Did you know
Margaret Chase Smith served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1940 to 1949, representing Maine's 2nd congressional district.
September 13 in History
1948 — Margaret Chase Smith is elected United States senator, and becomes the first woman to serve in both the U
S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
September 13 spans 56 recorded events across recorded history, from 585 BC to 2013. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
56 events
585 BC – 2013
Today in history
More major events on September 13
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1788 The Congress of the Confederation sets the date for the first presidential election in the United States, and New York City becomes the country's temporary capital. Source
- 1933 Elizabeth McCombs becomes the first woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament. Source
- 1979 South Africa grants independence to the "homeland" of Venda (not recognised outside South Africa). Source
Did you know
Smith was a member of the Republican Party and held her U.S. Senate seat from 1949 to 1973.
Did you know
Her 1950 speech 'Declaration of Conscience' criticized the tactics of Joseph McCarthy, making her one of the first to do so.
Did you know
Smith was a pioneer for women in politics, becoming the first woman to serve in both houses of the U.S. Congress.
Did you know
Margaret Chase Smith was re-elected to the U.S. Senate three times, serving a total of four terms until her defeat in 1972.
-585
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victories over the Sabines, and the surrender of Collatia.
Fifth King of Rome
-509
The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Rome's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September.
Temple on the Capitoline Hill of Ancient Rome
533
Belisarius of the Byzantine Empire defeats Gelimer and the Vandals at the Battle of Ad Decimum, near Carthage, North Africa.
6th-century Byzantine general
1229
Ögedei Khan is proclaimed Khagan of the Mongol Empire in Kodoe Aral, Khentii: Mongolia.
Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1229 to 1241
1437
Battle of Tangier: a Portuguese expeditionary force initiates a failed attempt to seize the Moroccan citadel of Tangier.
Failed Portuguese invasion of the Marinid city
1609
Henry Hudson reaches the river that would later be named after him – the Hudson River.
English explorer (c. 1565 – after 1611)
1645
Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Scottish Royalists are defeated by Covenanters at the Battle of Philiphaugh.
British civil wars, 1639–1653
1743
Great Britain, Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia sign the Treaty of Worms.
State in Southern Europe from 1324 to 1861
1759
Battle of the Plains of Abraham: the British defeat the French near Quebec City in the Seven Years' War, known in the United States as the French and Indian War.
1759 British–French battle near Quebec City
1782
American Revolutionary War: Franco-Spanish troops launch the unsuccessful "grand assault" during the Great Siege of Gibraltar.
1775–1783 conflict in North America
1788
The Congress of the Confederation sets the date for the first presidential election in the United States, and New York City becomes the country's temporary capital.
Governing body of the United States from 1781 to 1789
1791
King Louis XVI accepts the new French constitution.
King of France from 1774 to 1792
1807
Beethoven's Mass in C major, Op.
86, is premiered, commissioned by Nikolaus I, Prince Esterházy, and displeasing him.
1808
Finnish War: In the Battle of Jutas, Swedish forces under Lieutenant General Georg Carl von Döbeln beat the Russians, making von Döbeln a Swedish war hero.
1808–1809 war between Russia and Sweden
1812
War of 1812: A supply wagon sent to relieve Fort Harrison is ambushed in the Attack at the Narrows.
1812–1815 conflict in North America
1814
In a turning point in the War of 1812, the British fail to capture Baltimore.
During the battle, Francis Scott Key composes his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry", which is later set to music and becomes the United States' national anthem.
1843
The Greek Army rebels (OS date: September 3) against the autocratic rule of king Otto of Greece, demanding the granting of a constitution.
Military uprising in Greece which established a constitutional monarchy
1847
Mexican–American War: Six teenage military cadets known as Niños Héroes die defending Chapultepec Castle in the Battle of Chapultepec.
American troops under General Winfield Scott capture Mexico City in the Mexican–American War.
1848
Vermont railroad worker Phineas Gage survives an iron rod 1+1⁄4 inches (3.2 cm) in diameter being driven through his brain; the reported effects on his behavior and personality stimulate discussion of the nature of the brain and its functions.
American brain injury survivor (1823–1860)
1862
American Civil War: Union soldiers find a copy of Robert E.
Lee's battle plans in a field outside Frederick, Maryland. It is the prelude to the Battle of Antietam.
1880
The Basuto Gun War breaks out after the Basuto launch a rebellion against the Cape Colony.
Conflict between the Basuto and the Cape Colony
1882
Anglo-Egyptian War: The Battle of Tel el-Kebir is fought.
1882 British conquest of Egypt
1898
Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film.
American inventor in film development
1899
Mackinder, Ollier and Brocherel make the first ascent of Batian (5,199 m – 17,058 ft), the highest peak of Mount Kenya.
English geographer and politician (1861–1947)
1900
Filipino insurgents defeat a small American column in the Battle of Pulang Lupa, during the Philippine–American War.
1900 battle of the Philippine-American War
1906
The Santos-Dumont 14-bis makes a short hop, the first flight of a fixed-wing aircraft in Europe.
Aircraft created by Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont in 1906
1922
The final act of the Greco-Turkish War, the Great Fire of Smyrna, commences.
Conflict between the Kingdom of Greece and the Turkish National Movement
1923
Following a military coup in Spain, Miguel Primo de Rivera takes over, setting up a dictatorship.
Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930
1933
Elizabeth McCombs becomes the first woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament.
New Zealand politician (1873–1935)
1942
World War II: Second day of the Battle of Edson's Ridge in the Guadalcanal Campaign.
U.S. Marines successfully defeat attacks by the Japanese with heavy losses for the Japanese forces.
1944
World War II: Start of the Battle of Meligalas between the Greek Resistance forces of the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) and the collaborationist security battalions.
1944 battle between the Greek Resistance and Axis collaborators in WWII
1948
Deputy Prime Minister of India Vallabhbhai Patel orders the Army to move into Hyderabad to integrate it with the Indian Union.
Indian independence activist (1875–1950)
1953
Nikita Khrushchev is appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964
1956
The IBM 305 RAMAC is introduced, the first commercial computer to use disk storage.
First computer to use magnetic disk storage
1956
The dike around the Dutch polder East Flevoland is closed.
Ridge or wall to hold back water
1962
An appeals court orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, the first African-American student admitted to the segregated university.
American civil rights activist (born 1933)
1964
South Vietnamese Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Dương Văn Đức fail in a coup attempt against General Nguyễn Khánh.
Defunct South Vietnamese ground forces
1964
Martin Luther King Jr.
addresses a crowd of 20,000 West Berliners on Sunday, in Waldbühne.
1968
Cold War: Albania leaves the Warsaw Pact.
1947–1991 geopolitical rivalry between US and USSR
1971
State police and National Guardsmen storm New York's Attica Prison to quell a prison revolt, which claimed 43 lives.
Military reserve organization
1971
Chairman Mao Zedong's second in command and successor Marshal Lin Biao flees China after the failure of an alleged coup.
His plane crashes in Mongolia, killing all aboard.
1979
South Africa grants independence to the "homeland" of Venda (not recognised outside South Africa).
Bantustan in South Africa (1979–1994)
1982
Spantax Flight 995 crashes at Málaga Airport during a rejected takeoff, killing 50 of the 394 people on board.
1982 aviation accident in Spain
1985
Super Mario Bros.
is released in Japan for the NES, which starts the Super Mario series of platforming games.
1986
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes Kalamata, Greece with a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing at least 20 and causing heavy damage in the city.
Earthquake in Greece
1987
Goiânia accident: A radioactive object is stolen from an abandoned hospital in Goiânia, Brazil, contaminating many people in the following weeks and causing some to die from radiation poisoning.
1987 radioactive contamination incident in Brazil
1988
Hurricane Gilbert is the strongest recorded hurricane in the Western Hemisphere, later replaced by Hurricane Wilma in 2005 (based on barometric pressure).
Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in 1988
1989
Largest anti-Apartheid march in South Africa, led by Desmond Tutu.
South African system of racial segregation
1993
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shakes hands with Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat at the White House after signing the Oslo Accords granting limited Palestinian autonomy.
Prime Minister of Israel (1974–1977; 1992–1995)
1997
A German Air Force Tupolev Tu-154 and a United States Air Force Lockheed C-141 Starlifter collide in mid-air near Namibia, killing 33.
Air warfare branch of the German military
2001
Civilian aircraft traffic resumes in the United States after the September 11 attacks.
2001 terror attacks in the U.S.
2007
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.
Declaration adopted in 2007 by the United Nations General Assembly
2007
The McLaren F1 team are found guilty of possessing confidential information from the Ferrari team, fined $100 million, and excluded from the constructors' championship standings.
British auto racing team
2008
Delhi, India, is hit by a series of bomb blasts, resulting in 30 deaths and 130 injuries.
Megacity and union territory of India
2013
Taliban insurgents attack the United States consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, with two members of the Afghan National Police reported dead and about 20 civilians injured.
Afghan Islamist militant organization