On This Day - What Happened On September 1 | Britannica

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1939 German invasion of Poland The lethal combination of German blitzkrieg tactics, French and British inactivity, and Soviet perfidy doomed Poland to swift defeat after Adolf Hitler invaded the country this day in 1939 and sparked World War II. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about World War II Photos.com/Thinkstock

Featured Biography

Carlo Gambino American crime boss bornSeptember 1, 1902Palermo, ItalydiedOctober 15, 1976 (aged 74)Massapequa, New YorkAP Images 1950 Phil McGraw American psychologist 1938 Alan Dershowitz American lawyer 1935 Seiji Ozawa Japanese American conductor 1923 Rocky Marciano American boxer 1902 Carlo Gambino American crime boss See All Biographies On This Day

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2004 Chechen rebels seized a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia; the siege, which ended two days later, resulted in the deaths of more than 330 people, the majority of them children. Test your knowledge of Russian historyAndreyA 1985 In a search led by American oceanographer Robert Ballard, the wreck of the Titanic was found on the ocean floor at a depth of about 13,000 feet (4,000 metres). How much do you know about the Titanic?Courtesy of the Institute for Exploration/University of Rhode Island/NOAA 1980 Due to poor health, Canadian activist Terry Fox, who had part of his leg amputated because of cancer, was forced to end his Marathon of Hope, a run across Canada to raise money for cancer research; it was later discovered that the cancer had spread to his lungs, and he died in 1981. Take our quiz about diseases and human healthAll Canada Photos/Alamy 1972 Bobby Fischer defeated Boris Spassky to become the first native-born American to hold the title of world chess champion. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about chessAP 1969 A group of young army officers led by Muammar al-Qaddafi deposed the king and made Libya a republic. Test your knowledge of African leadersMC2 Jesse Awalt/U.S. Department of Defense 1954 The thriller Rear Window, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, opened in American theatres, and it became a film classic. Take our movie quiz© 1954 Paramount Pictures Corporation 1952 Life magazine published Ernest Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea, his last major work of fiction; it was also released as a book, and in 1953 it won a Pulitzer Prize. Test your knowledge of famous novelsErnest Hemingway Photograph Collection/John F. Kennedy Presidential Library 1951 Australia, New Zealand, and the United States signed the ANZUS Pact. 1930 The Young Plan, the second renegotiation of Germany's World War I reparation payments, went into effect. How much do you know about German history? 1923 A great earthquake struck the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area; the death toll from the shock was estimated at 142,800. Take our quiz about natural disastersEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1914 The last known passenger pigeon died in the Cincinnati (Ohio) Zoo. Read about six animals that were eaten to extinction, including the passenger pigeonBill Reasons—The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers 1875 American novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs, best known as the creator of Tarzan, was born. Take our quiz about famous authorsEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1870 The French army suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Sedan in the Franco-German War, leading to the fall of France's Second Empire. Test your knowledge of French historyLibrary of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital File Number: LC-DIG-pga-02713) 1864 The Charlottetown Conference, the first of a series of meetings that ultimately led to the formation of the Dominion of Canada, convened at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about CanadaLibrary and Archives Canada (C-000733) 1838 American frontiersman William Clark, who shared with Meriwether Lewis the leadership of the epic Lewis and Clark Expedition, died. Take our exploration and discovery quizCourtesy of the Independence National Historical Park Collection, Philadelphia SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.