1858 – Hamburg-America steamship, SS Austria, catches fire and sinks, killing 449 passengers and crew
1944 – Amon Göth removed as head of Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp by the SS for stealing state property
1954 – MLB Cincinnati Reds first baseman Ted Kluszewski scores a run in his record 17th consecutive game in 5-4 road loss to Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field
1982 – Jim LeFebvre reaches 6 hits in one baseball game
1985 – Composer John Williams introduces the Today Show’s new theme song, “The Mission”
2005 – The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City premieres the exhibition “Rara Avis (Rare Bird): The Irreverent Iris Apfel”
2017 – Actress Rebel Wilson awarded $4.56 million in damages in libel case against Bauer Media in Melbourne, largest defamation payout in Australia
2019 – US actress Felicity Huffman sentenced to 14 days in prison for her role in the college admissions scandal
Author: gil7
Today in History for 13th September 2026
Historical Events
1501 – Michelangelo begins work on his statue of David, a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture
1968 – Albania withdraws from the Warsaw Pact
1988 – Gilbert is measured as the strongest hurricane ever in the Western Hemisphere, 26.13 barometer
1996 – Phil Simmons scores 171 and takes 6-14 for Leics v Durham
2023 – Rise in overdose deaths from fentanyl laced stimulants mark the “fourth wave” of the overdose crisis in the US, according to UCLA research
Famous Birthdays
1475 – Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois, Italian aristocrat, born in Rome, Papal States (d. 1507)
1877 – Stanley Lord, Captain of the SS Californian the night of the Titanic disaster, born in Bolton, Lancashire, England (d. 1962)
1894 – Anton Roosjen, Dutch politician and NCRV-chairman, born in Aalsmeer, Netherlands (d. 1978)
1897 – Gaspar Cassadó, Spanish cellist and composer, born in Barcelona, Spain (d. 1966)
1942 – Béla Károlyi, Hungarian Romanian-American gymnastics coach (Nadia Comăneci, Mary Lou Retton, Kerri Strug), born in Kolozsvár, Hungary (d. 2024)
Famous Deaths
1967 – Varian Fry, American journalist and recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations”, dies at 59
1989 – Yamada Koun, Zen teacher Sanbo Kyodan line, dies at 82
1991 – Ferry Barendse, Dutch trumpeter, composer, and singer (Ramblers), dies at 80
2025 – Mary Rose Oakar, American politician and the first Arab American woman in Congress (Rep-D-Ohio 1977-93), dies at 85
2025 – Akiko Tsuruga, Japanese jazz Hammond B-3 organist, pianist, and composer, dies at 58
Famous Deaths for 12th September 2026
1956 – Sándor Graf Festetics, Hungarian nobleman and politician (Minister of War, 1918-19), dies at 74
1988 – Lauris Norstad, American general (NATO commander) and CEO (Owens-Corning Fiberglass), dies at 71
1994 – Tom Ewell [Sam Yewell Tompkins], American actor (Tom Ewell Show, The Seven Year Itch), dies at 85
1995 – Larry Gales, American jazz double-bassist, dies of leukemia at 59
2001 – Victor Wong, American actor (Big Trouble in Little China), dies of a heart attack at 74
2008 – Bob Quinn, Australian Football Hall of Fame rover (All Australian captain 1947; SA captain 1945-47; Magarey Medal 1938, 45; Port Adelaide FC), dies at 93
2009 – Norman Borlaug, American agronomist (Green revolution – Nobel Peace Prize 1970), dies at 95
2021 – Michel Maïque, French rugby league second rower (8 Tests; FC Lézignan) and politician (Mayor of Lézignan-Corbières 2014-20), dies from acute pancreatitis at 73
2023 – Gordon Kennett, English motorcycle speedway rider (World Pairs C’ship [Malcolm Simmons] 1978; World Championship 1978 runner-up), dies at 70
2023 – Dominique Colonna, French soccer goalkeeper (13 caps; Stade Français, OGC Nice, Reims) and manager (Cameroon 1965-70), dies at 95
Historical Events for 12th September 2026
1789 – Jean-Paul Marat publishes the first issue of his radical newspaper Le Publiciste Parisien, later called L’Ami du Peuple (The Friend of the People) in Paris
1931 – Inaugural Bledisloe Cup rugby match played between Australia and New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland – NZ win 20-13
1954 – WLBZ TV Channel 2 in Bangor, Maine (NBC) begins broadcasting
1962 – Washington Senator Tom Cheney strikes out a record 21 Orioles in a 16-inning game
1979 – Boston Red Sox Carl Yastrzemski gets his 3,000th hit off NY Yankee Jim Beattie
1991 – Space shuttle STS 48 (Discovery 14) is launched
1999 – Farm Aid 12 held in Bristow, Virginia; performers include Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews Band, Susan Tedeschi, Keb’ Mo’, Deana Carter, and Barenaked Ladies
2021 – US Open Men’s Tennis: Russia’s Daniil Medvedev wins his first major title by shattering Novak Đoković’s hopes of completing a Grand Slam in one-sided 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 final
Today in History for 12th September 2026
Historical Events
1229 – Aragonese army led by James I of Aragon disembarks at Santa Ponça, Majorca, to conquer the island
1961 – USSR performs a nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya, USSR
1964 – Canyonlands National Park is designated as a National Park
1973 – USSR performs a nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya, USSR
1993 – STS-51 (Discovery) launches into orbit
Famous Birthdays
1829 – Charles Dudley Warner, American novelist (Being a Boy), born in Plainfield, Massachusetts (d. 1900)
1896 – Giuseppe Zoppi, Swiss writer (Il Libro Dell’Alpe), born in Broglio, Switzerland (d. 1952)
1954 – Jeff Jarvis, American journalist (This Week in Google, What Would Google Do?), public speaker, and advocate for the Open Web, born in United States
1978 – Baloji [Serge Baloji Tshiani], Belgian-Congolese rapper and film director known for “Omen”, born in Lubumbashi, Zaire
1994 – Elina Svitolina, Ukrainian tennis player (WTA Finals champion 2018), born in Odessa, Ukraine
Famous Deaths
1860 – John Winebrenner, American clergyman (founded Church of God General Conference), dies at 63
1927 – Walther Amelung, German archaeologist, dies at 61
1949 – Harry Burleigh, African American baritone and composer (Five Songs of Laurence Hope), and Springarn Medal winner (1917), dies at 82
1980 – Lillian Randolph, American radio and screen actress (The Great Gildersleeve; Amos ‘n Andy; It’s A Wonderful Life: Roots; The Onion Field), dies of cancer at 81
2020 – Florence Howe, American scholar, writer and co-founder of Feminist Press, dies at 91
Famous Deaths for 11th September 2026
1968 – René Cogny, French General (b. 1904)
1971 – Curtis Jones, American blues pianist and songwriter (“Lonesome Bedroom Blues”, “Highway 51 Blues”), dies of heart failure at 65
1988 – John Sylvester White, American actor (Welcome Back, Kotter), dies at 68
1992 – Frank Singuineau, Trinidadian actor (Firepower, Pressure, Mummy), dies at 79
1997 – Hannah Weiner, American experimental poet, dies at 68
2006 – Joachim Fest, German historian and journalist (Hitler biography, Speer: The Final Verdict), dies at 79
2006 – William Auld, Scottish poet, writer and supporter of Esperanto, dies at 81
2007 – Gene Savoy, American author, explorer and religious leader, Head Bishop of the International Community of Christ (1971-2007), dies at 80
2015 – Marcel Zeeuw, Surinamese soldier (participant in the Sergeant Coup, 1982), dies at 61
2024 – Chad McQueen, American actor (Nightforce; The Karate Kid), dies at 63
Historical Events for 11th September 2026
1649 – Massacre of Drogheda, Ireland: Oliver Cromwell kills 3,000 Royalists
1937 – US National Championship Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Anita Lizana of Chile becomes first Latin American to win a major; beats Jadwiga Jędrzejowska of Poland 6-4, 6-2
1951 – Igor Stravinsky’s opera “The Rake’s Progress,” with libretto by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, premieres at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Italy
1966 – Johnny Miller becomes the first New York Yankee to hit a home run in his first MLB at-bat; his second home run comes in his final MLB at-bat in 1969
1967 – US Surveyor 5 makes the first chemical analysis of lunar material
1971 – US Open Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: In an all-American final, Billie Jean King beats doubles partner Rosemary Casals 6-4, 7-6
1994 – 46th Emmy Awards: Frasier, Picket Fences, and Kelsey Grammer win
2019 – Water is detected for the first time on a planet outside our solar system, on exoplanet K2-18b, 110 light-years away; findings are published in “Nature Astronomy”
Today in History for 11th September 2026
Historical Events
1923 – Bernie Neis hits the 1,000th Dodger home run
1928 – Philadelphia Athletics’ Ty Cobb pops out in his last MLB at-bat in a 5-3 loss to the Yankees in New York
1956 – Vladimir Kuts runs a world record 10,000 m in 28:42.8
1965 – The 1st Cavalry Division of the United States Army arrives in Vietnam
2010 – US Open Women’s Tennis: Belgian defending champion Kim Clijsters beats Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-2, 6-1 for her third US singles crown
Famous Birthdays
1524 – Pierre de Ronsard, French poet (Ode à Cassandre; Les Amours), born in Couture-sur-Loir, Vendômois, France (d. 1585)
1681 – Johann Gottlieb Heineccius, German jurist, born in Eisenberg, Germany (d. 1741)
1876 – Stan Rowley, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 5,000m team, bronze 60m, 100m, 200m 1900), born in Young, Australia (d. 1924)
1933 – Baby Face Willette [Roosevelt Willet], American hard bop and soul-jazz Hammond organ player, born in Little Rock, Arkansas (d. 1971)
1971 – Shelton Quarles, American NFL linebacker, executive (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Director Football Ops), born in Nashville, Tennessee
Famous Deaths
1915 – William Cornelius Van Horne, American-Canadian railway executive (Canadian Pacific Railway), dies at 72
1956 – Billy Bishop, Canadian First World War flying ace with 72 kills, dies at 62
1966 – Collett E. Woolman, American airline founder (Delta Air Service), dies at 76
1988 – Luis Alvarez, American physicist (subatomic particles, Nobel 1968), dies of cancer at 77
2012 – Sergio Livingstone, Chilean soccer goalkeeper who played 52 internationals (CD Universidad Católica) and TV personality (Televisión Nacional de Chile), dies at 92
Famous Deaths for 10th September 2026
1547 – Pier Luigi Farnese, Italian Duke of Parma and Piacenza (1545-47) and illegitimate son of Pope Paul III, murdered at 43 by a group of his nobles tired of his oppressive and tyrannical rule
1604 – Hamida Banu Begum, Persian Mughal Empress, chief consort of the Emperor Humayun and mother of Akbar, dies at 77
1770 – José de Escandón, Spanish colonizer and the first governor of the Nuevo Santander province, dies at 70
1828 – Antoine-Francçois Andreossy, French General and diplomat under Napoleon, dies at 67
1845 – Karl August von Lichtenstein, German composer, dies at 78
1942 – Nachman N “Neddy” Bamberg, actor, dies in Auschwitz at 63
1982 – Max Winders, Belgian architect (WWII), responsible for bringing the Belgian gold stock, dies at 100
1983 – Felix Bloch, Swiss-American nuclear physicist (1st Director of CERN, Nobel Prize for Physics 1952), dies at 77
1996 – Joanne Dru [LaCock], American actress (Red River, All the King’s Men), dies of lymphedema at 74
2010 – Edwin Charles Tubb, British sci-fi writer (Earth is Heaven, Earthfall), dies at 90
Historical Events for 10th September 2026
422 – St. Celestine I begins his reign as the Catholic Pope
1798 – British Honduras defeats Spain in the Battle of St. George’s Caye
1961 – Italian F1 Grand Prix, Monza: A crash causes the death of German driver Wolfgang von Trips and 15 spectators who are hit by his Ferrari
1973 – NFL New York Jets trade pro football’s leading receiver Don Maynard to St. Louis Cardinals
1974 – Portugal recognizes the independence of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, its former West African colony
1977 – US Open Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Chris Evert wins her third consecutive US singles title, beating Wendy Turnbull of Australia 7-6, 6-2; final time event played at West Side Tennis Club
1977 – Susan Perkins (Ohio) is crowned the 50th Miss America 1978
2018 – Australian newspaper “Herald Sun” is criticized for “racist” cartoon of American tennis star Serena Williams