On This Day — 11 September

2024

Hurricane Francine impacts the Gulf of Mexico, as a Category 2 hurricane.

Hurricane Francine

2023

The Libyan city of Derna experiences catastrophic floods after Storm Daniel causes two dams to collapse, killing thousands of people.

Derna, Libya

2015

A crane collapses onto the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Saudi Arabia, killing 111 people and injuring 394 others.

Mecca crane collapse

2012

A total of 315 people are killed in two garment factory fires in Pakistan.

2012 Pakistan factory fires

2012

The U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths.

Benghazi

2011

A dedication ceremony is held at the United States National September 11 Memorial on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in New York City, and the memorial opens to family members.

National September 11 Memorial & Museum

2008

A major Channel Tunnel fire breaks out on a freight train, resulting in the closure of part of the tunnel for six months.

2008 Channel Tunnel fire

2007

Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of All Bombs.

Conventional weapon

2001

The September 11 attacks, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks killing 2,977 people using four aircraft hijacked by 19 members of al-Qaeda. Two aircraft crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, a third crashes into The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, and a fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

September 11 attacks

1997

NASA's Mars Global Surveyor reaches Mars.

NASA

1997

Kurkse tragedy: Fourteen Estonian soldiers of the Baltic Battalion are drowned or die of hypothermia during a training exercise in the Kurkse Strait.

Kurkse tragedy

1997

After a nationwide referendum, Scotland votes to establish a devolved parliament within the United Kingdom.

1997 Scottish devolution referendum

1995

The first game of the PCA World Chess Championship 1995, pitting incumbent champion Garry Kasparov against challenger Viswanathan Anand, takes place on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center's South Tower in New York City.

Classical World Chess Championship 1995

1992

Hurricane Iniki strikes the island of Kauaʻi, Hawaii, killing 7 and causing $3.1bn in economic damages.

Hurricane Iniki

1991

Continental Express Flight 2574 crashes in Colorado County, Texas, near Eagle Lake, killing 11 passengers and three crew.

Continental Express Flight 2574

1990

A Faucett Boeing 727 disappears in the Atlantic Ocean while being flown from Malta to Peru.

Faucett Perú

1989

Hungary announces that the East German refugees who had been housed in temporary camps were free to leave for West Germany.

East Germany

1985

Moimenta-Alcafache train crash, the worst railway accident to occur in Portugal.

Moimenta-Alcafache train crash

1982

The international forces that were guaranteeing the safety of Palestinian refugees following Israel's 1982 Invasion of Lebanon leave Beirut. Five days later, several thousand refugees are massacred in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Phalange forces.

Palestinian refugees

1980

A new constitution of Chile is established under the influence of then Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, which is subject to controversy in Chile today.

Chilean Constitution of 1980

1976

A bomb planted by a Croatian terrorist, Zvonko Bušić, is found at New York's Grand Central Terminal; one NYPD officer is killed trying to defuse it.

Zvonko Bušić

1974

Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 crashes in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing 69 passengers and two crew.

Eastern Air Lines Flight 212

1973

A coup in Chile, headed by General Augusto Pinochet, topples the democratically elected president Salvador Allende.

1973 Chilean coup d'état

1973

JAT Airways Flight 769 crashes into the Maganik mountain range while on approach to Titograd Airport, killing 35 passengers and six crew.

JAT Flight 769

1972

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system begins passenger service.

Bay Area Rapid Transit

1971

The Egyptian Constitution becomes official.

History of the Egyptian Constitution

1970

The Dawson's Field hijackers release 88 of their hostages. The remaining hostages, mostly Jews and Israeli citizens, are held until September 25.

Dawson's Field hijackings

1968

Air France Flight 1611 crashes off Nice, France, killing 89 passengers and six crew.

Air France Flight 1611

1968

John Eliot Gardiner conducts Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine with the Monteverdi Choir at the Proms.

John Eliot Gardiner

1967

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched an attack on Indian posts at Nathu La, Sikkim, India, which resulted in military clashes.

People's Liberation Army

1965

Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Army captures the town of Burki, just southeast of Lahore.

India–Pakistan war of 1965

1961

Hurricane Carla strikes the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, the second strongest storm ever to hit the state.

Hurricane Carla

1954

Hurricane Edna hits New England (United States) as a Category 2 hurricane, causing significant damage and 29 deaths.

Hurricane Edna

1945

World War II: Batu Lintang camp, a Japanese-run POW and civilian internment camp on the island of Borneo, is liberated by Australian 9th Division forces.

Batu Lintang camp

1944

World War II: RAF bombing raid on Darmstadt and the following firestorm kill 11,500.

Royal Air Force

1943

World War II: German troops occupy Corsica and Kosovo-Metohija ending the Italian occupation of Corsica.

World War II

1941

Construction begins on the Pentagon.

The Pentagon

1941

Charles Lindbergh makes his Des Moines speech accusing the British, Jews and FDR's administration of conspiring for war with Germany.

Charles Lindbergh

1922

The Treaty of Kars is ratified in Yerevan, Armenia.

Treaty of Kars

1921

Nahalal, a Jewish moshav in Palestine, is settled.

Nahalal

1919

United States Marine Corps invades Honduras.

History of Honduras

1916

The Quebec Bridge's central span collapses, killing 11 men. The bridge previously collapsed completely on August 29, 1907.

Quebec Bridge

1914

World War I: Australia invades German New Guinea, defeating a German contingent at the Battle of Bita Paka.

World War I

1914

The Second Period of Russification: The teaching of the Russian language and Russian history in Finnish schools is ordered to be considerably increased as part of the forced Russification program in Finland run by Tsar Nicholas II.

Russification of Finland

1905

The Ninth Avenue derailment occurs in New York City, killing 13.

Ninth Avenue derailment

1903

The first race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin is held. It is the oldest major speedway in the world.

Milwaukee Mile

1897

After months of pursuit, generals of Menelik II of Ethiopia capture Gaki Sherocho, the last king of the Kaffa.

Menelik II

1881

In the Swiss state of Glarus, a rockslide buries parts of the village of Elm, destroying 83 buildings and killing 115 people.

Switzerland

1857

The Mountain Meadows massacre: Mormon settlers and Paiutes massacre 120 pioneers at Mountain Meadows, Utah.

Mountain Meadows Massacre

1852

Outbreak of Revolution of September 11 resulting in the State of Buenos Aires declaring independence as a Republic.

Revolution of 11 September 1852

1851

Christiana Resistance: Escaped slaves led by William Parker fight off and kill a slave owner who, with a federal marshal and an armed party, sought to seize three of his former slaves in Christiana, Pennsylvania, thereby creating a cause célèbre between slavery proponents and abolitionists.

Christiana Riot

1836

The Riograndense Republic is proclaimed by rebels after defeating Empire of Brazil's troops in the Battle of Seival, during the Ragamuffin War.

Riograndense Republic

1829

An expedition led by Isidro Barradas at Tampico, sent by the Spanish crown to retake Mexico, surrenders at the Battle of Tampico, marking the effective end of Spain's resistance to Mexico's campaign for independence.

Isidro Barrada

1814

War of 1812: The climax of the Battle of Plattsburgh, a major United States victory in the war.

Battle of Plattsburgh

1803

The Battle of Delhi, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, between British troops under General Lake, and Marathas of Scindia's army under General Louis Bourquin ends in a British victory.

Battle of Delhi (1803)

1802

France annexes the Kingdom of Piedmont.

Kingdom of Sardinia

1800

The Maltese National Congress Battalions are disbanded by British Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball.

National Congress Battalions

1792

The Hope Diamond is stolen along with other French crown jewels when six men break into the house where they are stored.

Hope Diamond

1789

Alexander Hamilton is appointed the first United States Secretary of the Treasury.

Alexander Hamilton

1786

The beginning of the Annapolis Convention.

Annapolis Convention (1786)

1780

American Revolutionary War: Sugarloaf massacre: A small detachment of militia from Northampton County, Pennsylvania, are attacked by Native Americans and Loyalists near Little Nescopeck Creek.

Sugarloaf massacre

1777

American Revolutionary War: Battle of Brandywine: The British celebrate a major victory in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Battle of Brandywine

1776

British–American peace conference on Staten Island fails to stop nascent American Revolutionary War.

Staten Island Peace Conference

1775

Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec leaves Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec

1758

Battle of Saint Cast: France repels British invasion during the Seven Years' War.

Battle of Saint-Cast

1714

Siege of Barcelona: Barcelona, capital city of the Principality of Catalonia, surrenders to Spanish and French Bourbon armies in the War of the Catalans, the last phase of the War of the Spanish Succession.

Siege of Barcelona (1713–1714)

1709

Battle of Malplaquet: Great Britain, Netherlands, and Austria fight against France.

Battle of Malplaquet

1708

Charles XII of Sweden stops his march to conquer Moscow outside Smolensk, marking the turning point in the Great Northern War. The army is defeated nine months later in the Battle of Poltava, and the Swedish Empire ceases to be a major power.

Charles XII of Sweden

1697

Battle of Zenta: a major engagement in the Great Turkish War (1683–1699) and one of the most decisive defeats in Ottoman history.

Battle of Zenta

1683

Coalition forces, including the famous winged Hussars, led by Polish King John III Sobieski lift the siege laid by Ottoman forces ahead of the Battle of Vienna.

Polish hussars

1649

Siege of Drogheda ends: Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarian troops take the town and execute its garrison.

Siege of Drogheda

1609

Henry Hudson arrives on Manhattan Island and meets the indigenous people living there.

Henry Hudson

1565

Ottoman forces retreat from Malta ending the Great Siege of Malta.

Ottoman Empire

1541

Santiago, Chile, is attacked by indigenous warriors, led by Michimalonco, to free eight indigenous chiefs held captive by the Spaniards.

Santiago

1390

Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392): The Teutonic Knights begin a five-week siege of Vilnius.

Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392)

1297

Battle of Stirling Bridge: Scots jointly led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeat the English.

Battle of Stirling Bridge

1275

An earthquake occurred in the south of Great Britain, notably causing multiple fatalities as well as destroying St Michael's Church on Glastonbury Tor.

1275 British earthquake

1185

Isaac II Angelos kills Stephen Hagiochristophorites and then appeals to the people, resulting in the revolt that deposes Andronikos I Komnenos and places Isaac on the throne of the Byzantine Empire.

Isaac II Angelos

9

The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hundred years.

0s