^B{^#!16!15 September^N! National Day of Costa Rica. The Battle of Britain day. Feast day of St Nicetus the Goth, St Nicomedes, St Aachard or Aichardus, St Mirin, and St Catherine of Genoa.
^B{1784^B} The first ascent in a hydrogen balloon in England was made by the Italian aeronaut Vincenzo Lunardi. ^B{1812^B} The Russians set fire to Moscow in order to halt the French occupation. ^B{1830^B} The Manchester and Liverpool railroad opened; during the ceremony, William Huskisson, MP, became the first person to be killed by a train. ^B{1915^B} Military tanks, designed by Ernest Swinton, were first used by the British Army, at Flers, in the Somme offensive. ^B{1917^B} Alexander Kerensky proclaimed Russia a republic. ^B{1935^B} The Nuremburg laws were passed in Germany, outlawing Jews and making the swastika the country's official flag. ^B{1964^B} The ^I{Sun^I}, which became Britain's biggest selling newspaper, was first published. ^B{1974^B} The civil war between Christians and Muslims in Beirut began. ^B{1985^B} Tony Jacklin's European golf team won the Ryder Cup from the US who had long dominated the competition.
^B{^I{^#!14!Born ^N}Trajan, Roman emperor, ^B{53^B}; Titus Oates, British priest and conspirator, ^B{1649^B}; William Taft, 27th US president, ^B{1857^B}; Agatha Christie, English detective novelist, ^B{1890^B}; Jean Renoir, French film director, ^B{1894^B}; Jessye Norman, US soprano ^B{1945^B}; Freddie Mercury, British rock singer, ^B{1946^B}.
^B{^I{^#!14!Died ^N}Isambard Kingdom Brunel, British engineer, ^B{1859^B}; John Hanning Speke, British explorer, ^B{1864^B}; JosΘ Echegaray, Spanish dramatist and scientist, ^B{1916^B}; Geoffrey Fisher, former Archbishop of Canterbury, ^B{1972^B}; Gustav VI, King of Sweden, ^B{1973^B}; Robert Penn Warren, US novelist, ^B{1989^B}.
