September 1909
Encyclopedia
January
– February
– March
– April
– May
– June
– July
– August
– September – October
– November
– December
The following events occurred in September 1909.
January 1909
January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - DecemberThe following events occurred in January 1909.-January 1, 1909 :...
– February
February 1909
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in February 1909.-February 1, 1909 :...
– March
March 1909
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in March, 1909.-March 1, 1909 :...
– April
April 1909
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in April 1909.-April 1, 1909 :...
– May
May 1909
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in May, 1909.-May 1, 1909 :...
– June
June 1909
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in June 1909.-June 1, 1909 :...
– July
July 1909
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in July 1909.-July 1, 1909 :...
– August
August 1909
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in August 1909.-August 1, 1909 :...
– September – October
October 1909
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in October 1909:-October 1, 1909 :...
– November
November 1909
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in November 1909:-November 1, 1909 :...
– December
December 1909
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in December 1909:-December 1, 1909 :...
The following events occurred in September 1909.
September 1, 1909 (Wednesday)
- In BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium, the Leconte Observatory received a message cabled from LerwickLerwickLerwick is the capital and main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, located more than 100 miles off the north coast of mainland Scotland on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland...
in the Shetland IslandsShetland IslandsShetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
: "Reached north poleNorth PoleThe North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
April 21, 1908. Discovered land far north. Return to CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
by steamer Hans Eged. (Signed) FREDERICK COOKFrederick CookFrederick Albert Cook was an American explorer and physician, noted for his claim of having reached the North Pole on April 21, 1908. This would have been a year before April 6, 1909, the date claimed by Robert Peary....
". Reaction to the news was mixed. The New York Herald, which had purchased the rights, published Dr. Cook's story the next day. Meanwhile, Robert Peary, who had reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909, was still en route to a telegraph station. - Baguio CityBaguio CityThe City of Baguio is a highly urbanized city in northern Luzon in the Philippines. Baguio City was established by Americans in 1900 at the site of an Ibaloi village known as Kafagway...
was incorporated. At an elevation of 5,100 ft ' onMouseout='HidePop("25875")' href="/topics/Philippines">PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
". The American Governor-General resided there during ManilaManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
's hottest months.
September 2, 1909 (Thursday)
- The New York Herald published its copyrighted story, "My Conquest of the Pole", by Dr. Frederick A. Cook. Dr. Cook wrote, "At last we had pierced the boreal center and the flag had been raised to the coveted breezes of the North Pole. The day was April 21, 1908. The sun indicated local noon, but that was a negative problem, for here all meridians meet. With a step it was possible to go from one part of the globe to the opposite side ... North, east and west had vanished. It was south in every direction, but the compass pointing to the magnetic pole was as useful as ever." The Herald had paid Cook $25,000 for exclusive rights to his story, which was cabled from the American consulate in Copenhagen.
September 3, 1909 (Friday)
- The ferry boat Magnolia was struck by another ferry, the Nettie and split in two, sinking immediately in Sheepshead Bay at New York. All 33 persons on board survived a difficult rescue.
September 4, 1909 (Saturday)
- The first Boy Scout Rally was held, bringing 11,000 boys to Crystal Palace in London. Scout founder Sir Robert Baden-Powell was approached by a group of girls who asked him to create a similar program for them. Agnes Baden-Powell, Robert's sister, set about the task of creating the Girl GuidesGirl GuidesA Guide, Girl Guide or Girl Scout is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations who is between the ages of 10 and 14. Age limits are different in each organisation. It is the female-centred equivalent of the Scouts. The term Girl Scout is used in the United States and several East Asian...
and, later, the Girl ScoutsGirl Scouts of the USAThe Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
. - The Chinese-Korean border was agreed upon between the governments of Japan (which had made Korea its protectorateProtectorateIn history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
) and China in the Gando ConventionGando ConventionThe 1909 Gando Convention was a treaty signed between Imperial Japan and Qing China in which Japan recognized China's claims to Jiandao, called Gando in Korean. Japan received railroad concessions in Northeast China...
treaty. The boundary is the Tumen RiverTumen RiverThe Tumen River is a 521 km-long river that serves as part of the boundary between China, North Korea, and Russia, rising in Mount Baekdu and flowing into the Sea of Japan....
and the Shiyishui stream. - Playwright Clyde FitchClyde FitchClyde Fitch was an American dramatist.-Biography:Born William Clyde Fitch at Elmira, New York, he wrote over 60 plays, 36 of them original, which varied from social comedies and farces to melodrama and historical dramas.As the only child to live to adulthood, his father, Captain William G...
died two days after an emergency appendectomy, while multimillionaire William Singer died ten days after a fatal automobile accident. Fitch, who had dreaded the prospect of surgery, had weathered two previous attacks of appendicitis and had never had his appendix taken out. Singer was, up to that time, the wealthiest person to have ever died in a car accident. He had been thrown from his car in an August 25 mishap. - The first airplane flight in Germany was made by Orville Wright at TempelhofTempelhofTempelhof is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. It is now deserted and shows as a blank spot on maps of Berlin. Attempts are being made to save the still-existing...
.
September 5, 1909 (Sunday)
- Tsar Nicholas II arrived in SevastopolSevastopolSevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
, where an attempt on his life would have been made, but for a missed train. Julia Lublinskaia Merzheevskaia, also known as Elena Lukiens, was going to throw a bomb at the ruler of all the Russias, but she failed to get to the railroad station in time. - The Eduard BohlenEduard BohlenThe Eduard Bohlen was a ship that ran aground off the coast of Namibia's Skeleton Coast on September 5, 1909, in a thick fog. Currently the wreck lies in the sand a quarter mile from the shoreline....
ran aground off the coast of NamibiaNamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
's Skeleton CoastSkeleton CoastThe Skeleton Coast is the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean coast of Namibia and south of Angola from the Kunene River south to the Swakop River, although the name is sometimes used to describe the entire Namib Desert coast...
on September 5, 1909, in a thick fog. Currently the wreck lies in the sand a quarter mile from the shoreline.
September 6, 1909 (Monday)
- Arctic explorer Robert PearyRobert PearyRobert Edwin Peary, Sr. was an American explorer who claimed to have been the first person, on April 6, 1909, to reach the geographic North Pole...
telegraphed the first report of his discovery, on April 6, of the North PoleNorth PoleThe North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
. The transmission to the New York Times, which had purchased the rights to his story, was from Indian Harbor at Labrador, where the ship Roosevelt had brought him. Peary's wire to the Times read, "I have the pole, April sixth. Expect arrive Chateau Bay September seventh. Secure control wire for me there and arrange expedite transmission big story. PEARY." At that time, Peary learned that the previous week, explorer Frederick CookFrederick CookFrederick Albert Cook was an American explorer and physician, noted for his claim of having reached the North Pole on April 21, 1908. This would have been a year before April 6, 1909, the date claimed by Robert Peary....
had claimed to have reached the North Pole on April 21, 1908.
September 7, 1909 (Tuesday)
- Eugene LefebvreEugène LefebvreEugène Lefebvre was a French aviation pioneer. He was the first person to die while piloting a powered airplane and the second person to be killed in a powered airplane crash.-Biography:...
became the first airplane pilot to be killed in a plane crash. Lefebvre was flying at Juvisy-sur-OrgeJuvisy-sur-OrgeJuvisy-sur-Orge is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Juvisy-sur-Orge are known as Juvisiens.-Geography:Neighboring communes:* Athis-Mons* Draveil* Savigny-sur-Orge* Viry-Châtillon...
in France and his plane was about 20 feet (6.1 m) off the ground when "suddenly, without any apparent reason, it tilted sharply downward and propelled by the force of the motor, struck the ground with great violence." Lefebvre was the second person, but first pilot, to die in an airplane accident. The first person killed had been Thomas SelfridgeThomas SelfridgeThomas Etholen Selfridge was a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and the first person to die in a crash of a powered airplane. He was a passenger while Orville Wright was piloting the aircraft.-Biography:...
who had flown as a passenger on a plane with Orville Wright the previous year. - Died: Henry Brown Blackwell, 84, British-born American reformer
September 9, 1909 (Thursday)
- The National Library of ChinaNational Library of ChinaThe National Library of China or NLC in Beijing is the largest library in Asia, and one of the largest in the world with a collection of over 23 million volumes...
was created, to be housed at the Guanghua Temple (Beijing)Guanghua Temple (Beijing)Guanghua Temple is located on 31 Ya'er Hutong, north of Shichahai in the Xicheng District of Beijing. First found during the Yuan Dynasty , it is one of Beijing's most renowned Buddhist temples.-References:...
. The library opened to the public on August 27, 1912. - The 1600 feet (487.7 m) Santa Monica PierSanta Monica PierThe Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier located at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California and is a prominent, 100-year-old landmark.-Pacific Park:...
opened to the public in Santa Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
.
September 10, 1909 (Friday)
- Lord KitchenerHerbert Kitchener, 1st Earl KitchenerField Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC , was an Irish-born British Field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of the First World War, although he died halfway...
retired as Commander of the Indian ArmyCommander-in-Chief, IndiaDuring the period of the British Raj, the Commander-in-Chief, India was the supreme commander of the Indian Army. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his staff were based at General Headquarters, India, and liaised with the civilian Governor-General of India...
after seven years, having completed reorganization of the British and Indian units into a more efficient force. Kitchener was promoted to the rank of Field MarshalField MarshalField Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
the next day and set off on a world tour. - The United States Post Office DepartmentUnited States Post Office DepartmentThe Post Office Department was the name of the United States Postal Service when it was a Cabinet department. It was headed by the Postmaster General....
announced a new regulation excusing letter carriers from delivering the mail "at residences where vicious dogs are permitted to run at large".
September 11, 1909 (Saturday)
- Maximilian Wolf became the first astronomerAstronomerAn astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
to confirm the return of Halley's Comet, last seen from the Earth in 1835, spotting it on a photographic plate. Wolff's photo was actually the fourth one taken of the comet. Subsequent searches found that Halley's had been captured on a photo taken on August 24 at the observatory in Helwan, EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
September 12, 1909 (Sunday)
- A patent for the first successful method of producing synthetic rubberSynthetic rubberSynthetic rubber is is any type of artificial elastomer, invariably a polymer. An elastomer is a material with the mechanical property that it can undergo much more elastic deformation under stress than most materials and still return to its previous size without permanent deformation...
was applied for in Germany by chemist Fritz Hofmann. "A Method for the Preparation of Artificial Rubber" described methods of heat polymerization of isopreneIsopreneIsoprene , or 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene, is a common organic compound with the formula CH2=CCH=CH2. Under standard conditions it is a colorless liquid...
at a temperature under 250 °C to create a substitute for rubber, from which German patent No. 250690 was issued. - Emiliano ZapataEmiliano ZapataEmiliano Zapata Salazar was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910, and which was initially directed against the president Porfirio Díaz. He formed and commanded an important revolutionary force, the Liberation Army of the South, during the Mexican Revolution...
began his revolutionary career when the city leaders of San Miguel Anenecuilco, in the Mexican province of MorelosMorelosMorelos officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 33 municipalities and its capital city is Cuernavaca....
, selected him to recover lands owned by the village. - In FesFesFes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
, MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, rebel leader El Roghi was put to death by order of the Sultan. The rebel had been placed on public view in an iron cage until the French Consul protested the torture of the rebels. It was reported later that El Roghi had been burned alive after an attempt to feed him to lions had failed. - Dr. Willis C. Hoover and his 37 followers were expelled from the Methodist Church in Valparaíso, Chile, and organized the Pentecostal Methodist Church of Chile. By the end of the 20th Century, there were two million Pentecostals in Chile, 20 percent of the nation's population.
September 13, 1909 (Monday)
- Robert ScottRobert Falcon ScottCaptain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...
announced that he was going to raise funds to become the first person to reach the South Pole. "The main object of the expedition is to reach the South Pole and secure for the British Empire the honour of that achievement.", Cook told reporters. Scott reached the South Pole in 1913, only to find that Norwegian explorer Roald AmundsenRoald AmundsenRoald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 and he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage....
had gotten there a few weeks earlier. Demoralized and down to rations, Scott and his party died in the Antarctic before they could return home. - John KingJohn King (sailor)John King was an Irish sailor in the United States Navy and one of only 19 in history to receive the Medal of Honor twice.-Biography:...
, who had won the Medal of Honor for heroism on the U.S.S. Vicksburg following a boiler accident, earned a second Medal of Honor for heroism after a boiler accident on the U.S.S. Salem.
September 14, 1909 (Tuesday)
- On the eve of a 13000 miles (20,921.4 km) nationwide tour, U.S. President William Howard TaftWilliam Howard TaftWilliam Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
announced in Boston his support for a national bank, as proposed by the National Monetary CommissionNational Monetary CommissionNational Monetary Commission was a study group created by the Aldrich Vreeland Act of 1908. After the Panic of 1907 American bankers turned to Europe for ideas on how to operate a central bank. Senator Nelson Aldrich, Republican leader of the Senate, personally led a team of experts to major...
, chaired by Senator Nelson Aldrich. "Our banking and monetary system is a patched up affair, which satisfies nobody", the President said in a speech at a banquet for the Boston Chamber of Commerce, and endorsed "a central bank of issue, which shall control the reserve and exercise a power to meet and control the casual stringency which from time to time will come." Following the Aldrich Commission proposal, the Federal Reserve ActFederal Reserve ActThe Federal Reserve Act is an Act of Congress that created and set up the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States of America, and granted it the legal authority to issue Federal Reserve Notes and Federal Reserve Bank Notes as legal tender...
was passed in 1913. - Charles Pinkney, Jr. of the Dayton Veterans was fatally injured after being struck by a pitch thrown by Casey HagemanCasey HagemanKurt Moritz "Casey" Hageman was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played between and for the Boston Red Sox , St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs . Hageman batted and threw right-handed...
of the Grand Rapids Stags, in a Central League game played in Dayton, Ohio. Pinkney, who had hit a home run in the first game of a doubleheader, died the next day following surgery. Hageman later played major league baseball for the Red Sox, the Cardinals and the Cubs.
September 15, 1909 (Wednesday)
- The Ford Motor CompanyFord Motor CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
was held to have infringed upon an 1895 patent held by inventor George B. Selden. Selden had founded the Association of Licensed Automobile ManufacturersAssociation of Licensed Automobile ManufacturersThe Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers , originally the Manufacturer's Mutual Association , was an organization originally formed to challenge the litigation of the fledgling automobile industry by George B. Selden and the Electric Vehicle Company. Ultimately, the organization took...
and had required all automakers to receive an ALAM license. After ALAM denied a license to Henry Ford in 1903, Ford Motor manufactured the automobiles anyway and was sued. The judgment, by federal judge Charles M. Hough, enjoined Ford Motor from further manufacture of automobiles, but was reversed on January 11, 1911, by an appellate court. The ALAM did not pursue the injunction further. - The Yuma Territorial PrisonYuma Territorial PrisonThe Yuma Territorial Prison was a prison in the Arizona Territory of the United States and now in present day Yuma, Arizona. The Territorial Prison is one of the Yuma Crossing and Associated Sites on the National Register of Historic Places in the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.The site is...
was closed after 33 years. Located in the desert of Yuma, Arizona, the federal prison had housed convicts from across the nation in temperatures that gave it the nickname of the American "Devil's Island". - Pilot Georges Legagneux made the first airplane flight in Russia, demonstrating the French-built VoisinVoisin- Companies :*Avions Voisin, the French automobile company*Voisin , the French aircraft manufacturer- People :*Catherine Monvoisin, known as "La Voisin" , French sorceress during the reign of Louis XIV...
biplaneBiplaneA biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
at the Khodynka Field near Moscow.
September 16, 1909 (Thursday)
- Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, 20, moved out of his lodgings at Sechshauserstrasse 58 in Vienna with his savings exhausted, no income and no forwarding address, then spent the next several months homeless. He would later describe autumn 1909 as "an endlessly bitter time".
September 17, 1909 (Friday)
- The City of Granger, WashingtonGranger, WashingtonGranger is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. The population was 3,246 at the 2010 census. Although it was classified as a town in 2000, it has since been reclassified as a city.-History:...
, was incorporated. - The first streetcar crossed the Queensboro BridgeQueensboro BridgeThe Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, also known as the 59th Street Bridge – because its Manhattan end is located between 59th and 60th Streets – or simply the Queensboro Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City that was completed in 1909...
from Long Island City into ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
on a half-hour trip that started at 3:30
September 18, 1909 (Saturday)
- The largest crowd to ever watch a baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
game, up to that time, turned out in Shibe Park as 35,409 spectators watched the Philadelphia Athletics beat the visiting Detroit TigersDetroit TigersThe Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
, 2–0, on the pitching of future Hall of FamerNational Baseball Hall of Fame and MuseumThe National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
Charles "Chief" BenderChief BenderCharles Albert "Chief" Bender was a pitcher in Major League Baseball during the first two decades of the 20th century...
. The A's were second to the Tigers in the American LeagueAmerican LeagueThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
pennant race.
September 19, 1909 (Sunday)
- Physician Friedrich DessauerFriedrich DessauerFriedrich Dessauer was a physicist, a philosopher, a socially engaged entrepreneur and a journalist.Friedrich Dessauer was born in Aschaffenburg, Germany. As a young man he was fascinated by new discoveries in the natural sciences. He was particularly interested in the X-rays discovered by...
succeeded in making a clear x-ray image with 0.03 seconds of exposure, creating "x-ray cinematography". Up to eight x-rays could be taken during the space of a heartbeat, and then viewed in succession as if on a film. However, the process required exposure of the human body to large, multiple bursts of x-ray radiation.
September 20, 1909 (Monday)
- Britain passed the South Africa Act 1909South Africa Act 1909The South Africa Act 1909 was an Act of the British Parliament which created the Union of South Africa from the British Colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange River Colony, and the Transvaal Colony. The Act also made provisions for admitting Rhodesia as a fifth province of the Union in...
, effective May 31, 1910, which united the British colonies of the Cape of Good HopeCape of Good HopeThe Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
and NatalColony of NatalThe Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
with the Transvaal and the Orange River ColonyOrange River ColonyThe Orange River Colony was the British colony created after this nation first occupied and then annexed the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War...
, Britain's conquests in the Boer WarBoer WarThe Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
, to create the Union of South AfricaUnion of South AfricaThe Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
. - The Grand Isle Hurricane of 1909 struck Grand Isle, LouisianaGrand Isle, LouisianaGrand Isle is a town in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, located on a barrier island of the same name in the Gulf of Mexico. The island is at the mouth of Barataria Bay where it meets the gulf. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,541; during summers, the population sometimes increases to...
, then destroyed much of New Orleans. An estimated 350 people were killed by the Category 4 hurricane.
September 21, 1909 (Tuesday)
- Frederick CookFrederick CookFrederick Albert Cook was an American explorer and physician, noted for his claim of having reached the North Pole on April 21, 1908. This would have been a year before April 6, 1909, the date claimed by Robert Peary....
returned to a hero's welcome in New York City, celebrated as the discoverer of the North PoleNorth PoleThe North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
by the New York Herald. - Oakland resident Fong Joe Guey, a native of Kwangtung Province in China (as Feng Ru), flew an airplane that he had constructed himself. Feng Ru is now celebrated as China's first aircraft designer and aviator.
- The Shoshone Cavern National MonumentShoshone Cavern National MonumentShoshone Cavern National Monument was proclaimed by William Howard Taft on September 21, 1909. On March 17, 1954, the 83rd Congress abolished the monument and transferred the site to the city of Cody, Wyoming. The cavern is located high up near the summit of Cedar Mountain, about 4 miles from...
was created by executive order of President Taft. Congress removed the cavern from the National Park System on May 17, 1954, and transferred the park to the city of Cody, WyomingCody, WyomingCody is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after William Frederick Cody, primarily known as Buffalo Bill, from William Cody's part in the creation of the original town. The population was 9,520 at the 2010 census...
. - John Albert JohnsonJohn Albert JohnsonThis is an article about the former Minnesota governor. For the former Minnesota legislator and speaker of the house, see John A. Johnson.John Albert Johnson was an American politician. He served in the Minnesota State Senate from January 1897 to January 1901...
, the first native of MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
to serve as its Governor, died suddenly at age 48 following intestinal surgery. The popular Governor was mourned nationwide, and a biographer noted "Never was such general grief known in Minnesota." Johnson was succeeded by Adolph O. Eberhart, a native of Sweden. - Albert EinsteinAlbert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
, the young Albert Einstein presented in public for the first time his theory of relativity, published in 1905. The work that has revolutionized physics then received a rather cool reception from his peers. In the gym of Andrä school, where were held the meeting of the society of natural scientists and physicians from Germany, the famous formula E = mc2, energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared, was chalked on the blackboard.
September 22, 1909 (Wednesday)
- Aviator Ferdinand Ferber was killed in Boulogne, France, when his airplane crashed during testing. Ferber became the fourth person, and second pilot, to die in an airplane crash.
- In the city of Valence, DrômeValence, DrômeValence is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Drôme department, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, south of Lyon on the railway to Marseilles.Its inhabitants are called Valentinois...
, France, the murderers Berruyer, David and Liotard were guillotined in a public execution. The three men had tortured and murdered at least 12 victims, and committed 200 robberies.
September 23, 1909 (Thursday)
- Near Montrose, ColoradoMontrose, ColoradoThe City of Montrose is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 15,479 in 2005. The main road that leads in and out of Montrose is U.S...
, President Taft opened the Gunnison Tunnel, "setting in operation the greatest irrigation project the United States Government ever has undertaken". - The Arctic Club of America honored Dr. Frederick Cook as the discoverer of the North Pole, at a banquet in his honor at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, with 1,185 people in attendance.
September 24, 1909 (Friday)
- The world did not come to an end as scheduled. Led by Robert B. Swan, 300 members of the "Triune Immersionists" gathered in West Duxbury, Massachusetts, in anticipation of , when the crust of the Earth would peel off, destroying the wicked and permitting the righteous to survive. After 10:00 passed without incident, the prediction was revised to sometime within the 24 hours after
- Nikolai Rimsky-KorsakovNikolai Rimsky-KorsakovNikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
's 15th and final opera, Le Coq d'Or (The Golden CockerelThe Golden CockerelThe Golden Cockerel is an opera in three acts, with short prologue and even shorter epilogue, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Its libretto, by Vladimir Belsky, derives from Alexander Pushkin's 1834 poem The Tale of the Golden Cockerel, which in turn is based on two chapters of Tales of the Alhambra by...
or Zolotoy Petushok) premiered at Moscow's Private OperaPrivate OperaThe Private Opera , also known as:*The Russian Private Opera ;*Moscow Private Russian Opera, ;*Mamontov's Private Russian Opera in Moscow ;*Korotkov's Theatre ;*Vinter's Theatre ;*Private Opera Society ; and...
, more than a year after Rimsky-Korsakov's death.
September 25, 1909 (Saturday)
- Sunspot activity produced a magnetic storm that disrupted telegraph communications across the world, starting at 1200 noon GMT ( EST).
September 26, 1909 (Sunday)
- At a ranch near Banning, CaliforniaBanning, California-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Banning had a population of 29,603. The population density was 1,281.6 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Banning was 19,164 White, 2,165 African American, 641 Native American, 1,549 Asian, 39 Pacific Islander, 4,604 from other...
, a ChemehueviChemehueviThe Chemehuevi are a federally recognized Native American tribe enrolled in the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of the Chemehuevi Reservation. They are the southernmost branch of Paiutes.-Reservation:...
Indian known only as "Willie Boy" shot and killed his girlfriend's father, William Mike, then fled with her into the desert. When Carlotta Mike's body was discovered days later, the manhunt became nationwide news. Willie Boy eluded his pursuers and survived in the desert for 11 days before killing himself on October 7. The story was recounted in Harry Lawton's 1960 novel Willie Boy: A Desert Manhunt, and later in the 1969 film Tell Them Willie Boy Is HereTell Them Willie Boy Is HereTell Them Willie Boy Is Here is a Technicolor movie released in 1969, based on the true story of a Paiute Indian named Willie Boy and his run-in with the law in 1909 in Banning, California, United States....
with Robert Redford, Katherine Ross and Robert Blake (as Willie Boy).
September 27, 1909 (Monday)
- President Taft created the first American oil reserve, withdrawing 3041000 acres (12,306.5 km²) of public lands in California and Wyoming from further claims, and reserving the oil for use by the United States Navy. Ten days earlier, U.S. Geological Survey Director George Otis SmithGeorge Otis SmithGeorge Otis Smith was an American geologist.-Life and career:Smith was born in Hodgdon, Maine. He graduated from Colby College in 1893 and earned a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1896. He served as director of United States Geological Survey from 1907 to 1922 and 1923 to 1930...
had warned Secretary of the Interior BallingerRichard Achilles BallingerRichard Achilles Ballinger was mayor of Seattle, Washington, from 1904–1906 and U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1909–1911.Ballinger was born in Boonesboro, Iowa...
that oil lands were being claimed so quickly that they would be unavailable within a few months. "After that", Smith warned, "the government will be obliged to repurchase the very oil that it has practically given away." In 1910, Congress passed the Pickett Act, which gave the President the authority to set aside federally owned resources as necessary for public purposes.
September 28, 1909 (Tuesday)
- Union members were locked out of their job at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York. After strikebreakers roughed up women on the picket line, 20,000 more of the city's garment workers went on a strike that lasted until February 15, 1910. The strikers were not able to win on their demand to stop management's practice of locking the workers inside during business hours, a factor in the deaths of 146 Triangle employees on March 25, 1911.
September 29, 1909 (Wednesday)
- Wilbur Wright gave millions of New York and New Jersey residents their first view of an airplane as part of the Hudson-Fulton CelebrationHudson-Fulton CelebrationThe Hudson-Fulton Celebration from September 25 to October 9, 1909 in New York and New Jerseywas an elaborate commemoration of the 300th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s discovery of the Hudson River and the 100th anniversary of Robert Fulton’s first successful commercial application of the paddle...
. Wright took off from Governors IslandGovernors IslandGovernors Island is a island in Upper New York Bay, approximately one-half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel. It is legally part of the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
at , then flew around the Statue of LibertyStatue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
and returned at 10:25.
September 30, 1909 (Thursday)
- Mohammad Ali Shah QajarMohammad Ali Shah QajarMohammad Ali Shah Qajar was the Shah of Persia from 8 January 1907 to 16 July 1909.-Biography:He was against the constitution that was ratified during the reign of his father, Mozzafar-al-Din Shah...
, who had been deposed as Shah of PersiaQajar dynastyThe Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal family of Turkic descent who ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925....
, went into exile to Russia, sailing from the Iranian port of Bandar-e AnzaliBandar-e AnzaliBandar-e Anzali , also Romanized as Bandar-e Pahlavī, Bandar Pahlavi, and Bandar Pahlevi, or simply as Pahlavī, Pahlevī, and Pehlevi; earlier, Enceli and Enzeli) is a city in and the capital of Bandar-e Anzali County, Gilan Province, Iran...
on the steamer General Skobeleff to PetrovskPetrovskPetrovsk may refer to:*Petrovsk, Saratov Oblast, a town in Saratov Oblast, Russia*Petrovsk , an air base in Saratov Oblast, Russia*Petrovsk-Port, name of Makhachkala from 1857 to 1921...
. In OdessaOdessaOdessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, he plotted to regain his throne, with one unsuccessful attempt in 1911.
Births
- September 5 –
- Nicholas Bhengu, South African evangelist, in Entumeni; (d. 1985);
- Yusuf DadooYusuf DadooYusuf Mohamed Dadoo was a Muslim Indian South African communist and anti-apartheid activist. In his life he was chair of both the South African Indian Congress and the South African Communist Party, as well as being a major proponent of cooperation between those organisations and the African...
, South African Communist activist, in Krugersdorp; (d. 1983) - Archie JacksonArchie JacksonArchibald "Archie" Jackson , occasionally known as Archibald Alexander Jackson, was an Australian cricketer who played eight Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1929 and 1931. A teenage prodigy, he played first grade cricket at only 15 years of age and was selected for New South Wales at 17...
, Australian cricketer, in RutherglenRutherglenRutherglen is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. In 1975, it lost its own local council and administratively became a component of the City of Glasgow. In 1996 Rutherglen was reallocated to the South Lanarkshire council area.-History:...
, ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
; (d. 1933)- September 6 – Valentin Zmorovich, Soviet Ukrainian mathematician, in KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
; (d.1994) - September 7 – Elia KazanElia KazanElia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
, American film director, as Elias Kazanjoglous, in IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
; (d. 2003) - September 8 – Max BlecherMax BlecherMax Blecher was a writer from Romania.His father was a well-to-do Jewish merchant and the owner of a porcelain shop. He attended primary and secondary school in Roman, Romania. After receiving his baccalaureat, Blecher left for Paris to study medicine...
, Romanian author, in BotoşaniBotosaniBotoșani is the capital city of Botoșani County, in northern Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu and Nicolae Iorga.- Origin of the name :...
; (d. 1938) - September 11 – William H. Natcher, U.S. Congressman 1953–1994, in Bowling Green, KentuckyBowling Green, KentuckyBowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
; known for never missing a vote in Congress, with 18,401 consecutive votes; (d. 1994) - September 14 – Sir Peter ScottPeter ScottSir Peter Markham Scott, CH, CBE, DSC and Bar, MID, FRS, FZS, was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer and sportsman....
, British ornithologist and painter (d. 1989) - September 15 –
- September 6 – Valentin Zmorovich, Soviet Ukrainian mathematician, in Kiev
- Jean BattenJean BattenJean Gardner Batten CBE OSC was a New Zealand aviatrix. Born in Rotorua, she became the best-known New Zealander of the 1930s, internationally, by taking a number of record-breaking solo flights across the world....
, New Zealand-born aviatrix, in RotoruaRotoruaRotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
; (d. 1982) - Tan Jiazhen, Chinese geneticist, in Cixi CityCixi CityCixi is a city within the sub-provincial city of Ningbo located in China's Zhejiang province.- History :The city was captured by British forces in the Battle of Tsekee on 15 March 1842 during the First Opium War...
; (d. 2008)- September 19 – Ferry Porsche, Austrian automotive designer, in Wiener NeustadtWiener Neustadt-Main sights:* The Late-Romanesque Dom, consecrated in 1279 and cathedral from 1469 to 1785. The choir and transept, in Gothic style, are from the 14th century. In the late 15th century 12 statues of the Apostles were added in the apse, while the bust of Cardinal Melchior Klesl is attributed to...
(d. 1998) - September 21 – Kwame NkrumahKwame NkrumahKwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
, first President of GhanaPresident of GhanaThe President of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana. Officially styled President of the Republic of Ghana and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghanaian Armed Forces. The current President of Ghana is Prof. John Atta Mills, who took office in January...
, 1960–66; as Francis Nwia Kofi Nkrumah in Nzima (d. 1972) - September 24 – Carl SigmanCarl SigmanCarl Sigman was an American songwriter.-Biography:Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his Bar exams to practice in the state of New York...
, American songwriter ("It's All In The Game"), in BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
; (d. 2000) - September 28 –
- September 19 – Ferry Porsche, Austrian automotive designer, in Wiener Neustadt
- Al CappAl CappAlfred Gerald Caplin , better known as Al Capp, was an American cartoonist and humorist best known for the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner. He also wrote the comic strips Abbie an' Slats and Long Sam...
, American cartoonist ("Li'l AbnerLi'l AbnerLi'l Abner is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp , the strip ran for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through...
"); as Alfred Caplin in New Haven; (d. 1979) - Paidi JairajPaidi JairajPaidi Jairaj, Jayraj or Jai Raj was a renowned film actor, director and producer. He was recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award for lifetime achievement in 1980.-Brief lifesketch:...
film actor in India; in Hyderabad; (d.2000)- September 29 – John ConverseJohn ConverseDr. John Converse was an American plastic surgeon, born in San Francisco, California. He was the Chief Plastic Surgeon at the NYU Medical Center. He helped children with facial deformities. In 1958, actor Gary Cooper came to him for a plastic surgery operation. It was that day that he met Sandra...
, American plastic surgeon, in San Francisco; (d. 1981)
- September 29 – John Converse
Deaths
- September 9 – E.H. Harriman, 61, American railroad magnate
- September 27 – Gyula DonáthGyula DonáthGyula Donáth , was a Hungarian sculptor.He was born in Pest and studied in Vienna with G. Semper. From 1880 onwards he worked in Budapest. His sculptural style integrated elements of classicism and academic as well as the Art Nouveau styles...
, 59, Hungarian sculptor - September 29 – Vladimir VidrićVladimir VidricVladimir Vidrić was a Croatian poet. He is considered one of the major figures of the Croatian secessionist poetry.-Life:...
, 34, Croatian poet