Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, films, TV/radio/theater shows, and more.
Here are 30 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in September 2022 (so you have time to write about them!)
We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2022. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions are also available if you work further ahead. The 2026 edition will be available from the end of March 2022 and the 2027 edition will be available from June 2022.
Sep 1, 1897 – 125 years ago
The oldest subway system in North America opened: the Tremont Street Subway in Boston, Massachusetts.
Sep 2, 1957 – 65 years ago
The Everly Brothers’ best-known song Wake Up Little Susie was released.
Sep 3, 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: Jewish uprising in the Lakhva Ghetto, Belarus. Thought to be the first ghetto uprising of the war.
Sep 4, 2002 – 20 years ago
Kelly Clarkson won the first season of the television singing competition American Idol.
Sep 5, 1972 – 50 years ago
Palestinian terrorists invaded the Olympic Village in Munich, West Germany during the 1972 Olympic Games and took eleven members of the Israeli team hostage. All of the hostages were killed, as well as five of the eight terrorists and a German police officer, when a rescue attempt failed.
Sep 6, 1522 – 500 years ago
Spanish navigator Juan de Elcano returned to Spain and became the first person to circumnavigate the world. His ship, the Victoria, was the only vessel to survive Ferdinand Magellan’s 1519 expedition to the Spice Islands. (Magellan was killed in the Philippines in 1521.)
Sep 7, 1822 – 200 years ago
Brazil declared its independence from Portugal.
Sep 8, 1922 – 100 years ago
Birth of Sid Caesar, American actor, comedian and writer. Best known for the television comedy shows Your Show of Shows and Caesar’s Hour. He also had roles in numerous movies and TV shows.
Sep 9, 1947 – 75 years ago
Reputed to be the first case of an actual computer bug. The Harvard Mark II computer at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA was experiencing problems, and a moth was found lodged in one of its relays. The computer was successfully “debugged” by removing it.
Sep 10, 1897 – 125 years ago
The world’s first drunk-driving arrest. Taxi driver George Smith crashed into a building in London, UK while under the influence of alcohol. He was fined 25 shillings.
Sep 11, 1972 – 50 years ago
The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system began operating in San Francisco, California, USA.
Sep 12, 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: the Laconia Incident. The British troopship Laconia was hit by a German torpedo and sank off the coast of West Africa, killing around 1,400 men. This had far-reaching consequences as the ship was carrying 1,500 Italian prisoners-of-war. When the Germans realized this they launched a rescue mission, but were then bombed by the Americans, despite displaying the Red Cross flag.
Sep 13, 1922 – 100 years ago
The highest temperature ever recorded in the world: 136°F (57.7°C) in Al ‘Aziziyah, Libya. (Unofficial record.)
Sep 14, 1982 – 40 years ago
Death of Princess Grace of Monaco, formerly the American actress Grace Kelly. (Car crash, aged 52.)
Sep 15, 1982 – 40 years ago
The first issue of the newspaper USA Today was published.
Sep 16, 1992 – 30 years ago
Black Wednesday sterling crisis. Britain crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), raised interest rates from 10% to 15%, and spent billions of pounds buying up sterling that was being frantically disposed of on international markets.
Sep 17, 1972 – 50 years ago
The first episode of the television series MAS*H was broadcast on NBC.
Sep 18, 1947 – 75 years ago
The National Security Council and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were established, the Department of Defense began operating, and the U.S. Air Force was established as a separate branch of the military.
Sep 19, 1982 – 40 years ago
American computer scientist Scott Fahlman designed the first documented emoticons and posted them on Carnegie Mellon University’s bulletin board system. The emoticons were 🙂 and 🙁
Sep 20, 1952 – 70 years ago
American biologists Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase conducted their famous “blender” experiment. It confirmed that genetic material is stored in DNA rather than in proteins as had been previously thought.
Sep 21, 1922 – 100 years ago
U.S. President Warren G. Harding signed the Lodge–Fish joint resolution of approval to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
Sep 22, 1947 – 75 years ago
A U.S. Air Force plane made the first wholly automated flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The take-off, flight and landing were controlled by autopilot throughout the entire journey.
Sep 23, 1962 – 60 years ago
The first episode of the animated television series The Jetsons was broadcast on ABC. (It was the first color program on ABC.)
Sep 24, 1947 – 75 years ago
Majestic 12, a secret committee of scientists, military leaders and government officials, was allegedly established in the USA. Its purpose was to investigate and recover alien spacecraft following the Roswell incident. (The U.S. government denies it ever existed, and some sources say it may have been a fictional committee invented by the Soviet Union.)
Sep 25, 1897 – 125 years ago
Birth of William Faulkner, American writer. Winner of the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature and two Pulitzer Prizes for Fiction (1955 and 1963).
Sep 26, 1962 – 60 years ago
The first episode of the television series The Beverly Hillbillies was broadcast on CBS.
Sep 27, 1822 – 200 years ago
French orientalist Jean-François Champollion announced that he had successfully deciphered the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs on the Rosetta stone.
Sep 28, 2002 – 20 years ago
Death of Patsy Mink, American politician. The first Asian American woman elected to Congress.
Sep 29, 1982 – 40 years ago
Tylenol murders, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Seven people died after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol painkiller capsules that had been laced with cyanide.
Sep 30, 1947 – 75 years ago
Birth of Marc Bolan, British glam rock singer, songwriter, guitarist and poet (T. Rex). (Died 1977.)
More anniversaries:
You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2022. The 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions are also available if you work further ahead. The 2026 edition will be available from the end of March 2022, with the 2027 edition following in June.
Find out more at ideas4writers.com.