13 stories from 1793 to 2014, written as the news broke.
The Yesterday Times front page for September 18.
On September 18, Imperial Japan staged the Mukden Incident to invade Manchuria, Hammarskjöld died in a Congo plane crash, and Chickamauga opened as the war's second-bloodiest battle.
September 18 in History
Space Sciences Desk
1977 — Voyager 1 Captures First Distant Image of Earth and Moon Together
NASA's Voyager 1, launched September 5 to begin a "Grand Tour" of the outer planets, turned its cameras homeward from millions of miles away to frame Earth and its companion in a single exposure.
In an age when robotic explorers were rewriting the boundaries of human vision, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has turned its cameras backward to capture the first distant photograph showing Earth and the Moon together in a single frame. The image, taken from a vantage point millions of miles into space, presents the two bodies as pale companions against the void, a perspective impossible from any earthly observatory.
Mission controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, confirmed the successful imaging sequence this week. The photograph required careful calculation of exposure times to capture both the bright Earth and the dimmer lunar surface without overloading the spacecraft's vidicon cameras.
Voyager 1 launched September 5 aboard a Titan IIIE rocket, beginning what engineers term a "Grand Tour" of the outer planets. Scientists say this preliminary look homeward serves as practice for more ambitious planetary photography ahead.
Voyager I takes the first distant photograph of the Earth and the Moon together.
1931 — Imperial Japan Engineers Mukden Incident, Opens Full Invasion of Manchuria
1931: Tokyo's Kwantung Army blows railway tracks near Mukden to create pretext for occupation.
Japanese newspaper extra reports the Mukden incident with photographs of troops and city gates — as shown
Lieutenant Colonel Kanji Ishiwara of Japan's Kwantung Army saw his plans come to fruition in the early hours of September 18, 1931, when explosives destroyed a stretch of railway outside Mukden. Within hours, Japanese troops swept from their railway zone into surrounding Manchurian territory, claiming self-defense against Chinese sabotage.
Tokyo's War Ministry announced the incident justified immediate military action. By nightfall, Japanese forces occupied Mukden itself. Newspaper extras in Osaka and Tokyo displayed photographs of troops massed at city gates, proclaiming national resolve.
Imperial Japan instigates the Mukden incident as a pretext to invade and occupy Manchuria.
1863 — Second-Bloodiest Battle of War Opens as Chickamauga Engages
Only Gettysburg will cost more lives than the clash now beginning in northern Georgia.
Federal dead lie on the field after the first day of fighting — Timothy H. O'Sullivan
Fifty thousand Union troops under General William Rosecrans collided with Confederate forces under General Braxton Bragg along Chickamauga Creek this morning, opening what promises to be the war's second-costliest engagement. Only Gettysburg has produced higher casualties.
The battle erupted when Federal columns, searching for gaps in Southern lines, stumbled into concentrated rebel infantry near Lee and Gordon's Mill.
American Civil War: The Battle of Chickamauga begins between Confederate and Union forces. It involves the second highest amount of casualties for any American Civil War battle apart from Gettysburg.
1793 — Washington Lays Capitol Cornerstone as Masonic Grand Master
The chief executive set the first stone for the republic's legislative seat on Jenkins Hill, with members of Congress and citizens attending.
The Capitol building rises on Jenkins Hill, with carriages bringing visitors — William Russell Birch
President George Washington laid the first cornerstone of the United States Capitol this afternoon. He acted in his capacity as Grand Master of the Masonic fraternity. The ceremony took place on Jenkins Hill, a commanding elevation east of the President's House. Members of Congress, city commissioners, and numerous citizens arrived by carriage from Georgetown and Alexandria.
The first cornerstone of the United States Capitol is laid by George Washington.
Winds of 110 mph tore through Honduras as Hurricane Fifi made landfall, leaving a trail of devastation officials now call among the deadliest in the region's history. The toll stands at 5,000 dead, with countless homes destroyed and coastal communities isolated.
Relief efforts are hampered by washed-out roads and downed communications. The government has appealed for international assistance as search teams reach remote areas.
1961 — UN Chief Hammarskjöld Killed in Congo Peace Mission Crash
The United Nations lost its leader when a DC-6B flown by a 35-year-old captain plunged near Ndola with 16 aboard, witnesses reporting a flash at 01:00.
The Secretary-General presides at the United Nations — IAEA Imagebank
The United Nations lost its leader in pursuit of peace when Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld's aircraft plunged to earth near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia, killing all 16 aboard. He was en route to talks with Katanga secessionist Moïse Tshombe in the deepening Congo Crisis.
The Douglas DC-6B, registration SE-BDY, was flown by Captain Per Hallonquist, 35. Witnesses reported a bright flash in the sky at approximately 01:00, triggering search operations that found wreckage at dawn.
Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia, on 18 September 1961.
The crash killed all 16 people on board, including Hammarskjöld and 15 others.
Hammarskjöld was en route to ceasefire negotiations with Moïse Tshombe during the Congo Crisis.
Three official inquiries failed to conclusively determine the cause of the crash.
A bright flash in the sky was seen at approximately 01:00, initiating search-and-rescue operations.
The hurricane that killed 372 overwhelmed a region that had known only prosperity, reducing a glittering resort to splinters.
Palm trees bend before the hurricane winds flooding a Miami street — Wikimedia Commons
The great Florida land boom had drawn thousands to Miami's shores, but nature delivered a reckoning when a hurricane struck with lethal force, killing 372 people and reducing the glittering resort to splinters. The storm, one of the most destructive in American history to that date, overwhelmed a region that had known only prosperity.
A hurricane devastates Miami, Florida, killing 372 people.
2014 — Scotland Votes 55% to 45% to Remain in United Kingdom
Scottish voters rejected independence by 55% to 45%, preserving a union that has lasted 307 years.
People gather in a city square with Union and Scottish flags after the vote — Thomas Nugent
Scottish voters rejected independence from the United Kingdom by 55% to 45%, settling one of Europe's most closely watched political contests. The result, announced after a record turnout, preserves the 307-year-old union but extracts promises of expanded Scottish powers from London.
First Minister Alex Salmond, who had led the campaign for separation, acknowledged defeat while declaring the engagement had transformed Scottish politics.
Scotland votes against independence from the United Kingdom, by 55% to 45%.
1919 — Queen Wilhelmina Signs Suffrage Into Law; Dutch Women Win Full Ballot
Queen Wilhelmina's assent culminates organized petitioning dating to the 1890s, removing property and marital barriers so Dutch women may vote in national elections upon Parliament's next dissolution.
Fifty years of organized petitioning culminated today when Queen Wilhelmina granted royal assent to a law extending full voting rights to women throughout the Netherlands.
The measure places Holland among the vanguard of European democracies recognizing female suffrage. Previous Dutch governments had resisted such legislation, permitting women only limited participation in provincial and municipal elections.
Activists had pressed Parliament since the 1890s, their campaigns interrupted by war and social upheaval. The final statute removes all property and marital restrictions that had barred women from national polls.
Suffrage leaders declared the victory complete. The first opportunity for Dutch women to cast ballots in parliamentary elections will come at the next dissolution.
In the Netherlands, a law granting full voting rights to women is granted royal assent by Queen Wilhelmina.
1919 — Pollard Breaks Color Barrier as Akron Pros Sign Negro Halfback
Brown University star becomes first African American in major professional football.
Fritz Pollard, the former Brown University halfback celebrated for his dodging runs against Harvard and Carlisle, has signed with the Akron Pros of the American Professional Football Association, becoming the first African American to play for a major professional eleven.
Pollard's gridiron exploits at Brown earned him All-American mention in 1916. Akron coach Elgie Tobin secured his services for the 1919 campaign.
Fritz Pollard becomes the first African American to play professional football for a major team, the Akron Pros.
1950 — North Korean Force Routed at Pusan; UN Counterattack Collapses KPA Lines
UN troops launched a breakout offensive on September 16 after a six-week perimeter battle.
Mud-caked North Korean divisions that had pressed against the Pusan Perimeter for six weeks are in full retreat today, their advance shattered by a UN counterstroke from Inchon and a breakout offensive launched September 16.
The KPA force collapsed and retreated after the UN launched a counterattack at Inchon on September 15.
UN forces within the Pusan Perimeter mounted an offensive on September 16 to drive back the North Koreans and link up with UN forces at Inchon.
The Battle of Inchon involved some 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels.
Within a month of the Inchon landing, the Americans had taken 135,000 KPA troops prisoner.
The KPA had around 70,000 combat troops committed to the Pusan Perimeter on August 5, with most divisions far understrength.
Charles Addams's macabre cartoons find prime-time life.
Gallows humor enters American living rooms tonight as ABC premieres "The Addams Family," the first television adaptation of Charles Addams's New Yorker cartoons. The half-hour comedy translates Addams's single-panel grotesques into weekly family fare.
The first television adaptation of Charles Addams's "The Addams Family" premieres on ABC Television.
1851 — New-York Daily Times Debuts, Promises Indefinite Run
Former Tribune men Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones launch the largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States with a morning edition September 18, 1851.
In an age when the penny press reshapes civic life, a new voice enters the crowded field of New York journalism.
The New York Times was founded as the New-York Daily Times by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones.
The first edition was published on September 18, 1851, in New York City.
The first issue stated it would be issued every morning except Sundays for an indefinite number of years.
Raymond and Jones were former New-York Tribune journalists.
1945 — John McAfee, founder of McAfee, born, John McAfee, British-American computer programmer and businessman, founded McAfee (died 2021)
1973 — James Marsden, American actor, born, James Marsden, American actor
1779 — Joseph Story, Supreme Court justice, born, Joseph Story, American lawyer, jurist, and politician (died 1845)
1876 — James Scullin, 9th Prime Minister of Australia, born, James Scullin, Australian journalist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (died 1953)
1924 — J. D. Tippit, Dallas police officer, born, J. D. Tippit, American police officer (died 1963)
1955 — Keith Morris, singer of Black Flag, born, Keith Morris, American singer-songwriter
1960 — Stephen Flaherty, Broadway composer, born, Stephen Flaherty, American composer
Quote of the Day
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” — Abraham Lincoln, Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln
September 18 History Quiz
Which UN Secretary-General died in a plane crash in 1961?
Dag Hammarskjöld
What was the 1931 Japanese false flag operation used to justify invading Manchuria?
Mukden Incident
Which spacecraft photographed Earth and the Moon together on September 18, 1977?
