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786 - Harun al-Rashid becomes the Abbasid caliph upon the death of his brother al-Hadi.

1752 - The British Empire adopts the Gregorian calendar, skipping eleven days (the previous day was September 2).

1812 - French grenadiers enter Moscow.

1814 - Francis Scott Key writes The Star-Spangled Banner.

1829 - Ottoman Empire signs the Treaty of Adrianople with Russia, thus ending the Russo-Turkish War

1847 - Mexican-American War: Winfield Scott captures Mexico City.

1886 - Typewriter ribbon patented.

1901 - President of the United States William McKinley dies after an assassination attempt on September 6, and is succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt.

1917 - Republican government declared in Russia.

1923 - Miguel Primo de Rivera becomes dictator of Spain.

1944 - United States Marines land on the island of Peleliu.

1948 - Groundbreaking for the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

1958 - Two rockets designed by the German engineer Ernst Mohr, the first German post-war rockets, reach the upper atmosphere.

1959 - The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach it.

1960 - The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded.

1964 - The opening of the third period of the Second Vatican Council.

1965 - The opening of the fourth and final period of Second Vatican Council.

1975 - The first American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, is canonized by Pope Paul VI.

1984 - Joe Kittinger becomes the first person to fly a hot air balloon alone across the Atlantic Ocean.

1987 - ITV Schools was broadcast on Channel 4 for the very first time.

1990 - Ken Griffey, Jr. and his father, Ken Griffey, Sr. become the first father-son duo to hit back-to-back home runs.

1994 - The Major League Baseball season is canceled due to strike.

1998 - Telecommunications companies MCI Communications and WorldCom complete their $37 billion merger to form MCI WorldCom.

1999 - Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the United Nations.

2001 - Historic National Prayer Service held at Washington National Cathedral for victims of the September 11 attacks. A similar service is held in Canada on Parliament Hill, the largest vigil ever held in the nation's capital.

2003 - In a referendum Sweden rejects adopting the euro.

2003 - Estonia approves joining the European Union in a referendum.

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1388 - Claudius Claussön Swart, Danish geographer

1486 - Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, German alchemist (d. 1535)

1543 - Claudio Aquaviva, Italian Jesuit (d. 1615)

1547 - Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch statesman (d. 1619)

1656 - Thomas Baker, British antiqurian (d. 1746)

1713 - Johann Kies, German mathematician (d. 1781)

1721 - Eliphalet Dyer, American statesman and judge (d. 1807)

1737 - Michael Haydn, Austrian composer (d. 1806)

1760 - Luigi Cherubini, Italian composer (d. 1842)

1769 - Alexander von Humboldt, German naturalist and explorer (d. 1859)

1771 - Nikolay Raevsky, Russian general and statesman (d. 1829)

1804 - John Gould, British ornithologist (d. 1881)

1804 - Louis Maigret, French Catholic prelate (d. 1882)

1837 - Nikolai Bugaev, Russian mathematician (d. 1903)

1849 - Ivan Pavlov, Russian scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1936)

1860 - Hamlin Garland, American writer (d. 1940)

1864 - Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, British politician and diplomat, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1958)

1867 - Charles Dana Gibson, American artist (d. 1944)

1869 - Kid Nichols, baseball player (d. 1953)

1879 - Margaret Sanger, American birth control advocate (d. 1966)

1880 - Archie Hahn, American athlete (d. 1955)

1886 - Jan Masaryk, Czech foreign minister and diplomat (d. 1948)

1889 - Maria Capovilla, Previous oldest living person (d. 2006)

1891 - Ivan Matveyevich Vinogradov, Russian mathematician (d. 1983)

1898 - Hal B. Wallis, American film producer (d. 1986)

1909 - Peter Scott, British naturalist, artist, and explorer (d. 1989)

1910 - Jack Hawkins, British actor (d. 1973)

1913 - Jacobo Arbenz, President of Guatemala (d. 1971)

1914 - Lída Baarová, Czech actress (d. 2000)

1914 - Clayton Moore, American actor (d. 1999)

1914 - Kay Medford, American actress (d. 1980)

1920 - Mario Benedetti, Uruguayan writer

1920 - Lawrence Klein, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate

1920 - Alberto Calderón, Argentine mathematician (d. 1998)

1921 - Dario Vittori, Argentinean actor (d. 2001)

1926 - Michel Butor, French novelist

1929 - Larry Collins, American writer (d. 2005)

1930 - Allan Bloom, American academic (d. 1992)

1932 - Harry Sinden, National Hockey League executive

1933 - Harve Presnell, American actor

1934 - Sarah Kofman, French philosopher

1934 - Kate Millett, American feminist writer

1936 - Walter Koenig, American actor

1936 - Ferid Murad, American physician and pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

1936 - Harry Danielsen, Norwegian politician

1938 - Nicol Williamson, Scottish-born actor

1940 - Larry Brown, American basketball coach

1941 - Alberto Naranjo, Venezuelan musician

1942 - Bernard MacLaverty, Northern Irish writer

1943 - Irwin Goodman (bor. Antti Hammarberg), Singer

1944 - Joey Heatherton, American actress and singer

1947 - Jon "Bowzer" Bauman,"Bowzer" singer in musical group "Sha Na Na"

1947 - Sam Neill, New Zealand actor

1949 - Tommy Seebach, Danish musician (d. 2003)

1949 - Eikichi Yazawa, Japanese singer

1949 - Steve Gaines, American guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1977)

1949 - Ed King, American guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

1950 - Paul Kossoff, British guitarist (Free) (d. 1976)

1950 - Masami Kuwashima, Japanese Formula One driver

1957 - Tim Wallach, Major League Baseball player

1959 - Morten Harket, Norwegian singer (a-ha)

1960 - Callum Keith Rennie, Canadian actor

1964 - Faith Ford, American actress

1968 - Michelle Stafford, American actress

1970 - Ben Garant, American actor

1970 - Craig Montoya, American musician (Everclear)

1970 - Francesco Casagrande, Italian cyclist

1971 - Kimberly Williams, American actress

1972 - David Bell, Baseball player

1973 - Nas, American rapper

1974 - Chad Bradford, Reliever for the New York Mets

1974 - Hicham El Guerrouj, Moroccan athlete

1978 - Carmen Kass, Estonian model

1980 - Phillip Tobias, American illustrator and musician

1981 - Miyavi, Japanese singer and actor

1981 - Ashley Roberts, American dancer(Pussycat Dolls)

1983 - Frostee Rucker, American football player

1984 - Adam Lamberg, American actor

1985 - Paolo Gregoletto, American Bassist (Trivium)

1985 - Aya Ueto, Japanese actress idol and singer

1985 - Delmon Young, American baseball player

1986 - Ai Takahashi, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)

1986 - Alan Sheehan, Irish footballer

1989 - Jesse James, American actor

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258 - Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage

585 - Emperor Bidatsu of Japan (b. 538)

775 - Constantine V, Byzantine Emperor (b. 718)

786 - Al-Hadi, Abbasid caliph

891 - Pope Stephen V

1146 - Zengi, ruler of Syria (b. 1087)

1164 - Emperor Sutoku of Japan (b. 1119)

1214 - Albert Avogadro, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem (b. 1149)

1321 - Dante Alighieri, Italian author (b. 1265)

1404 - Albert IV of Austria (b. 1377)

1435 - John, Duke of Bedford, regent of England (b. 1389)

1523 - Pope Adrian VI (b. 1459)

1538 - Henry III of Nassau-Breda, German nobleman (b. 1483)

1605 - Jan Tarnowski, Archbishop of Krakow (b. 1550)

1638 - John Harvard, American clergyman (b. 1607)

1646 - Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, English Civil War general (b. 1591)

1712 - Giovanni Domenico Cassini, Italian-born astronomer (b. 1625)

1743 - Nicolas Lancret, French painter (b. 1690)

1749 - Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, English soldier and politician (b. 1675)

1759 - Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, French military commander (b. 1712)

1807 - George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, British field marshal (b. 1724)

1836 - Aaron Burr, Vice President of the United States (b. 1756)

1851 - James Fenimore Cooper, American author (b. 1789)

1852 - Augustus Pugin, English architect (b. 1812)

1852 - Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, British general and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

1879 - Bernhard von Cotta, German geologist (b. 1808)

1898 - William Seward Burroughs, American inventor (b. 1857)

1901 - William McKinley, 25th President of the United States (b. 1843)

1910 - Huo Yuan Jia, Chinese martial artist

1927 - Isadora Duncan, American dancer (b. 1877)

1936 - Irving Thalberg, American film producer (b. 1899)

1937 - Tomáš Masaryk, 1st President of Czechoslovakia (b. 1850)

1942 - Ezra Seymour Gosney, American eugenicist (b. 1855)

1959 - Wayne Morris, American actor (b. 1914)

1965 - J.W. Hearne English cricketer (b. 1891)

1966 - Gertrude Berg, American actress (b. 1899)

1974 - Warren Hull, American actor (b. 1903)

1981 - Furry Lewis, American blues guitarist (b. 1899)

1982 - Bachir Gemayel, President-elect of Lebanon (b. 1947)

1982 - John Gardner, American novelist (b. 1933)

1982 - Princess Grace of Monaco, American actress (b. 1929)

1982 - Christian Ferras, French violinist (b. 1933)

1984 - Janet Gaynor, American actress (b. 1906)

1989 - Dámaso Pérez Prado, Cuban musician (b. 1916)

1991 - Julie Bovasso, American actor and writer (b. 1930)

1992 - Paul Joseph James Martin, Canadian politician (b. 1903)

1996 - Juliet Prowse, British actress and dancer (b. 1937)

1999 - Charles Crichton, English film director (b. 1910)

2000 - Beah Richards, American actress (b. 1920)

2003 - Yetunde Price, half-sister of American tennis players Venus and Serena Williams (b. 1972)

2005 - William Berenberg, American physician (b. 1915)

2005 - Robert Wise, American filmmaker (b. 1914)

2005 - Vladimir Volkoff, French writer (b. 1932)

2006 - Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-born actor and bodybuilder (b. 1926)

2006 - Esme Melville, Australian actress (b. 1918)

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In ancient Greece, the first day of the Eleusinian Mysteries, during which the sacred objects were brought from Eleusis to Athens.

Roman Catholic Church - Triumph of the Cross (compare May 3, Finding of the Holy Cross).

Eastern Orthodox Church - Exaltation of the Cross, which commemorates the discovery of the original Christian cross in 326 by Helena, mother of Constantine, as well as the recovery from the Persians by Heraclius in 628.

Formerly, in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following 14 September were observed as one of the four sets of Ember days. In the Irish calendar they were known as Quarter tense.