On this Day in History - September 11 Anniversary of the Attacks on America

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Sep 11, 2001: Attack on America   

At 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors. As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767--United Airlines Flight 175--appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade Center, and sliced into the south tower at about the 60th floor. The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and the streets below. America was under attack.  

The attackers were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and several other Arab nations. Reportedly financed by Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist organization, they were allegedly acting in retaliation for America's support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian Gulf War, and its continued military presence in the Middle East. Some of the terrorists had lived in the United States for more than a year and had taken flying lessons at American commercial flight schools. Others had slipped into the U.S. in the months before September 11 and acted as the "muscle" in the operation. The 19 terrorists easily smuggled box-cutters and knives through security at three East Coast airports and boarded four flights bound for California, chosen because the planes were loaded with fuel for the long transcontinental journey. Soon after takeoff, the terrorists commandeered the four planes and took the controls, transforming the ordinary commuter jets into guided missiles.  

As millions watched in horror the events unfolding in New York, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown Washington and slammed into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 9:45 a.m. Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a devastating inferno that led to a structural collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building. All told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon along with all 64 people aboard the airliner.  

Less than 15 minutes after the terrorists struck the nerve center of the U.S. military, the horror in New York took a catastrophic turn for the worse when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke. The structural steel of the skyscraper, built to withstand winds in excess of 200 mph and a large conventional fire, could not withstand the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel. At 10:30 a.m., the other Trade Center tower collapsed. Close to 3,000 people died in the World Trade Center and its vicinity, including a staggering 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers, and 37 Port Authority police officers who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings and save the office workers trapped on higher floors. Only six people in the World Trade Center towers at the time of their collapse survived. Almost 10,000 other people were treated for injuries, many severe.

Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane--United Flight 93--was hijacked about 40 minutes after leaving Newark International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane had been delayed in taking off, passengers on board learned of events in New York and Washington via cell phone and Airfone calls to the ground. Knowing that the aircraft was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed, a group of passengers and flight attendants planned an insurrection. One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett, Jr., told his wife over the phone that "I know we're all going to die. There's three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey." Another passenger--Todd Beamer--was heard saying "Are you guys ready? Let's roll" over an open line. Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she had slipped into a galley and was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were "Everyone's running to first class. I've got to go. Bye."  

The passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected to have attacked the cockpit with a fire extinguisher. The plane then flipped over and sped toward the ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field in western Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m. All 45 people aboard were killed. Its intended target is not known, but theories include the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, or one of several nuclear power plants along the eastern seaboard.  

At 7 p.m., President George W. Bush, who had spent the day being shuttled around the country because of security concerns, returned to the White House. At 9 p.m., he delivered a televised address from the Oval Office, declaring "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve." In a reference to the eventual U.S. military response he declared: "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."  

Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led international effort to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and destroy Osama bin Laden's terrorist network based there, began on October 7, 2001. Bin Laden was killed during a raid of his compound in Pakistan by U.S. forces on May 2, 2011.      


Today

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends.

506 - The bishops of Visigothic Gaul meet in the Council of Agde.

813 - Charles the Great crowns Louis I emperor

1185 - Isaac II Angelus kills Stephanus Hagiochristophorites and then appeals to the people, resulting in the revolt that deposes Andronicus I Comnenus and places Isaac on the throne of the Byzantine Empire.

1226 - The Roman Catholic practice of public adoration of the Blessed Sacrament outside of Mass spreads from monasteries to parishes.

1297 - Battle at Stirling Bridge, Scottish rebel William Wallace beats English

1304 - Willem III becomes earl of Holland

1390 - Lithuanian Civil War (1389-1392): the Teutonic Knights begin a five-week siege of Vilnius.

1541 - Santiago, Chile, is destroyed by indigenous warriors, lead by Michimalonko.

1557 - Catholic & Lutheran theology debated in Worm

1609 - Expulsion order announced against the Moriscos of Valencia; beginning of the expulsion of all Spain's Moriscos.

1645 - Thomas Fairfax' New Model-army occupies Bristol

1648 - -13] Battle at Pilawce: Bohdan Chmielricki's beats John Casimir [OS]

1649 - Massacre of Drogheda, Ireland - Oliver Cromwell kills 3,000 royalists

1697 - Battle at Zenta: Prince Eugen van Savoye beats Turkish superior power

1708 - Charles XII of Sweden stops his march to conquer Moscow outside Smolensk, marking the turning point in the Great Northern War. The army is defeated nine months later in the Battle of Poltava, and the Swedish empire is no longer a major power.

1709 - Battle at Malplaquet during War of the Spanish Succession: Engl/Aust/Dutch Great Alliance beat France

1714 - French & Spanish troops under duke of Berwick occupy Barcelona

1741 - Queen Maria Theresa addresses Hungarian Parliament

Scottish Patriot William WallaceScottish Patriot William Wallace 1758 - Battle of Saint Cast France repels British invasion during the Seven Year's War.

1773 - Benjamin Franklin writes "There never was a good war or bad peace"

1777 - Battle of Brandywine, Pa; Americans lose to British

1786 - Annapolis Convention to determine interstate commerce

1789 - Alexander Hamilton appointed 1st Secretary of Treasury

1792 - The Hope Diamond is stolen with other crown jewels when six men break into house used to store the jewels.

1802 - France annexes the Kingdom of Piedmont.

1814 - Battle of Lake Champlain, NY; American Navy defeats British

1831 - Charles Darwin meets with capt Fitzroy at Plymouth

1839 - 1st Canadian track & field meet held (Caer Howell Grounds)

1847 - 1st singing of Stephen Fosters "Susanna" (in Pittsburgh)

1850 - "Swedish Nightingale" Jenny Lind gives 1st US concert

1852 - Olympia Columbian is 1st newspaper published north of Columbia R

1853 - 1st electric telegraph used (Merchant's Exchange to Pt Lobos)

1857 - Mountain Meadows Massacre, Mormons dressed as Indians murder 120 colonists in Utah

Naturalist Charles DarwinNaturalist Charles Darwin 1875 - 1st newspaper cartoon strip

1877 - Rijkslandbouwhoge school opens in Wageningen

1881 - Triple landslides bury Elm Switz

1883 - James Cutler patents postal mail chute

1885 - Moses Hopkins, named minister to Liberia

1886 - Mayflower (US) beats Galatea (England) in 7th America's Cup

1888 - Death of the Argentine politician Domingo Sarmiento, after whom the Latin American Teacher's Day is chosen.

1889 - Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "Crooked Man" (BG)

1891 - The Jewish Colonization Association is established by Baron Maurice de Hirsch.

1893 - Bronx Gas & Electric Company opens on Frisby & Tremont Ave

1893 - Shaku Soen is 1st Zen teacher to visit the West (Chicago)

1893 - First conference of the World Parliament of Religions is held.

1895 - FA Cup stolen in Birmingham

1897 - After months of pursuit, generals of Menelik II of Ethiopia capture Gaki Sherocho, the last king of Kaffa, bringing an end to that ancient kingdom.

1900 - President Kruger crosses border with Mozambique

1903 - The first race at The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin is held. It is the oldest major speedway in the world.

Pacifist and Spiritual Leader Mahatma GandhiPacifist and Spiritual Leader Mahatma Gandhi 1906 - Mahatma Gandhi coins the term "Satyagraha" to characterize the Non-Violence movement in South Africa.

1909 - Max Wolf rediscovers Halley's comet

1910 - 1st commercially successful electric bus line opens (Hollywood)

1912 - Netherland Olympic Committee forms

1912 - Phila A's Eddie Collins steals 6 bases in 1 game

1914 - William Christopher Handy publishes "St Louis Blues"

1914 - Australia invades New Britain, defeating a German contingent there.

1916 - German troops conquer Kavalla Greece

1916 - The Quebec Bridge's central span collapses, killing 11 men. The bridge initially collapsed in toto on August 29, 1907.

1918 - Boston Red Sox beat Chicago Cubs, 4 games to 2 in 15th World Series

1919 - US marines invade Honduras

1921 - Nahalal, the first moshav in Israel, is settled.

1922 - British mandate of Palestine begins

1922 - Yankees play their farewell home game in Polo Grounds win doubleheader

1922 - The Treaty of Kars is ratified in Yerevan, Armenia.

1922 - One of the Herald Sun of Melbourne, Australia's predecessor papers The Sun News-Pictorial is founded.

1923 - After a single, Red Sox Howard Ehmke retires next 27 Yanks

1923 - Bernie Neis, hits the 1,000th Dodger home run

1923 - ZR-1 (biggest active dirigible) flies over NY's tallest skyscraper, Woolworth Tower

1926 - 21st Davis Cup: USA beats France in Philadelphia (4-1)

1926 - Aloha Tower dedicated in Honolulu

1926 - Spain leaves League of Nation due to Germany joining

1926 - US defeats France for their 7th straight Davis Cup championship

1926 - Yanks' Bob Meusel ties record with 3 sacrifice flies

1927 - After losing 21 in a row to NY, the Browns win their last meeting, 6-2

Baseball Great Babe RuthBaseball Great Babe Ruth 1927 - Babe Ruth hits 50th of 60 homers

1928 - 1st TV drama-WGY's Queens Messenger

1928 - Ty Cobb last hitting appearance, pops out against Yankees

1929 - SF Mayor Rolph inaugurates new pedestrian traffic light system

1930 - Stomboli volcano (Sicily) throws 2-ton basaltic rocks 2 miles

1931 - Salvatore Maranzano is murdered by Charles Luciano's hitmen.

1932 - Franciszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura, Polish Challenge 1932 winners, are killed in a plane crash when their RWD 6 crashes into the ground during a storm.

1933 - Britain's Fred Perry thwarts Australian Jack Crawford's bid for a Grand Slam by defeating him at US Tennis championship

1935 - 49th US Womens Tennis: H H Jacobs beats Sarah H Palfrey Fabyan (62 64)

1935 - US captures Davis Cup for 7th straight year

1936 - A's pitcher Horace Lisenbee gives up 26 hits in a game

1936 - FDR dedicates Boulder Dam, now known as Hoover Dam

1937 - 51st US Womens Tennis: Anita Lizana beats Jadwiga Jedrzejowska (64 62)

1937 - 57th US Mens Tennis: J D Budge beats G v Cramm (61 79 61 36 61)

1939 - Battle of Kutno-pocket: Germans advance to Warsaw

32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1939 - British submarine Triton torpedoes British submarine Oxley

1939 - Iraq & Saudi Arabia declare war on nazi-Germany

1940 - -12] Buckingham Palace destroyed by German bombs

1940 - 54th Postmaster General: Frank C Walker of Pa takes office

1940 - Anton Mussert establishes Dutch SS

1940 - Buckingham Palace in London destroyed by German bombs

1940 - Hitler begins operation-Seelöwe (aborted invasion England)

1940 - George Stibitz pioneers the first remote operation of a computer.

1941 - FDR orders any Axis ship found in American waters be shot on sight

1941 - Charles Lindbergh, charges "British, Jewish & Roosevelt administration" are trying to get US into WW II

1941 - World War II: The U.S. Navy is ordered to attack German U-boats.

1941 - Construction of the Pentagon begins (completed 15 Jan 1943)

1942 - Transport nr 31 departs with French Jews to nazi-Germany

1943 - Allied arm forces conquerors Salerno

1943 - Jewish ghettos of Minsk & Lida Belorussia liquidated

Aviator Charles LindberghAviator Charles Lindbergh 1943 - Last German Q/pirate ship sinks near Easter Island

1943 - US & Australian troops join in Salamaua, New Guinea

1944 - FDR & Churchill meet in Canada at 2nd Quebec Conference

1944 - US 5th Armored Division is 1st allied force to enter nazi-Germany

1946 - 1st mobile long-distance car-to-car telephone conversation

1950 - "Beetle Bailey" comic strip debuts

1950 - 1st typesetting machine to dispense with metal type exhibited

1950 - 33 die in a train crash in Coshocton Ohio

1950 - Dick Tracy TV show sparks uproar concerning violence

1951 - Stravinsky's opera "Rake's Progress," premieres in Venice

1951 - Florence Chadwick becomes 1st woman to swim English Channel from England to France. It takes 16 hours & 19 minutes

1952 - West German Chancellor Adenauer signs a reparation pact for Jews

1953 - KSBW TV channel 8 in Salinas-Monterey, CA (NBC) begins broadcasting

1953 - WEHT TV channel 25 in Evansville, IN (CBS) begins broadcasting

1954 - 1st Miss America TV broadcast

Swimmer Florence ChadwickSwimmer Florence Chadwick 1954 - 20.4 cm rainfall at Brunswick, Maine (state record)

1954 - KXJB TV channel 4 in Valley City (Fargo) (NBC) begins broadcasting

1954 - Lee Meriwether (California), 19, crowned 27th Miss America 1955 (1st on TV)

1955 - 69th US Womens Tennis: Doris Hart beats Patricia Ward (64 62)

1955 - 75th US Mens Tennis: Tony Trabert beats Ken Rosewall beats (97 63 63)

1955 - KTVT TV channel 11 in Fort Worth-Dallas, TX (IND) begins broadcasting

1955 - Dedication of the first Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Europe, the Bern Switzerland Temple.

1956 - Cin Red Frank Robinson ties rookie record with his 38th HR

1956 - Vladimir Kuts runs world record 10k (28:42.8)

1956 - Yanks Yogi Berra ties career record for HRs (236) by a catcher

1958 - Great Britain performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island

1959 - "Duke" Ellington wins Springarn Medal for his musical achievements

1959 - Congress passes a bill authorizing food stamps for poor Americans

1959 - Elroy Face's 22 game win streak ends as Dodgers beat Pirates 5-4

1959 - Oriole Jerry Walker pitches 16 inn beating White Sox 1-0

1960 - 17th Olympic games close in Rome Italy

1960 - 74th US Womens Tennis: Darlene R Hard beats Maria Fraser (64 1012 64)

1960 - 80th US Mens Tennis: Neale A Fraser beats Rodney G Laver (64 64 97)

1960 - The Young Americans for Freedom, meeting at home of William F. Buckley, Jr., promulgate the Sharon Statement.

Singer-Songwriter Bob DylanSinger-Songwriter Bob Dylan 1961 - Bob Dylan's 1st NY performance

1961 - Foundation of the World Wildlife Fund.

1962 - Beatles cut "Love Me Do" & "PS I Love You" with Andy White on drums

1962 - Drummer Ringo Starr replaces Pete Best of the Beatles

1962 - KVCR TV channel 24 in San Bernardino, CA (PBS) begins broadcasting

1963 - Typhoon Gloria strikes Taiwan killing 330, with $17.5 million damage

1964 - George Harrison forms Mornyork Ltd music publishing company

1964 - Gillette's 20 year contract with Madison Square Garden & ABC to televise fights for free ends as Dick Tiger defeats Don Fullmer at Cleve Auditorium

1965 - Beatles' "Help!," album goes #1 & stays #1 for 9 weeks

1965 - Braves 2nd straight one-hitter against the Mets

1965 - The 1st Cavalry Division of the United States Army arrives in Vietnam.

1966 - 80th US Womens Tennis: M Esther Bueno-Fraiser beats N Richey (63 61)

1966 - 86th US Mens Tennis: Fred Stolle beats John Newcombe (46 12-10 63 64)

1966 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island

1966 - Johnny Miller becomes 1st Yank to hit a HR on his 1st at bat

Beatles Drummer Ringo StarrBeatles Drummer Ringo Starr 1966 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Pacific Ladies' Golf Classic

1966 - Rolling Stones perform on Ed Sullivan Show

1967 - A's drop grievance filed with Natl Labor Relations against C Finley

1967 - Beatles' Magical Mystery Bus driven around England

1967 - French president De Gaulle visits Poland

1967 - Indian/Chinese border fights

1967 - US Surveyor 5 makes 1st chemical analysis of lunar material

1967 - WSRE TV channel 23 in Pensacola, FL (PBS) begins broadcasting

1967 - WUNE TV channel 17 in Linville, NC (PBS) begins broadcasting

1967 - WUNF TV channel 33 in Asheville, NC (PBS) begins broadcasting

1967 - WUNG TV channel 58 in Concord, NC (PBS) begins broadcasting

1968 - Air France Flight 1611 crashes off Nice, France, killing 89 passengers and 6 crew.

1969 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1970 - 88 of the hostages from the Dawson's Field hijackings are released. The remaining hostages, mostly Jews and Israeli citizens, are held until September 25.

1970 - The Ford Pinto is introduced.

1971 - "2 by 2" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 343 performances

1971 - Egypt adopts its constitution

1971 - Laurel Lea Schaefer (Ohio), 22, crowned 44th Miss America 1972

1971 - The Egyptian Constitution becomes official.

1972 - BART begins service with a 26-mi (42-km) line from Oakland to Fremont

1973 - Chile's President, Salvador Allende, deposed in a military coup

1974 - Cards beat Mets, 4-3, in 25 (7h4m), record 202 plate appearances, Félix Millán & John Milner come to bat 12 times each

1976 - Dorothy Kathleen Benham (Minn), 20, crowned 49th Miss America 1977

1976 - Minnie Minoso bats for White Sox after a 12-year hiatus (hitless)

1976 - 90th US Womens Tennis: C E L Mills beats E Goolagong Cawley (63 60) Evonne Goolagong loses her 4th straight US Open Final (Evert wins)

Actress Mary Tyler MooreActress Mary Tyler Moore 1977 - 29th Emmy Awards: Mary Tyler Moore Show, Carroll O'Conner & Bea Arthur

1977 - 97th US Mens Tennis: Guillermo Vilas beats Jimmy Connors (26 63 75 60)

1977 - Joanne Carner wins LPGA National Jewish Hospital Golf Open

1977 - TV's Rhoda gets divorced

1980 - Chile adopts its constitution

1980 - Ron LeFlore (91st) & Rodney Scott (58th), set teammate steal record

1981 - 2nd government of Agt forms

1982 - 96th US Womens Tennis: C E L Mills beats Hana Mandlikova (63 61)

1982 - Debbie Maffett (California), 25, crowned 55th Miss America 1983

1982 - Chris Evert wins her 6th & final US Open Tennis match at West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills NY

1983 - 103rd US Mens Tennis: Jimmy Connors beats Ivan Lendl (63 67 75 60)

1983 - Franco Harris becomes 3rd NFL to rush 11,000 yards

1983 - Joanne Carner wins LPGA Portland Ping Golf Championship

1983 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1985 - Flyby of Comet Giacobini-Zinner

1985 - Intl Cometary Explorer (ISEE 3) passes Giacobini-Zinner by 7900 km

1985 - Sri Lanka score their 1st Test Cricket victory, by 149 runs v India

1985 - Pete Rose of Cin Reds gets career hit 4,192 off Eric Show of San Diego Padres, eclipsing Ty Cobb's record

1986 - Pres Mubarak receives Israeli premier Peres

1986 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1986 - Dow Jones Industrial Avg suffered biggest 1-day decline ever, plummeting 86.61 points to 1,792.89. 237.57 million shares traded

1987 - 4th MTV Awards: Peter Gabriel wins

1987 - Shoot out at Jean-Bertrand Aristides' church in Haiti, 12 die

1988 - 1/3 of population argues for Estonia autonomy

1988 - Betsy King wins LPGA Cellular One-Ping Golf Championship

1988 - Sports Aid-jogging to feed the world

1988 - 108th US Mens Tennis: Mats Wilander beats Ivan Lendl (64 46 63 57 64) in 4hrs 55 min - longest men's final in US Open history

1989 - Drexel formally pleads guilty to security fraud

1989 - KSO-AM in Des Moines Iowa changes call letters to KGGO

1991 - "La Toya: Growing Up in The Jackson Family" goes on sale

1991 - 14 die in a Continental Express commuter plane crash near Houston

1991 - Air crash at Djeddah, Saudi-Arabia, 263 die

1991 - Emmy News & Documentaries Award presentation

1991 - NY Yankees final game at Baltimore Oriole's Memorial Stadium

1991 - Atlanta Braves Kent Mercker, Mark Wohlers & Alejandro Pena pitched 1st combined no-hitter in NL, beating San Diego Padres, 1-0

1992 - Hurricane Iniki hits Kauai Hawaii; 3 die & 8,000 injured

1993 - 107th US Womens Tennis: Steffi Graf beats Helena Sukova (63 63)

1993 - Junxia Qu runs 1500m ladies world record (3:50.46)

1994 - 114th US Mens Tennis: Andre Agassi beats Michael Stich (61 76 75)

1994 - 46th Emmy Awards: Fraiser, Picket Fences & Kelsey Grammer wins

Tennis Player Steffi GrafTennis Player Steffi Graf 1994 - Jingyi Le swims female world record 50m freestyle

1994 - Missie McGeorge wins Ping-Cellular One LPGA Golf Championship

1995 - Eastern Tennessee begins using new area code 423

1995 - Ohio's Governor Voinovich proclaims "Cleveland Indians Day"

1995 - Soyuz TM-22, lands

1996 - Union Pacific Railroad purchases Southern Pacific Railroad.

1997 - After a nationwide referendum, Scotland votes to establish a devolved parliament, within the United Kingdom.

1998 - Independent counsel Kenneth Starr sends a report to the U.S. Congress accusing President Bill Clinton of 11 possible impeachable offenses.

1998 - Opening ceremony for the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia is the first Asian country to host the games.

2000 - Activists protest against the World Economic Forum meeting in Melbourne, Australia.

2001 - Two passenger planes hijacked by terrorists crashes into New York's World Trade Towers causing the collapse of both & death of 2,752 people

2001 - Terrorists hijack a passenger plane and crash it into the Pentagon causing the death of 125 people

2001 - Attempt by passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 to retake control of their hijacked plane from terrorists causes plane to crash in Pennsylvania field killing all 64 people onboard

2002 - Through extreme and coordinated effort, The Pentagon is rededicated after repairs are completed, exactly one year after the attack on the building.

2003 - Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh dies after being assaulted and fatally wounded on September 10.

42nd US President Bill Clinton42nd US President Bill Clinton 2003 - The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety enters into effect.

2004 - All passengers are killed when a helicopter crashes in the Aegean Sea. Passengers include Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria and 16 others (including journalists and bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria).

2005 - The State of Israel completes its unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip.

2007 - Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of all bombs.

2012 - 50 Al-Shabaab fighters are killed in conflict with the Somali National Army

2012 - The US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, is stormed, looted and burned down, killing five people, including the US ambassador

2012 - The US is warned by Moody's that it's AAA credit rating is at risk if lawmakers fail to produce a long-term debt reduction plan

2012 - 29 people are killed and 11 injured after a bus runs off a mountain highway in Nepal

2012 - Japan nationalizes three of the disputed Senkaku Islands

1297 - Scotsman William Wallace defeated the English forces of Sir Hugh de Cressingham at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.   1499 - French forces took over Milan, Italy.   1609 - Explorer Henry Hudson sailed into New York harbor and discovered Manhattan Island and the Hudson River.   1695 - Imperial troops under Eugene of Savoy defeated the Turks at the Battle of Zenta.   1709 - An Anglo-Dutch-Austrian force defeated the French in the Battle of Malplaquet.   1714 - Spanish and French troops broke into Barcelona and ended Catalonia's sovereignty after 13 months of seige.   1776 - A Peace Conference was held between British General Howe and three representatives of the Continental Congress (Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge). The conference failed and the American war for independence continued for seven years.   1777 - American forces, under General George Washington, were forced to retreat at the Battle of Brandywine Creek by British forces under William Howe. The Stars and Stripes (American flag) were carried for the first time in the battle.   1786 - The Convention of Annapolis opened with the aim of revising the articles of the confederation.   1789 - Alexander Hamilton was appointed by U.S. President George Washington to be the first secretary of the treasury.   1814 - The U.S. fleet defeated a squadron of British ships in the Battle of Lake Champlain, VT.   1842 - 1,400 Mexican troops captured San Antonio, TX. The Mexicans retreated with prisoners.   1855 - The siege of Sevastopol ended when French, British and Piedmontese troops captured the main naval base of the Russian Black fleet in the Crimean War.   1875 - "Professor Tidwissel's Burglar Alarm" was featured in the New York Daily Graphic and became the first comic strip to appear in a newspaper.   1877 - The first comic-character timepiece was patented by the Waterbury Clock Company.   1883 - The mail chute was patented by James Cutler. The new device was first used in the Elwood Building in Rochester, NY.   1897 - A ten-week strike of coal workers in Pennsylvania, WV, and Ohio came to an end. The workers won and eight-hour workday, semi-monthly pay, and company stores were abolished.   1904 - The U.S. battleship Connecticut was launched in New York.   1910 - In Hollywood, the first commercially successful electric bus line opened.   1926 - In Honolulu Harbor, HI, the Aloha Tower was dedicated.   1936 - Boulder Dam in Nevada was dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt by turning on the dam's first hydroelectric generator. The dam is now called Hoover Dam.   1941 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave orders to attack any German or Italian vessels found in U.S. defensive waters. The U.S. had not officially entered World War II at this time.   1941 - Charles A. Lindbergh brought on charges of anti-Semitism with a speech in which he blamed "the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt administration" for trying to draw the United States into World War II.   1941 - In Arlington, VA, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Pentagon took place.   1951 - Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the English Channel from both directions.   1952 - Dr. Charles Hufnagel successfully replaced a diseased aorta valve with an artificial valve made of plastic.   1954 - The Miss America beauty pageant made its network TV debut on ABC. Miss California, Lee Ann Meriwether, was the winner.   1959 - The U.S. Congress passed a bill authorizing the creation of food stamps.   1964 - "Friday Night Fights" was seen for the last time.   1965 - The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) arrived in South Vietnam and was stationed at An Khe.   1967 - The Carol Burnett Show premiered on CBS.   1970 - The last "Get Smart" episode aired on CBS-TV.   1974 - "Little House On The Prairie" made its television debut.   1974 - The St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets set a National League record when they played 25 innings. It was the second longest game in professional baseball history.   1985 - Pete Rose (Cincinnati Reds) achieved hit number 4,192 to break the record held by Ty Cobb.   1985 - A U.S. satellite passed through the tail of the Giacobini-Zinner comet. It was the first on-the-spot sampling of a comet.  1990 - U.S. President Bush vowed "Saddam Hussein will fail" while addressing Congress on the Persian Gulf crisis. In the speech Bush spoke of an objective of a new world order - "freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice, and more secure in the quest for peace".   1991 - Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev announced that thousands of troops would be drawn out of Cuba.   1997 - John Lee Hooker received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.   1997 - Scotland voted to create its own Parliament after 290 years of union with England.   1998 - Independent counsel Kenneth Starr sent a report to the U.S. Congress accusing President Clinton of 11 possible impeachable offenses.   1999 - The Wall Street Journal reported that Bayer Corp. had quit putting a wad of cotton in their bottles of aspirin. Bayer had actually stopped the practice earlier in the year.   2001 - In the U.S., four airliners were hijacked and were intentionally crashed. Two airliners hit the World Trade Center, which collapsed shortly after, in New York City, NY. One airliner hit the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Another airliner crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. About 3,000 people were killed.    



1789 Alexander Hamilton was appointed the first Secretary of the Treasury. 1936 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicated Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) in Nevada. 1962 The Beatles recorded their first single, Love Me Do. 1971 Former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev died at age 77. 1997 In Scotland, voters approved the establishment of a parliament to run their domestic affairs, after 290 years of union with England. 2001 Two hijacked commercial jets were crashed by terrorists into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, causing the collapse of both towers. A short while later, another plane was crashed into the Pentagon, and fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pa. 2012 Armed gunmen stormed the American consulate in Benghazi and killed U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other embassy officials.




The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/sep11.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory