On This Day - September 1
Image credit: The GrayVine
Ready to take a trip down memory lane? Let's look back at some of the most significant events in America and beyond that happened on this day, starting with...
1838: The Death of William Clark
American explorer William Clark passed away. He was celebrated for co-leading the historic Lewis and Expedition, which mapped the uncharted western territories of the United States.
1875: The Birth of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Author Edgar Rice Burroughs was born. He would go on to create one of literature's most iconic characters, Tarzan of the Apes.
1914: The Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon
The last known passenger pigeon, a bird named Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoo. Her death marked the official extinction of a species that once numbered in the billions across North America.
1939: The Invasion of Poland
Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland. This act of aggression, combined with new blitzkrieg warfare tactics and a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, triggered the beginning of World War II.
1952: Publication of The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway's novella The Old Man and the Sea was first published in Life magazine. The acclaimed story, released as a book shortly after, would win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953.
1954: Premiere of Rear Window
Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller Rear Window, starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, premiered in US theaters. The film was instantly recognized as a masterpiece and is considered a classic of cinema.
1972: An American Chess Champion
Bobby Fischer of the United States defeated the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky in a celebrated match, becoming the first American-born world chess champion.
1985: The Discovery of the Titanic
An expedition led by American oceanographer Robert Ballard successfully located the wreck of the RMS Titanic, which was found broken in two on the North Atlantic seafloor at a depth of roughly 13,000 feet.
Do you have more events (historical or not!) you'd like to share with the community? Post them below and let's reminisce together!
