August 30BC
The seventh and most famous queen of ancient Egypt known as Cleopatra commits suicide.
August 31, 1997
Princess Diana and Egyptian billionaire Dodi al-Fayed are killed along with their chauffeur in a car crash in Paris while trying to evade paparazzi photographers. A bodyguard was severely injured. It is later learned that the driver had three times the legal alcohol limit in his bloodstream and was driving at about 110 mph.
September 1, 1983
KAL flight 007 is downed by a Soviet jet fighter after the airliner enters Soviet airspace. Two hundred and sixty-nine people are killed aboard the Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 including 61 Americans, among them Georgia Representative Larry McDonald. The order is given by Soviet General Anatoly Kornukov who holds that the plane is part of a hostile US operation.
September 2, 1945
The Japanese surrender delegation boards the USS Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay to formally sign documents of surrender, ending World War II.
September 3, 1939
Britain and France declare war on Germany, two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland. After Germany ignores Britain’s ultimatum to stop the invasion of Poland, Britain declares war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II in Europe. France follows six hours later, quickly joined by Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada.
September 4, 1985
For the first time since sinking in 1912, pictures of the Titanic, which lies 4 kilometers under the Atlantic Ocean, are shown.
September 5, 1958
The novel Doctor Zhivago by Russian author Boris Pasternak is published in the US for the first time.
.gif)