✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 258th day of the year

September 15

A look at September 15 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Marco Polo and Graham Taylor, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2017

    Parsons Green train bombing

    The Parsons Green bombing takes place in London.

    2017 terrorist explosion in
  2. 1983

    Israel

    Israeli premier Menachem Begin resigns.

    Country in West Asia
  3. 1952

    United Nations

    The United Nations cedes Eritrea to Ethiopia.

    Global intergovernmental organization
  4. 1940

    World War II

    World War II: The climax of the Battle of Britain, when the Luftwaffe launches its largest and most concentrated attack of the entire campaign.

    1939–1945 global conflict
  5. 1935

    Nazi Germany

    Nazi Germany adopts a new national flag bearing the swastika.

    German state from 1933
  6. 1916

    World War I

    World War I: Tanks are used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme.

    1914–1918 global conflict
  7. 1862

    American Civil War

    American Civil War: Confederate forces capture Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

    1861–1865 conflict in the
  8. 1816

    HMS Whiting (1812)

    HMS Whiting runs aground on the Doom Bar.

    Pilot schooner
  9. 1794

    French Revolutionary Wars

    French Revolutionary Wars: Arthur Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington) sees his first combat at the Battle of Boxtel during the Flanders Campaign.

    1792–1802 wars
  10. 1776

    American Revolutionary War

    American Revolutionary War: British forces land at Kip's Bay during the New York Campaign.

    1775–1783 conflict in North
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Famous birthday twins

Born on September 15

Marco Polo

b. 1254

Italian merchant and explorer

Graham Taylor

b. 1944

English footballer and manager

Carlos Dávila

b. 1887

Chilean journalist and politician, President of Chile

AD 767

b. 767

Japanese monk

Agatha Christie

b. 1890

English crime novelist, short story writer, and playwright

William Howard Taft

b. 1857

American lawyer, jurist, and politician, 27th President of the United States

Jean Renoir

b. 1894

French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Charles de Foucauld

b. 1858

French priest and martyr

Deaths

  • 1978Willy Messerschmitt, German engineer and academic, designed the Messerschmitt Bf 109
  • 1973Gustaf VI Adolf, of Sweden
  • 1926Rudolf Christoph Eucken, German philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1921Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, Austrian-Russian general
  • 1852Johann Karl Simon Morgenstern, German-Estonian philologist and academic
  • 1596Leonhard Rauwolf, German physician and botanist

Holidays & observances

  • —Battle of Britain Day (United Kingdom)
  • —Christian feast day: Joseph Abibos
  • —Christian feast day: Alpinus (Albinus) of Lyon
  • —Christian feast day: Aprus (Èvre) of Toul
  • —Christian feast day: Catherine of Genoa
  • —Christian feast day: James Chisholm (Episcopal Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Saint Dominic in Soriano (formerly)
  • —Christian feast day: Mamilian of Palermo

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