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.
Source13 September 1963
A Friday in history
Weekday
Friday
Season
Autumn (N. Hemisphere)
Century
20th century
Records
428
- 2008
2005A software bug caused a simulated pandemic in the online video game World of Warcraft, serving as a model for epidemiologists to understand how human interaction influences disease outbreaks.
Source
1993Nirvana released their third and final studio album, In Utero, which went on to sell more than 15 million copies.
Source
1988Hurricane Gilbert reached a minimum pressure of 888 mb (26.22 inHg) with sustained flight-level winds of 185 mph (295 km/h), making it the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record at the time.
Source
1985Super Mario Bros., one of the most influential and best-selling video games in history, was first released in Japan for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Source
1971Following a failed coup attempt, Mao Zedong's second-in-command Lin Biao died in a plane crash while attempting to flee China.
Source
1964South Vietnamese generals Lâm Văn Phát and Dương Văn Đức staged a coup attempt after being demoted by junta leader Nguyễn Khánh.
Source
1959The Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 (model pictured) struck the Moon, the first spacecraft to reach another celestial body.
Source
1937Chicago Public Schools began delivering lessons via radio amid to a polio outbreak, marking the first large-scale use of radio broadcasts for distance education.
Source
1919The Boston police strike ended after four days of rule by the state militia, the deaths of nine people, and accusations that striking officers were "agents of Lenin".
Source
1914World War I: The French army repulsed a German assault against their positions on high ground near the city of Nancy.
Source
1848An explosion drove an iron rod through the head of railroad foreman Phineas Gage; his survival and recovery influenced 19th-century discussion of psychology and neuroscience.
Source
1814War 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.
Source
1759French and Indian War: British forces won the Battle of the Plains of Abraham near Quebec City, despite General James Wolfe being mortally wounded.
Source
1567The siege of Inabayama Castle, the final battle in Oda Nobunaga's campaign to conquer Mino Province, began; it culminated in a decisive victory for Nobunaga.
Source
1541After three years of exile, French theologian John Calvin (pictured) returned to Geneva to reform the church under a system of Christian theology later known as Calvinism.
Source
533The Byzantines under Belisarius defeated the Vandal King Gelimer at the Battle of Ad Decimum near Carthage, and began the "Reconquest of the West" under Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
Source
-509According to Roman tradition, the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus (depicted), the most important temple in ancient Rome, was dedicated.
Source
Photo archive
24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.
What was life like?
Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.
Sources & fact check
Every claim is traced to primary sources, archives, universities and the press — with an explicit confidence rating. Dossiers are generated once and cached permanently.