1715 – King Louis XIV of France dies after a reign of 72 years—the longest of any major European monarch.
1939 – World War II starts when Germany invades Poland by attacking the Free City of Danzig
1941 – Jews living in Germany are required to wear a yellow star of David
1951 – US, Australia and New Zealand sign the ANZUS mutual defense treaty
1969 – Colonel Muammar Gaddafi deposes King Idris in the Libyan revolution
1985 – In a search led by American oceanographer Robert Ballard, the wreck of the Titanic was found on the ocean floor at a depth of about 13,000 feet (4,000 metres).
2004 – Chechen rebels seized a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia; the siege, which ended two days later, resulted in the deaths of more than 330 people, the majority of them children.
Births & Deaths: 1875 – American novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs, best known as the creator of Tarzan, was born.
Sport: 1972 – American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer beats Russian champion Boris Spassky 12.5-8.5 in Reykjavik, Iceland; most publicised world title match ever played; Fischer 1st American to win title
Music: 1785 – Mozart publishes 6th string quartet opus 10 in Vienna
TV & Film: 1954 – “Rear Window”, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, is released
