Today in History – September 23rd

Published September 23, 2012 |

1215, Kublai Khan of the Mongol Empire (d. 1294) was born.
1409, Battle of Kherlen, the second significant victory over Ming China by the Mongols since 1368.
1459, Battle of Blore Heath, 1st major battle of the English Wars of the Roses, is fought at Blore Heath in Staffordshire.
1568, Spanish naval forces rout English fleet, under the command of John Hawkins, at the Battle of San Juan de Ulua near Veracruz.
1641, The Merchant Royal, carrying a treasure worth over a billion US dollars, is lost at sea off Land’s End.
1642, 1st commencement exercises occur at Harvard College.
1779, American Revolution: John Paul Jones on board the USS Bonhomme Richard wins the Battle of Flamborough Head.
1780, British Major John Andre is arrested as a spy by American soldiers exposing Benedict Arnold’s change of sides.
1803, Second Anglo-Maratha War: Battle of Assaye between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India.
1806, Lewis and Clark return to St. Louis after exploring the Pacific Northwest of the US.
1830, Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, American First Lady (b. 1768) died.
1845, The Knickerbockers Baseball Club, 1st baseball team to play under the modern rules, is founded in New York.
1861, Robert Bosch, German inventor and industrialist (d. 1942) was born.
1868, Grito de Lares (“Lares Revolt”) occurs in Puerto Rico against Spanish rule.
1889, Nintendo Koppai (Nintendo Company, Ltd) is founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce and market playing card game Hanafuda.
1899, American Asiatic Squadron destroyed single Filipino battery at the Battle of Olongapo.
1905, Norway and Sweden sign the “Karlstad treaty”, peacefully dissolving the Union between the two countries.
1908, University of Alberta in Alberta, Canada, is founded.
1909, The Phantom of the Opera, a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux, is 1st published as a serialization in Le Gaulois.
1926, John Coltrane, American saxophonist (d. 1967) was born.
1930, Ray Charles, American musician (d. 2004) was born.
1932, The Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd is renamed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
1936, 1st ascent of Siniolchu by a German team.
1938, Mobilization of the Czechoslovak army in response to the Munich Crisis.
1939, Sigmund Freud, Austrian psychiatrist (b. 1856) died.
1941, WWII: 1st gas chamber experiments are conducted at Auschwitz.
1942, WWII: The Matanikau action on Guadalcanal begins US Marines attack Japanese unites along the Matanikau River.
1943, WWII: The Nazi puppet state the Italian Social Republic is founded.
1952, Richard Nixon makes his “Checkers speech”.
1959, Iowa farmer and corn breeder Roswell Garst hosts Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.
1962, The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts opens in New York City.
1969, The Chicago Eight trial opens in Chicago.
1973, Juan Peron returns to power in Argentina.
1987, Bob Fosse, American dancer, choreographer, and actor (b. 1927) died.
1988, Jose Canseco of the Oakland Athletics becomes 1st member of the 40-40 club.
1992, James Van Fleet, U.S. Army general (b. 1892) died.

Follow us on Twitter to get the latest history news and find out what happened on this day in history — http://www.twitter.com/Yesteeyear

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.