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Explore the historical events that shaped our world on September 15th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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Viking led by Asgeirsack raid the city of Bordeaux in present-day France, highlighting their expansion and impact in Europe. The Vikings had began raiding the city as early as the 840s but this was a more significant and successful raid.
The Battle of Maldon occurs near the town of Essex, England, where an English force led by Earl Byrhtnoth is defeated by Viking raiders. The battle is immortalized in the old Anglo-Saxon poem "The battle of Maldon"
The Treaty of Devol is signed between Bohemond I of Antioch and the Byzantine Empire, establishing Antioch as a vassal state of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. This occurred after Bohemond was defeated in battle, and he was forced to agree to the terms, which included acknowledging Byzantine suzerainty and accepting a Greek patriarch in Antioch.
The first free public school in Europe opens its doors to children on this day in 1616 in Frascati, a town in Lazio just a few kilometers from Rome. The school was founded by a Spanish Catholic priest, José de Calasanz, who was originally from Aragon but who moved to Rome in 1592 at the age of 35. More
Astronomer Edmond Halley observes the comet that bears his name. September 1682
The British capture the Cape Town Colony, ending the Dutch East India Company’s role in the region but relinquished the colony to the Dutch in 1802 with the signing of the Treaty of Amiens. The British reannexed it in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars with the Cape becoming a very important base prior to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. More
Nicaragua Independence Day (Act of Independence of Central America).
Guatemala Independence Day (Act of Independence of Central America).
Costa Rica Independence Day (Act of Independence of Central America).
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Honduras Independence Day (Act of Independence of Central America). On this day in 1821, the Act of Independence of Central America was signed, declaring the independence of several Central American countries, including Honduras, from Spanish rule. Honduras officially became a completely independent country on November 5, 1838, after it separated from the Federal Republic of Central America
El Salvador Independence Day (Act of Independence of Central America).
Charles Darwin on board the HMS Beagle, reaches the Galápagos Islands on a five-year voyage. He was 26 at the time. More
Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming accidently discovers penicillin leading to a breakthrough in the development of antibiotics. The following year, Fleming published his findings in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology and presented his discovery to the Medical Research Club. To his surprise, his peers showed little interest in his work.
He recruited leading chemists and experts to help purify penicillin from the mold without any success. Penicillin was labelled a laboratory curiosity and Fleming gave up attempts to purify it. It wasn't until the 1940's fueled by the needs from WW2 and an unprecedented cooperation between the United States and Great Britain to produce penicillin that Penicillin became commercially available in 1943. More
The Nuremberg race laws are enacted, stripping German Jews of their citizenship and reducing them to mere “subjects” of the state thus establishing the framework that eventually led to the Holocaust. More
Operation Stalemate II; The Battle of Peleliu. Three days after the Island underwent a heavy naval and air bombardment by the US Third Fleet forces, the 1st Marine Division lands on “White” and “Orange” beaches on the western side of the Island of Peleliu, a small island and one of the 16 states within the island nation of Palau.
Once ashore, the landing forces quickly realized that the pre-invasion bombardment had not been particularly effective. The cost of taking the island, was high. On Peleliu, Marine casualties were 1,336 killed and 5,450 wounded while the 81st Infantry Division suffered 1,393 casualties including 208 killed in action. On Angaur, the 81st Infantry Division had 1,676 casualties, including 196 killed in action. The Japanese lost an estimated 10,695 men, with an additional 301 taken as prisoners of war. More
On September 15, 1950, the soldiers, sailors, and Marines of X Corps landed at Inchon. North Korea was unprepared for the landing although the Inchon plans had been leaked in the U.S. media and throughout Japan. More
The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, is bombed by white supremacists, resulting in the deaths of four young African-American girls.
The day before Black Wednesday, Soros' Quantum Fund began selling large amounts of pounds on the market, causing the price to plummet further. The Bank of England took steps to stem the sell-off but it was unsuccessful. On Black Wednesday, the Bank of England declared that the U.K. would leave the European ERM. More
Lehman Brothers, one of the largest investment banks in the world, files for bankruptcy, marking the beginning of the global financial crisis that would have far-reaching effects on the global economy.
