September 7



1571 At the Battle of Lepanto in the Mediterranean Sea, the Christian galley fleet destroys the Turkish galley fleet.

1630 The town of Trimountaine in Massachusetts is renamed Boston. It became the state capital.

1701 England, Austria, and the Netherlands form an Alliance against France.

1778 Shawnee Indians attack and lay siege to Boonesborough, Kentucky.

1812 On the road to Moscow, Napoleon wins a costly victory over the Russians at Borodino.

1813 The earliest known printed reference to the United States by the nickname “Uncle Sam” occurs in the Troy Post.

1864 Union General Phil Sheridan’s troops skirmish with the Confederates under Jubal Early outside Winchester, Virginia.

1876 The James-Younger gang botches an attempt to rob the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota.

1888 An incubator is used for the first time on a premature infant.

1892 The first heavyweight-title boxing match fought with gloves under Marquis of Queensbury rules ends when James J. Corbett knocks out John L. Sullivan in the 21st round.

1912 French aviator Roland Garros sets an altitude record of 13,200 feet.

1916 The U.S. Congress passes the Workman’s Compensation Act.

1940 Germany’s blitz against London begins during the Battle of Britain.

1942 The Red Army pushes back the German line northwest of Stalingrad.

1953 Nikita Krushchev elected first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

1954 Integration of public schools begins in Washington D.C. and Maryland.

1965 Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio.

1970 Jockey Blll Shoemaker earns 6,033rd win, breaking Johnny Longden’s record for most lifetime wins; Shoemaker’s record would stand for 29 years.

1977 Panama and US sign Torrios-Carter Treaties to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the US to Panama at the end of the 20th century.

1978 Secret police agent Francesco Giullino assassinates Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov in London by firing a ricin pellet from a specially designed umbrella.

1979 ESPN, the Entertainment and Sports Programig Network, debuts.

1986 Desmond Tutu becomes first black leader of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of South Africa).

1988 Pilot and cosmonaut Abdul Ahad Mohmand, the first Afghan to travel to outer space, returns to earth after 9 days aboard the Soviet space station Mir.

2004 Hurricane Ivan damages 90% of buildings on the island of Grenada; 39 die in the Category 5 storm.

2008 US Government assumes conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the country’s two largest mortgage financing companies, during the subprime mortgage crisis.

Born on September 7

1533 Elizabeth I, Queen of England (1558-1603), led her country during the exploration of the New World and war with Spain.

1860 Anna Marie Robertson (Grandma Moses), American folk painter who started her career at age 78, best known for her paintings of rural life.

1860 Edith Sitwell, poet.

1900 Taylor Caldwell, novelist.

1909 Elia Kazan, producer, screenwriter and director who won directing Oscars for Gentleman’s Agreement and On the Waterfront.

1914 James Alfred Van Allen, discovered and named the two radiation belts surrounding the Earth.

1930 Sonny Rollins, saxophonist.

1936 Buddy Holly, singer, songwriter, rock ‘n roll pioneer.

1943 Beverley McLachlin, first woman to serve as Chief Justice of Canada.

1949 Gloria Gaynor, Grammy Award–winning singer (“I Will Survive”).

1950 Julie Kavner, Emmy Award–winning actress (Rhoda, 1968) and voice actress (The Simpsons, 1992); best known as the voice of Marge Simpson in The Simpsons.

1950 Margaret “Peggy” Noonan, author, The Wall Street Journal columnist; special assistant to President Ronald Reagan.

1956 Michael Feinstein, singer, musician; archivist for Great American Songbook.

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