On September 11, 2001 the date itself was irrevocably changed. The horrific attacks of 9/11 left thousands dead, and has turned the day into a solemn remembrance of those who were lost, as well as the World Trade Center itself. It is almost hard to imagine today that, before 2001, you actually had a choice of September 11’s to mark for various reasons. Let’s examine some of the other 2011 possibilities.
10. 1970 (Dawson’s Field Hijackings)
Middle Eastern terrorists hijack four planes in September. All planes were destroyed by September 12. You know where this story is going, right? Well, there is a chance you are still thinking of another story. On September 6 1970, the world was gripped by the Dawson’s Field Hijackings. On a single day, five planes were hijacked, and a sixth was successfully defended by passengers and crew. The planes were kept at Dawson’s Field. Dawson’s Field is a remote airstrip near Zarka, Jordan. On September 11, 1970, all non-Jewish passengers were released by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The empty planes were destroyed on September 12. By September 30, the remaining hostages were released.
9. 1847 (Oh Susanna Premieres)
September 11 is a day now steeped in American lore. When you think of the top ten American songs of the nineteenth century (which may one day appear on this site), you cannot ignore Stephen Foster’s Oh Susanna. Oh Susanna became a song of hope, as well as the unofficial theme of the California Gold Rush. Foster’s song was first sung and debuted on September 11, 1847, at Andrew’s Eagle Ice Cream Saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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8. 1792 (Hope Diamond Theft)
In 1792, during the early days of the French revolution, six bandits broke into the store room of King Louis XVI and stole (among other items) the blue diamond that would come to be known as the Hope Diamond. The Hope Diamond was part of Marie Antoinette’s crown jewels. The Diamond, as well as Antoinette, would come to be seen as cursed. The curse would ironically extend to the day in which the thieves decided to make the theft…September 11.
7. 1961 (Hurricane Carla)
These days we tend to equate September 11 with a horrific level of destruction. There are some that made that same correlation, forty years before that fateful day. Texans, near Galveston and Corpus Christi, still talk about the fear and devastation caused by the landfall of the Category 4 Hurricane Carla. Half a million Texans fled the storm and 43 people died. The majority of Carla’s damage, though, was caused by a record number of tornadoes that came after the breakup of the hurricane. There were nearly 30 reported tornadoes that moved through Texas after Carla was officially done.
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6. 1862 (Birth of O. Henry)
On September 11, 1862, William Sydney Porter was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. Porter is better known as famed American short story writer O. Henry. His stories would celebrate the lives of middle class and lower middle class New Yorkers. They have become staples for reading in elementary schools, as well as scholarly study in universities. The stories would often feature life lessons, as well as ironic endings. Two of the most famous O. Henry stories would be The Gift of the Magi and The Ransom of Red Chief.
5. 1985 (Pete Rose Becomes All-Time Hit King)
Between phrases like “lifetime ban” and “gambling”, people tend to forget what made Pete Rose great in the first place. Let’s review. On September 11, 1985, after playing in the major leagues for 22 years, Pete Rose hit his 4,192nd base hit, breaking the record by all-time hits leader Ty Cobb. In the ensuing 27 years, no hitter has even approached 4,000 hits. In order to accomplish this, Rose averaged over 157 games a season for twenty years. Sad that all of that is mostly forgotten today.
4. 1972 (Max Fleisher Dies)
On September 11, 1972, in Los Angeles California, Max Fleisher died of heart failure. Fleisher was an innovative animator, as well as a rival of Walt Disney that Mickey’s father actually feared. Max Fleisher created the rotoscope (used by Disney as well as others), which allows animators to animate over live action frames. Fleisher and his studio were famous for birthing such characters as Betty Boop, Popeye The Sailor, as well as the first silver-screen adaptation of Superman. Fleisher also made the classic (but financially disastrous) animated Gulliver’s Travels. Much of what we have today as modern animation, is a direct result of what Max Fleisher did.
3. 1982 (Lebanon Invaded)
On June 6, 1982, Israeli forces invaded Lebanon in an attempt to retaliate against the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Palestinian refugees stayed in camps, which were seen as safe havens. In order to protect the refugees, a multinational force was dispatched in 1982. The multi-nation force left on September 11, 1982. Between September 16-18 1982, anywhere from hundreds to thousands of these refugees were slaughtered at the Sabra and Shatila camps in Beirut, Lebanon.
2. 1941 (Pentagon Opens, Lindbergh’s Isolationist Speech)
September 11, 1941, was an important day in American history, because it offered two very different visions of what America would become, not only in the immediate, but also the far-flung future. In Arlington, Virginia, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the building that would become known as the Pentagon. This ceremony would be seventy years to the day before that same building was hit by American Airlines Flight 77.
However, on the exact same day in Des Moines, Iowa, heroic aviator Charles Lindbergh delivered a speech. Lindbergh was involved in an isolationist movement called the America First Committee. Lindbergh’s purpose in the speech was to argue against involvement in the European conflict that would become World War II. This is a point of view that would gain steam, until the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. September 11, 1941 should ideally still stand as a poignant day in American history.
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1. 1609 (Hudson Sails Into Manhattan)
In an attempt to find a northeast passage to the Spice Islands, explorer Henry Hudson first sailed into the upper bay and observed an island which would be later be known as Manhattan. Four hundred and two years later, the 9/11 attacks would assault that very same island. Hudson would have seen trees and lush greens, while sailing into a river that would one day be named for him.
With the European discovery of Manhattan, the groundbreaking of the Pentagon, previous hijackings, and the Palestinian conflict, 2001 starts to look more and more like a culmination of the continuing rich history of September 11.
17 Comments
You left out the largest, bloodiest battle against a foreign army ever on American soil. It occurred on Sept 11, 1777, the Battle of Brandywine where George Washington’s troops were defeated by Gen Howe’s redcoats. Lafayette was wounded at Beandywine in his first battle serving in the Continental army.
Please do not forget that the Mountain Meadows Massacre happened on Sept 11 1857.And until the Oklahoma City bombing was the largest white on white massacre in America’s History.120 Men Women and children massacred/murdered in cold blood In Southwest Utah by Mormans with a small amount of assistance from a few Piaute’s.
My Birthday: 11/09/1994, thanks stupid jihadists! For ruining my birthday!!!
(for *(commet deleted)* Americans: dd/mm/yyyy)
Interesting list. Keep up the good work master
this list makes september 11th out to be pretty much the worst day ever in history..lol..very interesting list..love the site
Nice idea for an article. Good job. Some other notable events include:
1297 – Battle of Stirling Bridge: Scots led by William Wallace defeat the English.
1922 – The British Mandate of Palestine begins.
1926 – An assassination attempt on Benito Mussolini fails.
1960 – Young Americans for Freedom meeting at home of William F. Buckley, Jr. promulgates the Sharon Statement.
1973 – A CIA backed coup in Chile headed by General Augusto Pinochet topples President Salvador Allende.
1978 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter, President Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Begin of Israel met at Camp David and agreed on a framework for peace between Israel and Egypt and a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
1989 – The iron curtain opens between the communist Hungary and Austria. From Hungary thousands of East Germans throng to Austria and West Germany.
Some Births:
1903 – Louis Marschalko, Hungarian nationalist and author
1917 – Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines
1933 – William Luther Pierce, American author, White nationalist and founder of the National Alliance
1935 – Gherman Titov, second man in space
1965 – Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria
digging in the old recycling bin of top 10 lists are we now? this list was good the first time I read it, now it just tastes like last year…
tighten up Master.
With over a thousand lists, sometimes I forget a past list. But this time I could not find the list you are referencing. Would you mind post the url in a comment. If it is on Toptenz.net, I admit I could not find it.
What I`ve never got, is why is 9/11 called 9/11. I mean, it happened on the 11th of September. Not 9th of November. It makes sense with Guy Fawkes, because when he tried to blow up Parliament, that happened on the 5th of November. So 5/11 makes sense. While 9/11 doesn`t. Shouldn`t it be 11/9 instead? And am I the only person who thinks that Osama Bin Laden should have got the same treatment as Guy Fawkes?
Dave, the reason it’s called 9/11 is because September is the ninth month of the year, and in the U.S. our dates go month/day/year, unlike in Europe, where it’s day/month/year.
In America they use a different date method. For example they say 5/23/89 meaning, the 23rd of may 1989. In Australia, we say 23/5/89. Not sure why it’s done that way, but it is =] correct me if I’m wrong =]
You are correct.
Very interesting list. I did not realize Oh Susanna premiered on Sept. 11. I had forgotten that O. Henry (a. k. a. William Syndney Porter) was born on Sept. 11. I had also forgotten that Henry Hudson sailed into Manhattan on Sept. 11. That is both very interesting and very ironic. Stephen Collins Foster, O. Henry, and Henry Hudson are three people important in the history of American that I personally do not think enough of today’s school kids learn about.
Very insightful list.
I am extremely suprised that you have not mentioned the September 11, 1973 miltary coup that overthrew the democratically elected Allende government with the Pinochet miltary dictatorship. This happened with the full support of, and was funded by the CIA (they freely admit this, so it’s not some silly conspiracy theory). It began 16 years of disappearances, torture and the supression of the Chilean people that is still having ramifications in Chile and South America today. apparently the American government didn’t like the marxist ideology of Allende and the idea of nationalising the US owned mining companies that operated in Chile.
It doesn’t exactly show American foreign policy in a shining light, but the significance of the two date and their link to American foreign policy was not lost on everyone. In countries outside the US the idea of blowback was freely discussed and as horrific as 9/11 was, the Pinochet years resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and disrupted lives, all with the support of the US government.
“It doesn’t exactly show American foreign policy in a shining light” I’m sure thats why it wasn’t mentioned on the list
Yep, you found us out, we were running a conspiracy to make the world think the United States is perfect, is it working? If not, read this list for further brainwashing: https://www.toptenz.net/top-10-reasons-to-be-proud-of-the-united-states.php. And don’t forget…yoU like viSiting America…