Belize Independence day from the UK (Effective day of the Belize Act of 1981). Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It's northern border is with Mexico, Guatemala to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Caribbean Commonwealth (the historical British West Indies). It has an estimated 2024 population of 400,000
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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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1982, September 16-18
The massacre of Sabra and Shatila, during the Lebanese Civil War takes place in Beirut, Lebanon, where Lebanese Christian militia, supported by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that had surrounded Beirut's Sabra neighborhood and the adjacent Shatila refugee camp, killed between 1,300 and 3,500 civilians, mostly Palestinians and Lebanese Shias between the 16–18 September 1982.
Korean Air Flight 007 is shot down by Soviet Union forces after it strays significantly into restricted Soviet airspace due to navigation errors where it was mistakenly identified as a hostile reconnaissance aircraft during a period of high Cold War tension. The South Korean airliner eventually crashed in in the Sea of Japan killing all 269 passengers and crew on board. More
An 8.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Mexico City, causing widespread devastation and resulting in the deaths of 10,000 people, 30,000 injured and thousands left homeless. More
The Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act is passed by the United States Congress, imposing economic sanctions against South Africa in protest against its apartheid policies.
The "Star Trek: The Next Generation" television series premieres, becoming a highly successful continuation of the Star Trek franchise.
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is signed, aiming to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of ozone-depleting substances.
United Farm Workers Vice President Dolores Huerta, 58 years old, is beaten by San Francisco Police, in front of the St. Francis Hotel in Union Square during a peaceful and lawful protest of the policies/platform of then candidate George H. W. Bush, who was holding a fundraiser in the hotel.
The baton-beating caused significant internal injuries to her torso, resulting in broken ribs and the loss of her spleen in emergency surgery. The beating was caught on videotape and broadcasted on television news. Later, Huerta won a large judgment against the SFPD and the City of San Francisco for the attack, the proceeds of which she used for the benefit of farm workers. As a result of this assault and the suit, the SFPD was pressured to change its crowd control policies and its process of officer discipline. Huerta received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama on May 29, 2012. More
Hungary opens its border with Austria, allowing thousands of East German refugees to flee to the West. This event contributed to the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany.
Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan Independence Day from the Soviet Union. It is located in Central Asia and has a population of more than 37.6 million, making it the most populous country in Central Asia.
Uzbekistan is surrounded by five countries: Kazakhstan to the north, Kyrgyzstan to the northeast, Tajikistan to the southeast, Afghanistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southwest, making it one of only two doubly landlocked countries on Earth, the other being Liechtenstein. Uzbekistan is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), United Nations (UN) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, Independence Day from Yugoslavia. It commemorates the country's 1991 referendum and declaration of independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The day is a national holiday marked by various festivities and is considered a very important event for the citizens of North Macedonia. More
Tajikistan Independence Day from the Soviet Union. Officially the Republic of Tajikistan, has a population of over 10.7 million people. Its capital and also its most populous city is Dushanbe.
Tajikistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, it borders Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east and is narrowly separated from Pakistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor.
Ötzi the Iceman, is the world's oldest naturally preserved human mummy is found by two hickers in the Ötzal Alps and nicknamed Otzi as a result. Radiocarbon dating of his tissues showed that he died around 3250 BCE making his remains over 5,000 years old.
He died from an arrow shot to the back and his body was naturally mummified by the ice and snow of the glacier where he fell protecting it from decomposition for thousands of years. His body was so well-preserved that the two hikers who found his upper torso poking out of a shallow gully in an ice field assumed he was a recent victim of a mountaineering accident. His body and the artifacts found with him offer unique insights into the Copper Age, including his diet, clothing, sophisticated health care, and the tools he carried, like a copper-bladed axe and bow. A bone analysis indicated he was about 45 when he died—a long life for his time. More
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
The Oslo Accords are signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), aiming to establish peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Negotiator Mahmoud Abbas signed a Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements at the White House. Israel accepted the PLO as the representative of the Palestinians, and the PLO renounced terrorism and recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace. More
The Passenger ferry, Estonia, sinks resulting in 852 lives lost. The official disaster report, published in 1997, said the fatal event started when the locks on the ferry’s bow door failed from the strain of the waves. Conspiracy theories questioning the official report pointed to an explosion onboard the ferry or a collision with an unidentified submarine.
A new official investigation of the MS Estonia wreck was launched in the wake of the Swedish documentary, “Estonia: The Discovery that Changes Everything”, which premiered in 2020 and showed that the sunken cruise ferry had a large wide hole in the hull. More
The 35,000-word Unabomber manifesto of Ted Kaczynski' is published by The New York Times and The Washington Post . The manifesto called for revolution against a corrupt industrial-technological society and was instrumental in identifying and capturing him.
Kaczynski entered Harvard University when he was 16-year-old on a scholarship, after skipping the sixth and 11th grades. During Kaczynski’s sophomore year at Harvard, in 1959, he was recruited for a psychological experiment that, unbeknownst to him, would last three years. The Washington Post and others have reported that the experiment run by Harvard psychologist Henry A. Murray was backed by the Central Intelligence Agency. More
The funeral of Princess Diana takes place in London, with millions of people around the world watching the event on television.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin officially incorporated Google while pursuing their PhDs at Stanford University. What began as a research project quickly grew into the world’s most popular search engine, ushering in a new internet age that transformed how people connect, communicate, and find information — changing not only daily life for billions, but also the strategies and structures of corporations worldwide. More.