Born on This Day Margaret Sanger American nurse who advocated for reproductive rights and founded the first U.S. birth control clinic. Rapper who rose to acclaim in the 1990s for his gritty depiction of urban life in tracks like “Street Dreams.” British singer-songwriter who brought a throwback Motown sound to the 2006 hit “Rehab.” Died of alcohol poisoning at age 27. “The Golden Girls,” a sitcom centering on four older women—a group usually ignored on TV—premieres. An instant hit, it runs for seven seasons and 180 episodes. Producers originally considered naming the show “Miami Nice.” Also on This Day in History Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on September 14th Napoleon enters Moscow One week after winning a bloody victory over the Russian army at the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon Bonaparte’s Grande Armée enters the city of Moscow, only to find the population evacuated and the Russian army retreated again. Moscow was the goal of the invasion, but the deserted city held no czarist officials to sue for […] Francis Scott Key pens “The Star-Spangled Banner” On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key pens a poem which is later set to music and in 1931 becomes America’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The poem, originally titled “The Defence of Fort M’Henry,” was written after Key witnessed the Maryland fort being bombarded by the British during the War of 1812. Key was […] General Winfield Scott captures Mexico City During the Mexican-American War, U.S. forces under General Winfield Scott enter Mexico City and raise the American flag over the Hall of Montezuma, concluding a devastating advance that began with an amphibious landing at Vera Cruz six months earlier. The Mexican-American War began with a dispute over the U.S. government’s 1845 annexation of Texas. In […] North and South clash at the Battle of South Mountain General Robert E. Lee’s exhausted Confederate forces hold off the pursuing Yankees by closing two passes through Maryland’s South Mountain, allowing Lee time to gather his forces further west along Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg. After the Second Battle of Bull Run, Virginia, in late August 1862, Lee decided to invade Maryland to raise supplies; he […] Dancer Isadora Duncan is killed in car accident On September 14, 1927, dancer Isadora Duncan is strangled in Nice, France, when the enormous silk scarf she is wearing gets tangled in the rear hubcaps of her open car. (“Affectations,” said Gertrude Stein when she heard the news of Duncan’s death, “can be dangerous.”) Isadora Duncan was born in 1877 in San Francisco and […] Soviet probe reaches the moon

A Soviet rocket crashes into the moon’s surface, becoming the first man-made object sent from earth to reach the lunar surface. The event gave the Soviets a short-lived advantage in the “space race” and prompted even greater effort by the United States to develop its own space program. In 1957, the Soviets shocked the United […] Pop-Tarts debut On September 14, 1964, the Kellogg’s Company begins selling the Pop-Tart. The innovative portable-breakfast-treat-turned-anytime-snack would go on to sell billions annually and help redefine the breakfast food market. It all started when one of Kellogg’s biggest competitors, Post Consumer Brands, trumpeted to the press that it had created an innovative new breakfast item: a shelf-stable, […] John Steinbeck awarded the Medal of Freedom Steinbeck had already received a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize. Eric Clapton’s “I Shot the Sheriff” hits No. 1 “I Shot the Sheriff” hits No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 14, 1974. Written by reggae legend Bob Marley in 1973, it was Eric Clapton’s cover that ascended to the top of the charts. Elizabeth Ann Seton becomes one of the first American-born saints Elizabeth Ann Seton is canonized by Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in Rome, becoming one of the first American-born Catholic saints. Born in New York City in 1774, Elizabeth Bayley was the daughter of an Episcopalian physician. She devoted much of her time to charity work with the poor and in 1797 founded the […] Hollywood star and real-life princess Grace Kelly dies On September 14, 1982, Princess Grace of Monaco—the American-born former film star Grace Kelly, whose movie credits include The Country Girl and Rear Window—dies at the age of 52 from injuries suffered after her car plunged off a mountain road near Monte Carlo. During the height of her Hollywood career in the 1950s, Kelly became […] Dolores Huerta beaten by police while peacefully protesting On September 14, 1988, labor leader Dolores Huerta is severely beaten by a police officer while at a peaceful protest for farm workers in San Fransisco. The incident triggers widespread outrage in the labor movement and beyond, but does not deter Huerta from decades more organizing and protest. At the protest outside the St. Francis […] MLB cancels playoffs, World Series With players on strike since mid-August, Major League Baseball on September 14, 1994, cancels its playoffs and World Series. This marks the first time since 1904 that a season will end without the crowning a champion. It also prematurely ends one of the sport’s most exciting seasons in recent memory. There were numerous reasons for […] Millions flee from Hurricane Floyd Millions of people evacuate their homes as Hurricane Floyd moves across the Atlantic Ocean on September 14, 1999. Over the next several days, deaths are recorded from the Bahamas to New England due to the powerful storm. Floyd began as a tropical storm on September 7 and attained hurricane status three days later. By September […] Muslim teen arrested for bringing reassembled clock to school A 14-year-old Muslim boy is arrested at his high school in Irving, Texas after a digital clock he had reassembled at home using a pencil case was mistaken by his teacher as a bomb. Ahmed Mohamed, a freshman at the time, was questioned by police, detained and led in handcuffs to a juvenile detention center […]