SEP
1666
02
Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London accidentally began in the kitchen of a bakery belonging to the king's baker. It raged for four days destroying a large part of the city, including Old St. Paul's Cathedral and about 13,000 houses.
Image: Wikipedia Commons
SEP
1781
04
Los Angeles was founded On this day, Spanish settlers inhabited the land that became known as Los Angeles. It is now the second most populous U.S. city and home to Hollywood, a name synonymous with the American film industry.
Image: Wikipedia Commons
SEP
1979
07
ESPN makes its debut ESPN was launched on this day with the first telecast of what would become the channel's flagship program, SportsCenter. It was the first all-sports cable network and is now the world's biggest sports channel.
SEP
1976
09
Death of Mao Marxist leader Mao Zedong died on this day but emerged as the undisputed Chinese Communist Party leader following the Long March (1934–35). He dominated China after the Communist takeover in 1949 until his death.
Image: Wikipedia Commons
SEP
2001
11
World Trade Center attack Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger planes in the U.S. on September 11, crashing three into World Trade Center buildings that killed 3,000 people. The fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back.
Image: Wikipedia Commons
SEP
1928
15
Discovery of Penicillin Sir Alexander Fleming observes a mould growing in his lab is killing bacteria. It will later be labelled as penicillin. It was the first step in the discovery of one of the most crucial pillars of today's medicine: antibiotics.
Image: Wikipedia Commons
SEP
1978
17
Camp David Accords Signed The Camp David Accords, negotiated by U.S. President Jimmy Carter, were completed on this day in 1978. The accord led to a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel and a broader framework for pursuing peace in the Middle East.
Image: Wikipedia Commons
SEP
1870
20
Incorporation of Rome to Italy On this day, Italian troops seized Rome, leading to the eventual merging of Rome into the Kingdom of Italy. The papal governing authority was left limited only to the Vatican and a small district around it.
Image source: NASA
SEP
1846
23
Neptune observed On this day, astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle became the first person to observe the planet Neptune. The existence of Neptune was mathematically predicted by Urbain-Jean-Joseph Le Verrier and John Couch Adams before it was directly observed.
Image: NASA
SEP
1513
25
The Pacific Ocean sighted by Balboa In September 1513, Balboa led an expedition of 190 Spaniards across the Isthmus of Panama. On September 25, Balboa climbed a mountain peak and sighted the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first European to do so.
Image: Wikipedia Commons
SEP
1959
27
Typhoon Vera hits Japan Typhoon Vera was an exceptionally intense tropical cyclone that hit Japan, causing catastrophic damage, taking the lives of more than 5,000 people and setting back Japan’s economy which was still recovering from WW2.
Image: Wikipedia Commons
SEP
1938
30
Munich Pact signed On this day, British and French prime ministers Neville Chamberlain and Edouard Daladier signed the Munich Pact with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. The agreement gave Czechoslovakia away to German conquest in the hope of preventing World War II.
Image: Alamy