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American history, reported as it happened
Made for the 250thOn this day › September 1
What happened on September 1 in American history
September 1 is the 244th day of the year (the 245th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 6 stories from September 1 spanning 1774 to 1983. Among them: in 1774, Redcoats empty the Charlestown powder house before dawn; and in 1939, Germany invades Poland; Wieluń bombed for nine hours, Westerplatte shelled at dawn.
1774
Redcoats empty the Charlestown powder house before dawn
Word of the raid spreads wrong and fast, and thousands of militiamen are on the road before anyone confirms a shot was fired.
1939Member story · 1776 Club
Germany invades Poland; Wieluń bombed for nine hours, Westerplatte shelled at dawn
An undefended town and a small Polish garrison take the first blows as Germany invades Poland.
1939Member story · 1776 Club
Oppenheimer's Paper Gives Physics Its First Black Hole
Oppenheimer and his student Hartland Snyder show a dying star can seal itself off from the universe entirely.
1974
An SR-71 crosses the Atlantic in under two hours flat
Sullivan and Widdifield average nearly 1,807 miles an hour, refueling in midair along the way.
1982Member story · 1776 Club
The Air Force stands up a new command for space, headquartered in Colorado Springs
Gen. James V. Hartinger takes charge after years of infighting among rival commands over who would run America's space assets.
1983
Soviet jet destroys Korean Air 007 off Sakhalin; 269 dead, a US congressman among them
The Boeing 747 had drifted deep into Soviet airspace before a Su-15 pilot fired his missiles.
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