Sorry I've been slacking, a lot going on the home front.
September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 107 days remaining until the end of the year.
Today in history
668 – Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse, Italy.
921 – At Tetin Saint Ludmila is murdered at the command of her daughter-in-law.
1556 – Departing from Vlissingen, ex-Holy Roman Emperor Charles V returns to Spain.
1584 – San Lorenzo del Escorial Palace in Madrid is finished.
1616 – The first 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 United States 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.
1820 – Constitutionalist revolution in Lisbon, Portugal.
1821 – Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica jointly declare independence from Spain.
1830 – The Liverpool to Manchester railway line opens.
1831 – The locomotive John Bull operates for the first time in New Jersey on the Camden and Amboy Railroad.
1835 – HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galápagos Islands.
1851 – Saint Joseph's University is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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.
1883 – The Bombay Natural History Society is founded in Bombay (now Mumbai), India.
1894 – First Sino-Japanese War: Japan defeats China in the Battle of Pyongyang.
1916 – World War I: Tanks are used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme.
1928 – Tich Freeman becomes the only bowler to take 300 wickets in an English cricket season.
1931 – In Scotland, the two-day Invergordon Mutiny against Royal Navy pay cuts begins.
1935 – The Nuremberg Laws deprive German Jews of citizenship.
1935 – Nazi Germany adopts a new national flag with the swastika.
1940 – World War II: The climax of the Battle of Britain, when the Royal Air Force shoots down large numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft.
1942 – World War II: U.S. 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.
1945 – A hurricane in southern Florida and the Bahamas destroys 366 planes and 25 blimps at NAS Richmond.
1947 – RCA releases the 12AX7 vacuum tube.
1947 – Typhoon Kathleen hit the Kanto Region in Japan killing 1,077.
1948 – The F-86 Sabre sets the world aircraft speed record at 671 miles per hour (1,080 km/h).
1950 – Korean War: United States forces land at Incheon
1952 – United Nations gives Eritrea to Ethiopia.
1958 – A Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train runs through an open drawbridge at the Newark Bay, killing 58.
1959 – Nikita Khrushchev becomes the first Soviet leader to visit the United States.
1961 – Hurricane Carla strikes Texas with winds of 175 miles per hour.
1962 – The Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis.
1963 – The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing: Four children killed at an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama, United States
1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, writes a letter to Congress urging the enactment of gun control legislation.
1968 – The Soviet Zond 5 spaceship is launched, becoming the first spacecraft to fly around the Moon and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.
1972 – An Scandinavian Airlines System domestic flight from Gothenburg to Stockholm is hijacked and flown to Malmö-Bulltofta Airport.
1974 – Air Vietnam flight 727 is hijacked, then crashes while attempting to land with 75 on board.
1975 – The French département of Corse (the entire island of Corsica) is divided into two: Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud.
1981 – The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
1981 – The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operates it under its own power outside Washington, D.C.
1981 – Vanuatu becomes a member of the United Nations.
1983 – Israeli premier Menachem Begin resigns.
1987 – United States Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze sign a treaty to establish centers to reduce the risk of nuclear war.
1990 – France announces it will send 4,000 troops to the Persian Gulf
1993 – Liechtenstein Prince Hans-Adam II disbands Parliament
1998 – With the landmark merger of WorldCom and MCI Communications completed the day prior, the new MCI WorldCom opens its doors for business.
2004 – National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman announces lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office.
2008 – Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.
Births
1254 – Marco Polo, Italian explorer (d. 1324)
1533 – Catherine of Austria, queen consort of Poland and Lithuania (d. 1572)
1580 – Charles Annibal Fabrot, French lawyer (d. 1659)
1613 – François de La Rochefoucauld, French writer (d. 1680)
1649 – Titus Oates, English minister and plotter (d. 1705)
1666 – Princess Sophia Dorothea of Celle (d. 1726)
1715 – Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval, French artillery specialist (d. 1789)
1760 – Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien, Prussian general of the Napoleonic Wars (d. 1824)
1789 – James Fenimore Cooper, American novelist (d. 1851)
1828 – Aleksandr Mikhailovich Butlerov, Russian chemist (d. 1886)
1830 – Porfirio Díaz, President of Mexico (d. 1915)
1852 – Edward Bouchet, American physicist (d. 1918)
1857 – William Howard Taft, 27th President of the United States (d. 1930)
1858 – Jenő Hubay, Hungarian violinist (d. 1937)
1860 – Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya, Indian engineer (d. 1962)
1863 – Horatio Parker, American composer (d. 1919)
1864 – Prince Sigismund of Prussia (d. 1866)
1867 – Vladimir May-Mayevsky, Russian counter-revolutionary (d. 1920)
1876 – Bruno Walter, German conductor (d. 1962)
1876 – Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian novelist (d. 1938)
1877 – Jakob Ehrlich, Austrian politician and zionist (d. 1938)
1879 – Joseph Lyons, 10th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1939)
1881 – Ettore Bugatti, Italian automobile engineer and designer (d. 1947)
1883 – Esteban Terradas i Illa, Spanish mathematician and engineer (d. 1950)
1887 – Carlos Dávila, former President of Chile (d. 1955)
1888 – Antonio Ascari, Italian racing driver (d. 1925)
1889 – Robert Benchley, American author (d. 1945)
1890 – Agatha Christie, English writer (d. 1976)
1890 – Frank Martin, Swiss composer (d. 1974)
1892 – Silpa Bhirasri, Italian sculptor (d. 1962)
1894 – Jean Renoir, French film director (d. 1979)
1894 – Oskar Klein, Swedish physicist (d. 1977)
1895 – Magda Lupescu, consort of King Carol II of Romania (d. 1977)
1895 – Charles "Chic" Harley, American football player (d. 1974)
1898 – J. Slauerhoff, Dutch poet and novelist (d. 1936)
1901 – Sir Donald Bailey, British engineer (d. 1985)
1903 – Roy Acuff, American country musician (d. 1992)
1904 – King Umberto II of Italy (d. 1983)
1906 – Jacques Becker, French screenwriter and director (d. 1960)
1907 – Gunnar Ekelöf, Swedish poet and writer (d. 1968)
1907 – Fay Wray, Canadian-born American actress (d. 2004)
1908 – Penny Singleton, American actress (d. 2003)
1909 – C.N.Annadurai, Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (d. 1969)
1910 – Betty Neels, English novelist (d. 2001)
1911 – Karsten Solheim, Norwegian-born American golf entrepreneur (d. 2000)
1913 – John N. Mitchell, United States Attorney General and Watergate figure (d. 1988)
1913 – Johannes Steinhoff, German fighter pilot & NATO commander (d. 1994)
1914 – Creighton Abrams, American Army general (d. 1974)
1914 – Adolfo Bioy Casares, Argentine writer (d. 1999)
1914 – Orhan Kemal, Turkish writer (d. 1970)
1915 – Albert Whitlock, English motion picture matte artist (d. 1999)
1915 – Ismail Yasin, Egyptian comedian and actor (d. 1972)
1915 – José Nicomedes Grossi, Brazilian bishop (d. 2009)
1916 – Margaret Lockwood, English actress (d. 1990)
1916 – Frederick C. Weyand, Former U.S. Army General
1918 – Nipsey Russell, American comedian (d. 2005)
1919 – Fausto Coppi, Italian racing cyclist (d. 1960)
1919 – Nelson Gidding, American screenwriter (d. 2004)
1921 – Norma MacMillan, Canadian actress (d. 2001)
1922 – Jackie Cooper, American actor and director
1922 – Bob Anderson (fencer), English sword-master
1923 – Anton Heiller, Austrian organist (d. 1979)
1924 – Bobby Short, American musician (d. 2005)
1925 – Helle Virkner, Danish actress (d. 2009)
1925 – Stanley Chapman, British architect, designer, translator and writer (d. 2009)
1926 – Jean-Pierre Serre, French mathematician
1926 – Shohei Imamura, Japanese film director (d. 2006)
1927 – David Stove, Australian philosopher, (d. 1994)
1928 – Cannonball Adderley, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1975)
1929 – Eva Burrows, the 13th General of The Salvation Army
1929 – Murray Gell-Mann, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1933 – Henry Darrow, American actor
1933 – Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Spanish conductor
1934 – Fred Nile, Australian politician
1937 – Robert Lucas, Jr., American economist, Nobel laureate
1937 – Fernando de la Rúa, 51st President of Argentina
1938 – Gaylord Perry, baseball player
1940 – Merlin Olsen, American football player and actor
1940 – Norman Spinrad, American science fiction author
1941 – Flórián Albert, Hungarian footballer
1941 – Signe Toly Anderson, American singer
1941 – Mirosław Hermaszewski, Polish cosmonaut
1941 – Yuri Norstein, Russian animator
1941 – Viktor Zubkov, Russian government official
1942 – Lee Dorman, American Bassist
1944 – Sotirios Hatzigakis, Greek politician
1945 – Hans-Gert Pöttering, German politician, President of the European Parliament.
1945 – Carmen Maura, Spanish actress
1945 – Jessye Norman, American opera singer
1945 – Ron Shelton, American film director
1946 – Ola Brunkert, Swedish session drummer for ABBA (d. 2008)
1946 – Tommy Lee Jones, American actor
1946 – Oliver Stone, American film director
1946 – Howard Waldrop, American science fiction author
1946 – Mike Procter, South African cricketer, coach and match referee
1947 – Theodore Long, American professional wrestling manager
1949 – Joe Barton, American politician
1951 – Pete Carroll, American football coach
1951 – Johan Neeskens, Dutch footballer
1954 – Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor (d. 2007)
1955 – Željka Antunović, Croatian politician
1955 – Renzo Rosso, Italian clothing designer
1955 – Bruce Reitherman, American voice actor
1956 – Jaki Graham, English singer
1956 – Maggie Reilly, Scottish folk singer
1958 – Dr. Know, American guitarist (Bad Brains)
1958 – Joel Quenneville, Canadian ice hockey player
1958 – Wendie Jo Sperber, American actress (d. 2005)
1960 – Kevin Allen, Welsh actor
1960 – Ed Solomon, American screenwriter
1961 – Terry Lamb, Australian rugby league footballer
1961 – Dan Marino, American football player
1962 – Dina Lohan, American actress and reality television star, mother of Lindsay Lohan
1962 – Scott McNeil, Australian voice actor
1964 – Róbert Fico, Slovak Prime minister
1964 – Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, American musician,The Misfits
1968 – Danny Nucci, American actor
1969 – Jim Curtiss, American writer
1969 – David Ryon, American Politcian
1969 – Jeffrey Schwarz, American film director/producer
1971 – Nathan Astle, New Zealand cricketer
1971 – Josh Charles, American actor
1971 – Ben Wallers, English musician and songwriter (Country Teasers)
1972 – Jimmy Carr, English comedian
1972 – Kit Chan, Singaporean singer
1972 – Letizia, Princess of Asturias, Spanish royalty
1973 – Julie Cox, English actress
1976 – Paul Thomson, Scottish drummer (Franz Ferdinand)
1976 – Matt Thornton, American baseball player
1977 – Angela Aki, Japanese singer-songwriter
1977 – Sophie Dahl, English model
1977 – Tom Hardy, English actor
1977 – Leander Jordan, American football player
1977 – Marisa Ramirez, American actress
1977 – Jason Terry, American basketball player
1978 – Eiður Guðjohnsen, Icelandic footballer
1979 – Dave Annable, American actor
1979 – Amy Davidson, American actress
1979 – Patrick Marleau, Canadian ice hockey player
1979 – Carlos Ruiz, Guatemalan footballer
1980 – David Diehl, American football player
1980 – Mike Dunleavy, Jr., American basketball player
1980 – Jolin Tsai, Taiwanese pop singer
1983 – Luke Hochevar, American baseball player
1984 – Prince Harry of Wales, UK royalty
1987 – Aly Cissokho, French footballer
1988 – Chelsea Staub, American actress
1989 – Steliana Nistor, Romanian gymnast
1989 – Kris Chetan Ramlu, New Zealand musician
Deaths
668 – Constans II, Byzantine emperor (b. 630)
866 – Robert the Strong, Margrave of Neustria (b. 820)
1231 – Louis I, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1173)
1352 – Ewostatewos, Ethiopian monk and religious leader (b. 1273)
1500 – John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1420)
1596 – Leonhard Rauwolf, German physician and botanist
1613 – Thomas Overbury, English writer (b. 1581)
1643 – Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, Irish politician (b. 1566)
1649 – John Floyd, English Jesuit preacher (b. 1572)
1700 – André Le Nôtre, French landscape architect (b. 1613)
1701 – Edmé Boursault, French writer (b. 1638)
1707 – George Stepney, English poet and diplomat (b. 1663)
1712 – Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin, English politician
1750 – Charles Theodore Pachelbel, German composer (b. 1690)
1794 – Abraham Clark, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1725)
1803 – Gian Francesco Albani, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1719)
1830 – William Huskisson, first rail fatality (b. 1770)
1835 – Sarah Knox Taylor, wife of Jefferson Davis (b. 1814)
1842 – Pierre Baillot, French violinist and composer (b. 1771)
1842 – José Francisco Morazán Quezada, President of The Federal Republic of Central America (b. 1792)
1859 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel, British engineer (b. 1806)
1864 – John Hanning Speke, British explorer (b. 1827)
1883 – Joseph Plateau, Belgian physicist (b. 1801)
1885 – Jumbo, P. T. Barnum's circus elephant (hit by a train) (b. 1861)
1893 – Thomas Hawksley, English civil engineer (b. 1807)
1921 – Roman Ungern von Sternberg, Russian counter-revolutionary (b. 1886)
1926 – Rudolf Christoph Eucken, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1846)
1930 – Milton Sills, American actor (b. 1882)
1945 – André Tardieu, Prime Minister of France (b. 1876)
1945 – Anton Webern, Austrian composer (b. 1883)
1965 – Steve Brown, American musician (b. 1890)
1972 – Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1887)
1973 – Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden (b. 1882)
1973 – Victor Jara, Chilean musician (b. 1941)
1978 – Willy Messerschmitt, German aircraft designer (b. 1898)
1978 – Robert Cliche, French Canadian politician and judge (b. 1921)
1980 – Bill Evans, American jazz pianist (b. 1929)
1981 – Harold Bennett, English actor (b. 1899)
1981 – Rafael Mendez, Mexican trumpet virtuoso (b. 1906)
1983 – Prince Far I, reggae toaster and producer
1985 – Cootie Williams, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1910)
1987 – Steven Tuomi, murder victim of Jeffery Dahmer (b. 1963)
1989 – Robert Penn Warren, American writer (b. 1905)
1991 – John Hoyt, American actor (b. 1904)
1993 – Ethan Allen, American baseball player (b. 1903)
1995 – Harry Calder, South African cricketer (b. 1901)
2000 – Vincent Canby, American movie critic (b. 1924)
2003 – Jack Brymer, English clarinetist (b. 1915)
2003 – Josef Hirsal, Czech novelist (b. 1920)
2004 – Johnny Ramone, American guitarist (The Ramones) (b. 1948)
2004 – Walter Stewart, Canadian journalist (b. 1931)
2005 – Sidney Luft, American film director (b. 1915)
2006 – Raymond Baxter, British television presenter (b. 1922)
2006 – Oriana Fallaci, Italian journalist and writer (b. 1929)
2006 – Pablo Santos, Mexican actor (b. 1987)
2007 – Colin McRae, Scottish rally driver (b. 1968)
2007 – Aldemaro Romero, Venezuelan musician (b. 1928)
2007 – Brett Somers, Canadian-born American actress and Match Game panelist (b. 1924)
2007 – Sir Jeremy Moore, the commander of the British land forces during the Falklands War (b. 1928)
2008 – Richard Wright, keyboardist and founding member of Pink Floyd (b. 1943)
2009 – Nicu Constantin, Romanian actor (b. 1939), Patrick Swayze, American actor (b. 1952)
Holidays and observances
International Day of Democracy.
In ancient Greece, the second day of the Eleusinian Mysteries, when the priests of Demeter declared the public start of the rites.
Catholic Calendar of Saints – Feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows, Catherine of Genoa, Joseph Abibos, Saint Nicomedes, Roland de Medici
Also see September 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).
The United Kingdom – the British commemorate the Battle of Britain on the day of the last massive Luftwaffe attack in 1940.
Japan – Respect for the Aged Day before 2003; beginning in 2003, Respect for the Aged Day is held on the third Monday of September.
Thailand – Silpa Bhirasri Day.
In India Engineer's Day celebrated on birthday of Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya.
Slovenia – Restoration of Primorska to the Motherland Day
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica – Independence Day
