Today in History – September 15th

Published September 15, 2012 |

668, Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse, Italy.
1254, Marco Polo, Italian explorer. (d. 1324) was born.
1616, 1st non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy.
1762, Seven Years War: Battle of Signal Hill.
1776, American Revolutionary War: British forces land at Kip’s Bay during the New York Campaign.
1789, The US Department of State is established (formerly known as the “Department of Foreign Affairs”).
1812, The French army under Napoleon reaches the Kremlin in Moscow.
1812, War of 1812: A second supply train sent to relieve Fort Harrison is ambushed in the Attack at the Narrows.
1816, HMS Whiting ran aground on the Doom Bar
1820, Constitutionalist revolution in Lisbon, Portugal.
1821, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica jointly declare independence from Spain.
1831, The locomotive John Bull operates for 1st time in New Jersey on the Camden and Amboy Railroad.
1835, HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galapagos Islands.
1851, Saint Joseph’s University is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1857, William Howard Taft, 27th President of the United States and 10th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1930) was born.
1862, American Civil War: Confederate forces capture Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
1873, Franco-Prussian War: The last German troops leave France upon completion of payment of indemnity.
1881, Ettore Bugatti, Italian automobile engineer and designer (d. 1947) was born.
1885, Jumbo, P. T. Barnum’s circus elephant (b. 1861) died.
1890, Agatha Christie, English writer (d. 1976) was born.
1904, King Umberto II of Italy (d. 1983) was born.
1907, Fay Wray, Canadian-born American actress (d. 2004) was born.
1916, WWI: Tanks are used for 1st time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme.
1928, Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1975) was born.
1935, Nazi Germany adopts a new national flag with the swastika.
1935, The Nuremberg Laws deprive German Jews of citizenship.
1940, WWII: The climax of the Battle of Britain, when the Royal Air Force shoots down large numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft.
1942, WWII: US Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp is torpedoed at Guadalcanal.
1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet in Quebec as part of the Octagon Conference to discuss strategy.
1947, RCA releases the 12AX7 vacuum tube.
1948, The F-86 Sabre sets the world aircraft speed record at 671 miles per hour (1,080 km/h).
1950, Korean War: US forces land at Inchon
1952, United Nations gives Eritrea to Ethiopia.
1959, Nikita Khrushchev becomes 1st Soviet leader to visit the US.
1993, Liechtenstein Prince Hans-Adam II disbands Parliament
2004, Johnny Ramone, American guitarist (The Ramones) (b. 1948) died.

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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.