September 11th in History

The Pentagon in flames moments after a hijacked jetliner crashed into building at approximately 0930 on September 11, 2001.

Today in History

  • Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan Island (1609)
  • The French Blue diamond, along with other French crown jewels, is stolen. It is subsequently cut into two pieces, one of them being the Hope Diamond. The whereabouts of the other piece is unknown (1792)
  • San Francisco’s BART rail system begins operation (1972)
  • Pete Rose breaks Ty Cobb’s record for most career hits (1985)
  • Terrorist attacks using hijacked airplanes bring down the World Trade Center towers in New York City and cause damage to the Pentagon in Washington, DC (2001)
  • Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever built, the “Father of All Bombs,” releasing the equivalent of 44 tons of TNT (2007)
  • The US embassy in Benghazi, Libya, is attacked (2012)

Birthdays

  • Carl Zeiss, lens maker (1816)
  • Dr. Hawley Crippen, physician and convicted murderer (1862)
  • O. Henry, short story writer (1862)
  • Felix Dzerzhinsky, head of the Soviet Secret Police (1877)
  • D. H. Lawrence, novelist (1885)
  • Alvar Lidell, English radio journalist (1808)
  • Bear Bryant, college football coach (1913)
  • Herbert Lom, actor (1917)
  • Ferdinand Marcos, Phillipines president (1917)
  • Tom Landry, football coach (1924)
  • Earl Holliman, actor (1928)
  • Jean-Claude Forest, illustrator (1930)
  • Gherman Titov, cosmonaut (1935)
  • Brian De Palma, filmmaker (1940)
  • Lola Falana, actress and dancer (1942)
  • Leo Kottke, musician (1945)
  • Kristy McNichol, actress (1962)
  • Moby, musician (1965)
  • Harry Connick, Jr., singer (1967)
  • Ludacris, rapper (1977)
  • Dyla Kiebold, spree killer at Columbine High School (1981)

Deaths

  • Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistani leader (1948)
  • Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet leader (1972)
  • Max Fleischer, animator (1972)
  • Salvador Allende, Chilean leader (1973)
  • Lois Lenski, children’s book author and illustrator (1974)
  • Lorne Greene, actor (1987)
  • Peter Tosh, reggae musician (1987)
  • Jessica Tandy, actress (1994)
  • Johnny Unitas, football player (2002)
  • Larry Gelbart, television producer (2009)
  • Harold Gould, actor (2010)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • 9-1-1 Emergency Day (US)
  • Auditor’s Day (Scientology)
  • Battle of Tendra Day (Russia)
  • Enkutatash (Ethiopia)
  • National Day (Catalonia, Spain)
  • National Hot Cross Bun Day (US)
  • Nayrouz (Coptic Orthodox Church)
  • Patriot Day (US)
  • Teacher’s Day (Argentina)

September 11 is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years). There are 111 days remaining until the end of the year.

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Between the years 1900 and 2099, September 11 is the leap day of the Coptic and Ethiopian calendars.  In all common years of the Coptic and Ethiopian calendars, September 11 is New Year’s Day.