On Sept. 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, starting World War II. In 1715, King Louis XIV died and was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson, Louis XV. In 1897, Boston opened North America’s first underground subway. In 1914, the passenger pigeon went extinct when the last known bird, Martha, died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo. In 1923, earthquakes devastated Tokyo and Yokohama, killing about 140,000 people. Later notable events include Masanori Murakami becoming the first Japanese Major League Baseball player in 1964; Moammar Gadhafi’s 1969 coup; Bobby Fischer’s 1972 chess championship; the 1983 downing of a Korean Air Lines 747 with 269 dead; discovery of the Titanic wreck in 1985; the 2004 Beslan school siege with 334 dead; and a 2015 Kentucky clerk’s refusal to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
On Sept. 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, an event regarded as the start of World War II. Also on this date: In 1715, following a reign of 72 years, King Louis XIV of France died four days before his 77th birthday; he was succeeded by his five year-old great-grandson, Louis XV. In 1897, the first section of Boston's new subway was opened, creating the first underground rapid transit system in North America.
In 1914, the passenger pigeon, once one of the most abundant bird species on earth, went extinct as the last known example, named Martha, died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo. In 1923, the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated by an earthquake that claimed some 140,000 lives. In 1964, pitcher Masanori Murakami of the San Francisco Giants became the first Japanese baseball player to play in a Major League Baseball game.
In 1969, a coup in Libya brought Moammar Gadhafi to power. In 1972, American Bobby Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik, Iceland, as Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union resigned before the resumption of their 21st and final game. In 1983, 269 people were killed when a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 was shot down by a Soviet jet fighter after the airliner entered Soviet airspace.
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