Human Saga

On September 14

On September 14, the Human Saga records one pivotal event: First direct detection of gravitational waves (2015).

On this day

14 September 2015 (announced 11 February 2016)First direct detection of gravitational wavesScience, technology & invention

On 14 September 2015 the twin detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), in Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana, recorded the first direct detection of gravitational waves, ripples in spacetime…

Also this week in history (Sep 11 – Sep 17)

17 September 1787The United States Constitution drafted and ratifiedPolitics & governance

Meeting in Philadelphia from May to September 1787, delegates from the American states abandoned an effort merely to revise the weak Articles of Confederation and instead drafted an entirely new frame of government.

The Montreal Protocol is a landmark international environmental treaty adopted on 16 September 1987 in Montreal, Canada, to phase out the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and…

11 September 2001The September 11 attacksMilitary & conflict

On 11 September 2001 the militant group al-Qaeda carried out coordinated suicide attacks against the United States, hijacking four passenger airliners.

On 15 September 2008 Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest US investment bank, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with more than $600 billion in assets—the largest bankruptcy in American history.

In July 1683 the Ottoman grand vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha laid siege to Vienna with a great army, hoping to seize the Habsburg capital and open Central Europe to Ottoman power. The city held out for two months under desperate conditions.

15 September 1830Stephenson's Rocket and the Liverpool and Manchester RailwayScience, technology & invention

At the Rainhill Trials of 6-14 October 1829 the directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway held a public competition to decide what motive power their line should use.

11 September 1973Chilean coup against Salvador AllendeMilitary & conflict

On 11 September 1973 the Chilean armed forces, led by army commander General Augusto Pinochet, overthrew the democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende and his Popular Unity coalition.

13 September 1993The Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLOPolitics & governance

On 13 September 1993, at a ceremony on the White House lawn hosted by US President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat sealed the first Oslo Accord, the…

17 September 2011Occupy Wall Street and the 'We are the 99%' movementSocial & demographic

On 17 September 2011 protesters inspired by a call from the Canadian anti-consumerist magazine Adbusters occupied Zuccotti Park in New York City's financial district, launching Occupy Wall Street.

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