yesteeyear becomes a place where everyone can share their history knowledge. Chris owns an Internet Marketing company, Arrivait Marketing. He has a wonderful wife and four great children.