Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on September 1st?

The Battle of Stiklestad is fought in Norway, resulting in the death of King Olaf II Haraldsson, who would later be canonized as Saint Olaf.

The construction of the Cologne Cathedral in Germany begins. It would take over 600 years to complete.

The Treaty of Rheinfelden is signed, ending the conflict between the House of Habsburg and the Swiss Confederation, establishing peace in the region.

King Henry V of England dies, and his infant son Henry VI becomes the king, resulting in the minority rule and political instability in England.

The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history. It was associated with a very bright solar flare and it created strong auroral displays that were reported globally and caused sparking and even fires in multiple telegraph stations. The geomagnetic storm was most likely the result of a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun colliding with Earth's magnetosphere. A geomagnetic storm of this magnitude occurring today would cause widespread electrical disruptions, blackouts, and could cause an internet apocalypse, sending large numbers of people and businesses offline due to extended outages of the electrical power grid. More

The powerful Kanto earthquake and the ensuing 39.5 feet tsunami kill more than 140,000 in Yokohama and Tokyo. More

World War II effectively begins with Germany's invasion of Poland. More

Libya's King Idris is removed from power in a coup d'état led by Muammar Qaddafi and the Free Patriotic Officers Movement Qaddafi remain in control of Libya October 20, 2011 when he was also deposed in a violent coup inspired by the Arab Spring protests.

The deadliest hurricane of the 20th century, Hurricane Celia, makes landfall in Texas, causing widespread destruction and resulting in 11 deaths.

Korean Air Flight 007 is shot down by Soviet Union forces after it strays into Soviet airspace, resulting in the deaths of all 269 passengers and crew on board. More

Uzbekistan Independence Day from the Soviet Union.

The Beslan school Islamic terrorist attack begins in North Ossetia, Russia. A group of armed militants takes over resulting in a three days hostage crisis of more than 1,100 people and the tragic deaths of 334 of them including 186 children. as well as 31 of the attackers. It is considered the deadliest school shooting in history.

The Eurozone officially enters a recession, as confirmed by the European Union's statistical agency Eurostat, following the global financial crisis that began in 2008.