September 61819 - Thomas Blanchard patented a machine called the lathe. 1837 - The Oberlin Collegiate Institute of Ohio went co-educational. 1876 - The Southern Pacific rail line from Los Angeles to San Francisco was completed. 1899 - Carnation processed its first can of evaporated milk. 1901 - U.S. President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded (he died eight days later) by Leon Czolgosz. Czolgosz, an American anarchist, was executed the following October. 1909 - Robert Peary, American explorer, sent word that he had reached the North Pole. He had reached his goal five months earlier. 1939 - South Africa declared war on Germany. 1941 - Jews in German-occupied areas were ordered to wear the Star of David with the word "Jew" inscribed. The order only applied to Jews over the age of 6. 1943 - The youngest player to appear in an American League baseball game was pitcher Carl Scheib of the Philadelphia Athletics. Scheib was 16 years, eight months and five days old. 1944 - During World War II, the British government relaxed blackout restrictions and suspended compulsory training for the Home Guard. 1948 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands was crowned. 1952 - In Montreal, Canadian television began broadcasting. 1972 - Rick DeMont lost the gold medal he received in a 400-meter swimming event because a banned drug was found in his system during routine drug testing. 1975 - Martina Navratilova requested political asylum while in New York for the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament. 1978 - James Wickwire and Louis Reichardt reached the top of the world's second largest mountain, Pakistan's K-2. They were the first Americans to reach the summit. 1990 - Iraq warned that anyone trying to flee the country without permission would be put in prison for life. 1991 - The State Council of the Soviet Union recognized the independence of the Baltic states. 1991 - The name St. Petersburg was restored to Russia's second largest city. The city was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great. The name has been changed to Petrograd (1914) and to Leningrad (1924). 1992 - A 35-year old man died ten weeks after receiving a transplanted baboon liver. 1993 - Renault of France and Volvo of Sweden announced they were merging. Volvo eventually canceled the deal the following December. 1995 - U.S. Senator Bob Packwood was expelled by the Senate Ethics Committee. 1995 - Cal Ripken played his 2,131st consecutive game setting a new record. Lou Gehrig previously held the record. 1996 - Eddie Murray (Baltimore Orioles) hit his 500th career home run during a game against the Detroit Tigers. He was only the third person to have at least 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. 2000 - The U.N. Millennium Summit began in New York. It was the largest gathering of world leaders in history with more than 150 present. 2001 - The U.S. Justice Department announced that it was seeking a lesser antitrust penalty and would not attempt to break up Microsoft. 2001 - Ebay Inc. was found not liable for copyright infringement because bootleg copies of a Charles Manson documentary had been sold on their site. 2002 - In New York, the U.S. Congress convened at Federal Hall for a rare special session. The session was held in New York to express the nation's mourning for the loss on September 11, 2001 and unity in the war against terrorism. 2002 - At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the exhibition "George Catlin and His Indian Gallery" went on view. The exhibit contained over 400 objects. 2008 - The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) would be placed in government conservatorship. |