The US Military conducts the first-ever underground nuclear explosion as part of Operation Plumbbob. The test took place in Nevada. More
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What Happened in September?
Battles, deaths, and monumental religious moments. Explore significant events from September that helped shape the world. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The Little Rock Nine are able to enter classes at the Little Rock Central High School for the first time after President Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army to Little Rock to enforce desegregation and protect the students from hostile mobs.
Before this intervention, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had used the state's National Guard to block the students from attending the school to "preserve the peace" Eisenhower's Federalization of the entire 10,000 member Arkansas National Guard took them out out of Governor Faubus's control. More
Black student Elizabeth Eckford is jeered by white student Hazel Bryan as she attempts to enter Little Rock Central High School.
The Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 reaches the moon and crashes on its surface, making it the first human-made object to contact another solar system body. More . Luna 2 was launched by the Soviet Union on September 12, 1959.
Fidel Castro arrives in New York to address the UN General Assembly. His brief trip put the Cuban leader on the world stage. Days after his return to Cuba, the US imposed a trade embargo that would last more than half a century. Diplomatic relations with the island were severed in January 1961. More
Mali Independence Day It commemorates the day in 1960 when the Sudanese Republic formally declared its independence from the short-lived Mali Federation, becoming the Republic of Mali.
The first-ever televised U.S. presidential candidate debate takes place between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. More
The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, is bombed by white supremacists, resulting in the deaths of four young African-American girls.
Malaysia is formed by Malaya, Singapore, British North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak. Almost two years later, following a period of political and racial tensions, Singapore was separated from Malaysia and became an independent nation on August 9 1965. More
Malta Independence Day from the U.K. Officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa with a population of about 542,000.
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, delivers its report to President Lyndon B. Johnson. The report was made public three days later. More
A ceasefire between India and Pakistan goes into effect, ending the second Indo-Pakistani War. More
Fidel Castro announces that any Cuban who wished to leave the country was free to do so. . The announcement took place six years after the Cuban revolution and four years after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion supported by the CIA. The proclamation resulted in hundreds of thousands of Cuban immigrants emigrating to Florida.
Botswana Independence day from the UK (Effective date of the Botswana Independence Act 1966).
Eswatini Independence day from the UK. formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland. In April 2018, the official name was changed from Kingdom of Swaziland to Kingdom of Eswatini.
It is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where it shares a border with Mozambique. The executive capital and largest city is Mbabane, and the legislative and second capital is Lobamba. Its 2023 population estimate is 1.3 Million. The government is an absolute monarchy, the last of its kind in Africa,
Libya's King Idris is removed from power in a coup d'état led by Muammar Qaddafi and the Free Patriotic Officers Movement Qaddafi remained in control of Libya until October 20, 2011 when he was also deposed in a violent coup inspired by the Arab Spring protests.
The first ATM in the U.S goes live at one of Chemical Bank’s New York branches.. The bank was concerned that people would reject the idea of a cash machine that handled their money and saw such an expense as a big risk. However, the public quickly accepted the new machines and people were even willing to pay a small fee to use them. More
Lt. William Calley. is charged with the premeditated murder in the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians including women and children at My Lai. when he was commanding an army platoon. Calley, was convicted of murder in the My Lai Massacre and he was sentenced to be dismissed from the Army and to be confined at hard labor for life.
On August 1971, Lieutenant General Albert O. Connor, commanding general of Third U.S. Army, reduced Calley’s sentence to twenty years confinement. In April 1974, the Secretary of the Army, Howard H. Callaway, further reduced Calley’s sentence to ten years confinement, making Calley eligible for parole in 6 months. He was pardoned by President Richard Nixon in 1974 after serving about a third of his 10-year sentence and was released in November 1974 having served three years of house arrest for the murders. More
The deadliest hurricane of the 20th century, Hurricane Celia, makes landfall in Texas, causing widespread destruction and resulting in 11 deaths.
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, declares independence from Britain after negotiations with neighboring sheikhdoms (present day United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and Bahrain). The earlier Protectory agreement with Britain was replaced with a treaty of friendship. Qatar's 2024 population was estimated to be 3.2 Million.
The Attica State Prison riot in Attica, New York ends. The riot ended with the highest number of fatalities in the history of United States prison uprisings, after New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller ordered the State Police to regain control of the prison by force.
The riot started four days earlier on September 9, with a violent takeover of the prison control center in which one prison officer, William Quinn, was killed. Of the 43 men who died (33 inmates and 10 correctional officers and employees), all but one guard and three inmates were killed by law enforcement gunfire, when the state retook control of the prison on the final day of the uprising. the facility housed 2,250 inmates at the time but had a maximum capacity of 1,600. More