September 1

Events 
 Up to 1900 
 5509 BC – The world was created, according to the Byzantine Empire.
 327 – Start of first indiction cycle.
 717 – Siege of Constantinople: The Muslim armada, with 1,800 ships, is defeated by the Byzantine Empire's Navy through the use of Greek fire.
 1271 – Pope Gregory X is elected.
 1532 – Anne Boleyn is made Marquess of Pembroke by her future husband, King Henry VIII of England.
 1598 – Boris Godunov is crowned Tsar of Russia.
 1604 – Adi Granath, now known as Gupta Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism, is first installed at Harmandir Sahib.
 1644 – Battle of Tippermuir, Montrose defeats Elcho's Covenanters, reviving Royalist cause
 1715 – King Louis XIV of France dies after a reign of 72 years — longer than any major European monarch.
 1772 – Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa founded in San Luis Obispo, California.
 1804 – Juno, one of the largest main belt asteroids, was discovered by German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding.
 1807 – Former US Vice President Aaron Burr is acquitted of treason. He had been accused of plotting to annex parts of Louisiana and Mexico to become part of an independent republic.
 1818 – At London's St. Guy's Hospital, James Blundell carries out the first blood transfusion on a human. His patient, however, dies.
 1836 – Narcissa Whitman, one of the first white women to settle west of the Rocky Mountains, arrives at Walla Walla, Washington.
 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Chantilly – Confederate General Robert E. Lee leads his forces in an attack on retreating Union troops in Chantilly, Virginia, driving them away.
 1864 – American Civil War: Confederate General John Bell Hood evacuates Atlanta, Georgia after a four–month siege mounted by Union General William T. Sherman.
 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: Prussian victory in the Battle of Sedan.
 1873 – Cetshwayo ascends to the throne of the Zulu Nation.
 1875 – A murder conviction effectively forces the violent Irish anti–owner coal miners, the "Molly Maguires", to disband.
 1878 – Emma Nutt becomes the first female telephone operator.
 1894 – Great Hinckley Fire: A forest fire in Hinckley, Minnesota kills more than 400 people.
 1897 – The Boston subway opens, becoming the first underground metro in North America.

 1901 – 2000 
 1902 – A Trip to the Moon, directed by Georges Méliès and considered one of the first science fiction movies, is released in France.
 1905 – Alberta and Saskatchewan join the Canadian confederation.
 1906 – the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI) is established.
 1914 – St. Petersburg, Russia changes its name to Petrograd.
 1914 – The last Passenger Pigeon, a female named Martha, dies in captivity in the Cincinnati Zoo.
 1923 – An earthquake devastates Tokyo and Yokohama killing about 100,000 people. See Great Kantō earthquake for details.
 1928 – Ahmet Zogu declares Albania to be a monarchy and proclaims himself king.
 1939 – World War II: Nazi Germany attacks Poland, beginning the war. (See Polish September Campaign.)
 1939 – George Marshall becomes Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
 1951 – The United States, Australia and New Zealand all sign a mutual defense pact, called the ANZUS Treaty (for "Australia, New Zealand, United States").
 1952 – The Old Man and the Sea, the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Ernest Hemingway, is published.
 1954 – Paul "Bear" Bryant opens his infamous 10–day football mini–camp in Junction, Texas. The "survivors" of the ordeal will go down in football lore as The Junction Boys.
 1958 – Iceland expands its fishing zone, putting it into conflict with the United Kingdom, and starting the Cod Wars.
 1960 – Disgruntled railroad workers effectively halt operations of the Pennsylvania Railroad, marking the first shutdown in the history of the company.
 1961 – The Eritrean War of Independence begins.
 1962 – Channel Television launches to 54,000 households in the Channel Islands.
 1962 – An earthquake in Qazvin, Iran, kills more than 12,000 people.
 1969 – A coup in Libya brings Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi to power, ousting King Idris I.
 1969 – Tran Thien Khiem becomes Prime Minister of South Vietnam under Nguyen Van Thieu.
 1970 – The last episode of the television sitcom I Dream of Jeannie airs on NBC. The show premiered on September 18, 1965.
 1972 – In Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bobby Fischer beats Russian Boris Spassky and becomes the world chess champion.
 1974 – The SR-71 Blackbird plane sets the record for the time it takes to fly from New York City to London, doing so in an hour and 55 minutes. The record has not yet been beaten.
 1979 – The American Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft to visit Saturn when it passes the planet at a distance of 21,000 km.
 1980 – Chun Doo-hwan becomes president of South Korea after the resignation of Choi Kyu-ha.
 1980 – Terry Fox is forced to abandon his "Marathon of Hope" across Canada at Thunder Bay, Ontario.
 1981 – In the Central African Republic, David Dacko is removed in a military coup.
 1983 – Cold War: Korean Air Flight KAL-007 shot down by a Soviet Union jet fighter when the commercial aircraft entered Soviet airspace. All 269 on board die.
 1984 – An attack on Kabul Airport kills 42 people.
 1985 – A joint American–French expedition locates the wreck of the RMS Titanic.
 1986 – Soviet passenger steamer Admiral Nakhimov sinks in the Black Sea, after a collision, killing 398 people.
 1991 – The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is released in North America.
 1991 – Uzbekistan declares independence from the Soviet Union.
 1992 – Slovakia's Constitution is ratified.
 1995 – The PlayStation video game system is released in North America.
 1999 – A LAPA Boeing 737–200 crashes during takeoff from Jorge Newbury Airport in Buenos Aires, killing 74, including 10 on the ground.

 From 2001 
 2001 – In the largest media market change in North American television history, every single commercial television station in Vancouver, British Columbia switches network affiliations after a round of ownership changes in 2000.
 2004 – The Beslan school siege begins, when armed terrorists take children and adults hostage at a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, southern Russia. The siege ends in a massacre two days later.
 2005 – Then–Governor of Louisiana Kathleen Blanco gives a "Shoot to Kill" order against looters following Hurricane Katrina.
 2006 – Luxembourg completes the move to all–digital broadcasting.
 2016 – A SpaceX rocket explodes on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
 2017 – Vladimir Putin's decision to expel 755 diplomats from Russia, in response to United States sanctions, takes effect.
 2018 – The funeral of United States Senator John McCain takes place at Washington National Cathedral.
 2019 – Hurricane Dorian hits the Bahamas as a Category 5 (the strongest measurement) storm.

 Births 
 Up to 1900 
 948 – Emperor Jingzong of Liao, of the Liao Dynasty in China (d. 982)
 1068 – King Henry I of England, English royal (d. 1135)
 1145 – Ibn Jubayr, Muslim geographer and poet (d. 1217)
 1286 – Elisabeth Richeza of Poland (d. 1335)
 1525 – Christoffer Valkendorff, Danish statesman (d. 1601)
 1566 – Edward Alleyn, English actor (d. 1626)
 1588 – Henri, Prince of Condé (d. 1646)
 1611 – William Cartwright, English playwright (d. 1643)
 1647 – Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark (d. 1717)
 1651 – Nataliya Kyrillovna Naryshkina, Tsaritsa of Russia (d. 1694)
 1653 – Johann Pachelbel, German composer (d. 1706)
 1689 – Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, Czech baroque architect (d. 1751)
 1711 – William IV, Prince of Orange (d. 1759)
 1785 – Philip Allen, 22nd Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1865)
 1798 – Ferenc Gyulay, Austrian–Hungarian field marshal (d. 1868)
 1818 – José María Castro Madriz, first President of Costa Rica (d. 1892)
 1827 – Elisha Baxter, American politician, 10th Governor of Arkansas (d. 1899)
 1846 – Carlo Cafiero, Italian anarchist and revolutionary (d. 1892)
 1848 – Auguste Forel, Swiss scientist (d. 1931)
 1854 – Engelbert Humperdinck, German composer (d. 1921)
 1855 – Innokenty Annensky, Russian poet (d. 1909)
 1856 – Sergei Winogradsky, Russian scientist (d. 1953)
 1861 – Lazar Edeleanu, Romanian chemist (d. 1941)
 1862 – Nitobe Inazo, Japanese diplomat (d. 1933)
 1863 – Joao Pinheiro Chagas, Portuguese journalist and politician (d. 1925)
 1864 – Roger Casement, Irish diplomat, poet, patriot and activist (d. 1916)
 1866 – James Corbett, American boxer (d. 1933)
 1871 – J. Reuben Clark, American civil sergeant, lawyer and religious leader (d. 1961)
 1873 – Robert P. Bass, 53rd Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1960)
 1875 – Edgar Rice Burroughs, American writer (d. 1950)
 1877 – Francis William Aston, British chemist (d. 1945)
 1878 – Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg Gotha (d. 1942)
 1878 – Tullio Serafin, Italian conductor (d. 1968)
 1883 – Didier Pitre, French–Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1934)
 1884 – Hilda Rix Nicholas, Australian artist (d. 1961)
 1884 – Sigurd Wallén, Swedish actor and movie director (d. 1947)
 1886 – Tarsila do Amaral, Brazilian painter (d. 1973)
 1886 – Othmar Schreck, Swiss composer and conductor (d. 1957)
 1887 – Blaise Cendrars, Swiss writer and adventurer (d. 1961)
 1892 – Leverett Saltonstall, 55th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1979)
 1893 – Betty Blythe, American actress (d. 1972)
 1895 – Engelbert Zaschka, German helicopter pioneer (d. 1955)
 1896 – Simon Barere, Russian pianist (d. 1951)
 1898 – Marilyn Miller, American tap dancer and musical singer (d. 1936)

 1901 – 1950 
 1906 – Joaquín Balaguer, President of the Dominican Republic (d. 2002)
 1907 – Walter Reuther, American labor union leader (d. 1970)
 1907 – Miriam Seegar, American actress (d. 2011)
 1912 – Gwynfor Evans, Welsh politician (d. 2005)
 1915 – Ken Aston, English football referee (d. 2001)
 1916 – Dorothy Cheney, American tennis player (d. 2014)
 1920 – Richard Farnsworth, American actor (d. 2000)
 1922 – Yvonne De Carlo, Canadian–American actress (d. 2007)
 1922 – Vittorio Gassman, Italian actor and director (d. 2000)
 1923 – Rocky Marciano, American boxer (d. 1969)
 1924 – Hal Douglas, American voice actor (d. 2014)
 1924 – Gustavo Bueno, Spanish philosopher (d. 2016)
 1925 – Roy J. Glauber, American physicist (d. 2018)
 1925 – Art Pepper, American saxophonist (d. 1982)
 1926 – Abdur Rahman Biswas, former President of Bangladesh (d. 2017)
 1926 – Gene Colan, American comic book artist (d. 2011)
 1926 – Frank Morris, American criminal (missing since 1962)
 1926 – Stanley Cavell, American philosopher (d. 2018)
 1926 – Sam Pivnik, Polish Holocaust survivor and author (d. 2017) 
 1928 – George Maharis, American actor
 1929 – Anne Ramsey, American actress (d. 1988)
 1930 – Michel Serres, French philosopher (d. 2019)
 1930 – Khem Singh Gill, Indian geneticist and plant breeder (d. 2019)
 1930 – Charles Correa, Indian architect (d. 2015)
 1931 – Boxcar Willie, American musician (d. 1999)
 1931 – Javier Solís, Mexican singer (d. 1966)
 1931 – Cecil Parkinson, British politician (d. 2016)
 1932 – Derog Gioura, President of Nauru (d. 2008)
 1932 – Sunny von Bülow, American socialite (d. 2008)
 1933 – Ann Richards, American politician and Governor of Texas (d. 2006)
 1933 – Conway Twitty, American singer and musician (d. 1993)
 1934 – Léon Mébiame, former Prime Minister of Gabon
 1934 – Terepai Maoate, Cook Islands politician (d. 2012)
 1935 – Seiji Ozawa, Japanese conductor
 1936 – Robert List, 24th Governor of Nevada
 1937 – Afzal Ahsan Randhawa, Pakistani writer (d. 2017)
 1937 – Allen Jones, British musician
 1937 – Allen Weinstein, American historian and educator (d. 2015)
 1938 – Alan Dershowitz, American lawyer and writer
 1938 – Per Kirkeby, Danish painter, sculptor and poet (d. 2018)
 1939 – Lily Tomlin, American actress and comedienne
 1939 – Eoin Young, New Zealand journalist (d. 2014)
 1941 – Julia Varady, German opera singer
 1942 – António Lobo Antunes, Portuguese writer
 1942 – C. J. Cherryh, American writer
 1943 – Don Stroud, American actor
 1945 – Mustafa Balel, Turkish writer
 1945 – Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Yemeni general, politician and President
 1946 – Barry Gibb, British singer and musician (the Bee Gees)
 1946 – David Greaves, British snooker player (d. 2019)
 1946 – Roh Moo-hyun, President of South Korea (d. 2009)
 1947 – P. A. Sangma, Indian politician (d. 2016)
 1948 – James Rebhorn, American actor (d. 2014)
 1949 – Garry Maddox, American baseball player and sportscaster
 1949 – Alasdair McDonnell, Irish politician
 1950 – Phil McGraw (known as "Dr. Phil"), American talk show host
 1950 – Nicu Ceausescu, Romanian politician (d. 1996)
 1950 – Mikhail Fradkov, Russian politician

 1951 – 1975 
 1952 – Manuel Piñero, Spanish golfer
 1952 – Brad Linaweaver, American writer (d. 2019)
 1954 – Filip Vujanovic, Montenegrin President
 1955 – Bruce Foxton, English bass player
 1955 – Gerhard Strack, German footballer
 1956 – Kim Jong-Hun, North Korean football coach
 1956 – Vinnie Johnson, American basketball player
 1957 – Gloria Estefan, Cuban–American singer
 1958 – Armi Aavikko, Finnish singer (d. 2002)
 1960 – Joseph Williams, American singer–songwriter (Toto)
 1961 – Scott Bigelow, American professional wrestler (d. 2007)
 1961 – Christopher Ferguson, American captain, pilot and astronaut
 1962 – Ruud Gullit, Dutch footballer
 1962 – Scott Ciencin, American novelist (d. 2014)
 1965 – Craig McLachlan, Australian actor & singer
 1965 – Tibor Simon, Hungarian footballer
 1966 – Tim Hardaway, American basketball player
 1968 – Mohamed Atta, Egyptian terrorist (d. 2001)
 1969 – Henning Berg, Norwegian footballer
 1970 – Padma Lakshmi, Indian–American actress and author
 1971 – Hakan Sukur, Turkish footballer
 1971 – Ricardo Antonio Chavira, American actor
 1971 – Helena af Sandeberg, Swedish actress
 1971 – Dave Wittenberg, South African–American voice actor and screenwriter
 1973 – Ram Kapoor, Indian actor
 1973 – Savo Milosevic, Serbian footballer
 1974 – Jhonen Vasquez, American comic book artist
 1974 – Yutaka Yamamoto, Japanese cartoonist and director
 1975 – Scott Speedman, English–born actor

 From 1976 
 1976 – Babydaddy, American singer-songwriter, musician and producer (Scissor Sisters)
 1976 – Takashi Fukunishi, Japanese footballer
 1977 – David Albelda, Spanish footballer
 1980 – Sammy Adjei, Ghanaian footballer
 1981 – Clinton Portis, American baseball player
 1982 – Ryan Gomes, American basketball player
 1983 – José Antonio Reyes, Spanish footballer (d. 2019)
 1984 – Joe Trohman, American musician (Fall Out Boy)
 1986 – Gaël Monfils, French tennis player
 1986 – Stella Mwangi, Norwegian singer
 1987 – Christian Traesch, German footballer
 1988 – Chanel West Coast, American model, actress, rapper and singer–songwriter
 1989 – Max Franz, Austrian skier
 1989 – Bill & Tom Kaulitz, German singers
 1989 – Jefferson Montero, Ecuadorean footballer
 1989 – Daniel Sturridge, English footballer
 1990 – Aisling Loftus, English actress
 1990 – Mélanie René, Swiss singer
 1991 – Irina Antonenko, Russian model
 1992 – Kirani James, Grenadian sprinter
 1993 – Ilona Mitrecey, French singer
 1994 – Bianca Ryan, American singer
 1996 – Zendaya, American actress, singer and dancer

 Deaths 
 Up to 1900 
 1067 – Baldwin of Flanders
 1159 – Pope Adrian IV (b. 1100)
 1256 – Kujo Yoritsune, Japanese shogun (b. 1218)
 1557 – Jacques Cartier, French explorer (b. 1491)
 1574 – Guru Amar Das, third Sikh Guru (b. 1479)
 1581 – Guru Ram Das, fourth Sikh Guru (b. 1534)
 1648 – Marin Mersenne, French mathematician (b. 1588)
 1678 – Jan Brueghel the Younger, Flemish painter (b. 1601)
 1715 – King Louis XIV of France (b. 1638)
 1715 – François Gilardon, French sculptor (b. 1628)
 1777 – Johann Ernst Bach II, German poet (b. 1722)
 1838 – William Clark, American explorer (b. 1770)
 1868 – Ferenc Gyulay, Austrian–Hungarian field marshal (b. 1798)

 1901 – 2000 
 1906 – Giuseppe Giacosa, Italian poet and playwright (b. 1847)
 1914 – Martha, last Passenger Pigeon
 1943 – Charles Atangana, Cameroonian chief (b. 1880)
 1945 – Terry, American Cairn Terrier who starred in The Wizard of Oz (b. 1933)
 1953 – Jacques Thibaud, French violinist (b. 1880)
 1957 – Dennis Brain, English French horn player (b. 1921)
 1961 – Eero Saarinen, Finnish architect and designer (b. 1910)
 1967 – Ilse Koch, wife of Karl Koch, commandant of the concentration camp Buchenwald (b. 1906)
 1967 – Siegfried Sassoon, English poet and writer (b. 1886)
 1969 – Drew Pearson, American newspaper columnist (b. 1897)
 1970 – François Mauriac, French writer (b. 1885)
 1977 – Ethel Waters, American singer, actress (b. 1896)
 1981 – Ann Harding, American actress and singer (b. 1901)
 1981 – Albert Speer, Nazi official (b. 1905)
 1982 – Wladyslaw Gomulka, Polish Communist leader (b. 1905)
 1983 – Larry McDonald, United States Congressman (b. 1935)
 1983 – Henry M. Jackson, Senator from Washington (b. 1912)
 1986 – Murray Hamilton, American actor (b. 1923)
 1988 – Luis Walter Alvarez, American physicist (b. 1911)
 1989 – Kazimierz Deyna, Polish footballer (b. 1947)
 1989 – A. Bartlett Giamatti, American baseball commissioner (b. 1938)
 1990 – Geir Hallgrímsson, Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1925)
 1997 – Zoltan Czibor, Hungarian footballer (b. 1929)

 From 2001 
 2003 – Sir Terry Frost, British artist (b. 1915)
 2004 – Ahmed Kuftaro, Syrian religious leader (b. 1915)
 2006 – Bob O'Connor, 57th Mayor of Pittsburgh (b. 1944)
 2008 – Jerry Reed, American actor and musician (b. 1937)
 2008 – Don LaFontaine, American voice actor (b. 1940)
 2009 – Erich Kunzel, American conductor (b. 1935)
 2012 – Hal David, American songwriter (b. 1921)
 2012 – Smarck Michel, 6th Prime Minister of Haiti (b. 1937)
 2013 – Tommy Morrison, American boxer (b. 1969)
 2013 – Ole Ernst, Danish actor (b. 1940)
 2014 – Mark Gil, Filipino actor (b. 1961)
 2014 – Maya Rao, Indian dancer (b. 1928)
 2014 – Gottfried John, German actor (b. 1942)
 2014 – Elena Varzi, Italian actress (b. 1926)
 2014 – A. J. Langguth, American historian and journalist (b. 1933)
 2014 – Mary T. Clark, American academic and civil rights advocate (b. 1913)
 2014 – Joseph Shivers, American textile chemist (b. 1920)
 2015 – Gurgen Dalibaltayan, Armenian colonel–general (b. 1926)
 2015 – Antonio Nirta, Italian criminal (b. 1919)
 2015 – Dean Jones, American actor (b. 1931)
 2015 – Boomer Castleman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
 2015 – Will Provine, American biologist and historian (b. 1942)
 2015 – Ben Kuroki, American air force gunner (b. 1917)
 2016 – Jon Polito, American actor (b. 1950)
 2016 – Kacey Jones, American singer–songwriter (b. 1950)
 2017 – Shelley Berman, American comedian and actor (b. 1925)
 2017 – Charles Gordon-Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond, British peer (b. 1929)
 2017 – Peadar Lamb, Irish actor (b. 1930)
 2017 – Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, English cardinal (b. 1932)
 2017 – Gin D. Wong, Chinese–born American architect (b. 1922)
 2018 – Irving Petlin, American artist (b. 1934)
 2018 – Margit Sandemo, Norwegian–Swedish author (b. 1924)
 2018 – Tarun Sagar, Indian Jain monk (b. 1967)
 2018 – Randy Weston, American jazz pianist and composer (b. 1926)
 2018 – Ehsan Yarshater, Iranian historian (b. 1920)
 2019 – Kenneth Baugh, Jamaican politician (b. 1941)
 2019 – Alison Cheek, Australian–American religious leader (b. 1927)
 2019 – Alberto Goldman, Brazilian politician (b. 1937)
 2019 – William J. Larkin Jr., American politician (b. 1928)
 2019 – Katherine MacLean, American science fiction writer (b. 1925)
 2019 – Jukka Virtanen, Finnish television presenter, film director, screenwriter and songwriter (b. 1933)

 Observances 
 Constitution Day in Slovakia
 Independence Day in Uzbekistan
 Armed Struggle for Independence (Eritrea)
 Knowledge Day (Russia)
 Disaster Prevention Day (Japan)
 Revolution Day in Libya (1969 – 2010)

September 01