Fiji Constitution Day (This public holiday was instituted in 2013 to commemorate the passing of the 2013 constitution, but it was first observed in 2016. Fiji's current constitution is its fourth since independence)
In 2016 one-tenth of the world's wilderness is reported to have disappeared in the last 20 years – an area twice the size of Alaska – with the Amazon and Central Africa being the hardest hit regions.
2008 – The United States government takes control of the two largest mortgage financing companies in the US, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
2005 – Egypt holds its first-ever multi-party presidential election.
1988 – Abdul Ahad Mohmand, the first Afghan in space, returns aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz TM-5 after nine days on the Mir space station.
1986 – Desmond Tutu becomes the first black man to lead the Anglican Church in South Africa.
1979 – The Chrysler Corporation asks the United States government for US$1.5 billion to avoid bankruptcy.
1978 – While walking across Waterloo Bridge in London, Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov is assassinated by Bulgarian secret police agent Francesco Giullino by means of a ricin pellet fired from a specially-designed umbrella.
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.
1965 – Vietnam War: In a follow-up to August's Operation Starlight, United States Marines and South Vietnamese forces initiate Operation Piranha on the Batangan Peninsula.
1953 – Nikita Khrushchev is elected first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
1932 – The Battle of Boquerón, the first major battle of the Chaco War, commences.
1927 – The first fully electronic television system is achieved by Philo Farnsworth.
1921 – In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first Miss America Pageant, a two-day event, is held.
1921 – The Legion of Mary, the largest apostolic organization of lay people in the Catholic Church, is founded in Dublin, Ireland.
1909 – Eugène Lefebvre crashes a new French-built Wright biplane during a test flight at Juvisy, south of Paris, becoming the first aviator in the world to lose his life in a powered heavier-than-air craft.
1906 – Alberto Santos-Dumont flies his 14-bis aircraft at Bagatelle, France for the first time successfully.
1864 – American Civil War: Atlanta is evacuated on orders of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman.
1863 – American Civil War: Union troops under Quincy A. Gillmore captures Fort Wagner in Morris Island after a 7-week siege.
1778 – American Revolutionary War: France invades Dominica in the British West Indies, before Britain is even aware of France's involvement in the 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).
Births
1988 – Kevin Love, American basketball player. Kevin Wesley Love (born September 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
1987 – Evan Rachel Wood, American actress and singer. Wood made her debut as a leading film actress at the age of nine in Digging to China (1997) and garnered acclaim for her Golden Globe-nominated role as the troubled teenager Tracy Freeland in the teen drama film Thirteen (2003).
1986 – Colin Delaney, American wrestler. Delaney formerly wrestled for World Wrestling Entertainment under its ECW brand, and has performed extensively on the independent circuit for promotions such as Squared Circle Wrestling, Chikara, NWA Upstate, Combat Zone Wrestling, and the International Wrestling Cartel under the names Colin Olsen and the "Extremely Cute Wrestler" Colin Delaney.
1983 – Pops Mensah-Bonsu, English-American basketball player. Pops Mensah-Bonsu (born 7 September 1983) is a British basketball executive, currently serving as general manager of the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League.
1982 – Andre Dirrell, American boxer. Andre Dirrell (born September 7, 1983) is an American professional boxer who held the IBF interim super middleweight title from 2017 to 2018.
1980 – Mark Prior, American baseball player. His repertoire of pitches included a mid-90s mph fastball, a curveball, a slurve, and a changeup.
1979 – Brian Stokes, American baseball player. He played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, New York Mets, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball.
1979 – Paul Mara, American ice hockey player. Paul Richard Mara (born September 7, 1979 born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and raised in Belmont, Massachusetts) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).
1977 – Molly Holly, American wrestler and trainer. Nora Kristina Benshoof (née Greenwald; born on September 7, 1977) is an American professional wrestler.
1974 – Antonio McDyess, American basketball player. Listed at 6'9" (2.06 m) and 245 lb (111 kg), McDyess played as a power forward.
1973 – Alex Kurtzman, American director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for executive producing the Star Trek franchise since 2009, co-writing the scripts to Transformers, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with his writing and producing partner Roberto Orci, and directing and co-writing The Mummy.
1973 – Shannon Elizabeth, American model and actress. She has also appeared in horror films such as Jack Frost, Thirteen Ghosts, Cursed, and Night of the Demons.
1972 – Jason Isringhausen, American baseball player and coach. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
1971 – Shane Mosley, American boxer and trainer. Shane Andre Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016.
1970 – Tom Everett Scott, American actor. His film work includes a starring role as drummer Guy Patterson in the film That Thing You Do!, the protagonist in An American Werewolf in Paris, and notable roles in Boiler Room, One True Thing, Dead Man on Campus, The Love Letter, Because I Said So, Danger One, and La La Land.
1969 – Darren Bragg, American baseball player and coach. Darren William Bragg (born September 7, 1969) is an American former baseball outfielder who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball.
1969 – Rudy Galindo, American figure skater. Val Joe "Rudy" Galindo (born September 7, 1969) is an American figure skater who competed in both single skating and pair skating.
1963 – Eazy-E, American rapper and producer (d. 1995), was an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. Dubbed the "Godfather of Gangsta Rap", he gained prominence for his work with N.W.A, where he has been credited for pushing the boundaries of lyrical and visual content in mainstream popular music.
1962 – George South, American wrestler. In the course of his career, South has wrestled for professional wrestling promotions such as Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Entertainment.
1962 – Jennifer Egan, American novelist and short story writer. As of February 28, 2018, she is the President of the PEN America Center.
1961 – LeRoi Moore, American saxophonist and songwriter (d. 2008). He was a founding member of the Dave Matthews Band.
1960 – Brad Houser, American bass player. John Bradley Houser (born September 7, 1960) is an American bass guitar, baritone saxophone and bass clarinet player, originally from Dallas, Texas.
1957 – Jermaine Stewart, American singer-songwriter and dancer (d. 1997), was an American male R&B singer best known for his 1986 hit single "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off", which reached number 2 in both the UK and Canada. It also reached number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
1956 – Diane Warren, American songwriter. She rose to prominence in 1983, and has since written songs for and co-written songs with multiple singers, as well as for several films.
1956 – Michael Feinstein, American singer and pianist. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for celebrating American musical theatre songs.
1955 – Mira Furlan, Croatian-American actress. Also, she appeared in the multiple award-winning films such as When Father Was Away on Business and The Abandoned.
1954 – Corbin Bernsen, American actor. Corbin Dean Bernsen (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor and director, known for his work on television.
1954 – Kerrie Holley, American software architect and academic. Kerrie Lamont Holley (born September 7, 1954) is an American software architect, author, researcher, consultant, and inventor and UnitedHealth Group, Optum Technology's first Technical Fellow.
1954 – Michael Emerson, American actor. Michael Emerson is an American film and television actor who is best known for his roles as serial killer William Hinks on The Practice, Benjamin Linus on Lost, Zep Hindle in the first Saw film, Cayden James on Arrow and Harold Finch on the CBS series Person of Interest.
1953 – Benmont Tench, American keyboardist and songwriter. Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
1951 – Chrissie Hynde, American singer-songwriter and guitarist. She is a founding member and the guitarist, lead vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band The Pretenders, as well as its only constant member.
1951 – Mark Isham, American trumpet player and composer. Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician.
1951 – Mark McCumber, American golfer. Mark Randall McCumber (born September 7, 1951) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour.
1950 – Julie Kavner, American actress. She is best known for her voice role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons.
1950 – Peggy Noonan, American author, journalist, speechwriter, and pundit. Margaret Ellen "Peggy" Noonan (born September 7, 1950) is an American author, weekly columnist for The Wall Street Journal, and contributor to NBC News and ABC News.
1949 – Barry Siegel, American journalist and academic. Siegel is the author of the true crime novel A Death in White Bear Lake, which is considered by many to be a seminal document regarding child abuse.
1949 – Gloria Gaynor, American singer-songwriter. Gloria Gaynor (born September 7, 1949) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (Hot 100 number 1, 1979), "Never Can Say Goodbye" (Hot 100 number 9, 1974), "Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (Hot 100 number 42, 1980) and "I Am What I Am" (R&B number 82, 1983).
1948 – Susan Blakely, American actress. Blakely also has appeared in films including The Towering Inferno (1974), Report to the Commissioner (1975), Capone (1975), The Concorde ...
1946 – Joe Klein, American journalist and author. Klein is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a former Guggenheim Fellow.
1946 – Suzyn Waldman, American sportscaster. Since the 2005 season, she has been the color commentator for New York Yankees baseball, working with John Sterling on radio broadcasts, first for WCBS-AM and currently for WFAN in New York City.
1946 – Willie Crawford, American baseball player (d. 2004), was a professional baseball outfielder. He played with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1964–1975), St.
1945 – Curtis Price, American musicologist and academic, was the Warden of New College, Oxford, between October 2009 and September 2016. He was previously principal of the Royal Academy of Music from 1995 to 2008 and Professor of Music in the University of London.
1944 – Earl Manigault, American basketball player and coach (d. 1998), was an American street basketball player who was nicknamed "the goat"
1944 – Forrest Blue, American football player (d. 2011), was an offensive lineman who spent eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Francisco 49ers (1968–1974) and Baltimore Colts (1975–1978).
1942 – Jonathan H. Turner, American sociologist. Turner (born September 7, 1942), is a professor of sociology at University of California, Riverside.
1939 – Latimore, American singer-songwriter and pianist. Latimore is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
1937 – John Phillip Law, American actor (d. 2008), was an American film actor.
1936 – Brian Hart, English race car driver and engineer, founded Brian Hart Ltd. (d. 2014), was a British racing driver and engineer with a background in the aviation industry. He is best known as the founder of Brian Hart Limited, a company that developed and built engines for motorsport use.
1936 – Buddy Holly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1959), was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, to a musical family during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings.
1935 – Dick O'Neal, American basketball player and dentist (d. 2013). He was an All-American college player at Texas Christian University (TCU) and a second round draft pick of the Boston Celtics in the 1957 NBA draft.
1934 – Little Milton, American singer and guitarist (d. 2005), was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his hit records "Grits Ain't Groceries," "Walking the Back Streets and Crying," and "We're Gonna Make It."
1932 – John Paul Getty Jr., American-English philanthropist and book collector (d. 2003), was a British philanthropist and book collector. He was the third of five sons born to Jean Paul Getty Sr. (1892–1976), one of the richest men in the world at the time, and his wife, Ann Rork.
1930 – Sonny Rollins, American saxophonist and composer. Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians.
1927 – Eric Hill, English-American author and illustrator (d. 2014), was an English author and illustrator of children's picture books, best known for his puppy character named Spot. His works have been widely praised for their contributions to child literacy.
1926 – Don Messick, American voice actor (d. 1997), was an American voice actor, best known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
1926 – Donald J. Irwin, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Mayor of Norwalk (d. 2013), was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 4th district, Connecticut State Treasurer and mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut.
1926 – Samuel Goldwyn Jr., American director and producer (d. 2015), was an American film producer.
1925 – Laura Ashley, Welsh-English fashion designer, founded Laura Ashley plc (d. 1985), was a Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She originally made furnishing materials in the 1950s, expanding the business into clothing design and manufacture in the 1960s.
1924 – Daniel Inouye, American captain and politician, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2012). Daniel Ken Inouye (/iːˈnoʊˌeɪ/ ee-NOH-ay; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) served as a United States Senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012.
1924 – Leonard Rosenman, American composer and conductor (d. 2008), was an American film, television and concert composer with credits in over 130 works, including Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Barry Lyndon and the animated The Lord of the Rings.
1923 – Louise Suggs, American golfer, co-founded LPGA (d. 2015), was an American professional golfer, one of the founders of the LPGA Tour and thus modern ladies' golf.
1923 – Peter Lawford, English-American actor (d. 1984), was an English actor, producer, and socialite, who lived in the United States throughout his adult life.
1921 – Peter A. Peyser, American soldier and politician (d. 2014). Peyser (September 7, 1921 – October 9, 2014) was a United States Representative from New York, serving from 1971 to 1977 as a Republican and from 1979 to 1983 as a Democrat.
1918 – Harold Amos, American microbiologist and academic (d. 2003), was an American microbiologist and professor. He taught at Harvard Medical School for nearly fifty years and was the first African-American department chair of the school.
1917 – Jacob Lawrence, American painter and educator (d. 2000), was an African-American painter known for his portrayal of African-American life. As well as a painter, storyteller, and interpreter, he was an educator.
1914 – James Van Allen, American physicist and philosopher (d. 2006), was an American space scientist at the University of Iowa. He was instrumental in establishing the field of magnetospheric research in space.
1912 – David Packard, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (d. 1996), was an American electrical engineer and co-founder, with William Hewlett, of Hewlett-Packard (1939), serving as president (1947–64), CEO (1964–68), and Chairman of the Board (1964–68, 1972–93) of HP. He served as U.S.
1909 – Elia Kazan, Greek-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003), was a Greek-American director, producer, writer and actor, described by The New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history".
1908 – Michael E. DeBakey, American surgeon and educator (d. 2008), was a Lebanese-American cardiac surgeon and vascular surgeon, scientist, and medical educator who became the chancellor emeritus of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, director of The Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, and senior attending surgeon of The Methodist Hospital in Houston, with a career spanning 75 years.
1908 – Paul Brown, American football player and coach (d. 1991), was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Cleveland Browns, a team named after him, and later played a role in founding the Cincinnati Bengals.
1904 – C. B. Colby, American author (d. 1977), was an American writer, primarily of nonfiction children's books. He wrote more than 100 books that were widely circulated in public and school libraries in the United States.
1903 – Dorothy Marie Donnelly, American poet and author (d. 1994), was a poet and essayist, the author of six books of poetry and prose and numerous articles published in Europe and the US.
1903 – Margaret Landon, American missionary and author (d. 1993), was an American writer best remembered for Anna and the King of Siam, her best-selling 1944 novel of the life of Anna Leonowens which eventually sold over a million copies and was translated into more than twenty languages. In 1950, Landon sold the musical play rights to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, who created the musical The King and I from her book.
1900 – Giuseppe Zangara, Italian-American assassin of Anton Cermak (d. 1933), was an Italian immigrant and naturalized United States citizen who attempted to assassinate then-President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 15, 1933, seventeen days before Roosevelt's inauguration.
1900 – Taylor Caldwell, English-American author (d. 1985), was a British-born American novelist and prolific author of popular fiction, also known by the pen names Marcus Holland and Max Reiner, and by her married name of J. Miriam Reback.
1894 – George Waggner, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1984), was an actor, director, producer and writer. He is best known for directing Lon Chaney Jr. in the 1941 film The Wolf Man.
1885 – Elinor Wylie, American author and poet (d. 1928), was an American poet and novelist popular in the 1920s and 1930s. "She was famous during her life almost as much for her ethereal beauty and personality as for her melodious, sensuous poetry."
1875 – Edward Francis Hutton, American businessman and financier, co-founded E. F. Hutton & Co. (d. 1962), was an American financier and co-founder of E. F.
1867 – J. P. Morgan Jr., American banker and philanthropist (d. 1943), was an American banker, finance executive, and philanthropist. Jack Morgan inherited the family fortune and took over the business interests including J.P.
1862 – Edgar Speyer, American-English financier and philanthropist (d. 1932), was an American-born financier and philanthropist. He became a British subject in 1892 and was chairman of Speyer Brothers, the British branch of the Speyer family's international finance house, and a partner in the German and American branches.
1860 – Grandma Moses, American painter (d. 1961), was an American folk artist. She began painting in earnest at the age of 78 and is often cited as an example of an individual who successfully began a career in the arts at an advanced age.
1851 – Edward Asahel Birge, American zoologist and academic (d. 1950), was a professor and administrator at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was one of the pioneers of the study of limnology, and served as acting president of the university from 1900 to 1903 and as president from 1918 to 1925.
1819 – Thomas A. Hendricks, American lawyer and politician, 21st Vice President of the United States (d. 1885), was an American politician and lawyer from Indiana who served as the 16th governor of Indiana from 1873 to 1877 and the 21st vice president of the United States from March to November 1885. Hendricks represented Indiana in the U.S.
Deaths
2014 – Jack Cristil, American sportscaster and radio host (b. 1925)
2013 – Albert Allen Bartlett, American physicist and academic (b. 1923)
2013 – Fred Katz, American cellist and composer (b. 1919)
2013 – Pete Hoffman, American cartoonist (b. 1919)
2012 – Daniel Weinreb, American computer scientist and programmer (b. 1959)
2010 – Barbara Holland, American author (b. 1933)
2010 – John Kluge, German-American businessman (b. 1914)
2010 – William H. Goetzmann, American historian and author (b. 1930)
2008 – Don Haskins, American basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
2008 – Gregory Mcdonald, American author (b. 1937)
2004 – Bob Boyd, American baseball player (b. 1925)
2003 – Warren Zevon, American singer-songwriter (b. 1947)
2002 – Uziel Gal, German-Israeli colonel and gun designer, designed the Uzi (b. 1923)
2001 – Billie Lou Watt, American actress and voice artist (b. 1924)
2001 – Igor Buketoff, American conductor and educator (b. 1915)
Remind me of this day
