On This Day — 7 September

2021

Bitcoin becomes legal tender in El Salvador.

Bitcoin

2021

The National Unity Government of Myanmar declares a people's defensive war against the military junta during the Myanmar civil war.

National Unity Government of Myanmar

2019

Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and 66 others are released in a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia.

Oleh Sentsov

2017

The 8.2 Mw  2017 Chiapas earthquake strikes southern Mexico, killing at least 60 people.

2017 Chiapas earthquake

2012

Canada officially cuts diplomatic ties with Iran by closing its embassy in Tehran and orders the expulsion of Iranian diplomats from Ottawa, over nuclear plans and purported human rights abuses.

Canada–Iran relations

2011

The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash in Russia kills 43 people, including nearly the entire roster of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Kontinental Hockey League team.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash

2010

A Chinese fishing trawler collides with two Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats in disputed waters near the Senkaku Islands.

2010 Senkaku boat collision incident

2008

The United States government takes control of the two largest mortgage financing companies in the US, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

2005

Egypt holds its first-ever multi-party presidential election.

2005 Egyptian presidential election

1999

The 6.0 Mw  Athens earthquake affected the area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 143, injuring 800–1,600, and leaving 50,000 homeless.

1999 Athens earthquake

1997

Maiden flight of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.

Maiden flight

1995

Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on STS-69, the second flight of the Wake Shield Facility.

Space Shuttle Endeavour

1986

Desmond Tutu becomes the first black man to lead the Anglican Diocese of Cape Town.

Desmond Tutu

1986

Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet survives an assassination attempt by the FPMR; five of Pinochet's bodyguards are killed.

Chile

1984

An explosion on board a Maltese patrol boat disposing of illegal fireworks at sea off Gozo kills seven soldiers and policemen.

C23 tragedy

1979

The Chrysler Corporation asks the United States government for US$1.5 billion to avoid bankruptcy.

Chrysler

1978

While walking across Waterloo Bridge in London, Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov is assassinated by Bulgarian secret police agent Francesco Gullino by means of a ricin pellet fired from a specially designed umbrella.

Georgi Markov

1977

The Torrijos–Carter Treaties between Panama and the United States on the status of the Panama Canal are signed. The United States agrees to transfer control of the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century.

Torrijos–Carter Treaties

1977

The 300-metre-tall CKVR-DT transmission tower in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, is hit by a light aircraft in a fog, causing it to collapse. All aboard the aircraft are killed.

CKVR-DT

1970

Fighting begins between Arab guerrillas and government forces in Jordan.

Black September

1970

Vietnam Television was established.

Vietnam Television

1965

During an Indo-Pakistani War, China announces that it will reinforce its troops on the Indian border.

India–Pakistan war of 1965

1965

Vietnam War: In a follow-up to August's Operation Starlite, United States Marines and South Vietnamese forces initiate Operation Piranha on the Batangan Peninsula.

Vietnam War

1963

The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio with 17 charter members.

Pro Football Hall of Fame

1953

Nikita Khrushchev is elected first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Nikita Khrushchev

1945

World War II: Japanese forces on Wake Island, which they had held since December 1941, surrender to U.S. Marines.

Wake Island

1945

The Berlin Victory Parade of 1945 is held.

Berlin Victory Parade of 1945

1943

A fire at the Gulf Hotel in Houston kills 55 people.

Gulf Hotel fire

1943

World War II: The German 17th Army begins its evacuation of the Kuban bridgehead (Taman Peninsula) in southern Russia and moves across the Strait of Kerch to the Crimea.

17th Army (Wehrmacht)

1942

World War II: Japanese marines are forced to withdraw during the Battle of Milne Bay.

Special Naval Landing Forces

1940

Romania returns Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria under the Treaty of Craiova.

Southern Dobruja

1940

World War II: The German Luftwaffe begins the Blitz, bombing London and other British cities for over 50 consecutive nights.

World War II

1936

The last thylacine, a carnivorous marsupial, dies alone in its cage at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania.

Thylacine

1932

The Battle of Boquerón, the first major battle of the Chaco War, commences.

Battle of Boquerón (1932)

1929

Steamer Kuru capsizes and sinks on Lake Näsijärvi near Tampere in Finland. One hundred thirty-six lives are lost.

SS Kuru

1927

The first fully electronic television system is achieved by Philo Farnsworth.

Philo Farnsworth

1923

The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) is formed.

Interpol

1921

In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first Miss America Pageant, a two-day event, is held.

Atlantic City, New Jersey

1921

The Legion of Mary, the largest apostolic organization of lay people in the Catholic Church, is founded in Dublin, Ireland.

Legion of Mary

1920

Two newly purchased Savoia flying boats crash in the Swiss Alps en route to Finland where they were to serve with the Finnish Air Force, killing both crews.

SIAI-Marchetti

1916

US federal employees win the right to Workers' compensation by Federal Employers Liability Act (39 Stat. 742; 5 U.S.C. 751)

Workers' compensation

1911

French poet Guillaume Apollinaire is arrested and put in jail on suspicion of stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre museum.

Guillaume Apollinaire

1909

Eugène Lefebvre crashes a new French-built Wright biplane during a test flight at Port-Aviation (often called "Juvisy Airfield") at Viry-Châtillon, south of Paris, becoming the first aviator in the world to lose his life piloting a powered heavier-than-air craft.[better source needed]

Eugène Lefebvre

1907

Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania sets sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City.

Cunard Line

1906

Alberto Santos-Dumont flies his 14-bis aircraft at Bagatelle, France successfully for the first time.

Alberto Santos-Dumont

1903

The Ottoman Empire launches a counter-offensive against the Strandzha Commune, which dissolves.

Ottoman Empire

1901

The Boxer Rebellion in Qing dynasty (modern-day China) officially ends with the signing of the Boxer Protocol.

Boxer Rebellion

1876

In Northfield, Minnesota, Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang attempt to rob the town's bank but are driven off by armed citizens.

Northfield, Minnesota

1864

American Civil War: Atlanta is evacuated on orders of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman.

Atlanta

1863

American Civil War: Union troops under Quincy A. Gillmore capture Fort Wagner in Morris Island after a seven-week siege.

American Civil War

1860

Unification of Italy: Giuseppe Garibaldi enters Naples.

Unification of Italy

1857

Mountain Meadows massacre: Mormon settlers slaughter most members of a peaceful emigrant wagon train.

Mountain Meadows Massacre

1856

The Saimaa Canal is inaugurated.

Saimaa Canal

1822

Dom Pedro I declares Brazil independent from Portugal on the shores of the Ipiranga Brook in São Paulo.

Pedro I of Brazil

1818

Carl III of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim.

Charles XIV John

1812

French invasion of Russia: The Battle of Borodino, the bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, is fought near Moscow and results in a French victory.

French invasion of Russia

1778

American Revolutionary War: France invades Dominica in the British West Indies, before Britain is even aware of France's involvement in the war.

American Revolutionary War

1776

According to American colonial reports, Ezra Lee makes the world's first submarine attack in the Turtle, attempting to attach a time bomb to the hull of HMS Eagle in New York Harbor (no British records of this attack exist).

Ezra Lee

1764

Election of Stanisław August Poniatowski as the last ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Stanisław August Poniatowski

1706

War of the Spanish Succession: Siege of Turin ends, leading to the withdrawal of French forces from North Italy.

War of the Spanish Succession

1695

Henry Every perpetrates one of the most profitable pirate raids in history with the capture of the Grand Mughal ship Ganj-i-Sawai. In response, Emperor Aurangzeb threatens to end all English trading in India.

Henry Every

1652

Around 15,000 Han farmers and militia rebel against Dutch rule on Taiwan.

Han Chinese

1625

The Treaty of Southampton makes an alliance between England and the Dutch Republic against Spain.

Treaty of Southampton

1620

The town of Kokkola (Swedish: Karleby) is founded by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.

Kokkola

1571

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, is arrested for his role in the Ridolfi plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk

1303

Guillaume de Nogaret takes Pope Boniface VIII prisoner on behalf of Philip IV of France.

Guillaume de Nogaret

1228

Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II lands in Acre, Israel, and starts the Sixth Crusade, which results in a peaceful restoration of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

1191

Third Crusade: Battle of Arsuf: Richard I of England defeats Saladin at Arsuf.

Third Crusade

1159

Cardinal Rolando Bandinelli is elected Pope Alexander III, prompting the election of Cardinal Octaviano Monticelli as Antipope Victor IV the same day.

Pope Alexander III

878

Louis the Stammerer is crowned as king of West Francia by Pope John VIII.

Louis the Stammerer