September 14: What Happened on This Day in History (Elementary Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 1752 - The British Empire adopts the Gregorian calendar, skipping eleven days (the previous day was September 2).
2. 1814 - The poem Defence of Fort McHenry is written by Francis Scott Key. The poem is later used as the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner.
3. 1959 - The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach it.
4. 1984 - Joe Kittinger becomes the first person to fly a gas balloon alone across the Atlantic Ocean.
5. 1987 - The Toronto Blue Jays set a record for the most home runs in a single game, hitting 10 of them.
6. Famous Birthdays: Alexander von Humboldt (German naturalist and explorer), Gil Langley (Australian cricketer, footballer and politician), Nicholas Georgiadis (Greek painter, stage and costume designer), Kostas Karamanlis (Greek prime-minister), Wendy Thomas (namesake of the eponymous restaurant- Wendy's)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: September 13

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: September 15

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.