September 10th in History

Terra Cotta Soldiers from the Qin Shi Huang
Mausoleum Army, protecting
the Emperor for Eternity,
now a World Heritage Site;
each soldier, horse, and piece of equipment
is original and different from the others

 210BC   Death of Qin Shi Huang, first Emperor of China. He is the first Emperor of what is referred to in Chinese history as the 'warring states' period, uniting seven separate kingdoms into a united China.  He is the first Emperor to build a version of the Great Wall of China, which was expanded on by subsequent figures.  And he is the Emperor who built a mausoleum guarded for eternity - or at least for a long time - by the amazing terra cotta army accidentally discovered by farmers in 1974. Shi Huang initiated political and economic reforms, including an extensive road building system, and he outlawed and burned books, as a means of controlling his population.  His first conquest of a neighboring country in his military expansion prevailed because he invaded after they were incapacitated by an earthquake.

1385    Birth of Le Loi, first emperor of Viet Nam and National Hero, founder of the Later Lê Dynasty (d. 1433)  Le Loi led a combination guerilla and conventional war against the Ming Dynasty of China's control over Viet Nam, defeating them.

1509    An earthquake known as "The Lesser Judgment Day" hits Istanbul.  It is estimated to be a 7.2 magnitude quake followed by a tsunami and 45 days of aftershocks.  Ten thousand people died, there was massive destruction of buildings, including 109 mosques. It is not clear what, specifically, the 'Judgement' was for, or why it was lesser - lesser than what?

1547   The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, the last full scale military confrontation between England and Scotland, resulting in a decisive victory for the forces of Edward VI. Part of the 'War of Rough Wooing' - you have to love these names - it was a war between the forces of Henry VIII uniting Scotland with England by arranging a marriage between his infant son the future Edward VI, and the infant Mary, Queen of Scots. The English forces used what is considered modern tactics in incorporating naval artillery bombardment of a land battle.

1604   Death of William Morgan, Welsh Bible translator (b. 1545) , notable because nobody killed him for it, unlike earlier translators into common language, originally perceived as a threat to church authority and control, and the supremacy of sacerdotalism, which emphasized the role of clergy as the ordained intermediaries between lay worshippers and God.

1624   Birth of Thomas Sydenham, English physician ( known as the 'Father of English Medicine'(d.1689).

1676   Death of Gerrard Winstanley, English religious reformer (b. 1609) who advocated biblically based communism as mandated in the Bible long before the modern political movement attributed to Marx and Engle.  Called 'True Levellers', they referenced a literal interpretationn of the New Testament book of Acts 2:44-45, "And all that believed were together, and had all things in common;  And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need" and Acts 4:32-37, "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.  And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.  Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,  And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.  And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,  Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet."  They were also called 'Diggers' for plowing up and planting public land. Winstanely became an early Quaker, part of the English religious reformers that came into prominence during the protectorate era of Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War.

1776   In the American Revolutionary War, Nathan Hale volunteers to spy for the Continental Army, remembered for the quotation "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country."

1788   Birth of  Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes, French archaeologist (d. 1868)

1801    Birth of Marie Laveau, American Voodoo practitioner (d. 1881)

1813   The United States defeats the British Fleet at the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.

1846    Elias Howe is granted a patent for the sewing machine.

1852    Birth of Alice Brown Davis, first female Seminole chief (d. 1935).

1858    George Mary Searle discovers the asteroid 55 Pandora.

1897    Lattimer massacre: A sheriff's posse kills 20 unarmed immigrant miners in Pennsylvania, United States.

1898    Empress Elizabeth of Austria is assassinated by Luigi Lucheni.

1918    Birth of Rin Tin Tin, German shepherd dog (d. 1932) star of cinema and radio, comparable to the Lassie fictional dog, he was descended from a German Shepherd puppy rescued during WW I by American Serviceman Lee Duncan who came with his rescuer to the U.S and demonstrated remarkable obedience skills as a performer.  He was so famous in this country and in his native France that he earned a star on the walk of fame, and when he died his remains were returned to France for burial in a famous pet cemetary.

1919    Austria and the Allies sign the Treaty of Saint-Germain recognizing the independence of Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.

1932    The New York City Subway's third competing subway system, the municipally-owned IND, is opened.

1933     Birth of Yevgeny Khrunov, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 2000)

1934    Birth of Jim Oberstar, long-serving American politician.

1937    Birth of Jared Diamond, American biologist and author, including "Guns, Germs and Steel". (for my friend and sometimes reader JH, who introduced me to Diamond's work - DG)

1939    In World War II, Canada declares war on Nazi Germany, joining the Allies – France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.

1943    World War II: German forces begin their occupation of Rome, turning on their allies who signed the Italian Armistice on September 3rd, and made it a formal, public declaration on this date. The Allied forces had invaded and captured the sourthern part of Italy and were expected to prevail in their attempts to expand northward by the Italians.  Rome was liberated in June of 1944.
1948 American-born Mildred Gillars, the Nazi wartime radio broadcaster known as "Axis Sally," was indicted in Washington, D.C., for treason.

1951    The United Kingdom begins an economic boycott of Iran.

1963     Twenty black students, guarded by federal marshalls, entered public schools in Alabama, challenging the enforcement of segregation by Governor George Wallace. Wallace made the statement on his inauguration in January 1963, "In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. "

1989    Hungary stopped enforcing East German visa restrictions and opened its borders, beginning a flood of emigration that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall two months later.

1967    The people of Gibraltar vote to remain a British dependency rather than becoming part of Spain.

1976    Death of Dalton Trumbo, American writer (b. 1905)

1977    Hamida Djandoubi, convicted of torture and murder, is the last person to be executed by guillotine in France.

2002    Switzerland, traditionally a neutral country, joins the United Nations.

2008   The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, described as the biggest scientific experiment in history is powered up in Geneva, Switzerland.
 
2010   Celebration of International World Suicide Prevention Day