September 14th in History

A Hungarian postage stamp commemorating the landing of Luna 2 on the Moon

Today in History

  • Handel completes the Messiah oratorio (1741)
  • Because of the conversion from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in the British Empire, eleven calendar days are skipped, meaning that yesterday was September 2 (1752)
  • Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon’s Grande Armée enters Moscow (1812)
  • Francis Scott Key composes his poem “Defence of Fort McHenry,” which become the lyrics to the US national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner” (1814)
  • The wonderfully named assassin Raoul Villain is killed by Spanish republicans for killing French socialist Jean Jaures (1936)
  • The Soviet probe Luna 2 becomes the first man-made object to reach (crash onto) the Moon (1959)
  • The Organization of Petroleum Exporting States (OPEC) is founded (1960)
  • September 14 becomes the first date drawn in the new US Selective Service System draft lottery (1969)
  • Elizabeth Ann Seton becomes the first American saint (1975)

Birthdays

  • Charles Dana Gibson, creator of the Gibson Girl (1867)
  • Margaret Sanger, birth control activist (1879)
  • Hal B. Wallis, film producer (1898)
  • Jack Hawkins, actor (1910)
  • Clayton Moore, actor known as the Lone Ranger (1914)
  • John Dobson, invented the Dobsonian telescope (1915)
  • Martin Caidin, author (1927)
  • Allan Bloom, philosopher (1930)
  • Harve Presnell, actor and singer (1933)
  • Kate Millett, feminist (1934)
  • Walter Koenig, actor known for playing Chekov on Star Trek (1936)
  • Joey Heatherton, dancer and actress (1944)
  • Fred “Sonic” Smith, guitarist and songwriter (1949)
  • Barry Cowsill, singer-songwriter (1954)
  • Geraldine Brooks, author (1955)
  • Wendy Thomas, namesake of the Wendy’s hamburger chain (1961)
  • Faith Ford, actress (1964)
  • Amy Winehouse, singer-songwriter (1983)

Deaths

  • Dante Alighieri, poet (1321)
  • John Harvard, namesake of Harvard University (1638)
  • Dom Pérignon, monk and champagne namesake (1715)
  • Aaron Burr, US vice president (1836)
  • James Fenimore Cooper, novelist (1851)
  • Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, defeated Napoleon at Waterloo (1852)
  • William McKinley, 25th US president, assassinated (1901)
  • Isadora Duncan, dancer and choreographer (1927)
  • Irving Thalberg, filmmaker (1936)
  • John Gardner, novelist (1982)
  • Grace Kelly, actress and Princess of Monaco (1982)
  • Janet Gaynor, actress (1984)
  • Juliet Prowse, actress and dancer (1996)
  • Dorothy McGuire, actress (2001)
  • LaWanda Page, actress (2002)
  • Robert Wise, filmmaker (2005)
  • Mickey Hargitay, bodybuilder and husband of Jayne Mansfield (2006)
  • Patrick Swayze, actor (2009)

Holidays and Observances

  • Engineer’s Day (Romania)
  • Hindi Divas (Hindi-speaking regions)
  • Mobilized Servicemen Day (Ukraine)
  • National Kreme Filled Donut Day (US)
  • San Jacinto Day (Nicaragua)

September 14 is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years). There are 108 days remaining until the end of the year.