Born on This Day James Fenimore Cooper The first major American novelist who wrote the frontier-based Leatherstocking Tales and The Last of the Mohicans . Actor best known for screaming in the paws of a giant ape in the 1933 box office champ King Kong . Intense British actor best known for blockbusters such as The Dark Knight Rises , Mad Max: Fury Road and the Venom trilogy. A small dirigible briefly docks at the mooring mast atop the new Empire State Building before winds drive it away. Despite high hopes for creating a convenient airship port in midtown Manhattan, it never happens again. Also on This Day in History Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on September 15th Future President William Taft born William Howard Taft is born in Cincinnati, Ohio on September 15, 1857. Taft was born into a politically active family; his father had served as President Ulysses S. Grant’s secretary of war. He attended college at Yale University, graduating second in his class. He then attended Cincinnati Law School earning his law degree in 1880. […] The first transcontinental mail service to San Francisco begins On September 15, 1858, the new Overland Mail Company sends out its first two stages, inaugurating government mail service between the eastern and western regions of the nation. With California booming, thanks to the 1849 Gold Rush, Americans east and west had been clamoring for faster and surer transcontinental mail service for years. Finally, in […] Confederates capture Harpers Ferry Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson captures Harpers Ferry, Virginia (present-day West Virginia), and some 12,000 Union soldiers as General Robert E. Lee’s army moves north into Maryland. The Federal garrison inside Harpers Ferry was vulnerable to a Confederate attack after Lee’s invasion of Maryland in September. The strategic town on the Potomac River was cut […] Agatha Christie is born Mary Clarissa Agatha Miller, later known as Agatha Christie, is born on September 15, 1890 in Torquay, Devon, England. Raised and educated at Ashfield, her parents’ comfortable home, Christie began making up stories as a child. Her mother and her older sister Madge also made up stories: Madge told especially thrilling tales about a fictional, […] First trenches are dug on the Western Front In the wake of the Battle of the Marne—during which Allied troops halted the steady German push through Belgium and France that had proceeded over the first month of World War I—a conflict both sides had expected to be short and decisive turns longer and bloodier, as Allied and German forces begin digging the first […] Tanks introduced into warfare at the Somme During the Battle of the Somme, the British launch a major offensive against the Germans, employing tanks for the first time in history. At Flers Courcelette, some of the 40 or so primitive tanks advanced over a mile into enemy lines but were too slow to hold their positions during the German counterattack and subject […] Nuremberg race laws imposed On September 15, 1935, German Jews are stripped of their citizenship, reducing them to mere “subjects” of the state. After Hitler’s accession to the offices of president and chancellor of Germany, he set about the task of remaking his adopted country (Hitler had to pull some strings even to be eligible for office, as he […] Tide turns in the Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain reaches its climax when the Royal Air Force (RAF) downs 56 invading German aircraft in two dogfights lasting less than an hour. The costly raid convinced the German high command that the Luftwaffe could not achieve air supremacy over Britain, and the next day daylight attacks were replaced with nighttime sorties […] Americans launch Operation Stalemate—at extraordinary cost On September 15, 1944, the U.S. 1st Marine Division lands on the island of Peleliu, one of the Palau Islands in the Pacific, as part of a larger operation to provide support for Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who was preparing to invade the Philippines. The cost in American lives would prove historic. The Palaus, part of […] U.S. forces land at Inchon During the Korean War, U.S. Marines land at Inchon on the west coast of Korea, 100 miles south of the 38th parallel and just 25 miles from Seoul. The location had been criticized as too risky, but U.N. Supreme Commander Douglas MacArthur insisted on carrying out the landing. By the early evening, the Marines had […] Famous Marilyn Monroe skirt scene filmed The famous picture of Marilyn Monroe, laughing as her skirt is blown up by the blast from a subway vent, is shot on September 15, 1954, during the filming of ‘The Seven Year Itch.’ Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita” is published Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial novel Lolita is published in Paris on September 15, 1955. The novel, about a man’s obsession with a 12-year-old girl, had been rejected by four publishers before G.P. Putnam’s Sons accepted it. The novel became a bestseller that allowed Nabokov to retire from his career as college professor. Nabokov was born in […] Khrushchev arrives in Washington Nikita Khrushchev becomes the first Soviet head of state to visit the United States. During the next two weeks, Khrushchev’s visit dominated the news and provided some dramatic and humorous moments in the history of the Cold War. Khrushchev came to power in the Soviet Union following the death of long-time dictator Joseph Stalin in […] The Four Seasons earn their first No. 1 hit with “Sherry” On September 15, 1962, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ “Sherry” hits the top of the pop music charts. It was the start of a remarkable run of hits for the group. Four Black schoolgirls killed in Birmingham church bombing On September 15, 1963, a bomb explodes during Sunday morning services in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls: Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14) and Carol Denise McNair (11). With its large African American congregation, the 16th Street Baptist Church served as a meeting place […] Greenpeace emerges from nuclear bomb protest On September 15, 1971, environmental activists sail a repurposed fishing boat named the Greenpeace in an attempt to thwart a nuclear bomb test. The group adopts the boat name for their organization. South Vietnamese forces retake Quang Tri City On September 15, 1972, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVM) forces recapture Quang Tri City after four days of heavy fighting, with the claim that over 8,135 NVA (North Vietnamese Army) had been killed in the battle. The North Vietnamese forces had launched a massive offensive, called the Nguyen Hue or “Easter Offensive,” […] A Bible school instructor abducts a teenage girl Thirteen-year-old Melissa Benoit disappears in her hometown of Kingston, Massachusetts, on her way home from a friend’s house. Although the town detective talked to everyone who lived on the path between the two houses, no one admitted to having seen Benoit. Soon afterward, the FBI joined the search. Yet, despite their use of tracking dogs, […] Lehman Brothers declares bankruptcy On September 15, 2008, the venerable Wall Street brokerage firm Lehman Brothers seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, becoming the largest victim of the subprime mortgage crisis that would devastate financial markets and contribute to the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression. Lehman Brothers History At the time of its collapse, Lehman Brothers was the […]