September 22Damage from the great fire of Smyrna1586 Eighty Years' War: Spanish forces defeated an Anglo-Dutch army at the Battle of Zutphen.1914 World War I: German naval forces bombarded Papeete in French Polynesia and sank a French gunboat.1922 After nine days, the great fire of Smyrna was extinguished (aftermath pictured), having caused at least ten thousand deaths.1975 Sara Jane Moore attempted to assassinate U.S. president Gerald Ford, but failed due to unfamiliarity with her weapon.2014 The NASA spacecraft MAVEN entered into orbit around Mars to study the planet's atmosphere.SelimI (d.1520)John Biddle (d.1662)Gladys Berejiklian (b.1970)Coco Yoshizawa (b.2009)More anniversaries: September 21September 22September 23ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

The Australian brushturkey (Alectura lathami) is a species of bird in the Megapode family, Megapodiidae. It is found in eastern Australia, from Far North Queensland to the South Coast region of New South Wales, as well as on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, where it is an introduced species. The Australian brushturkey inhabits wet forests, as well as drier scrubs and open areas, and lives in both mountainous and lowland areas. It is also common in urban environments including on domestic properties in the cities of Brisbane and Sydney. A black-feathered bird with a red head, the Australian brushturkey is typically a large bird, with a total length of around 6075cm and a wingspan of around 85cm, although the subspecies A. l. purpureicollis from the northern Cape York Peninsula is somewhat smaller. The species is known for its mound-building, which is carried out by a dominant male and visited by a succession of local females, for mating and egg-laying. It uses a large nest on the ground made of leaves, other compostable material, and earth. This female Australian brushturkey was photographed in Crater Lakes National Park, Queensland.Photograph credit: Charles J. SharpRecently featured: Tadej PogaarThe FreshmanHamm (Westfalen) HauptbahnhofArchiveMore featured pictures

September 23: Celebrate Bisexuality DayBenedict Arnold1780 American Revolutionary War: British officer John Andr was captured by Patriot forces, thereby revealing a plot by Continental Army general Benedict Arnold (pictured) to hand over West Point, New York.1913 The United Mine Workers of America begin a strike against the Rockefeller-owned Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, sparking the Colorado Coalfield War.2002 The first version of the web browser Firefox was released by the Mozilla Organization.2008 A gunman shot and killed ten students at the Seinjoki University of Applied Sciences in Kauhajoki, Finland, before committing suicide.2019 The British travel company Thomas Cook Group ceased operations with immediate effect, leaving around 600,000 tourists stranded around the world.John Ainsworth Horrocks (d.1846)Ellen Hayes (b.1851)Sigmund Freud (d.1939)Sean Spicer (b.1971)More anniversaries: September 22September 23September 24ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

Mary Terrell (September 23, 1863 July 24, 1954) was an American civil rights activist, journalist, teacher and one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree. She taught in the Latin Department at the M Street High Schoolthe first African-American public high school in the nationin Washington, DC. In 1895, she was the first African-American woman in the United States to be appointed to the school board of a major city, serving in the District of Columbia until 1906. Terrell was a charter member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Colored Women's League of Washington. She helped found the National Association of Colored Women and served as its first national president, and she was a founding member of the National Association of College Women.Photograph credit: unknown; restored by Adam CuerdenRecently featured: Australian brushturkeyTadej PogaarThe FreshmanArchiveMore featured pictures

September 24: Heritage Day in South Africa; Independence Day in Guinea-Bissau (1973)Battle of San Juan de Ula1568 At San Juan de Ula (present-day Veracruz, Mexico), a Spanish naval fleet forced English privateers to halt their trade (battle pictured).1789 The Judiciary Act of 1789 was signed into law, establishing the U.S. federal judiciary and setting the number of Supreme Court justices at six.1903 Alfred Deakin became the second Australian prime minister, succeeding Edmund Barton, who left office to become a founding justice of the High Court of Australia.1950 The "Great Smoke Pall", generated by the Chinchaga fire, the largest recorded fire in North American history, was first recorded in present-day Nunavut and may eventually have circled the entire globe.1975 Dougal Haston and Doug Scott of the Southwest Face expedition became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest by ascending one of its faces.Robert of Knaresborough (d.1218)John Rutter (b.1945)Pia Wurtzbach (b.1989)Gennady Yanayev (d.2010)More anniversaries: September 23September 24September 25ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon is an 1816 biblical landscape painting by the British artist John Martin. It depicts an episode from the Book of Joshua, in which the Israelite leader Joshua comes to the assistance of the besieged city of Gibeon, appealing to God to halt the Sun in order to give his army more time to fight by daylight. Romantic in style, it was Martin's breakthrough picture, receiving praise both when it was shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition of 1816 at London's Somerset House, and when it appeared at the British Institution the following year. Since 2004, it has been in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.Photograph credit: John MartinRecently featured: Mary Church TerrellAustralian brushturkeyTadej PogaarArchiveMore featured pictures

September 19: International Talk Like a Pirate DayKate Sheppard1893 New Zealand became the first country to introduce universal suffrage following the women's suffrage movement led by Kate Sheppard (pictured).1970 Greek student Kostas Georgakis set himself on fire in Genoa, Italy, as a protest against the military junta of Georgios Papadopoulos.1985 An earthquake registering Mw8.0 struck Mexico City, killing at least 9,000 people and leaving up to 100,000 homeless.1991 tzi, a well-preserved natural mummy of a man dating from about 3300BC, was discovered by two German tourists in the Alps.2023 Chinese authorities cancelled a run of performances of The Mongol Khan, the first Mongolian play to be performed internationally, forty minutes before its planned premiere in Hohhot.Alfonso Litta (b.1608)William Kirby (b.1759)Jackie Collins (d.2015)John Turner (d.2020)More anniversaries: September 18September 19September 20ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

Hamm (Westfalen) Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the city of Hamm in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The station is one of the important InterCityExpress rail hubs in the eastern Ruhr area and is among the high-profile buildings of Hamm. The station opened in 1847 and was rebuilt in 1920. This photograph shows the interior of the station.Photograph credit: A.SavinRecently featured: Little pied cormorantBattle of AntietamAsaro MudmenArchiveMore featured pictures

September 13Model of Luna21759 French and Indian War: British forces won the Battle of the Plains of Abraham near Quebec City, despite General James Wolfe being mortally wounded.1814 War of 1812: Fort McHenry in Baltimore's Inner Harbor was attacked by British forces during the Battle of Baltimore, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write "Defence of Fort McHenry", later used as the lyrics to the United States national anthem.1959 The Soviet spacecraft Luna2 (model pictured) struck the Moon, the first spacecraft to reach another celestial body.1971 Following a failed coup attempt, Mao Zedong's second-in-command Lin Biao died in a plane crash while attempting to flee China.2008 Five bomb blasts took place in Delhi, India, killing at least 20 people as part of a series of attacks perpetrated by the Indian Mujahideen.Hezqeyas (d.1813)Lili Elbe (d.1931)Anutin Charnvirakul (b.1966)Ro Khanna (b.1976)More anniversaries: September 12September 13September 14ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

Ustyurt Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in Mangystau Region, southwest Kazakhstan, near the borders with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Established in 1984, it has an area of 2,230km2 (860sqmi) and lies within the Ustyurt Plateau. The reserve is intended to safeguard the desert as well as the rare flora and fauna in the area. It is home to 250 species of flora such as grey sage, feather grass, Anabasis salsa, and saltwort, as well as around 44 species of mammals such as the Ustyurt mouflon, saiga antelope, jeyran, fox and polecat. The reserve has a variety of landscapes, from steppes and depressions to pillars reaching several hundred metres in height, and features several Neolithic sites. This photograph shows an aerial view of the Karynzharyk Depression in Ustyurt Nature Reserve.Photograph credit: Maksat BisengazievRecently featured: Common ringed ploverAustin J. Tobin PlazaPlantago lanceolataArchiveMore featured pictures

September 14Kumba Ial1752 Under the terms of the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, the British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar, skipping 11days of the month.1940 Hungarian forces massacred at least 150 ethnic Romanians in Ip, Transylvania, following rumors that Romanians were responsible for the deaths of two soldiers.1943 World War II: Nazi forces began a mass extermination campaign against the civilian residents of around 20 villages on the Greek island of Crete, eventually killing more than 500 men.2003 President Kumba Ial (pictured) of Guinea-Bissau was deposed in a bloodless military coup.2015 Physicists of the LIGO and Virgo projects first observed gravitational waves, the existence of which was predicted by Henri Poincar in 1905.ConstantineV (d.775)Jeremiah Dummer (b.1645)Ponnambalam Arunachalam (b.1853)Beah Richards (d.2000)More anniversaries: September 13September 14September 15ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

Sclerophrys gutturalis, also known as the African common toad or the guttural toad, is a species of amphibian in the true toad family, Bufonidae. It is found in Africa in a region stretching from Kenya west to Angola and south to South Africa, and inhabits areas of forest, savanna and wetland. Males grow up to 90 millimetres (3.5in) and females 120 millimetres (4.7in) in length. The upper surface is buffish brown with variable irregular dark brown markings, while the underparts are pale and granular and the male has a dark throat. This photograph shows a S.gutturalis toad swimming in Lake Sibaya, South Africa.Photograph credit: Charles J. SharpRecently featured: Ustyurt Nature ReserveCommon ringed ploverAustin J. Tobin PlazaArchiveMore featured pictures

September 15: Battle of Britain Day in the United Kingdom (1940)Title page of the German government gazette issue proclaiming the laws1776 American Revolutionary War: British forces made an unopposed amphibious landing at Kips Bay on Manhattan, the American defenders having fled due to artillery fire.1795 French Revolutionary Wars: Great Britain seized the Dutch Cape Colony to use its facilities against the French Navy.1935 Nazi Germany enacted the Nuremberg Laws (pictured), which deprived Jews of their citizenship.1944 World War II: American and Australian forces landed on the Japanese-occupied island of Morotai.2017 A homemade bomb partially exploded on an eastbound District line train at Parsons Green tube station in West London, injuring 30 passengers.Catherine of Genoa (d.1510)Edm Boursault (d.1701)Signe Toly Anderson (b.1941)Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (b.1984)More anniversaries: September 14September 15September 16ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

The 2024 Central European floods were a series of floods caused by a record heavy rainfall generated by Storm Boris, an extremely humid Genoa low. The flooding began in Austria and the Czech Republic, then spread to Poland, Romania and Slovakia, and then onwards to Germany and Hungary. The floods caused 28 fatalities and over 4 billion euros in damage. This photograph shows floodwater surrounding the Franciscan monastery in Kodzko, Poland, on 15 September 2024.Photograph credit: Jacek HalickiRecently featured: Sclerophrys gutturalisUstyurt Nature ReserveCommon ringed ploverArchiveMore featured pictures

September 5El Dorado Fire917 Liu Yan declared himself emperor, establishing the state of Southern Han at his capital of Panyu (present-day Guangzhou) in southern China.1774 In response to the British Parliament's enactment of the so-called Intolerable Acts, representatives from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies convened the First Continental Congress at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia.1970 During the practice session of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza Circuit, Jochen Rindt was killed and subsequently became motor racing's only posthumous world champion.1972 The Palestinian militant group Black September took hostage eleven Israeli athletes and coaches at the Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany; all of the hostages were killed less than 24 hours later.2020 California wildfires: A pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party ignited the El Dorado Fire (pictured), burning for 71 days and killing one firefighter.Nap Lajoie (b.1874)Kathleen O'Melia (d.1939)Chris Hipkins (b.1978)Benyamin Sueb (d.1995)More anniversaries: September 4September 5September 6ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

John Cage (September5, 1912 August12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and the non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde. Critics have lauded him as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was also instrumental in the development of modern dance, mostly through his association with choreographer Merce Cunningham, who was also Cage's romantic partner for most of their lives. Cage's best known work is the 1952 composition 433, a piece performed in the absence of deliberate sound; musicians performing the work do nothing but be present for the duration specified by the title. The content of the composition is intended to be the sounds of the environment heard by the audience during performance. This 1988 head shot of Cage is in the archives of Anefo, a Dutch photograph press agency.Photograph credit: Rob Bogaerts; cropped by Jan ArkesteijnRecently featured: Lady PeakThelenota ananasJapanese Instrument of SurrenderArchiveMore featured pictures

September 6: Defence Day in Pakistan (1965), Ghost Festival in China (2025)Cal Ripken Jr.1863 General John S. Marmaduke fatally wounded his Confederate Army colleague Lucius M. Walker in a formal duel in Arkansas.1930 Argentine president Hiplito Yrigoyen was deposed in a military coup by Jos Flix Uriburu.1952 A prototype aircraft crashed at the Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire, England, killing the pilot and test observer on board, and 29 spectators.1995 Cal RipkenJr. (pictured) played his 2,131st consecutive Major League Baseball game, breaking the 56-year-old record set by Lou Gehrig.1999 The Parliament of Singapore relocated from the Old Parliament House to its current meeting place.Jessie Willcox Smith (b.1863)Roger Waters (b.1943)Homare Sawa (b.1978)Robert Mugabe (d.2019)More anniversaries: September 5September 6September 7ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

The galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) is a species of bird in the cockatoo family, Cacatuidae. It is endemic to mainland Australia and is also an introduced species in Tasmania and New Zealand. The galah is adapted to a wide variety of modified and unmodified habitats and is one of Australia's most abundant and widespread bird species, being absent only from the driest areas and the far north of Cape York Peninsula. The galah is often found in flocks of 10 to 1,000 individuals, which can be mixed flocks also including the pink cockatoo, the little corella, and the sulphur-crested cockatoo. It is known to hybridize with all of these species. The galah nests in tree cavities and lays white eggs, usually two to five in a clutch. The eggs are incubated for about 25 days, and the chicks leave the nest about 49 days after hatching. Galahs in captivity have been known to live for up to 72 years. This male galah of the subspecies E.r.albiceps was photographed in the Adelaide Botanic Garden in Adelaide, South Australia.Photograph credit: Charles J. SharpRecently featured: John CageLady PeakThelenota ananasArchiveMore featured pictures

September 7Battle of Arsuf by French painter loi Firmin Fron1191 Third Crusade: Crusaders under RichardI of England defeated Ayyubid troops under Saladin at the Battle of Arsuf (depicted) in present-day Israel.1916 World War I: The Supreme War Command was established to oversee the armed forces of all the Central Powers.1984 An explosion on board a Maltese patrol boat that was disposing of illegal fireworks at sea off Gozo killed seven soldiers and policemen.1999 Three weeks after an earthquake struck northwestern Turkey, a second earthquake struck Athens, causing Greece and Turkey to initiate "earthquake diplomacy".2011 Yak-Service Flight9633, carrying the players and coaching staff of the ice hockey team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, crashed on take-off near Yaroslavl, Russia, resulting in the deaths of 44 of the 45 people on board.Robert Estienne (d.1559)Sir John Perceval, 1st Baronet (b.1629)Peggy Noonan (b.1950)Tamurbek Dawletschin (d.1983)More anniversaries: September 6September 7September 8ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

Arenal Volcano is a stratovolcano in north-western Costa Rica, in the province of Alajuela. It is within the Arenal Volcano National Park. The volcano is conically shaped with a height of 1,633 metres (5,358ft) and a crater with a diameter of 140 metres (460ft). Arenal is a young volcano, estimated to be less than 7,500 years old. The volcano was dormant for hundreds of years and exhibited 2 craters at its summit, with minor fumaroles activity, covered by dense vegetation. In 1968 it erupted unexpectedly, destroying the small town of Tabacn. Due to the eruption three more craters were created on the western flanks but only one of them exists today. By duration, Arenal's eruption from 1968 to 2010 is the tenth longest volcanic eruption on Earth since 1750. Since 2010, Arenal has been dormant.Photograph credit: RhododendritesRecently featured: GalahJohn CageLady PeakArchiveMore featured pictures