September
8
Independence
Day
Macedonia, Republic of : September 8
1991
September
8 : International Literacy Day
The
United Nations' (UN) International Literacy
Day annually falls on September 8 to raise
people's awareness of and concern for literacy
issues in the world.
The
United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and its partners
promote the day to underline the significance
of literacy for healthy societies, with a
strong emphasis on epidemics and communicable
diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
In
countries all over the world, including the
United States and the United Kingdom, the
day raises people's awareness of and concern
for literacy problems within their own communities.
Activities such as letters to the editor in
newspapers, as well as news reports about
the concerns for low literacy levels, have
occurred as a result of this increased awareness.
Other activities include literacy day projects,
particularly with regard to technology and
literature, which are promoted by various
organizations including reading associations.
September
8
Andorra
Our Lady of Meritxell Day, patron saint of
Andorra
Events
70
– Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem.
1264 – The Statute of Kalisz, guaranteeing
Jews safety and personal liberties and giving
battei din jurisdiction over Jewish matters,
is promulgated by Boleslaus the Pious, Duke
of Greater Poland.
1331 – Stephen Uroš IV Dušan declares himself
king of Serbia
1380 – Battle of Kulikovo – Russian forces
defeat a mixed army of Tatars and Mongols,
stopping their advance.
1449 – Battle of Tumu Fortress – Mongolians
capture the Chinese emperor.
1504 – Michelangelo's David is unveiled in
Florence.
1514 – Battle of Orsha – in one of the biggest
battles of the century, Lithuanians and Poles
defeat the Russian army.
1551 – The foundation day in Vitória, Brazil
1565 – The Knights of Malta lift the Turkish
siege of Malta that began on May 18.
1727 – A barn fire during a puppet show in
the village of Burwell in Cambridgeshire,
England kills 78 people, many of whom are
children.
1755 – French and Indian War: Battle of Lake
George.
1756 – French and Indian War: Kittanning Expedition.
1761 – Marriage of King George III of the
United Kingdom to Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of
Hondschoote.
1796 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of
Bassano – French forces defeat Austrian troops
at Bassano del Grappa.
1810 – The Tonquin sets sail from New York
Harbor with 33 employees of John Jacob Astor's
newly created Pacific Fur Company on board.
After a six-month journey around the tip of
South America, the ship arrives at the mouth
of the Columbia River and Astor's men establish
the fur-trading town of Astoria, Oregon.
1831 – William IV and Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland.
1860 – The Steamship Lady Elgin sinks on Lake
Michigan, with the loss of around 300 lives.
1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of
Sabine Pass – on the Texas-Louisiana border
at the mouth of the Sabine River, a small
Confederate force thwarts a Union invasion
of Texas.
1888 – In London, the body of Jack the Ripper's
second murder victim, Annie Chapman, is found.
1888 – In England the first six Football League
matches are played.
1892 – The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited.
1900 – Galveston Hurricane of 1900: a powerful
hurricane hits Galveston, Texas killing about
8,000 people.
1914 – World War I: Private Thomas Highgate
becomes the first British soldier to be executed
for desertion during the war.
1921 – 16-year-old Margaret Gorman wins the
Atlantic City Pageant's Golden Mermaid trophy;
pageant officials later dubbed her the first
Miss America.
1923 – Honda Point Disaster: nine US Navy
destroyers run aground off the California
coast. Seven are lost, and twenty-three sailors
killed.
1926 – Germany is admitted to the League of
Nations.
1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch transparent
tape.
1934 – Off the New Jersey coast, a fire aboard
the passenger liner SS Morro Castle kills
135 people.
1935 – US Senator from Louisiana, Huey Long,
nicknamed "Kingfish", is fatally
shot in the Louisiana capitol building.
1941 – World War II: Siege of Leningrad begins.
German forces begin a siege against the Soviet
Union's second-largest city, Leningrad.
1943 – World War II: The O.B.S. (German General
Headquarters for the Mediterranean zone) in
Frascati is bombed by USAAF.
1943 – World War II: United States General
Dwight D. Eisenhower publicly announces the
Allied armistice with Italy.
1944 – World War II: London is hit by a V2
rocket for the first time.
1944 – World War II: Menton is liberated from
Germany.
1945 – Cold War: United States troops arrive
to partition the southern part of Korea in
response to Soviet troops occupying the northern
part of the peninsula a month earlier.
1951 – Treaty of San Francisco: In San Francisco,
California, 48 nations sign a peace treaty
with Japan in formal recognition of the end
of the Pacific War.
1952 – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
makes its first televised broadcast on the
second escape of the Boyd Gang.
1954 – The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
(SEATO) is established.
1959 – The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)
is established.
1960 – In Huntsville, Alabama, US President
Dwight D. Eisenhower formally dedicates the
Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA had already
activated the facility on July 1).
1962 – Newly independent Algeria, by referendum,
adopts a constitution.
1962 – Last run of the famous Pines Express
over the Somerset and Dorset Railway line
(UK) fittingly using the last steam locomotive
built by British Railways, 9F locomotive 92220
Evening Star.
1965 – Pakistan Navy raids Indian coasts without
any resistance in Operation Dwarka, Pakistan
celebrates Victory Day annually.
1966 – The Severn Bridge is officially opened
by Queen Elizabeth II.
1966 – The first Star Trek series premieres
on NBC.
1967 – The formal end of steam traction in
the North East of England by British Railways.
1971 – In Washington, D.C., the John F. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts is inaugurated,
with the opening feature being the premiere
of Leonard Bernstein's Mass.
1974 – Watergate Scandal: US President Gerald
Ford pardons former President Richard Nixon
for any crimes Nixon may have committed while
in office.
1975 – Gays in the military: US Air Force
Tech Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, a decorated
veteran of the Vietnam War, appears in his
Air Force uniform on the cover of Time magazine
with the headline "I Am A Homosexual".
He is given a general discharge, which was
later upgraded to honorable.
1988 – Yellowstone National Park is closed
for the first time in U.S. history due to
ongoing fires.
1991 – The Republic of Macedonia becomes independent.
1994 – USAir Flight 427, on approach to Pittsburgh
International Airport, suddenly crashes in
clear weather killing all 132 aboard; resulting
in the most extensive aviation investigation
in world history and altering manufacturing
practices in the industry.
2004 – NASA's unmanned spacecraft Genesis
crash-lands when its parachute fails to open.
2005 – Two EMERCOM Il-76 aircraft land at
a disaster aid staging area at Little Rock
Air Force Base; the first time Russia has
flown such a mission to North America.
Holidays
and observances
Christian
Feast Day:
Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia (Roman Catholic
Church)
Nativity of Mary (Roman Catholic Church)
Our Lady of Charity
Pope Sergius I
September 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which Auditor's Day can fall,
while September 14 is the latest; celebrated
on the second Sunday in September. (Church
of Scientology)
Feast of 'Izzat (Might) – First day of the
tenth month of the Bahá'í calendar. (Bahá'í
Faith)
Independence day, celebrates the independence
of Macedonia from Yugoslavia in 1991.
International Literacy Day (International)
National day, also the feast of Our Lady of
Meritxell. (Andorra)
Navy Day (Pakistan)
The first day of Fiestas de Santa Fe, marked
by the burning of the Zozobra (New Mexico)
Victory Day, also the feast of Our Lady of
Victories or il-Vittorja (Malta)
For details, contact Datacentre
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