Portal:United States/On this day/September 12
On this day for the United States
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Events
- 1609 – Henry Hudson begins his exploration of the Hudson River while aboard the Halve Maen.
- 1814 – Battle of North Point: an American detachment halts the British land advance to Baltimore in the War of 1812.
- 1847 – Mexican–American War: the Battle of Chapultepec begins.
- 1857 – The SS Central America sinks about 160 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, drowning a total of 426 passengers and crew, including Captain William Lewis Herndon. The ship was carrying 13–15 tons of gold from the California Gold Rush.
- 1940 – The Hercules Powder Plant Disaster in the United States kills 51 people and injures over 200.
- 1953 – U.S. Senator and future President John Fitzgerald Kennedy marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island.
- 1958 – Jack Kilby demonstrates the first working integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments.
- 1959 – Bonanza premieres, the first regularly scheduled TV program presented in color.
- 1962 – President John F. Kennedy delivers his "We choose to go to the Moon" speech at Rice University.
- 1966 – Gemini 11, the penultimate mission of NASA's Gemini program, and the current human altitude record holder (except for the Apollo lunar missions).
- 1983 – A Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, is robbed of approximately US$7 million by Los Macheteros.
- 1984 – Dwight Gooden sets the baseball record for strikeouts in a season by a rookie with 276, previously set by Herb Score with 246 in 1954. Gooden's 276 strikeouts that season, pitched in 218 innings, set the current record.
- 1992 – NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-47 which marked the 50th shuttle mission. On board are Mae Carol Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, Mamoru Mohri, the first Japanese citizen to fly in a US spaceship, and Mark Lee and Jan Davis, the first married couple in space.
- 2008 – The 2008 Chatsworth train collision in Los Angeles between a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train kills 25 people.
- 2011 – The National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City opens to the public.
- 2013 – NASA confirms that its Voyager 1 probe has become the first manmade object to enter interstellar space.
Births
- 1768 – Benjamin Carr, English-American singer-songwriter, educator, and publisher (d. 1831)
- 1797 – Samuel Joseph May, American activist (d. 1871)
- 1812 – Richard March Hoe, American engineer and businessman, invented the Rotary printing press (d. 1886)
- 1818 – Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor, invented the Gatling gun (d. 1903)
- 1829 – Charles Dudley Warner, American essayist and novelist (d. 1900)
- 1830 – William Sprague, American businessman and politician, 27th Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1915)
- 1852 – H. H. Asquith, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1928)
- 1880 – H. L. Mencken, American journalist and critic (d. 1956)
- 1891 – Pedro Albizu Campos, Puerto Rican lawyer and politician (d. 1965)
- 1891 – Arthur Hays Sulzberger, American publisher (d. 1968)
- 1892 – Alfred A. Knopf, Sr., American publisher, founded Alfred A. Knopf Inc. (d. 1984)
- 1894 – Dorothy Maud Wrinch, Argentinian-English mathematician, biochemist and philosopher (d. 1976)
- 1897 – Walter B. Gibson, American magician and author (d. 1985)
- 1898 – Ben Shahn, Lithuanian-American painter and photographer (d. 1969)
- 1900 – Haskell Curry, American mathematician, logician, and academic (d. 1982)
- 1902 – Marya Zaturenska, Ukrainian-American poet and author (d. 1982)
- 1904 – John Courtney Murray, American priest and theologian (d. 1967)
- 1904 – Lou Moore, American race car driver (d. 1956)
- 1913 – Jesse Owens, American sprinter and long jumper (d. 1980)
- 1916 – Tony Bettenhausen, American race car driver (d. 1961)
- 1920 – Irene Dailey, American actress (d. 2008)
- 1921 – Frank McGee, American journalist (d. 1974)
- 1922 – Jackson Mac Low, American poet, playwright, and composer (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Mark Rosenzweig, American psychologist and academic (d. 2009)
- 1925 – Stan Lopata, American baseball player (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Dickie Moore, American actor (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Robert Irwin, American painter and gardener
- 1928 – Muriel Siebert, American businesswoman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Ernie Vandeweghe, Canadian-American basketball player and physician (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Harvey Schmidt, American composer and illustrator (d. 2018)
- 1930 – Larry Austin, American composer and educator
- 1931 – George Jones, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
- 1934 – Glenn Davis, American hurdler, sprinter, and football player (d. 2009)
- 1934 – Jaegwon Kim, South Korean-American philosopher and academic (d. 2019)
- 1935 – Richard Hunt, American sculptor
- 1938 – Judy Clay, American soul and gospel singer (d. 2001)
- 1938 – Tatiana Troyanos, American operatic soprano (d. 1993)
- 1939 – Phillip Ramey, American pianist and composer
- 1939 – Henry Waxman, American lawyer and politician
- 1940 – Linda Gray, American model and actress
- 1943 – Maria Muldaur, American folk and blues singer
- 1943 – Leonard Peltier, American political activist and convicted criminal
- 1944 – Lonnie Mayne, American wrestler (d. 1978)
- 1944 – Barry White, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1945 – Russell "Jungle Jim" Liberman, American drag racer (d. 1977)
- 1945 – John Mauceri, American conductor and producer
- 1946 – Tony Bellamy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
- 1948 – Steve Turre, American trombonist and educator
- 1949 – Charles Burlingame, American captain and pilot (d. 2001)
- 1950 – Bruce Mahler, American actor and screenwriter
- 1951 – Joe Pantoliano, American actor and producer
- 1951 – Ali-Ollie Woodson, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2010)
- 1952 – Gerry Beckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Nan Goldin, American photographer
- 1953 – Nan Goldin, American photographer
- 1954 – Robert Gober, American sculptor
- 1954 – Scott Hamilton, American saxophonist
- 1958 – Wilfred Benítez, American boxer
- 1958 – Gregg Edelman, American actor and singer
- 1959 – Scott Brown, American colonel and politician
- 1959 – Deron Cherry, American football player and sportscaster
- 1960 – Evan Jenkins, American academic and politician
- 1962 – Amy Yasbeck, American actress
- 1964 – Greg Gutfeld, American television journalist and author
- 1965 – Vernon Maxwell, American basketball player*1966 – Ben Folds, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer*1967 – Louis C.K., American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1967 – Pat Listach, American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1968 – Larry LaLonde, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1968 – Paul F. Tompkins, American comedian, actor, and writer
- 1969 – Max Boot, Russian-American historian and author
- 1969 – James Frey, American author and screenwriter
- 1970 – Nathan Larson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Gideon Emery, English-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Tarana Burke, American civil rights activist
- 1973 – Paul Walker, American actor (d. 2013)
- 1974 – Jennifer Nettles, American singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Jeff Irwin, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1978 – Benjamin McKenzie, American actor
- 1978 – Ruben Studdard, American R&B, pop, and gospel singer
- 1980 – Sean Burroughs, American baseball player
- 1981 – Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress
- 1981 – Staciana Stitts, American swimmer
- 1982 – Sal Rinauro, American wrestler
- 1983 – Daniel Muir, American football player
- 1983 – Clayton Richard, American baseball player
- 1986 – Emmy Rossum, American singer and actress
- 1989 – Freddie Freeman, American-Canadian baseball player
- 1989 – Andrew Luck, American football player
Deaths
- 1870 – Fitz Hugh Ludlow, American journalist, explorer, and author (b. 1836)
- 1927 – Sarah Frances Whiting, American physicist and astronomer (b. 1847)
- 1953 – Lewis Stone, American actor (b. 1879)
- 1962 – Spot Poles, American baseball player and soldier (b. 1887)
- 1968 – Tommy Armour, Scottish-American golfer and journalist (b. 1894)
- 1971 – Walter Egan, American golfer (b. 1881)
- 1972 – William Boyd, American actor and producer (b. 1895)
- 1977 – Robert Lowell, American poet (b. 1917)
- 1987 – John Qualen, Canadian-American actor (b. 1899)
- 1992 – Anthony Perkins, American actor, singer, and director (b. 1932)
- 1993 – Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1917)
- 1994 – Tom Ewell, American actor (b. 1909)
- 1997 – Judith Merril, American-Canadian science fiction writer, editor and political activist (b. 1923)
- 2000 – Stanley Turrentine, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1934)
- 2003 – Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1932)
- 2005 – Serge Lang, French-American mathematician, author and academic (b. 1927)
- 2007 – Bobby Byrd, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1934)
- 2008 – David Foster Wallace, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1962)
- 2009 – Norman Borlaug, American agronomist and humanitarian, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
- 2009 – Jack Kramer, American tennis player and sportscaster (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Tom Sims, American skateboarder and snowboarder, founded Sims Snowboards (b. 1950)
- 2013 – Ray Dolby, American engineer and businessman, founded Dolby Laboratories (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Warren Giese, American football player, coach, and politician (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Candace Pert, American neuroscientist and pharmacologist (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Joe Sample, American pianist and composer (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Hugh Royer, Jr., American golfer (b. 1936)
- 2015 – Claudia Card, American philosopher and academic (b. 1940)
- 2015 – Frank D. Gilroy, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Al Monchak, American baseball player and coach (b. 1917)
- 2017 – Edith Windsor, American LGBT rights activist and technology manager at IBM (b. 1929)