8 September 1962

A Saturday in history

Weekday

Saturday

Season

Autumn (N. Hemisphere)

Century

20th century

Records

543

  1. 2022

    Queen Elizabeth II (pictured) died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland; her eldest son Charles III acceded to the throne as King of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms.

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  2. 1995

    Construction began on the Dhammakaya Cetiya, a giant stupa at the Wat Phra Dhammakaya, a Buddhist temple in Pathum Thani, Thailand.

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  3. 1994

    USAir Flight 427 crashed on approach to Pittsburgh International Airport, resulting in 132 deaths and the longest accident investigation in the history of the National Transportation Safety Board.

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  4. 1991

    At the Tailhook Association symposium in Las Vegas, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviators were alleged to have sexually assaulted 90 persons.

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  5. 1974

    Watergate scandal: U.S. president Gerald Ford gave his recently resigned predecessor Richard Nixon a controversial full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he committed while in office.

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  6. 1966

    Queen Elizabeth II opened the Severn Bridge, suggesting that it marked the dawn of a new economic era for South Wales.

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  7. 1966

    The science fiction show Star Trek made its American premiere with "The Man Trap", launching a media franchise that has since created a cult phenomenon and has influenced the design of many current technologies.

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  8. 1954

    Eight nations signed a collective-defense treaty in Manila to create the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (flag pictured), modelled on NATO.

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  9. 1936

    Opposed to António de Oliveira Salazar's support of the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War, the crews of the Portuguese Navy ships NRP Afonso de Albuquerque and NRP Dão mutinied while anchored in the harbour of Lisbon.

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  10. 1935

    Huey Long, a U.S. senator, was shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, dying two days later.

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  11. 1921

    In Atlantic City, New Jersey, Margaret Gorman (pictured) was crowned the "Golden Mermaid", the forerunner to the Miss America pageant.

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  12. 1907

    Gertrude Stein meets her life partner and muse, Alice B. Toklas in Paris.

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  13. 1900

    The Great Galveston hurricane, the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history, struck Galveston, Texas, with estimated winds of 135 miles per hour (215 km/h) at landfall, killing at least 6,000 people.

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  14. 1860

    The paddle steamer Lady Elgin (pictured) was rammed by a schooner on Lake Michigan and sank, resulting in the loss of about 300 lives.

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  15. 1831

    The Russian Empire suppressed the November Uprising in Poland with the capture of Warsaw after a two-day assault.

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  16. 1831

    William IV and Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen were crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

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  17. 1796

    French Revolutionary Wars: The French defeated Austrian forces in Bassano, Venetia, Italy.

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  18. 1775

    Maltese priests discontented with the Order of Saint John led an uprising that was quickly suppressed by the Order.

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  19. 1755

    French and Indian War: Despite being ambushed at the start of the Battle of Lake George, British colonial troops and their Mohawk allies were able to defeat French and Canadien troops and their Indian allies.

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  20. 1566

    Ottoman–Habsburg wars: Although Ottoman forces led by Suleiman the Magnificent captured the fortress of Szigetvár in Hungary, they were forced to end their campaign to take Vienna.

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  21. 1565

    St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the contiguous United States, was founded by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés.

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  22. 1100

    Theodoric was elected by opponents of Pope Paschal II, following the death of Antipope Clement III.

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  23. 617

    Li Yuan defeated a Sui army at the Battle of Huoyi, opening the path to his capture of the Chinese imperial capital Chang'an and the eventual establishment of the Tang dynasty.

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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.