Historical Events on Tuesday, 9th September

09/09/2025

Six people are killed when Israel carries out an airstrike on Doha in a failed attempt to decapitate the Hamas leadership.

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel occupies the West Bank and the Gaza Strip of the Palestinian territories, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights. Israel's western coast lies on the Mediterranean Sea, its southern tip reaches the Red Sea, and to the east is Earth's lowest point near the Dead Sea. Jerusalem is the government seat and proclaimed capital, while Tel Aviv is Israel's largest urban area and economic centre.

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Several Russian drones incur on Polish airspace and are subsequently shot down, marking the first time a NATO member has engaged Russian military assets.

On 9 September 2025, about 11:30 p.m. CEST, 19 to 23 unarmed military drones entered Poland's airspace after allegedly being launched from Russia. The incursion triggered a Quick Reaction Alert; the Polish Air Force and other NATO militaries scrambled aircraft. Up to four drones were confirmed to have been shot down, most by the Dutch Air Force. Poland's prime minister Donald Tusk said that the drones "posed a direct threat". The airspace over Warsaw International Airport, Warsaw Modlin Airport, Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport, and Lublin Airport was closed while the Russian drone fleet was in Polish airspace.

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09/09/2016

The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test. World leaders condemn the act, with South Korea calling it "maniacal recklessness".

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city.

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09/09/2015

Elizabeth II becomes the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom.

Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime and was the monarch of 15 realms at her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch, the second-longest of any sovereign state, and the longest of any queen regnant in history.

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09/09/2014

The album Songs of Innocence by U2 is digitally released at no charge to all customers of the iTunes Music Store, appearing automatically in the "purchased" section of over 500 million users worldwide.

Songs of Innocence is the thirteenth studio album by the Irish rock band U2, released on 9 September 2014. It was produced by Danger Mouse, with additional production from Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney, and Flood. After the surprise announcement of the album at an Apple product launch event, it was digitally released the same day to all iTunes Store customers at no cost. It was exclusive to iTunes, iTunes Radio, and Beats Music until 13 October 2014, when it was released to retailers by Island and Interscope Records. The digital release made the record available to more than 500 million iTunes customers, for what Apple's CEO Tim Cook called "the largest album release of all time".

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09/09/2012

The Indian space agency puts into orbit its heaviest foreign satellite yet, in a streak of 21 consecutive successful PSLV launches.

The Indian Space Research Organisation is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), overseen by the Prime Minister of India, with the Chairman of ISRO also serving as the chief executive of the DoS. It is primarily responsible for space-based operations, space exploration, international space cooperation and the development of related technologies. The agency maintains a constellation of imaging, communications and remote sensing satellites. It operates the GAGAN and IRNSS satellite navigation systems. It has sent three missions to the Moon and one mission to Mars.

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A wave of attacks kills more than 100 people and injure 350 others across Iraq.

The 9 September 2012 Iraq attacks were a series of coordinated bombings and shootings across the capital Baghdad and several major cities in the north and south of the country. At least 108 people were killed and 371 injured in the first major insurgent action since a similar wave of violence almost a month earlier.

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09/09/2009

The Dubai Metro, the first urban train network in the Arabian Peninsula, is ceremonially inaugurated.

The Dubai Metro is a rapid transit system in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The metro system consists of a network of two main lines: the Red Line and the Green Line. A third line, the Blue Line, is scheduled to open in 2029.

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09/09/2006

Space Shuttle Program: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-115 to resume assembling the International Space Station. It is the first ISS assembly mission after the Columbia disaster back in 2003.

Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. Atlantis was manufactured by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis is the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J made from October 3 to 7, 1985.

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09/09/2001

Ahmad Shah Massoud, leader of the Northern Alliance, is assassinated in Afghanistan by two al-Qaeda assassins who claimed to be Arab journalists wanting an interview.

Ahmad Shah Massoud was an Afghan military leader and politician. Known as the "Lion of Panjshir", he was the foremost commander of the Afghan mujahideen against Soviet occupation during the Soviet–Afghan War from 1979 to 1989. Later, in the 1990s, he led the government's military wing against rival militias, and actively fought against the Taliban and their allies, from the time the regime rose to power in 1996, and until his assassination in 2001.

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09/09/1994

Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-64.

The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official program name was carried over from the 1969 plan for the Space Transportation System (STS) of reusable spacecraft. Only the shuttle and supporting rockets were funded for development; a proposed nuclear lunar shuttle in the plan was cancelled in 1972. It flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries, many on multiple trips.

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09/09/1993

Israeli–Palestinian peace process: The Palestine Liberation Organization officially recognizes Israel as a legitimate state.

Intermittent discussions are held by various parties and proposals put forward in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict through a peace process. Since the 1970s, there has been a parallel effort made to find terms upon which peace can be agreed to in both this conflict and the wider Arab–Israeli conflict. Notably, the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel included discussions on plans for Palestinian autonomy, but did not include any Palestinian representatives. The autonomy plan was not implemented, but its stipulations were represented to a large extent in the Oslo Accords.

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09/09/1991

Tajikistan declares independence from the Soviet Union.

Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is its capital and most populous city with a population of 1.24 million people. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east and is narrowly separated from Pakistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor. It has a population of more than 10.9 million people.

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09/09/1990

Batticaloa massacre: Massacre of 184 Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan Army in Batticaloa District.

The 1990 Batticaloa massacre, also known as the Sathurukondan massacre, was a massacre of at least 184 minority Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, including infants, from three villages in the Batticaloa District by the Sri Lankan Army on September 9, 1990. Although the government instituted two investigations, no one was ever charged.

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09/09/1988

Vietnam Airlines Flight 831 crashes in Khu Khot, Thailand, while on approach to Don Muang International Airport, killing 76.

Vietnam Airlines Flight 831, a Tupolev Tu-134, crashed in a rice field 6 kilometres N of Bangkok International Airport, while operating a flight from Hanoi, Vietnam to Bangkok, Thailand, on 9 September 1988. The cause of the accident is undetermined; however, the pilots reported the aircraft may have been struck by lightning as it approached to land. Three crew and 73 passengers died in the accident, whilst 14 others survived. This accident was the second deadliest accident at the time in Thailand, and is currently the fifth deadliest.

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09/09/1976

Two Aeroflot flights collide in mid-air over Anapa, Soviet Union, killing 70.

The 1976 Anapa mid-air collision was the collision of Aeroflot Flight 7957 and Aeroflot Flight S-31 on 9 September 1976, off the coast of Anapa in the Soviet Union. All 70 people on the two aircraft were killed in the crash. The primary cause of the accident was determined to be error by the air traffic controller; investigators never recovered the fuselage of the Yak-40.

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09/09/1972

In Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National Park, a Cave Research Foundation exploration and mapping team discovers a link between the Mammoth and Flint Ridge cave systems, making it the longest known cave passageway in the world.

Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the northeast, Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south, and Missouri to the west. Its northern border is defined by the Ohio River. Its capital is Frankfort and its most populous city is Louisville. As of 2024, the state's population was approximately 4.6 million.

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09/09/1971

The four-day Attica Prison riot begins, eventually resulting in 39 dead, most killed by state troopers retaking the prison.

The Attica Prison riot took place at the state prison in Attica, New York. The riot started on September 9, 1971, with a violent takeover of the prison control center in which one prison officer, William Quinn, was killed; it ended on September 13 with the highest number of fatalities in the history of United States prison riots. Of the 43 men who died, all but one guard and three inmates were killed by law enforcement gunfire when the state retook control of the prison on the final day of the riot. The Attica riot has been described as a historic event in the prisoners' rights movement.

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09/09/1970

A British airliner is hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and flown to Dawson's Field in Jordan.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist–Leninist organization founded in 1967 by George Habash. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the largest being Fatah.

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09/09/1969

In Canada, the Official Languages Act comes into force, making French equal to English throughout the Federal government.

The Official Languages Act is a Canadian law that came into force on September 9, 1969, which gives French and English equal status in the government of Canada. This makes them "official" languages, having preferred status in law over all other languages. Although the Official Languages Act is not the only piece of federal language law, it is the legislative keystone of Canada's official bilingualism. It was substantially amended in 1988. Both languages are equal in Canada's government and in all the services it controls, such as the courts.

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Allegheny Airlines Flight 863 collides in mid-air with a Piper PA-28 Cherokee over Moral Township, Shelby County, Indiana, killing all 83 people on board both aircraft.

On September 9, 1969, Allegheny Airlines Flight 853, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 operating a regularly scheduled flight from Boston, Massachusetts, to St. Louis, Missouri, with stops in Baltimore, Maryland; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Indianapolis, Indiana, collided mid-air with a Piper PA-28 light aircraft near Fairland, Indiana. The left wing of the PA-28 sheared off the DC-9's rear tail assembly, causing both to crash, killing all 83 occupants on board both aircraft. More than 50 years later, the incident remains Indiana's deadliest commercial airline disaster.

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09/09/1966

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act is signed into law by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was enacted in the United States in 1966 to empower the federal government to set and administer new safety standards for motor vehicles and road traffic safety. The Act was the first mandatory federal safety standards for motor vehicles. The Act created the National Highway Safety Bureau. The Act was one of a number of initiatives by the government in response to increasing number of cars and associated fatalities and injuries on the road following a period when the number of people killed on the road had increased 6-fold and the number of vehicles was up 11-fold since 1925. The reduction of the rate of death attributable to motor-vehicle crashes in the United States represents the successful public health response to a great technologic advance of the 20th century—the motorization of the United States.

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09/09/1965

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development is established.

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the secretary of housing and urban development, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet.

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Hurricane Betsy makes its second landfall near New Orleans, leaving 76 dead and $1.42 billion ($10–12 billion in 2005 dollars) in damages, becoming the first hurricane to cause over $1 billion in unadjusted damage.

Hurricane Betsy was an intense, deadly and destructive tropical cyclone that brought widespread damage to areas of Florida, the Bahamas, and the central United States Gulf Coast in September 1965. The storm's erratic nature, coupled with its intensity and minimal preparation time contributed to making Betsy the first tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin to accrue at least $1 billion in damage. While the storm primarily affected areas of southern Florida and Louisiana, lesser effects were felt in the Bahamas and as far inland in the United States as the Ohio River Valley. Betsy began as a tropical depression north of French Guiana on August 27, and strengthened as it moved in a general northwesterly direction. After executing a slight anticyclonic loop north of the Bahamas, Betsy proceeded to move through areas of south Florida on September 8, causing extensive crop damage. After emerging into the Gulf of Mexico, the cyclone strengthened and reached its peak intensity equivalent to that of a Category 4 hurricane on September 10 before making its final landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana, shortly thereafter. Once inland, Betsy was slow to weaken, and persisted for two more days before degenerating into an extratropical storm; these remnants lasted until September 13.

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09/09/1956

Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time.

Elvis Aaron Presley, often known simply as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the “King of Rock and Roll" or “The King”, he is widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 20th century. Presley's energetic and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, brought both great success and initial controversy.

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09/09/1954

The 6.7 Mw  Chlef earthquake shakes northern Algeria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). At least 1,243 people were killed and 5,000 were injured.

The 1954 Chlef earthquake struck El Asnam Province in French Algeria on 9 September at 02:04:43 local time. The shock measured 6.7 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). It destroyed Chlef, then named Orléansville, leaving over 1,243 people dead and 5,000 injured. Damage was estimated at $6 million. It was followed by multiple aftershocks. Algeria faces annual earthquakes and has undergone several changes to its earthquake building codes since its first earthquake engineering regulations from 1717.

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09/09/1948

Kim Il Sung is appointed as premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). This is celebrated annually as its national holiday.

Kim Il Sung was a North Korean revolutionary, military officer, politician, and dictator who founded the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), also known as North Korea, in 1948, and led the country from its establishment until his death in 1994. He was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il and was declared Eternal President.

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09/09/1947

First case of a computer bug being found: A moth lodges in a relay of a Harvard Mark II computer at Harvard University.

A software bug is a defect (bug) in computer software. A computer program with many or serious bugs may be described as buggy.

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09/09/1945

Second Sino-Japanese War: The Empire of Japan formally surrenders to China.

The Second Sino-Japanese War, known in China as the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is often regarded as the beginning of World War II in Asia, as the wars became heavily intertwined after Japan's entry into World War II. It was the largest Asian war in the 20th century.

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09/09/1944

World War II: The Fatherland Front takes power in Bulgaria through a military coup in the capital and armed rebellion in the country. A new pro-Soviet government is established.

The Fatherland Front was a Bulgarian pro-communist political resistance movement, which began in 1942 during World War II. The Zveno movement, the communist Bulgarian Workers Party, a wing of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union and the Bulgarian Social Democratic Workers Party all became part of the OF. The constituent groups of the OF had widely contrasting ideologies and had united only in the face of the pro-German militarist dictatorship in Bulgaria. At the beginning, the members of the OF worked together, without a single dominating group. Professional associations and unions could be members of the front and maintain their organisational independence. However, the Bulgarian Communist Party soon began to dominate. In 1944, after the Soviet Union had declared war on Bulgaria, the OF carried out a coup d'état and declared war on Germany and the other Axis powers. The OF government, headed by Kimon Georgiev of Zveno, signed a ceasefire treaty with the Soviet Union. In the summer of 1945 most of BANU led by Nikola Petkov and most of the Social-Democrats had left the OF and became a large opposition group which later on after the 1946 Grand National Assembly election would become a coalition named "Federation of the village and urban labour" with 99 MPs out of 465.

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09/09/1943

World War II: The Allies land at Salerno and Taranto, Italy.

The Allies, or Allied powers, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members were the "Big Four"—the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and China.

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09/09/1942

World War II: A Japanese floatplane drops incendiary bombs on Oregon.

The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the period of Japanese history spanning 79 years, starting from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on 3 May 1947. From August 1910 to September 1945, it included the Japanese archipelago, the Kurils, Karafuto, Korea, and Taiwan. The South Seas Mandate and concessions such as the Kwantung Leased Territory were de jure not internal parts of the empire but dependent territories. In the closing stages of World War II, with Japan defeated alongside the rest of the Axis powers, the formalized surrender was issued on 2 September 1945, in compliance with the Potsdam Declaration of the Allies, and the empire's territory subsequently shrunk to cover only the Japanese archipelago, excluding Okinawa until the handover in 1972.

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09/09/1940

George Stibitz pioneers the first remote operation of a computer.

George Robert Stibitz was an American researcher at Bell Labs who is internationally recognized as one of the fathers of the modern digital computer. He was known for his work in the 1930s and 1940s on the realization of Boolean logic digital circuits using electromechanical relays as the switching element.

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Treznea Massacre in Transylvania.

The Treznea massacre occurred in the village of Treznea, Sălaj in north-western Transylvania on 9 September 1940, in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vienna Award, when Romania ceded Northern Transylvania to Hungary. The massacre was perpetrated by Hungarian Army troops with aid from some locals; 93 ethnic Romanians and Jews were killed.

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09/09/1939

World War II: The Battle of Hel begins, the longest-defended pocket of Polish Army resistance during the German invasion of Poland.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

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Burmese national hero U Ottama dies in prison after a hunger strike to protest Britain's colonial government.

Sayadaw U Ottama was a Theravada Buddhist monk, author, and a leader of the Burmese independence movement during British colonial rule. The ethnic Rakhine (Arakanese) monk was imprisoned several times by the British colonial government for his anti-colonialist political activities.

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09/09/1936

The crews of Portuguese Navy frigate NRP Afonso de Albuquerque and destroyer Dão mutinied against the Salazar dictatorship's support of General Franco's coup and declared their solidarity with the Spanish Republic.

The Portuguese Navy, also known as the Portuguese War Navy or as the Portuguese Armada, is the navy of the Portuguese Armed Forces. Chartered in 1317 by King Dinis of Portugal, it is the oldest continuously serving navy in the world; in 2017, the Portuguese Navy commemorated the 700th anniversary of its official creation.

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09/09/1924

Hanapepe massacre occurs on Kauai, Hawaii.

The Hanapēpē Massacre occurred on September 9, 1924, when a dispute amongst Filipino strike organizers in Hanapēpē, Kaua'i, resulted in a violent exchange between local police officers and Filipinos. The conflict began when two Ilocano youth, allegedly breaking the Filipino-led labor strike, were detained and harassed by a group of Visayans at the Hanapepe strike camp. When the local police were called to settle the dispute, they arrived with a group of heavily armed special deputies. Upon arrival, the officers issued warrants of arrest for the two detained Illocanos, causing the collection of Filipino strikers to rally in opposition. Despite previously ridiculing the two Ilocanos, the remaining Filipinos armed themselves and demanded the boys be released. A violent exchange ensued wherein sixteen Filipino laborers and four police officers were left dead.

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09/09/1923

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, founds the Republican People's Party.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was a Turkish field marshal and statesperson who was the founder of the Republic of Turkey and served as its first president from 1923 until his death in 1938. He led sweeping reforms, turning Turkey into a secular, industrialising nation. Ideologically a secularist, republican and nationalist, his policies and socio-political theories became known as Kemalism. Atatürk's personality cult and the Kemalist historiography developed around it have had significant and ongoing influences on Turkey's political culture and historical narrative.

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09/09/1922

The Greco-Turkish War effectively ends with Turkish victory over the Greeks in Smyrna.

The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 was fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, between 15 May 1919 and 14 October 1922. This conflict was a part of the Turkish War of Independence.

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09/09/1914

World War I: The creation of the Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade, the first fully mechanized unit in the British Army.

World War I, or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The war saw important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million military and civilian casualties and genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.

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09/09/1892

Amalthea becomes the last moon to be discovered without the use of photography.

Amalthea is a moon of Jupiter. It has the third-closest orbit around Jupiter among known moons and was the fifth moon of Jupiter to be discovered, so it is also known as Jupiter V. It is also the fifth-largest moon of Jupiter, after the four Galilean moons. Edward Emerson Barnard discovered the moon on 9 September 1892 and named it after Amalthea of Greek mythology. It was the last natural satellite to be discovered by direct visual observation; all later moons were discovered by photographic or digital imaging.

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09/09/1863

American Civil War: The Union Army enters Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union to preserve slavery in the United States, which they saw as threatened because of the election of Abraham Lincoln and the growing abolitionist movement in the North. The war lasted a little over four years, ending with Union victory, the dissolution of the Confederacy and the abolition of slavery, freeing four million African Americans.

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09/09/1855

Crimean War: The Siege of Sevastopol comes to an end when Russian forces abandon the city.

The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont from October 1853 to February 1856. Geopolitical causes of the war included the Eastern question, expansion of Imperial Russia in the preceding Russo-Turkish wars, and the British and French preference to preserve the Ottoman Empire to maintain the balance of power in the Concert of Europe.

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09/09/1850

The Compromise of 1850 transfers a third of Texas's claimed territory to federal control in return for the U.S. federal government assuming $10 million of Texas's pre-annexation debt.

The Compromise of 1850–1851 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that temporarily defused tensions between slave and free states during the years leading up to the American Civil War. Designed by Whig senator Henry Clay and Democratic senator Stephen A. Douglas, with the support of President Millard Fillmore, the compromise centered on how to handle slavery in recently acquired territories from the Mexican–American War (1846–1848).

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California is admitted as the thirty-first U.S. state.

California is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With almost 40 million residents across an area of 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), it is the largest U.S. state by population and third-largest by area.

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09/09/1845

Possible start of the Great Famine of Ireland.

The Great Famine, also known as the Great Hunger, the Famine and the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852. It constituted a historical social crisis and had a major impact on Irish society and history as a whole. The most severely affected areas were in the western and southern parts of Ireland—where the Irish language was dominant—hence, in Irish, the period was contemporaneously known as an Drochshaol, which translates to "the bad life" and loosely translates to "the hard times". Debate exists regarding nomenclature for the event, whether to use the term "Famine", "Potato Famine" or "Great Hunger".

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09/09/1839

John Herschel takes the first glass plate photograph.

Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet was an English polymath active as a mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor and experimental photographer who invented the blueprint and did botanical work.

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09/09/1801

Alexander I of Russia confirms the privileges of Baltic provinces.

Alexander I, nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russia during the chaotic period of the Napoleonic Wars.

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09/09/1796

Grenelle camp affair, a failed uprising by supporters of Gracchus Babeuf against the French Directory

The Grenelle camp affair was an event of the French Revolution which occurred under the Directory, on the night of 9 to 10 September 1796.

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09/09/1791

Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, is named after President George Washington.

Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia and commonly known as simply Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River across from Virginia and shares land borders with Maryland to its north and east. It was named after George Washington, a Founding Father and the first president of the United States. The district is named for Columbia, the female personification of the nation, through which human form and attributes are applied to the United States.

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09/09/1776

The Continental Congress officially names its union of states the United States.

The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, who acted as the Provisional Government for the Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress refers to both the First and Second Congresses of 1774–1781 and at the time, also described the Congress of the Confederation of 1781–1789. The Confederation Congress operated as the first federal government until being replaced following ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Until 1785, the Congress met predominantly at what is today Independence Hall in Philadelphia, though it was relocated temporarily on several occasions during the Revolutionary War and the fall of Philadelphia.

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09/09/1739

Stono Rebellion, the largest slave uprising in Britain's mainland North American colonies prior to the American Revolution, erupts near Charleston, South Carolina.

The Stono Rebellion was a slave revolt that began on 9 September 1739, in the colony of South Carolina. It was the largest slave rebellion in the Southern Colonial era, with 25 colonists and 35 to 50 African slaves killed. The uprising's leaders were likely from the Central African Kingdom of Kongo, as they were Catholic and some spoke Portuguese.

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09/09/1588

Thomas Cavendish in his ship Desire enters Plymouth and completes the first deliberately planned voyage of circumnavigation.

Sir Thomas Cavendish was an English explorer and privateer known as "The Navigator" because he was the first to deliberately attempt to emulate Sir Francis Drake, raiding Spanish towns and ships in the Pacific and then returning by circumnavigating the globe. Though Magellan-Elcano, Loaísa, Drake, and Loyola had all preceded him in circumnavigating the globe, Cavendish's own successful voyage, between 1586 and 1588, was the first deliberately planned circumnavigation. It made him rich from captured Spanish gold, silk, and treasure from the Pacific and the Philippines, with his richest prize being the 600-ton Manila galleon Santa Ana. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I of England after his return. He later set out for a second raid and circumnavigation but was not as fortunate and died at sea in 1592, at the age of 31.

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09/09/1561

The ultimately unsuccessful Colloquy of Poissy opens in an effort to reconcile French Catholics and Protestants.

The Colloquy at Poissy was a religious conference which took place in Poissy, France, in 1561. Its object was to effect a reconciliation between the Roman Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots) of France.

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09/09/1543

Mary Stuart, at nine months old, is crowned "Queen of Scots" in the central Scottish town of Stirling.

Mary, Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication on 24 July 1567.

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09/09/1513

James IV of Scotland is defeated and dies in the Battle of Flodden, ending Scotland's involvement in the War of the League of Cambrai.

James IV was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchieburn, following a rebellion in which the younger James was the figurehead of the rebels. James IV is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland. He was responsible for a major expansion of the Scottish royal navy, which included the founding of two royal dockyards and the acquisition or construction of 38 ships, including the Great Michael, the largest warship of its time.

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09/09/1499

The citizens of Lisbon celebrate the triumphal return of the explorer Vasco de Gama, completing his two-year journey around the Cape of Good Hope to India.

Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese mariner, explorer and nobleman. His discovery of the first direct maritime route between Europe and India via the Cape of Good Hope and across the Indian Ocean from Malindi in Kenya to Kozhikode was to open up European exploration of, and commerce with, India, and is considered a landmark event and a turning point in world history.

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09/09/1493

Battle of Krbava Field, a decisive defeat of Croats in Croatian struggle against the invasion by the Ottoman Empire.

The Battle of Krbava Field was fought between the Ottoman Empire of Bayezid II and an army of the Kingdom of Croatia, at the time in personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary, on 9 September 1493, in the Krbava field, a part of the Lika region in Croatia.

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Christopher Columbus, with 17 ships and 1,200 men, sails on second voyage from Cadiz.

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed four Spanish-based voyages across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs, opening the way for the widespread European exploration and colonization of the Americas. His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean and Central and South America.

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09/09/1488

Anne becomes sovereign Duchess of Brittany, becoming a central figure in the struggle for influence that leads to the union of Brittany and France.

Anne of Brittany was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She was the only woman to have been queen consort of France twice. During the Italian Wars, Anne also became Queen of Naples, from 1501 to 1504, and Duchess of Milan, in 1499–1500 and from 1500 to 1512.

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09/09/1320

In the Battle of Saint George, the Byzantines under Andronikos Asen ambush and defeat the forces of the Principality of Achaea, securing possession of Arcadia.

The Battle of Saint George took place on 9 September 1320 between the Latin Principality of Achaea and the forces of the Byzantine governor of Mystras, at the fortress of Saint George in Skorta in Arcadia. As a result of the battle, Arcadia, the heartland of the Morea, came firmly under Byzantine control.

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09/09/1141

Yelü Dashi, the Liao dynasty general who founded the Qara Khitai, defeats the Seljuq and Kara-Khanid forces at the Battle of Qatwan.

Yelü Dashi, courtesy name Zhongde (重德), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Dezong of Western Liao (西遼德宗), was the founder of the Western Liao dynasty. He initially ruled as king from 1124 to 1132, then as emperor and gurkhan from 1132 to 1143. He was also known in Muslim sources as Nūshī Taifū, Qushqin Taifū or Qushqīn, son of Baighū. A member of the imperial Yelü clan, he fled the Liao dynasty in northern China as it was on the verge of destruction by the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty and moved westward into Central Asia where he established a new empire.

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09/09/1000

Battle of Svolder during the Viking Age.

1000 (M) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar, the 1000th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 1000th and last year of the 1st millennium, the 100th and last year of the 10th century, and the 1st year of the 1000s decade. As of the start of 1000, the Gregorian calendar was 5 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which was the dominant calendar of the time.

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09/09/0337

Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans succeed their father Constantine I as co-emperors. The Roman Empire is divided between the three Augusti.

Year 337 (CCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Felicianus and Titianus. The denomination 337 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

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