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    September 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 48 BC – Pompey is assassinated by order of King Ptolemy upon arriving in Egypt.
    • 235 – Pope Pontian resigns. He is exiled to the mines of Sardinia, along with Hippolytus of Rome.
    • 351 – Constantius II defeats the usurper Magnentius.
    • 365 – Roman usurper Procopius bribes two legions passing by Constantinople, and proclaims himself emperor.
    • 935 – Duke Wenceslaus I of Bohemia is murdered by a group of nobles led by his brother Boleslaus I, who succeeds him.
    • 995 – Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia, kills most members of the rival Slavník dynasty.
    • 1066 – William the Conqueror lands in England, beginning the Norman conquest.
    • 1106 – King Henry I of England defeats his brother, Robert Curthose.
    • 1238 – King James I of Aragon conquers Valencia from the Moors. Shortly thereafter, he proclaims himself king of Valencia.
    • 1322 – Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, defeats Frederick I of Austria in the Battle of Mühldorf.
    • 1538 – Ottoman–Venetian War: The Ottoman Navy scores a decisive victory over a Holy League fleet in the Battle of Preveza.
    • 1542 – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo of Portugal arrives at what is now San Diego, California.
    • 1779 – American Revolution: Samuel Huntington is elected President of the Continental Congress, succeeding John Jay.
    • 1781 – American Revolution: American forces backed by a French fleet begin the siege of Yorktown.
    • 1787 – The Congress of the Confederation votes to send the newly-written United States Constitution to the state legislatures for approval.
    • 1821 – The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is drafted. It will be made public on 13 October.
    • 1844 – Oscar I of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Sweden.
    • 1867 – Toronto becomes the capital of Ontario, having also been the capital of Ontario’s predecessors since 1796.
    • 1868 – The Battle of Alcolea causes Queen Isabella II of Spain to flee to France.
    • 1871 – The Brazilian Parliament passes a law that frees all children thereafter born to slaves, and all government-owned slaves.
    • 1889 – The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a meter.
    • 1892 – The first night game for American football takes place in a contest between Wyoming Seminary and Mansfield State Normal.
    • 1893 – Foundation of the Portuguese football club FC Porto.
    • 1901 – Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas kill more than forty American soldiers while losing 28 of their own.
    • 1912 – The Ulster Covenant is signed by some 500,000 Ulster Protestant Unionists in opposition to the Third Irish Home Rule Bill.
    • 1912 – Corporal Frank S. Scott of the United States Army becomes the first enlisted man to die in an airplane crash.
    • 1918 – World War I: The Fifth Battle of Ypres begins.
    • 1919 – Race riots begin in Omaha, Nebraska.
    • 1924 – The first aerial circumnavigation is completed by a team from the US Army.
    • 1928 – Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin.
    • 1939 – World War II: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree on a division of Poland.
    • 1939 – World War II: The siege of Warsaw comes to an end.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Drama uprising against the Bulgarian occupation in northern Greece begins.
    • 1941 – Ted Williams achieves a .406 batting average for the season, and becomes the last major league baseball player to bat .400 or better.
    • 1944 – World War II: Soviet Army troops liberate Klooga concentration camp in Estonia.
    • 1951 – CBS makes the first color televisions available for sale to the general public, but the product is discontinued less than a month later.
    • 1961 – A military coup in Damascus effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria.
    • 1970 – Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser dies of a heart attack in Cairo.
    • 1971 – The Parliament of the UK passes the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, banning the medicinal use of cannabis.
    • 1973 – The ITT Building in New York City is bombed in protest at ITT’s alleged involvement in the coup d’état in Chile.
    • 1975 – The Spaghetti House siege, in which nine people are taken hostage, takes place in London.
    • 1986 – The Democratic Progressive Party becomes the first opposition party in Taiwan.
    • 1991 – The Strategic Air Command stands down from alert all ICBMs scheduled for deactivation under START I, as well as its strategic bomber force.
    • 1992 – A Pakistan International Airlines flight crashes into a hill in Nepal, killing all 167 passengers and crew.
    • 1994 – The cruise ferry MS Estonia sinks in the Baltic Sea, killing 852 people.
    • 1995 – Bob Denard and a group of mercenaries take the islands of the Comoros in a coup.
    • 1995 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat sign the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
    • 2000 – Al-Aqsa Intifada: Ariel Sharon visits Al-Aqsa Mosque known to Jews as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
    • 2008 – Falcon 1 becomes the first privately developed liquid-fuel ground-launched vehicle to put a payload into orbit.
    • 2009 – The military junta leading Guinea attacks a protest rally, killing or wounding 1400 people.
    • 2012 – Somali and African Union forces launch a coordinated assault on the Somali port of Kismayo to take back the city from al-Shabaab militants.
    • 2014 – The 2014 Hong Kong protests begin in response to restrictive political reforms imposed by the NPC in Beijing.
    • 2016 – The 2016 South Australian blackout occurs, lasting up to three days in some areas.
    • 2018 – The 7.5 Mw 2018 Sulawesi earthquake, which triggered a large tsunami, leaves 4,340 dead and 10,679 injured.
    • 2018 – On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, the international project Tree of Peace was established (September, 28). One of the trees was planted personally by Zuzana Čaputová, President of the Slovak Republic.

    Births on September 28

    • 551 BC – Confucius, Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. (d. 479 BC)
    • 616 – Javanshir, King of Caucasian Albania (d. 680)
    • 1494 – Agnolo Firenzuola, Italian poet and playwright (d. 1545)
    • 1555 – Henri de La Tour d’Auvergne, Marshal of France (d. 1623)
    • 1573 – Théodore de Mayerne, Swiss physician (d. 1654)
    • 1605 – Ismaël Bullialdus, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1694)
    • 1681 – Johann Mattheson, German composer, lexicographer, and diplomat (d. 1764)
    • 1705 – Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1774)
    • 1705 – Johann Peter Kellner, German organist and composer (d. 1772)
    • 1735 – Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1811)
    • 1746 – William Jones, English-Welsh philologist and scholar (d. 1794)
    • 1765 – Frederick Christian II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (d. 1814)
    • 1803 – Prosper Mérimée, French archaeologist, historian, and author (d. 1870)
    • 1809 – Alvan Wentworth Chapman, American physician and botanist (d. 1899)
    • 1819 – Narcís Monturiol, Spanish engineer and publisher (d. 1885)
    • 1821 – Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, American minister and politician (d. 1874)
    • 1823 – Alexandre Cabanel, French painter and educator (d. 1889)
    • 1824 – Francis Turner Palgrave, English poet and critic (d. 1897)
    • 1836 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber, invented the ballcock (d. 1910)
    • 1838 – Sai Baba of Shirdi, Indian national saint (d. 1918)
    • 1841 – Georges Clemenceau, French journalist, physician, and politician, 85th Prime Minister of France (d. 1929)
    • 1844 – Robert Stout, Scottish-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
    • 1852 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
    • 1852 – Isis Pogson, British astronomer and meteorologist (d. 1945)
    • 1856 – Kate Douglas Wiggin, American author and educator (d. 1923)
    • 1860 – Paul Ulrich Villard, French chemist and physicist (d. 1934)
    • 1861 – Amélie of Orléans, queen consort of Portugal (d. 1951)
    • 1867 – Hiranuma Kiichirō, Japanese lawyer and politician, 35th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1952)
    • 1867 – James Edwin Campbell, American poet, editor, short story writer and educator (d. 1896)
    • 1868 – Evelyn Beatrice Hall, English writer best known for her biography of Voltaire, and wrote under the pseudonym S. G. Tallentyre (d. 1956)
    • 1877 – Albert Young, American boxer and promoter (d. 1940)
    • 1878 – Joseph Ruddy, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1962)
    • 1870 – Florent Schmitt, French composer and critic (d. 1958)
    • 1881 – Pedro de Cordoba, American actor (d. 1950)
    • 1882 – Mart Saar, Estonian organist and composer (d. 1963)
    • 1885 – Emil Väre, Finnish wrestler, coach, and referee (d. 1974)
    • 1887 – Avery Brundage, American businessman, 5th President of the International Olympic Committee (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – Jack Fournier, American baseball player and coach (d. 1973)
    • 1890 – Florence Violet McKenzie, Australian electrical engineer (d. 1982)
    • 1892 – Elmer Rice, American playwright (d. 1967)
    • 1893 – Hilda Geiringer, Austrian mathematician (d. 1973)
    • 1893 – Giannis Skarimpas, Greek author, poet, and playwright (d. 1984)
    • 1898 – Carl Clauberg, German Nazi physician (d. 1957)
    • 1900 – Isabel Pell, American socialite, fought as part of the French Resistance during WWII (d. 1951)
    • 1901 – William S. Paley, American broadcaster, founded CBS (d. 1990)
    • 1901 – Ed Sullivan, American television host (d. 1974)
    • 1903 – Haywood S. Hansell, American general (d. 1988)
    • 1905 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (d. 2005)
    • 1907 – Heikki Savolainen, Finnish gymnast and physician (d. 1997)
    • 1907 – Bhagat Singh, Indian activist (d. 1931)
    • 1909 – Al Capp, American author and illustrator (d. 1979)
    • 1910 – Diosdado Macapagal, Filipino lawyer and politician, 9th President of the Philippines (d. 1997)
    • 1910 – Wenceslao Vinzons, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 1942)
    • 1913 – Warja Honegger-Lavater, Swiss illustrator (d. 2007)
    • 1913 – Alice Marble, American tennis player (d. 1990)
    • 1914 – Maria Franziska von Trapp, Austrian-American refugee and singer (d. 2014)
    • 1915 – Ethel Rosenberg, American spy (d. 1953)
    • 1916 – Peter Finch, English-Australian actor (d. 1977)
    • 1916 – Olga Lepeshinskaya, Ukrainian-Russian ballerina and educator (d. 2008)
    • 1918 – Ángel Labruna, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 1983)
    • 1918 – Arnold Stang, American actor (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Doris Singleton, American actress (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Larry Munson, American sportscaster (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – Tuli Kupferberg, American singer, poet, and writer (d. 2010)
    • 1923 – John Scott, 9th Duke of Buccleuch, Scottish captain and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Selkirkshire (d. 2007)
    • 1923 – William Windom, American actor (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Rudolf Barshai, Russian-Swiss viola player and conductor (d. 2010)
    • 1924 – Marcello Mastroianni, Italian-French actor and singer (d. 1996)
    • 1925 – Seymour Cray, American computer scientist, founded the CRAY Computer Company (d. 1996)
    • 1925 – Cromwell Everson, South African composer (d. 1991)
    • 1925 – Martin David Kruskal, American physicist and mathematician (d. 2006)
    • 1926 – Jerry Clower, American soldier, comedian, and author (d. 1998)
    • 1928 – Koko Taylor, American singer (d. 2009)
    • 1929 – Lata Mangeshkar, Indian playback singer and composer
    • 1930 – Tommy Collins, American country music singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
    • 1930 – Immanuel Wallerstein, American sociologist, author, and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Jeremy Isaacs, Scottish screenwriter and producer
    • 1932 – Víctor Jara, Chilean singer-songwriter, poet, and director (d. 1973)
    • 1933 – Joe Benton, English soldier and politician
    • 1933 – Miguel Ortiz Berrocal, Spanish sculptor and educator (d. 2006)
    • 1933 – Johnny “Country” Mathis, American singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1934 – Brigitte Bardot, French actress
    • 1935 – Bruce Crampton, Australian golfer
    • 1935 – David Hannay, Baron Hannay of Chiswick, English diplomat, British Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    • 1935 – Ronald Lacey, English actor (d. 1991)
    • 1936 – Emmett Chapman, American guitarist, invented the Chapman Stick
    • 1936 – Eddie Lumsden, Australian rugby league player (d. 2019)
    • 1936 – Robert Wolders, Dutch television actor (d. 2018)
    • 1937 – Alice Mahon, English trade union leader and politician
    • 1937 – Glenn Sutton, American country music songwriter and record producer (d. 2007)
    • 1938 – Ben E. King, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2015)
    • 1939 – Stuart Kauffman, American biologist and academic
    • 1941 – David Lewis, American philosopher and academic (d. 2001)
    • 1941 – Edmund Stoiber, German lawyer and politician, Minister President of Bavaria
    • 1942 – Pierre Clémenti, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
    • 1942 – Edward “Little Buster” Forehand, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
    • 1943 – Warren Lieberfarb, American businessman
    • 1943 – George W. S. Trow, American novelist, playwright, and critic (d. 2006)
    • 1943 – Nick St. Nicholas, German-Canadian bass player
    • 1944 – Richie Karl, American golfer
    • 1944 – Marcia Muller, American journalist and author
    • 1945 – Marielle Goitschel, French skier
    • 1945 – Manolis Rasoulis, Greek singer-songwriter and journalist (d. 2011)
    • 1945 – Fusako Shigenobu, Japanese activist, founded the Japanese Red Army
    • 1946 – Tom Bower, English journalist and author
    • 1946 – Majid Khan, Indian-Pakistani cricketer
    • 1947 – Bob Carr, Australian journalist and politician, 37th Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1947 – Sheikh Hasina, Bangladeshi politician, 10th Prime Minister of Bangladesh
    • 1947 – Jon Snow, English journalist and academic
    • 1947 – Rhonda Hughes, American mathematician and academic
    • 1949 – Jim Henshaw, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1950 – Paul Burgess, English drummer
    • 1950 – Christina Hoff Sommers, American author and philosopher
    • 1950 – John Sayles, American novelist, director, and screenwriter
    • 1951 – Jim Diamond, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2015)
    • 1952 – Christopher Buckley, American satirical novelist
    • 1952 – Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou, Greek basketball player and coach
    • 1952 – Sylvia Kristel, Dutch model and actress (d. 2012)
    • 1952 – Andy Ward, English drummer
    • 1953 – Otmar Hasler, Liechtensteiner educator and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Liechtenstein
    • 1954 – Steve Largent, American football player and politician
    • 1954 – George Lynch, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1954 – John Scott, English rugby player
    • 1954 – Margot Wallström, Swedish politician and diplomat, 42nd Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs
    • 1955 – Stéphane Dion, Canadian sociologist and politician, 15th Canadian Minister of the Environment
    • 1955 – Mercy Manci, Xhosa sangoma and HIV activist from South Africa
    • 1955 – Kenny Kirkland, American pianist (d. 1998)
    • 1956 – Martha Isabel Fandiño Pinilla, Colombian-Italian mathematician and author
    • 1957 – Bill Cassidy, American politician and physician
    • 1959 – Ron Fellows, Canadian race car driver
    • 1959 – Laura Bruce, American artist
    • 1960 – Gary Ayres, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1960 – Tom Byrum, American golfer
    • 1960 – Frank Hammerschlag, German footballer and manager
    • 1960 – Gus Logie, Trinidadian cricketer
    • 1960 – Kamlesh Patel, Baron Patel of Bradford, English politician
    • 1960 – Jennifer Rush, American singer-songwriter
    • 1960 – Socrates Villegas, Filipino archbishop
    • 1961 – Helen Grant, English lawyer and politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics
    • 1961 – Gregory Jbara, American actor and singer
    • 1961 – Quentin Kawānanakoa, American lawyer and politician
    • 1961 – Anne White, American tennis player
    • 1962 – Grant Fuhr, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1962 – Laurie Rinker, American golfer
    • 1962 – Dietmar Schacht, German footballer and manager
    • 1962 – Chuck Taylor, American journalist
    • 1963 – Steve Blackman, American wrestler and martial artist
    • 1963 – Érik Comas, French race car driver
    • 1963 – Greg Weisman, American voice actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Claudio Borghi, Argentinian footballer and manager
    • 1964 – Gregor Fisken, Scottish race car driver
    • 1964 – Janeane Garofalo, American comedian, actress, and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Paul Jewell, English footballer and manager
    • 1964 – Mārtiņš Roze, Latvian lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1966 – Scott Adams, American football player (d. 2013)
    • 1966 – Maria Canals-Barrera, Cuban-American actress
    • 1966 – Puri Jagannadh, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Mira Sorvino, American actress
    • 1967 – Moon Zappa, American actress and author
    • 1968 – Francois Botha, South African boxer and mixed martial artist
    • 1968 – Mika Häkkinen, Finnish race car driver
    • 1968 – Trish Keenan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
    • 1968 – Sean Levert, American R&B singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2008)
    • 1968 – Rob Moroso, American race car driver (d. 1990)
    • 1968 – Naomi Watts, English-Australian actress and producer
    • 1969 – Kerri Chandler, electronic music producer and DJ
    • 1969 – Marcel Dost, Dutch decathlete
    • 1969 – Ben Greenman, American journalist and author
    • 1969 – Piper Kerman, American author and memoirist
    • 1969 – Éric Lapointe, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1969 – Sascha Maassen, German race car driver
    • 1969 – Angus Robertson, Scottish politician
    • 1969 – Nico Vaesen, Belgian footballer
    • 1970 – Kimiko Date-Krumm, Japanese tennis player
    • 1970 – Mike DeJean, American baseball player
    • 1970 – Gualter Salles, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1971 – Joseph Arthur, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1971 – George Eustice, English lawyer and politician
    • 1971 – Braam van Straaten, South African rugby player
    • 1971 – Alan Wright, English footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Dita Von Teese, American model and dancer
    • 1973 – Brian Rafalski, American ice hockey player
    • 1974 – Marco Di Loreto, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Mariya Kiselyova, Russian swimmer
    • 1974 – Joonas Kolkka, Finnish footballer and coach
    • 1974 – Shane Webcke, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1975 – Stuart Clark, Australian cricketer and manager
    • 1975 – Isamu Jordan, American journalist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1975 – Lenny Krayzelburg, Russian-American swimmer
    • 1976 – Fedor Emelianenko, Russian mixed martial artist and politician
    • 1977 – Ireneusz Marcinkowski, Polish footballer
    • 1977 – Pak Se-ri, South Korean golfer
    • 1977 – Young Jeezy, American rapper
    • 1978 – Ben Edmondson, Australian cricketer
    • 1979 – Bam Margera, American skateboarder, actor, and stuntman
    • 1979 – Taki Tsan, American-Greek rapper and producer
    • 1980 – Marlon Parmer, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Greg Anderson, American pianist and composer
    • 1981 – Willy Caballero, Argentine footballer
    • 1981 – José Calderón, Spanish basketball player
    • 1981 – Jorge Guagua, Ecuadorian footballer
    • 1981 – Iracema Trevisan, Brazilian bass player
    • 1982 – Aleksandr Anyukov, Russian footballer
    • 1982 – Abhinav Bindra, Indian target shooter
    • 1982 – Ray Emery, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2018)
    • 1982 – Ranbir Kapoor, Indian actor and director
    • 1982 – Nolwenn Leroy, French singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1982 – Emeka Okafor, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Dustin Penner, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Aivar Rehemaa, Estonian skier
    • 1982 – Anderson Varejão, Brazilian basketball player
    • 1982 – St. Vincent, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1983 – Stefan Moore, English footballer
    • 1983 – John Schwalger, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1984 – Jenny Omnichord, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1984 – Luke Pomersbach, Australian cricketer
    • 1984 – Naim Terbunja, Kosovan-Swedish boxer
    • 1984 – Melody Thornton, American singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1984 – Mathieu Valbuena, French footballer
    • 1984 – Ryan Zimmerman, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Shindong, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1985 – Alina Ibragimova, Russian-English violinist
    • 1986 – Andrés Guardado, Mexican footballer
    • 1986 – Meskerem Legesse, Ethiopian runner (d. 2013)
    • 1986 – Dominic Waters, American basketball player
    • 1987 – Pierre Becken, German footballer
    • 1987 – Gary Deegan, Irish footballer
    • 1987 – Hilary Duff, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1987 – Chloë Hanslip, English violinist
    • 1987 – Viktoria Leks, Estonian high jumper
    • 1988 – Marin Čilić, Croatian tennis player
    • 1988 – Esmée Denters, Dutch singer-songwriter
    • 1988 – Aleks Vrteski, Australian footballer
    • 1988 – Worakls, French DJ and electronic musician
    • 1989 – Çağla Büyükakçay, Turkish tennis player
    • 1989 – Darius Johnson-Odom, American basketball player
    • 1989 – Mark Randall, English footballer
    • 1990 – Phoenix Battye, Australian rugby player
    • 1992 – Khem Birch, Canadian professional basketball player
    • 1992 – Adam Thompson, English-Northern Irish footballer
    • 1992 – Kōko Tsurumi, Japanese gymnast
    • 1993 – Jodie Williams, English sprinter
    • 1995 – Jason Williams, English footballer

    Deaths on September 28

    • 48 BC – Pompey, Roman general and politician (b. 106 BC)
    • 782 – Leoba, Anglo-Saxon nun
    • 935 – Wenceslaus I, duke of Bohemia
    • 980 – Minamoto no Hiromasa, Japanese nobleman (b. 918)
    • 1197 – Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1165)
    • 1213 – Gertrude of Merania, queen consort of Hungaria (b. 1185)
    • 1330 – Elizabeth of Bohemia, queen consort of Bohemia (b. 1292)
    • 1429 – Cymburgis of Masovia, duchess consort of Austria (b. 1394)
    • 1582 – George Buchanan, Scottish historian and scholar (b. 1506)
    • 1596 – Margaret Clifford, countess of Derby (b. 1540)
    • 1618 – Josuah Sylvester, English poet and translator (b. 1563)
    • 1687 – Francis Turretin, Swiss-Italian theologian and academic (b. 1623)
    • 1694 – Gabriel Mouton, French mathematician and theologian (b. 1618)
    • 1702 – Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, French-English lawyer and politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1640)
    • 1742 – Jean Baptiste Massillon, French bishop (b. 1663)
    • 1829 – Nikolay Raevsky, Russian general and politician (b. 1771)
    • 1844 – Pyotr Aleksandrovich Tolstoy, Russian general and politician (b. 1769)
    • 1859 – Carl Ritter, German geographer and academic (b. 1779)
    • 1873 – Émile Gaboriau, French journalist and author (b. 1832)
    • 1891 – Herman Melville, American author and poet (b. 1819)
    • 1895 – Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist (b. 1822)
    • 1899 – Giovanni Segantini, Austrian painter (b. 1858)
    • 1914 – Richard Warren Sears, American businessman, co-founded Sears (b. 1863)
    • 1915 – Saitō Hajime, Japanese samurai (b. 1844)
    • 1918 – Georg Simmel, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1858)
    • 1918 – Freddie Stowers, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1896)
    • 1925 – Paul Vermoyal, French actor (b. 1888)
    • 1935 – William Kennedy Dickson, French-Scottish actor, director, and producer, invented the Kinetoscope (b. 1860)
    • 1938 – Charles Duryea, American engineer and businessman, founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Company (b. 1861)
    • 1943 – Sam Ruben, American chemist and academic (b. 1913)
    • 1943 – Filippo Illuminato, Italian partisan, Gold Medal of Military Valour (b. 1930)
    • 1949 – Archbishop Chrysanthus of Athens (b. 1881)
    • 1953 – Edwin Hubble, American astronomer and scholar (b. 1889)
    • 1956 – William Boeing, American businessman, founded the Boeing Company (b. 1881)
    • 1957 – Luis Cluzeau Mortet, Uruguayan violinist and composer (b. 1888)
    • 1959 – Rudolf Caracciola, German race car driver (b. 1901)
    • 1962 – Roger Nimier, French soldier and author (b. 1925)
    • 1964 – Harpo Marx, American comedian, actor, and singer (b. 1888)
    • 1966 – André Breton, French author and poet (b. 1896)
    • 1970 – John Dos Passos, American novelist, poet, essayist, and playwright (b. 1896)
    • 1970 – Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Egypt (b. 1918)
    • 1978 – Pope John Paul I (b. 1912)
    • 1979 – John Herbert Chapman, Canadian physicist and engineer (b. 1921)
    • 1981 – Rómulo Betancourt, Venezuelan journalist and politician, President of Venezuela (b. 1908)
    • 1982 – Mabel Albertson, American actress (b. 1901)
    • 1984 – Cihad Baban, Turkish journalist, author, and politician (b. 1911)
    • 1989 – Ferdinand Marcos, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th President of the Philippines (b. 1917)
    • 1990 – Larry O’Brien, American businessman and politician, 57th United States Postmaster General (b. 1917)
    • 1991 – Miles Davis, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (b. 1926)
    • 1993 – Peter De Vries, American editor and novelist (b. 1910)
    • 1993 – Alexander A. Drabik, American sergeant (b. 1910)
    • 1994 – Urmas Alender, Estonian singer (b. 1953)
    • 1994 – José Francisco Ruiz Massieu, Mexican lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of Guerrero (b. 1946)
    • 1994 – Harry Saltzman, Canadian production manager and producer (b. 1915)
    • 1994 – K. A. Thangavelu, Indian film actor and comedian (b. 1917)
    • 1999 – Escott Reid, Canadian academic and diplomat (b. 1905)
    • 2000 – Pierre Trudeau, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1919)
    • 2002 – Patsy Mink, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
    • 2002 – Hartland Molson, Canadian captain and politician (b. 1907)
    • 2003 – Althea Gibson, American tennis player and golfer (b. 1927)
    • 2003 – Elia Kazan, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1909)
    • 2003 – George Odlum, Saint Lucian politician and diplomat (b. 1934)
    • 2004 – Geoffrey Beene, American fashion designer (b. 1924)
    • 2005 – Constance Baker Motley, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – René Desmaison, French mountaineer (b. 1930)
    • 2007 – Wally Parks, American businessman, founded the National Hot Rod Association (b. 1913)
    • 2009 – Guillermo Endara, Panamanian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Panama (b. 1936)
    • 2009 – Ulf Larsson, Swedish actor and director (b. 1956)
    • 2010 – Kurt Albert, German mountaineer and photographer (b. 1954)
    • 2010 – Arthur Penn, American director and producer (b. 1922)
    • 2010 – Dolores Wilson, American soprano and actress (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Avraham Adan, Israeli general (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Chris Economaki, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Brajesh Mishra, Indian politician and diplomat, 1st Indian National Security Advisor (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – James Emanuel, American-French poet and scholar (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Jonathan Fellows-Smith, South African cricketer and rugby player (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – George Amon Webster, American singer and pianist (b. 1945)
    • 2014 – Dannie Abse, Welsh physician, poet, and author (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Joseph H. Alexander, American colonel and historian (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Sheila Faith, English dentist and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Tim Rawlings, English footballer and manager (b. 1932)
    • 2014 – Petr Skoumal, Czech pianist and composer (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Alexander Faris, Irish composer and conductor (b. 1921)
    • 2015 – Walter Dale Miller, American rancher and politician, 29th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Ignacio Zoco, Spanish footballer (b. 1939)
    • 2016 – Agnes Nixon, American television writer and director (b. 1922)
    • 2016 – Gary Glasberg, American television writer and producer (b. 1966)
    • 2016 – Shimon Peres, Polish-Israeli statesman and politician, 9th President of Israel (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – Gloria Naylor, American novelist (b. 1950)
    • 2017 – Daniel Pe’er, Israeli television host and newsreader (b. 1943)
    • 2018 – Predrag Ejdus, Serbian actor (b. 1947)
    • 2019 – José José, 71, Mexican singer (El Principe de la Canción or The Prince of Song), pancreas cancer (b. 1948)

    Holidays and observances on September 28

    • Christian feast day:
      • Aaron of Auxerre
      • Annemund
      • Conval
      • Eustochium
      • Exuperius
      • Faustus of Riez
      • John of Dukla
      • Leoba
      • Lorenzo Ruiz
      • Paternus of Auch
      • Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton and Margery Kempe (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Simón de Rojas
      • Wenceslas
      • September 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).
    • Czech Statehood Day (Czech Republic)
    • Freedom from Hunger Day
    • International Day for Universal Access to Information
    • National Day of Awareness and Unity against Child Pornography (Philippines)
    • Teachers’ Day (Taiwan and Chinese-Filipino schools in the Philippines), ceremonies dedicated to Confucius are also observed.
    • World Rabies Day (International)
  • |

    September 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 61 BC – Pompey the Great celebrates his third triumph for victories over the pirates and the end of the Mithridatic Wars on his 45th birthday.
    • 1011 – Danes capture Canterbury after a siege, taking Ælfheah, archbishop of Canterbury, as a prisoner.
    • 1227 – Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, is excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX for his failure to participate in the Crusades.
    • 1267 – The Treaty of Montgomery recognises Llywelyn ap Gruffudd as Prince of Wales, but only as a vassal of King Henry III.
    • 1364 – English forces defeat the French in Brittany, ending the War of the Breton Succession.
    • 1578 – Tegucigalpa, capital city of Honduras, is claimed by the Spaniards.
    • 1637 – 42-year-old Lorenzo Ruiz dies.
    • 1717 – An earthquake strikes Antigua Guatemala, destroying much of the city’s architecture.
    • 1789 – The United States Department of War first establishes a regular army with a strength of several hundred men.
    • 1789 – The 1st United States Congress adjourns.
    • 1829 – The Metropolitan Police of London, later also known as the Met, is founded.
    • 1848 – The Battle of Pákozd is a stalemate between Hungarian and Croatian forces, and is the first battle of the Hungarian Revolution.
    • 1850 – The papal bull Universalis Ecclesiae restores the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales.
    • 1855 – The Philippine port of Iloilo is opened to world trade by the Spanish administration.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chaffin’s Farm is fought.
    • 1864 – The Treaty of Lisbon defines the boundaries between Spain and Portugal and abolishes the Couto Misto microstate.
    • 1885 – The first practical public electric tramway in the world is opened in Blackpool, England.
    • 1907 – The cornerstone is laid at the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (better known as Washington National Cathedral) in Washington, D.C.
    • 1911 – Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
    • 1918 – World War I: Bulgaria signs the Armistice of Salonica.
    • 1918 – The Hindenburg Line is broken by an Allied attack.
    • 1918 – Germany’s Supreme Army Command tells the Kaiser and the Chancellor to open negotiations for an armistice.
    • 1923 – The British Mandate for Palestine takes effect, creating Mandatory Palestine.
    • 1923 – The French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon takes effect.
    • 1923 – The First American Track & Field championships for women are held.
    • 1932 – Chaco War: Last day of the Battle of Boquerón between Paraguay and Bolivia.
    • 1940 – Two Avro Ansons collide in mid-air over New South Wales, Australia, remain locked together, then land safely.
    • 1941 – World War II: German forces, with the aid of local Ukrainian collaborators, begin the two-day Babi Yar massacre.
    • 1949 – The Communist Party of China writes the Common Programme for the future People’s Republic of China.
    • 1954 – The convention establishing CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) is signed.
    • 1957 – The Kyshtym disaster is the third-worst nuclear accident ever recorded.
    • 1971 – Oman joins the Arab League.
    • 1972 – China–Japan relations: Japan establishes diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China after breaking official ties with the Republic of China.
    • 1975 – WGPR becomes the first black-owned-and-operated television station in the US.
    • 1979 – The dictator Francisco Macias of Equatorial Guinea is shot by soldiers from Western Sahara.
    • 1988 – NASA launches STS-26, the first mission since the Challenger disaster.
    • 1990 – Construction of the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (better known as Washington National Cathedral) is completed in Washington, D.C.
    • 1990 – The YF-22, which would later become the F-22 Raptor, flies for the first time.
    • 1991 – A Haitian coup d’état occurs.
    • 1992 – Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello is impeached.
    • 2004 – The asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within four lunar distances of Earth.
    • 2004 – Burt Rutan’s Ansari SpaceShipOne performs a successful spaceflight, the first of two required to win the Ansari X Prize.
    • 2006 – A Boeing 737 and an Embraer 600 collide in mid-air, killing 154 people and triggering a Brazilian aviation crisis.
    • 2007 – Calder Hall, the world’s first commercial nuclear power station, is demolished in a controlled explosion.
    • 2009 – The 8.1 Mw  Samoa earthquake results in a tsunami that kills 189 and injures hundreds.
    • 2011 – The special court in India convicted all 269 accused officials for atrocity on Dalits and 17 for rape in the Vachathi case.
    • 2013 – Over 42 people are killed by members of Boko Haram at the College of Agriculture in Nigeria.
    • 2016 – Eleven days after the Uri attack, the Indian Army conducts “surgical strikes” against suspected militants in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
    • 2019 – Violence and low turnout mar the 2019 Afghan presidential election.
    • 2019 – At least 59 people are reported dead due to monsoon rains in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. 350 people have died this year due to rain in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

    Births on September 29

    • 106 BC – Pompey, Roman general and politician (d. 48 BC)
    • 929 – Qian Chu, Chinese king (Ten Kingdoms) (d. 988)
    • 1240 – Margaret of England, Queen consort of Scots (d. 1275)
    • 1276 – Christopher II of Denmark (d. 1332)
    • 1373 – Margaret of Bohemia, Burgravine of Nuremberg (d. 1410)
    • 1402 – Fernando, the Saint Prince, of Portugal (d. 1443)
    • 1403 – Elisabeth of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brzeg-Legnica and Cieszyn, German princess (d. 1449)
    • 1460 – Louis II de la Trémoille, French military leader (d. 1525)
    • 1463 – Louis I, Count of Löwenstein, founder of the House of Löwenstein-Wertheim (d. 1523)
    • 1511 – Michael Servetus, Spanish physician, cartographer, and theologian (d. 1553)
    • 1527 – John Lesley, Scottish bishop (d. 1596)
    • 1538 – Joan Terès i Borrull, Spanish archbishop and academic (d. 1603)
    • 1547 – Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1616)
    • 1548 – William V, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1626)
    • 1561 – Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish priest and mathematician (d. 1615)
    • 1574 – Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox, Scottish nobleman and politician (d. 1624)
    • 1602 – Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland, English military leader (d. 1668)
    • 1636 – Thomas Tenison, English archbishop (d. 1715)
    • 1639 – William Russell, Lord Russell, English politician (d. 1683)
    • 1640 – Antoine Coysevox, French sculptor and educator (d. 1720)
    • 1674 – Jacques-Martin Hotteterre, French flute player and composer (d. 1763)
    • 1678 – Adrien Maurice de Noailles, French soldier and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1766)
    • 1691 – Richard Challoner, English bishop (d. 1781)
    • 1703 – François Boucher, French painter and set designer (d. 1770)
    • 1718 – Nikita Ivanovich Panin, Russian soldier and politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1783)
    • 1725 – Robert Clive, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire (d. 1774)
    • 1758 – Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, English admiral (d. 1805)
    • 1766 – Charlotte, Princess Royal of England (d. 1828)
    • 1786 – Guadalupe Victoria, Mexican general, lawyer, and politician, 1st President of Mexico (d. 1843)
    • 1803 – Mercator Cooper, American captain and explorer (d. 1872)
    • 1803 – Jacques Charles François Sturm, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1850)
    • 1808 – Henry Bennett, American lawyer and politician (d. 1868)
    • 1810 – Elizabeth Gaskell, English author (d. 1865)
    • 1816 – Paul Féval, père, French author and playwright (d. 1887)
    • 1832 – Joachim Oppenheim, rabbi and author (d. 1891)
    • 1832 – Miguel Miramón, Unconstitutional president of Mexico, 1859-1860 (d. 1867)
    • 1843 – Mikhail Skobelev, Russian general (d. 1882)
    • 1844 – Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 10th President of Argentina (d. 1909)
    • 1853 – Luther D. Bradley, American cartoonist (d. 1917)
    • 1863 – Hugo Haase, German lawyer, jurist, and politician (d. 1919)
    • 1864 – Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish philosopher and author (d. 1936)
    • 1866 – Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Ukrainian historian, academic, and politician (d. 1934)
    • 1876 – Charlie Llewellyn, South African cricketer (d. 1964)
    • 1880 – Liberato Pinto, Portuguese colonel and politician, 79th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1949)
    • 1881 – Ludwig von Mises, Austrian-American economist, sociologist, and philosopher (d. 1973)
    • 1882 – Lilias Armstrong, English phonetician (d. 1937)
    • 1885 – George Scott, English footballer (d. 1916)
    • 1891 – Ian Fairweather, Scottish-Australian painter (d. 1974)
    • 1895 – Clarence Ashley, American singer, guitarist, and banjo player (d. 1967)
    • 1895 – Joseph Banks Rhine, American botanist and parapsychologist (d. 1980)
    • 1895 – Roscoe Turner, American pilot (d. 1970)
    • 1897 – Herbert Agar, American journalist and historian (d. 1980)
    • 1898 – Trofim Lysenko, Ukrainian-Russian biologist and agronomist (d. 1976)
    • 1899 – László Bíró, Hungarian-Argentinian journalist and inventor, invented the ballpoint pen (d. 1985)
    • 1899 – Billy Butlin, South African-English businessman, founded Butlins (d. 1980)
    • 1901 – Lanza del Vasto, Italian poet, philosopher, and activist (d. 1981)
    • 1901 – Enrico Fermi, Italian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
    • 1903 – Miguel Alemán Valdés, Mexican lawyer and civilian politician, 46th President of Mexico (1946-1952) (d. 1983)
    • 1903 – Diana Vreeland, American journalist (d. 1989)
    • 1904 – Greer Garson, English-American actress (d. 1996)
    • 1907 – Gene Autry, American singer, actor, and businessman (d. 1998)
    • 1907 – George W. Jenkins, American businessman, founded Publix (d. 1996)
    • 1908 – Eddie Tolan, American sprinter and educator (d. 1967)
    • 1910 – Bill Boyd, American singer and guitarist (d. 1977)
    • 1910 – Virginia Bruce, American actress (d. 1982)
    • 1911 – Charles Court, English-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Western Australia (d. 2007)
    • 1912 – Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2007)
    • 1913 – Trevor Howard, English actor (d. 1988)
    • 1913 – Stanley Kramer, American director and producer (d. 2001)
    • 1915 – Vincent DeDomenico, American businessman, founded the Napa Valley Wine Train (d. 2007)
    • 1915 – Oscar Handlin, American historian and academic (d. 2011)
    • 1915 – Brenda Marshall, American actress (d. 1992)
    • 1916 – Carl Giles, English cartoonist (d. 1995)
    • 1919 – Kira Zvorykina, Belarusian chess player (d. 2014)
    • 1920 – Peter D. Mitchell, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
    • 1920 – Václav Neumann, Czech violinist and conductor (d. 1995)
    • 1921 – John Ritchie, New Zealand composer and educator (d. 2014)
    • 1921 – Albie Roles, English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Lizabeth Scott, American actress (d. 2015)
    • 1923 – Stan Berenstain, American author and illustrator (d. 2005)
    • 1923 – Bum Phillips, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Steve Forrest, American actor (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Paul MacCready, American engineer, founded AeroVironment (d. 2007)
    • 1926 – Chuck Cooper, American basketball player (d. 1984)
    • 1926 – Pete Elliott, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Adhemar da Silva, Brazilian triple jumper and actor (d. 2001)
    • 1927 – Sherwood Johnston, American race car driver (d. 2000)
    • 1927 – Pete McCloskey, American colonel and politician
    • 1927 – Barbara Mertz, American historian and author (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, English lieutenant, engineer, and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1928 – Brajesh Mishra, Indian politician and diplomat, 1st Indian National Security Advisor (d. 2012)
    • 1928 – Nathan Shamuyarira, Zimbabwean journalist and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Richard Bonynge, Australian pianist and conductor
    • 1930 – Colin Dexter, English author and educator (d. 2017)
    • 1931 – James Cronin, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
    • 1931 – Anita Ekberg, Swedish-Italian model and actress (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Paul Oestreicher, German-English priest and theologian
    • 1932 – Robert Benton, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1932 – Paul Giel, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
    • 1933 – Samora Machel, Mozambican commander and politician, 1st President of Mozambique (d. 1986)
    • 1934 – Skandor Akbar, American wrestler and manager (d. 2010)
    • 1934 – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Hungarian-American psychologist and academic
    • 1934 – Lance Gibbs, Guyanese cricketer and manager
    • 1934 – Stuart M. Kaminsky, American author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1934 – Lindsay Kline, Australian cricketer (d. 2015)
    • 1935 – Jerry Lee Lewis, American singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1936 – Silvio Berlusconi, Italian businessman and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Italy
    • 1936 – James Fogle, American author (d. 2012)
    • 1936 – Hal Trosky, Jr., American baseball player (d. 2012)
    • 1938 – Dave Harper, English footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1938 – Wim Kok, Dutch union leader and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2018)
    • 1939 – Fikret Abdić, Bosnian economist and politician
    • 1939 – Jim Baxter, Scottish footballer (d. 2001)
    • 1939 – Larry Linville, American actor (d. 2000)
    • 1939 – Rhodri Morgan, Welsh politician, 2nd First Minister of Wales (d. 2017)
    • 1940 – Brute Force, American singer-songwriter
    • 1940 – Carlos Morales Troncoso, Dominican politician, 34th Vice President of the Dominican Republic (d. 2014)
    • 1941 – David Steele, English cricketer
    • 1942 – Felice Gimondi, Italian cyclist
    • 1942 – Madeline Kahn, American actress and singer (d. 1999)
    • 1942 – Ian McShane, English actor
    • 1942 – Bill Nelson, American captain and politician
    • 1942 – Jean-Luc Ponty, French violinist and composer
    • 1942 – Janet Powell, Australian educator and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Steve Tesich, Serbian-American screenwriter and playwright (d. 1996)
    • 1943 – Wolfgang Overath, German footballer
    • 1943 – Lech Wałęsa, Polish electrician and politician, 2nd President of Poland, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1944 – Mike Post, American composer and producer
    • 1945 – Kyriakos Sfetsas, Greek composer and poet
    • 1945 – Nadezhda Chizhova, Russian shot putter
    • 1946 – Patricia Hodge, English actress
    • 1947 – Ülo Kaevats, Estonian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1947 – S. H. Kapadia, Indian lawyer, judge, and politician, 38th Chief Justice of India (d. 2016)
    • 1947 – Gary Wetzel, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient
    • 1948 – Mark Farner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1948 – Bryant Gumbel, American journalist and sportscaster
    • 1948 – Theo Jörgensmann, German clarinet player and composer
    • 1948 – Mike Pinera, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1949 – George Dalaras, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1950 – Ken Macha, American baseball player and manager
    • 1951 – Michelle Bachelet, Chilean physician and politician, 34th President of Chile
    • 1951 – Pier Luigi Bersani, Italian educator and politician, 6th President of Emilia-Romagna
    • 1951 – Andrés Caicedo, Colombian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1977)
    • 1951 – Maureen Caird, Australian-New Zealand hurdler
    • 1951 – Mike Enriquez, Filipino journalist and radio commentator
    • 1952 – Roy Campbell, Jr., American trumpet player (d. 2014)
    • 1952 – Gábor Csupó, Hungarian-American animator, director, and producer, co-founded Klasky Csupo
    • 1952 – Richard Hodges, English archaeologist and academic
    • 1952 – Max Sandlin, American lawyer, judge, and politician
    • 1952 – Takanosato Toshihide, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 59th Yokozuna (d. 2011)
    • 1953 – Warren Cromartie, American baseball player, coach, and radio host
    • 1953 – Jean-Claude Lauzon, Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 1997)
    • 1953 – Lawrence Reed, American economist and author
    • 1954 – Uwe Jahn, German footballer and manager
    • 1954 – Mark Mitchell, Australian actor
    • 1955 – Ann Bancroft, American explorer and author
    • 1955 – Gareth Davies, Welsh rugby player and academic
    • 1955 – Joe Donnelly, American politician and lawyer
    • 1955 – Benoît Ferreux, French actor and director
    • 1955 – Gwen Ifill, American journalist (d. 2016)
    • 1956 – Sebastian Coe, English sprinter and politician
    • 1956 – Jenny Morris, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1956 – Suzzy Roche, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1957 – Chris Broad, English cricketer and referee
    • 1957 – Sokratis Malamas, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1957 – Mark Nicholas, English cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Julian Armour, American-Canadian cellist and educator
    • 1960 – Kenneth Hansen, Swedish race car driver
    • 1960 – Alan McGee, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1960 – Hubert Neuper, Austrian ski jumper
    • 1960 – John Paxson, American basketball player and coach
    • 1960 – David Sammartino, American wrestler and trainer
    • 1960 – Andy Slaughter, English politician
    • 1960 – Carol Welsman, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1961 – Julia Gillard, Welsh-Australian lawyer and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Australia
    • 1961 – Stephanie Miller, American comedian and radio host
    • 1962 – Roger Bart, American actor
    • 1963 – Dave Andreychuk, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1963 – Les Claypool, American bass player, singer, songwriter, and producer
    • 1964 – Brad Lohaus, American basketball player
    • 1966 – Hersey Hawkins, American basketball player and coach
    • 1966 – Ben Miles, English actor
    • 1967 – Brett Anderson, English singer-songwriter
    • 1967 – Sara Sankey, English badminton player
    • 1968 – Patrick Burns, American paranormal investigator
    • 1968 – Luke Goss, English actor
    • 1968 – Matt Goss, English singer-songwriter
    • 1969 – Erika Eleniak, American model and actress
    • 1969 – DeVante Swing, American singer-songwriter, and producer
    • 1969 – Aleks Syntek, Mexican singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1970 – Russell Peters, Canadian comedian, actor, and producer
    • 1970 – Yoshihiro Tajiri, Japanese wrestler and trainer
    • 1970 – Natasha Gregson Wagner, American actress
    • 1970 – Kushboo, South Indian actress and producer
    • 1971 – Yitzhak Yedid, Israeli-Australian composer & pianist
    • 1971 – Tanoka Beard, American basketball player
    • 1971 – Mackenzie Crook, English actor and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Theodore Shapiro, American composer
    • 1972 – Oliver Gavin, English race car driver
    • 1973 – Foivos Delivorias, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1973 – Shannon Larratt, Canadian publisher, founded BMEzine (d. 2013)
    • 1973 – Scout Niblett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1974 – Brian Ash, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1974 – Matt Hullum, American actor, director, and producer, co-founded Rooster Teeth
    • 1974 – James Lance, British actor
    • 1975 – Albert Celades, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1976 – Darren Byfield, English-Jamaican footballer
    • 1976 – Kelvin Davis, English footballer
    • 1976 – Óscar Sevilla, Spanish cyclist
    • 1976 – Andriy Shevchenko, Ukrainian footballer and politician
    • 1977 – Eric Barton, American football player
    • 1977 – Wade Brookbank, Canadian ice hockey player and scout
    • 1977 – Debelah Morgan, American singer-songwriter
    • 1977 – Jake Westbrook, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Mohini Bhardwaj, American gymnast and coach
    • 1978 – Gunner McGrath, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1978 – Karen Putzer, Italian skier
    • 1978 – Kurt Nilsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Orhan Ak, Turkish footballer
    • 1979 – Takumi Beppu, Japanese cyclist and manager
    • 1979 – Artika Sari Devi, Indonesian model and actress
    • 1979 – Shelley Duncan, American baseball player and manager
    • 1979 – Jaime Lozano, Mexican footballer
    • 1980 – Patrick Agyemang, English footballer
    • 1980 – Dallas Green, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1980 – Zachary Levi, American actor and singer
    • 1981 – Aris Galanopoulos, Greek footballer
    • 1981 – Shane Smeltz, German-New Zealand footballer
    • 1982 – Matt Giteau, Australian rugby player
    • 1982 – Amy Williams, English skeleton racer
    • 1983 – Lisette Oropesa, American soprano and actress
    • 1984 – Per Mertesacker, German footballer
    • 1985 – Calvin Johnson, American football player
    • 1985 – Niklas Moisander, Finnish footballer
    • 1985 – Dani Pedrosa, Spanish motorcycle racer
    • 1985 – Magnus Gangstad Jørgensen, Norwegian music producer
    • 1986 – Lisa Foiles, American actress and journalist
    • 1986 – Mark Fraser, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Matt Lashoff, American ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Isaac Makwala, Botswanan sprinter
    • 1986 – Benoît Pouliot, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – David Del Rio, American actor and director
    • 1988 – Kevin Durant, American basketball player
    • 1988 – Justin Nozuka, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1989 – Theo Adams, English photographer and director
    • 1989 – Adore Delano, American drag queen and singer
    • 1989 – Yevhen Konoplyanka, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1989 – Aaron Martin, English footballer
    • 1989 – Andrea Poli, Italian footballer
    • 1989 – Fatima Lodhi, Pakistani social activist
    • 1990 – Doug Brochu, American voice actor
    • 1990 – Gerphil Flores, Filipina classical crossover singer and Asia’s Got Talent finalist
    • 1990 – Lena Wermelt, German footballer
    • 1991 – Adem Ljajić, Serbian footballer
    • 1991 – Martin Jensen, Danish musician
    • 1993 – Lee Hong-bin, South Korean singer
    • 1993 – Viktor Romanenkov, Estonian figure skater
    • 1993 – Oleg Vernyayev, Ukrainian artistic gymnast
    • 1998 – Vera Lapko, Belarusian tennis player
    • 1999 – Choi Ye-na, South Korean singer and dancer

    Deaths on September 29

    • 722 – Leudwinus, Frankish archbishop and saint (b. 660)
    • 855 – Lothair I, Roman emperor (b. 795)
    • 1186 – William of Tyre, Archbishop of Tyre (b. c. 1130)
    • 1225 – Arnaud Amalric, Papal legate who allegedly promoted mass murder
    • 1298 – Guido I da Montefeltro, Italian military strategist (b. 1223)
    • 1304 – John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, English general (b. 1231)
    • 1360 – Joanna I of Auvergne, queen consort of France (b. 1326)
    • 1364 – Charles I, Duke of Brittany (b. 1319)
    • 1382 – ‘Izz al-Din ibn Rukn al-Din Mahmud, malik of Sistan
    • 1501 – Andrew Stewart, Scottish bishop (b. 1442)
    • 1560 – Gustav I of Sweden (b. 1496)
    • 1622 – Conrad Vorstius, German-Dutch Remonstrant theologian (b. 1569)
    • 1634 – Henry Hyde, English politician and lawyer (b.c. 1563)
    • 1637 – Lorenzo Ruiz, Filipino martyr and saint (b. 1600)
    • 1642 – René Goupil, French missionary and saint (b. 1608)
    • 1642 – William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire (b. 1561)
    • 1703 – Charles de Saint-Évremond, French-English soldier, author, and critic (b. 1610)
    • 1800 – Michael Denis, Austrian poet and author (b. 1729)
    • 1804 – Michael Hillegas, American politician, 1st Treasurer of the United States (b. 1728)
    • 1833 – Ferdinand VII of Spain (b. 1784)
    • 1862 – William “Bull” Nelson, American general (b. 1824)
    • 1887 – Bernhard von Langenbeck, German surgeon and academic (b. 1810)
    • 1889 – Louis Faidherbe, French general and politician (b. 1818)
    • 1900 – Samuel Fenton Cary, American lawyer and politician (b. 1814)
    • 1902 – William McGonagall, Scottish poet and actor (b. 1825)
    • 1902 – Émile Zola, French journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1840)
    • 1908 – Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Brazilian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1839)
    • 1910 – Winslow Homer, American painter, illustrator, and engraver (b. 1836)
    • 1913 – Rudolf Diesel, German engineer, invented the diesel engine (b. 1858)
    • 1918 – Lawrence Weathers, decorated WWI Australian soldier (b. 1890).
    • 1925 – Léon Bourgeois, French police officer and politician, 64th Prime Minister of France, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1851)
    • 1927 – Arthur Achleitner, German journalist and author (b. 1858)
    • 1927 – Willem Einthoven, Indonesian-Dutch physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1860)
    • 1928 – John Devoy, Irish-American Fenian rebel leader (b. 1842)
    • 1930 – Ilya Repin, Ukrainian-Russian painter and illustrator (b. 1844)
    • 1937 – Marie Zdeňka Baborová-Čiháková, Czech botanist and zoologist (b. 1877)
    • 1937 – Ray Ewry, American triple jumper (b. 1873)
    • 1937 – Ernst Hoppenberg, German swimmer and water polo player (b. 1878)
    • 1951 – Thomas Cahill, American soccer player and coach (b. 1864)
    • 1952 – John Cobb, English race car driver and pilot (b. 1899)
    • 1967 – Carson McCullers, American novelist, playwright, essayist, and poet (b. 1917)
    • 1970 – Edward Everett Horton, American actor (b. 1886)
    • 1973 – W. H. Auden, English-American poet, playwright, and critic (b. 1907)
    • 1975 – Casey Stengel, American baseball player and manager (b. 1890)
    • 1981 – Bill Shankly, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1913)
    • 1982 – Monty Stratton, American baseball player and coach (b. 1912)
    • 1986 – Prince George Valdemar of Denmark (b. 1920)
    • 1987 – Henry Ford II, American businessman (b. 1917)
    • 1988 – Charles Addams, American cartoonist (b. 1912)
    • 1989 – Gussie Busch, American businessman (b. 1899)
    • 1989 – Georges Ulmer, Danish-French singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1919)
    • 1993 – Gordon Douglas, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1907)
    • 1997 – Roy Lichtenstein, American painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
    • 1998 – Tom Bradley, American lieutenant and politician, 38th Mayor of Los Angeles (b. 1917)
    • 1999 – Jean-Louis Millette, Canadian actor (b. 1935)
    • 2000 – John Grant, English journalist and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2001 – Mabel Fairbanks, American figure skater and coach (b. 1915)
    • 2001 – Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, Vietnamese general and politician, 5th President of South Vietnam (b. 1923)
    • 2004 – Richard Sainct, French motorcycle racer (b. 1970)
    • 2004 – Patrick Wormald, English historian (b. 1947)
    • 2005 – Patrick Caulfield, English painter and academic (b. 1936)
    • 2005 – Austin Leslie, American chef and author (b. 1934)
    • 2006 – Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer and manager (b. 1915)
    • 2006 – Michael A. Monsoor, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1981)
    • 2006 – Louis-Albert Vachon, Canadian cardinal (b. 1912)
    • 2007 – Lois Maxwell, Canadian actress (b. 1927)
    • 2007 – Yıldırım Aktuna, Turkish psychiatrist and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (b. 1930)
    • 2008 – Hayden Carruth, American poet and critic (b. 1921)
    • 2009 – Pavel Popovich, Ukrainian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
    • 2010 – Tony Curtis, American actor (b. 1925)
    • 2010 – Greg Giraldo, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1965)
    • 2011 – Sylvia Robinson, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Hathloul bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Neil Smith, Scottish geographer and academic (b. 1954)
    • 2012 – Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, American publisher (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Malcolm Wicks, English academic and politician (b. 1947)
    • 2013 – Harold Agnew, American physicist and engineer (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Anton Benning, German lieutenant (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Pete T. Cenarrusa, American soldier, pilot, and politician, Secretary of State of Idaho (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Carl Joachim Classen, German scholar and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – L. C. Greenwood, American football player (b. 1946)
    • 2013 – Bob Kurland, American basketball player and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Miguel Boyer, Spanish economist and politician (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – Andreas Fransson, Swedish skier (b. 1983)
    • 2014 – Stan Monteith, American surgeon and author (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Luis Nishizawa, Mexican painter and educator (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – John Ritchie, New Zealand composer and educator (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – George Shuba, American baseball player (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Hellmuth Karasek, Czech-German journalist, author, and critic (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – William Kerslake, American wrestler and engineer (b. 1929)
    • 2015 – Jean Ter-Merguerian, French-Armenian violinist (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Phil Woods, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1931)
    • 2016 – Miriam Defensor Santiago, Filipina politician (b. 1945)
    • 2017 – Tom Alter, Indian actor (b. 1950)
    • 2018 – Otis Rush, American blues guitarist and singer (b. 1934)

    Holidays and observances on September 29

    • Christian feast day:
      • Rhipsime
      • September 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
      • the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. One of the four quarter days in the Irish calendar. (England and Ireland). Called Michaelmas in some western liturgical traditions
    • Day of Machine-Building Industry Workers (Russia)
    • Inventors’ Day (Argentina)
    • Victory of Boquerón Day (Paraguay)
    • World Heart Day
  • |

    September 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    It is the last day of the third quarter, the midway point of the second half of the year.

    • 489 – The Ostrogoths under Theoderic the Great defeat the forces of Odoacer for the second time.
    • 737 – The Turgesh drive back an Umayyad invasion of Khuttal, follow them south of the Oxus, and capture their baggage train.
    • 1399 – Henry IV is proclaimed king of England.
    • 1520 – Suleiman the Magnificent is proclaimed sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
    • 1541 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto and his forces enter Tula territory in present-day western Arkansas, encountering fierce resistance.
    • 1551 – A coup by the military establishment of Japan’s Ōuchi clan forces their lord to commit suicide, and their city is burned.
    • 1744 – War of the Austrian Succession: France and Spain defeat Sardinia at the Battle of Madonna dell’Olmo, but soon have to withdraw from Sardinia anyway.
    • 1791 – The first performance of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute takes place two months before his death.
    • 1791 – France’s National Constituent Assembly is dissolved, to be replaced the next day by the National Legislative Assembly
    • 1882 – Thomas Edison’s first commercial hydroelectric power plant (later known as Appleton Edison Light Company) begins operation.
    • 1888 – Jack the Ripper kills his third and fourth victims, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes.
    • 1906 – The Royal Galician Academy, the Galician language’s biggest linguistic authority, starts working in La Coruña, Spain.
    • 1907 – The McKinley National Memorial, the final resting place of assassinated U.S. President William McKinley and his family, is dedicated in Canton, Ohio.
    • 1909 – The Cunard Line’s RMS Mauretania makes a record-breaking westbound crossing of the Atlantic, that will not be bettered for 20 years.
    • 1915 – World War I: Radoje Ljutovac becomes the first soldier in history to shoot down an enemy aircraft with ground-to-air fire.
    • 1922 – The University of Alabama opens the American football season with a 110–0 victory over the Marion Military Institute, which still stands as Alabama’s record for largest margin of victory and as their only 100 point game.
    • 1927 – Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 60 home runs in a season.
    • 1931 – Start of “Die Voortrekkers” youth movement for Afrikaners in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
    • 1935 – The Hoover Dam, astride the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, is dedicated.
    • 1938 – Britain, France, Germany and Italy sign the Munich Agreement, whereby Germany annexes the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia.
    • 1938 – The League of Nations unanimously outlaws “intentional bombings of civilian populations”.
    • 1939 – World War II: General Władysław Sikorski becomes prime minister of the Polish government-in-exile.
    • 1939 – NBC broadcasts the first televised American football game.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Babi Yar massacre comes to an end.
    • 1943 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy is dedicated by President Roosevelt.
    • 1945 – The Bourne End rail crash, in Hertfordshire, England, kills 43
    • 1947 – The 1947 World Series is the first to be televised, to include an African-American player, to exceed $2 million in receipts, to see a pinch-hit home run, and to have six umpires on the field.
    • 1947 – Pakistan joins the United Nations.
    • 1949 – The Berlin Airlift ends.
    • 1954 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world’s first nuclear-powered vessel.
    • 1962 – Mexican-American labor leader César Chávez founds the National Farm Workers Association.
    • 1962 – James Meredith enters the University of Mississippi, defying racial segregation rules.
    • 1965 – The Lockheed L-100, the civilian version of the C-130 Hercules, is introduced.
    • 1965 – In Indonesia, a coup by the 30 September Movement is crushed, leading to a mass anti-communist purge, with over 500,000 people killed.
    • 1966 – Bechuanaland declares its independence, and becomes the Republic of Botswana.
    • 1967 – The BBC Light Programme, Third Programme and Home Service are replaced with BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4 Respectively, BBC Radio 1 is also launched.
    • 1968 – The Boeing 747 is rolled out and shown to the public for the first time.
    • 1970 – Jordan makes a deal with the PFLP for the release of the remaining hostages from the Dawson’s Field hijackings.
    • 1972 – Roberto Clemente records the 3,000th and final hit of his career.
    • 1975 – The AH-64 Apache makes its first flight. Eight years later, the first production model rolled out of the assembly line.
    • 1977 – Because of NASA budget cuts and dwindling power reserves, the Apollo program’s ALSEP experiment packages left on the Moon are shut down.
    • 1980 – Ethernet specifications are published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation.
    • 1990 – The Dalai Lama unveils the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights in Canada’s capital city of Ottawa.
    • 1993 – The 6.2 Mw  Latur earthquake shakes Maharashtra, India with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) killing 9,748 and injuring 30,000.
    • 1994 – Aldwych tube station (originally Strand Station) of the London Underground closes after eighty-eight years in service.
    • 1994 – Ongar railway station, the furthest London Underground from central London, closes.
    • 1999 – The Tokaimura nuclear accident causes the deaths of two technicians in Japan’s second-worst nuclear accident.
    • 2000 – Israeli-Palestinian conflict: 12-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah is shot and killed on the second day of the Second Intifada.
    • 2004 – The AIM-54 Phoenix, the primary missile for the F-14 Tomcat, is retired from service. Almost two years later, the Tomcat itself is retired.
    • 2005 – Controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in a Danish newspaper.
    • 2009 – The 7.6 Mw  Sumatra earthquake leaves 1,115 people dead.
    • 2016 – Hurricane Matthew becomes a Category 5 hurricane, making it the strongest hurricane to form in the Caribbean Sea since 2007.
    • 2016 – Two paintings with a combined value of $100 million are recovered after having been stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in 2002.

    Births on September 30

    • 1207 – Rumi, Persian mystic and poet (d. 1273)
    • 1227 – Pope Nicholas IV (d. 1292)
    • 1530 – Girolamo Mercuriale, Italian philologist and physician (d. 1606)
    • 1550 – Michael Maestlin, German astronomer and mathematician (d. 1631)
    • 1622 – Johann Sebastiani, German composer (d. 1683)
    • 1689 – Jacques Aubert, French violinist and composer (d. 1753)
    • 1700 – Stanisław Konarski, Polish monk, poet, and playwright (d. 1773)
    • 1710 – John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1771)
    • 1714 – Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, French epistemologist and philosopher (d. 1780)
    • 1732 – Jacques Necker, Swiss-French politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1804)
    • 1743 – Christian Ehregott Weinlig, German cantor and composer (d. 1813)
    • 1765 – José María Morelos, Mexican priest and general (d. 1815)
    • 1800 – Decimus Burton, English architect, designed the Pharos Lighthouse (d. 1881)
    • 1813 – John Rae, Scottish physician and explorer (d. 1893)
    • 1814 – Lucinda Hinsdale Stone, American feminist, educator, and philanthropist (d. 1900)
    • 1827 – Ellis H. Roberts, American journalist and politician, 20th Treasurer of the United States (d. 1918)
    • 1832 – Ann Jarvis, American activist, co-founded Mother’s Day (d. 1905)
    • 1836 – Remigio Morales Bermúdez, Peruvian politician, 56th President of Peru (d. 1894)
    • 1852 – Charles Villiers Stanford, Irish composer, conductor, and educator (d. 1924)
    • 1861 – William Wrigley, Jr., American businessman, founded Wrigley Company (d. 1932)
    • 1863 – Reinhard Scheer, German admiral (d. 1928)
    • 1870 – Thomas W. Lamont, American banker and philanthropist (d. 1948)
    • 1870 – Jean Baptiste Perrin, French-American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1942)
    • 1882 – Hans Geiger, German physicist and academic (d. 1945)
    • 1883 – Bernhard Rust, German educator and politician (d. 1945)
    • 1883 – Nora Stanton Blatch Barney, American civil engineer, architect, and suffragist (d. 1971)
    • 1887 – Lil Dagover, Indonesian-German actress (d. 1980)
    • 1893 – Lansdale Ghiselin Sasscer, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (d. 1964)
    • 1895 – Lewis Milestone, Moldovan-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1980)
    • 1897 – Gaspar Cassadó, Spanish cellist and composer (d. 1966)
    • 1897 – Alfred Wintle, Russian-English soldier and politician (d. 1966)
    • 1897 – Charlotte Wolff, German-English physician and psychotherapist (d. 1986)
    • 1898 – Renée Adorée, French-American actress (d. 1933)
    • 1898 – Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois (d. 1977)
    • 1898 – Edgar Parin d’Aulaire, German-American author and illustrator (d. 1986)
    • 1901 – Thelma Terry, American bassist and bandleader (d. 1966)
    • 1904 – Waldo Williams, Welsh poet and academic (d. 1971)
    • 1905 – Nevill Francis Mott, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
    • 1905 – Michael Powell, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1990)
    • 1906 – Mireille Hartuch, French singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1996)
    • 1908 – David Oistrakh, Ukrainian-Russian violinist and educator (d. 1974)
    • 1910 – Jussi Kekkonen, Finnish captain (d. 1962)
    • 1911 – Gustave Gilbert, American psychologist (d. 1977)
    • 1912 – Kenny Baker, American singer and actor (d. 1985)
    • 1913 – Bill Walsh, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1975)
    • 1915 – Lester Maddox, American businessman and politician, 75th Governor of Georgia (d. 2003)
    • 1917 – Yuri Lyubimov, Russian actor and director (d. 2014)
    • 1917 – Buddy Rich, American drummer, bandleader, and actor (d. 1987)
    • 1918 – Lewis Nixon, U.S. Army captain (d. 1995)
    • 1918 – René Rémond, French historian and economist (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Roberto Bonomi, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1992)
    • 1919 – Elizabeth Gilels, Ukrainian-Russian violinist and educator (d. 2008)
    • 1919 – William L. Guy, American lieutenant and politician, 26th Governor of North Dakota (d. 2013)
    • 1919 – Patricia Neway, American soprano and actress (d. 2012)
    • 1921 – Deborah Kerr, Scottish-English actress (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – Aldo Parisot, Brazilian-American cellist and educator (d. 2018)
    • 1922 – Lamont Johnson, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1922 – Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1923 – Donald Swann, Welsh-English pianist and composer (d. 1994)
    • 1924 – Truman Capote, American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1984)
    • 1925 – Arkady Ostashev, Russian engineer and educator (d. 1998)
    • 1926 – Heino Kruus, Estonian basketball player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1926 – Robin Roberts, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – W. S. Merwin, American poet and translator (d. 2019)
    • 1928 – Elie Wiesel, Romanian-American author, academic, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
    • 1928 – Ray Willsey, Canadian-American football player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Carol Fenner, American author and illustrator (d. 2002)
    • 1929 – Vassilis Papazachos, Greek seismologist and academic
    • 1929 – Leticia Ramos-Shahani, Filipino politician, diplomat and writer (d. 2017)
    • 1929 – Dorothee Sölle, German theologian and author (d. 2003)
    • 1931 – Angie Dickinson, American actress
    • 1931 – Teresa Gorman, English educator and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – Shintaro Ishihara, Japanese author, playwright, and politician, Governor of Tokyo
    • 1932 – Johnny Podres, American baseball player and coach (d. 2008)
    • 1933 – Michel Aoun, Lebanese general and politician, President of Lebanon
    • 1933 – Cissy Houston, American singer
    • 1934 – Alan A’Court, English footballer and manager (d. 2009)
    • 1934 – Udo Jürgens, Austrian-Swiss singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2014)
    • 1934 – Anna Kashfi, Indian-American actress (d. 2015)
    • 1935 – Johnny Mathis, American singer and actor
    • 1936 – Jim Sasser, American lawyer and politician, 6th United States Ambassador to China
    • 1936 – Sevgi Soysal, Turkish author (d. 1976)
    • 1937 – Jurek Becker, Polish-German author (d. 1997)
    • 1937 – Valentyn Sylvestrov, Ukrainian pianist and composer
    • 1937 – Gary Hocking, Rhodesian motorcycle racer (d. 1962)
    • 1938 – Alan Hacker, English clarinet player and educator (d. 2012)
    • 1939 – Len Cariou, Canadian actor
    • 1939 – Anthony Green, English painter and academic
    • 1939 – Jean-Marie Lehn, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1940 – Claudia Card, American philosopher and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1940 – Harry Jerome, Canadian sprinter (d. 1982)
    • 1940 – Dewey Martin, Canadian-American drummer (d. 2009)
    • 1941 – Samuel F. Pickering, Jr., American author and educator
    • 1941 – Kamalesh Sharma, Indian academic and diplomat, 5th Commonwealth Secretary General
    • 1941 – Reine Wisell, Swedish race car driver
    • 1942 – Gus Dudgeon, English record producer (d. 2002)
    • 1942 – Frankie Lymon, American singer-songwriter (d. 1968)
    • 1943 – Johann Deisenhofer, German-American biochemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1943 – Marilyn McCoo, American singer
    • 1943 – Philip Moore, English organist and composer
    • 1943 – Ian Ogilvy, English-American actor, playwright, and author
    • 1944 – Diane Dufresne, Canadian singer and painter
    • 1944 – Jimmy Johnstone, Scottish footballer (d. 2006)
    • 1944 – Red Robbins, American basketball player (d. 2009)
    • 1945 – Richard Edwin Hills, English astronomer and academic
    • 1945 – Ehud Olmert, Israeli lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Israel
    • 1946 – Fran Brill, American actress, singer, and puppeteer
    • 1946 – Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, English academic and politician, Leader of the House of Lords
    • 1946 – Héctor Lavoe, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter (d. 1993)
    • 1946 – Jochen Mass, German race car driver
    • 1946 – Paul Sheahan, Australian cricketer and educator
    • 1946 – Claude Vorilhon, French journalist, founded Raëlism
    • 1947 – Marc Bolan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1977)
    • 1947 – Rula Lenska, English actress
    • 1948 – Craig Kusick, American baseball player and coach (d. 2006)
    • 1950 – Laura Esquivel, Mexican author and screenwriter
    • 1950 – Victoria Tennant, English actress and dancer
    • 1951 – John Lloyd, English screenwriter and producer
    • 1951 – Barry Marshall, Australian physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1951 – Simon White, English astrophysicist and academic
    • 1952 – John Lombardo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1953 – Matt Abts, American drummer
    • 1953 – Deborah Allen, American country music singer-songwriter, author, and actress
    • 1954 – Basia, Polish singer-songwriter and record producer
    • 1954 – Scott Fields, American guitarist and composer
    • 1954 – Patrice Rushen, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1955 – Andy Bechtolsheim, German engineer, co-founded Sun Microsystems
    • 1955 – Frankie Kennedy, Northern Irish flute player (d. 1994)
    • 1956 – Trevor Morgan, English footballer and manager
    • 1957 – Fran Drescher, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Marty Stuart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1959 – Ettore Messina, Italian basketball player and coach
    • 1960 – Julia Adamson, Canadian-English keyboard player, composer, and producer
    • 1960 – Nicola Griffith, English-American author
    • 1960 – Miki Howard, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1960 – Blanche Lincoln, American politician
    • 1961 – Gary Coyne, Australian rugby league player
    • 1961 – Eric Stoltz, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1961 – Mel Stride, English politician
    • 1961 – Eric van de Poele, Belgian race car driver
    • 1963 – David Barbe, American bass player and producer
    • 1964 – Trey Anastasio, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and composer
    • 1964 – Monica Bellucci, Italian actress and fashion model
    • 1965 – Omid Djalili, English comedian, actor, and producer
    • 1966 – Gary Armstrong, Scottish rugby player
    • 1966 – Markus Burger, German pianist, composer, and educator
    • 1967 – Emmanuelle Houdart, Swiss-French author and illustrator
    • 1969 – Gintaras Einikis, Lithuanian basketball player
    • 1969 – Chris von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1991)
    • 1970 – Tony Hale, American actor and producer
    • 1970 – Damian Mori, Australian footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Jenna Elfman, American actress and producer
    • 1972 – Jamal Anderson, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1972 – Ari Behn, Danish-Norwegian author and playwright (d. 2019)
    • 1972 – John Campbell, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1972 – Mayumi Kojima, Japanese singer-songwriter
    • 1972 – José Lima, Dominican-American baseball player (d. 2010)
    • 1974 – Jeremy Giambi, American baseball player
    • 1974 – Tom Greatrex, English politician
    • 1974 – Ben Phillips, English cricketer
    • 1974 – Daniel Wu, American–born Hong Kong actor, director, and producer
    • 1975 – Jay Asher, American author
    • 1975 – Marion Cotillard, French-American actress and singer
    • 1975 – Carlos Guillén, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1975 – Laure Pequegnot, French skier
    • 1975 – Christopher Jackson, American actor, singer, musician, and composer
    • 1976 – Georgie Bingham, British radio and television presenter
    • 1977 – Roy Carroll, Northern Irish goalkeeper and manager
    • 1977 – Nick Curran, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2012)
    • 1978 – Małgorzata Glinka-Mogentale, Polish female volleyball player
    • 1979 – Cameron Bruce, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1979 – Andy van der Meyde, Dutch footballer
    • 1980 – Martina Hingis, Czechoslovakia-born Swiss tennis player
    • 1980 – Milagros Sequera, Venezuelan tennis player
    • 1981 – Cecelia Ahern, Irish author
    • 1981 – Dominique Moceanu, American gymnast
    • 1982 – Lacey Chabert, American actress
    • 1982 – Ryane Clowe, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Yan Stastny, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Dmytro Boyko, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1983 – Boniek Forbes, Guinea-Bissau footballer
    • 1983 – Andreea Răducan, Romanian gymnast
    • 1984 – Georgios Eleftheriou, Greek footballer
    • 1985 – Adam Cooney, Australian footballer
    • 1985 – David Gower, Australian rugby league player
    • 1985 – Téa Obreht, Serbian-American author
    • 1985 – Cristian Rodríguez, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1985 – T-Pain, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1986 – Olivier Giroud, French footballer
    • 1986 – Martin Guptill, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1986 – Ben Lovett, Welsh musician and songwriter
    • 1986 – Cristián Zapata, Colombian footballer
    • 1987 – Aida Garifullina, Russian operatic soprano
    • 1988 – Eglė Staišiūnaitė, Lithuanian hurdler
    • 1989 – André Weis, German footballer
    • 1991 – Thomas Röhler, German javelin thrower
    • 1992 – Ezra Miller, American actor and singer
    • 1994 – Aliya Mustafina, Russian gymnast
    • 1996 – Jacob Host, Australian rugby league player
    • 1997 – Yana Kudryavtseva, Russian gymnast
    • 1997 – Max Verstappen, Dutch Formula One driver
    • 1998 – Trevor Moran, American youtuber and singer
    • 2002 – Maddie Ziegler, American dancer and actress
    • 2002 – Levi Miller, Australian actor and model

    Deaths on September 30

    • 420 – Jerome, Roman priest, theologian, and saint (b. 347)
    • 653 – Honorius of Canterbury, Italian archbishop and saint
    • 940 – Fan Yanguang, Chinese general
    • 954 – Louis IV of France (b. 920)
    • 1101 – Anselm IV, Italian archbishop
    • 1246 – Yaroslav II of Vladimir (b. 1191)
    • 1288 – Leszek II the Black, Polish prince, Duke of Łęczyca, Sieradz, Kraków, Sandomierz (b. 1241)
    • 1440 – Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn, Welsh soldier and politician (b. 1362)
    • 1487 – John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1400)
    • 1551 – Ōuchi Yoshitaka, Japanese daimyō (b. 1507)
    • 1560 – Melchior Cano, Spanish theologian (b. 1525)
    • 1572 – Francis Borgia, 4th Duke of Gandía, Spanish priest and saint, 3rd Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1510)
    • 1581 – Hubert Languet, French diplomat and reformer (b. 1518)
    • 1626 – Nurhaci, Chinese emperor (b. 1559)
    • 1628 – Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, English poet and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1554)
    • 1770 – Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham, English politician and diplomat, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1695)
    • 1770 – George Whitefield, English-American priest and theologian (b. 1714)
    • 1865 – Samuel David Luzzatto, Italian poet and scholar (b. 1800)
    • 1891 – Georges Ernest Boulanger, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1837)
    • 1897 – Thérèse of Lisieux, French nun and saint (b. 1873)
    • 1910 – Maurice Lévy, French mathematician and engineer (b. 1838)
    • 1942 – Hans-Joachim Marseille, German captain and pilot (b. 1919)
    • 1943 – Franz Oppenheimer, German-American sociologist and economist (b. 1864)
    • 1946 – Takashi Sakai, Japanese general and politician, Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1887)
    • 1955 – James Dean, American actor (b. 1931)
    • 1959 – Henry Barwell, Australian politician, 28th Premier of South Australia (b. 1877)
    • 1961 – Onésime Gagnon, Canadian scholar and politician, 20th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1888)
    • 1973 – Peter Pitseolak, Canadian photographer and author (b. 1902)
    • 1974 – Carlos Prats, Chilean general and politician, Chilean Minister of Defense (b. 1915)
    • 1977 – Mary Ford, American singer and guitarist (b. 1924)
    • 1978 – Edgar Bergen, American actor and ventriloquist (b. 1903)
    • 1985 – Charles Francis Richter, American seismologist and physicist (b. 1900)
    • 1985 – Simone Signoret, French actress (b. 1921)
    • 1986 – Nicholas Kaldor, Hungarian-British economist (b. 1908)
    • 1987 – Alfred Bester, American author and screenwriter (b. 1913)
    • 1988 – Al Holbert, American race car driver (b. 1946)
    • 1989 – Virgil Thomson, American composer and critic (b. 1896)
    • 1990 – Rob Moroso, American race car driver (b. 1968)
    • 1990 – Alice Parizeau, Polish-Canadian journalist and author (b. 1930)
    • 1990 – Patrick White, Australian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
    • 1991 – Toma Zdravković, Serbian singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
    • 1994 – André Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
    • 1998 – Marius Goring, English actor (b. 1912)
    • 1998 – Dan Quisenberry, American baseball player and poet (b. 1953)
    • 1998 – Robert Lewis Taylor, American soldier and author (b. 1912)
    • 2002 – Göran Kropp, Swedish race car driver and mountaineer (b. 1966)
    • 2002 – Hans-Peter Tschudi, Swiss lawyer and politician, 63rd President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1913)
    • 2003 – Yusuf Bey, American activist, founded Your Black Muslim Bakery (b. 1935)
    • 2003 – Ronnie Dawson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1939)
    • 2003 – Robert Kardashian, American lawyer and businessman (b. 1944)
    • 2004 – Gamini Fonseka, Sri Lankan actor, director, and politician (b. 1936)
    • 2004 – Jacques Levy, American director and songwriter (b. 1935)
    • 2004 – Michael Relph, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
    • 2008 – J. B. Jeyaretnam, Singaporean lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
    • 2010 – Stephen J. Cannell, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1941)
    • 2011 – Anwar al-Awlaki, American-Yemeni terrorist (b. 1971)
    • 2011 – Ralph M. Steinman, Canadian-American immunologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Turhan Bey, Austrian actor and producer (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Barry Commoner, American biologist, academic, and politician (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Bobby Jaggers, American wrestler and engineer (b. 1948)
    • 2012 – Clara Stanton Jones, American librarian (b. 1913)
    • 2012 – Barbara Ann Scott, Canadian-American figure skater (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Boris Šprem, Croatian lawyer and politician, 8th Speaker of the Croatian Parliament (b. 1956)
    • 2013 – Janet Powell, Australian educator and politician (b. 1942)
    • 2014 – Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Indian cleric and politician (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – Martin Lewis Perl, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Guido Altarelli, Italian-Swiss physicist and academic (b. 1941)
    • 2015 – Claude Dauphin, French businessman (b. 1951)
    • 2015 – Göran Hägg, Swedish author and critic (b. 1947)
    • 2017 – Monty Hall, American game show host (b. 1921)
    • 2018 – Kim Larsen, Danish rock musician (b. 1945)
    • 2018 – Geoffrey Hayes, British television presenter and actor (b. 1942)
    • 2018 – Sonia Orbuch, Polish resistance fighter during the Second World War and Holocaust educator. (b. 1925)
    • 2019 – Victoria Braithwaite, British research scientist who proved fish feel pain (b. 1967)

    Holidays and observances on September 30

    • Agricultural Reform (Nationalization) Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)
    • Birth of Morelos (Mexico)
    • Boy’s Day (Poland)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Gregory the Illuminator
      • Honorius of Canterbury
      • Jerome
      • September 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Independence Day (Botswana) or Botswana Day, celebrates the independence of Botswana from United Kingdom in 1966.
    • International Translation Day (International Federation of Translators)
    • Orange Shirt Day (Canada)
  • | |

    A History of Civilian Plane Crashes in Pakistan

    May 20, 1965:
    A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Boeing 707 crashes on its inaugural flight while attempting to land at Cairo airport, killing 124 people.

    August 6, 1970:
    A PIA Fokker F27 turboprop aircraft crashes while attempting to take off from Islamabad in a thunderstorm, killing all 30 people on board.

    December 8, 1972:
    A PIA Fokker F27 crashes in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.
    All 26 people on board are killed.

    November 26, 1979:
    A PIA Boeing 707 bringing home Pakistani Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia crashes shortly after take-off from Jeddah airport, killing 156 people.

    October 23, 1986:
    A PIA Fokker F27 crashes while coming in to land in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 13 of the 54 people on board.

    August 17, 1988:
    A US-made Hercules C-130 military aircraft crashes near Pakistan’s eastern city of Bahawalpur, killing military ruler General Mohammad Zia ul Haq and 30 others including Pakistani generals and the US ambassador.

    August 25, 1989:
    A PIA Fokker carrying 54 people disappears after leaving Gilgit in northern Pakistan. The wreckage is never found.

    September 28, 1992:
    A PIA Airbus A300 crashes into a cloud-covered hillside on approach to the Nepalese capital Kathmandu after the plane descended too early, killing 167 people.

    February 19, 2003:
    An air force Fokker F27 crashes in fog-shrouded mountains near the northwestern city of Kohat, killing air force chief Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali, his wife and 15 others.

    February 24, 2003:
    A chartered Cessna 402-B carrying Afghan Mines and Industries Minister Juma Mohammad Mohammadi, four Afghan officials, a Chinese mining executive and two Pakistani crew crashes into the Arabian Sea near the southern city of Karachi.

    July 10, 2006:
    A PIA Fokker F27 bound for Lahore crashes into a field and bursts into flames shortly after takeoff from the central city of Multan, killing 41 passengers and four crew.

    July 28, 2010:
    An Airblue Airbus 321 operated by the private airline Airblue flying from Karachi crashes into hills outside Islamabad while preparing to land, killing all 152 people on board.

    November 5, 2010:
    A twin-engine plane operated by Pakistani charter JS Air carrying staff from an Italian oil company crashes shortly after take-off in Karachi, killing all 21 people on board.

    November 28, 2010:
    At least 12 people are killed when a Russian-made Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane operated by Georgian airline Sunway crashes in a fireball seconds after taking off from Karachi.

    April 20, 2012:
    A Bhoja Air Airbus 737 from Karachi comes down in bad weather near Islamabad, killing 121 passengers and 6 crew members.

    May 8, 2015
    A Pakistani military helicopter crashes, killing eight people including the Norwegian, Philippine and Indonesian envoys and the wives of Malaysian and Indonesian envoys, and setting a school building ablaze in a remote northern valley of near Gilgit.

    December 7, 2016
    A PIA ATR-42 aircraft crashes enroute from Chitral to Islamabad. The crash claims lives of all 48 passengers and crew, including singer-cum-evangelist Junaid Jamshed.

    May 22, 2020
    A PIA A-320 commercial airliner crashes near the Karachi Airport while completing a journey from Lahore. A total of 90 people including 8 crew members were on board the aircraft.

  • |

    General Science & Ability MCQs (Natural Hazards and Disasters, Set-II)

    Click HERE for previous questions.

    An example of a shield volcano is
    (a) Mount Fuji
    (b) Mount Pinatubo
    (c) Puy de Dome
    (d) Mauna Loa
    Answer: (d)
    Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.Mauna Loa is a shield volcano that has erupted some three dozen times since its first well-documented eruption in 1843

    Volcanoes that have erupted in historic times and are still likely to erupt, are known as
    (a) Active volcanoes
    (b) Dormant volcanoes
    (c) Extinct volcanoes
    (d) Instinct volcanoes
    Answer: (b)

    Top of magma is forced onto Earth’s surface is known as
    (a) Vent
    (b) Cone
    (c) Pipe
    (d) Crater
    Answer: (d)
    A volcanic crater is a roughly circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a bowl-shaped feature within which occurs a vent or vents

    Volcano that forms from column of magma is called a/an
    (a) underwater volcano
    (b) convergent volcano
    (c) divergent volcano
    (d) hot spot volcano
    Answer: (d)

    Reference to how thick a liquid is known as
    (a) density
    (b) conductivity
    (c) viscosity
    (d) volatility
    Answer: (c)

    Fluidity of lava is determined by amount of
    (a) copper
    (b) iron
    (c) nickel
    (d) silica
    Answer: (d)

    A flash flood is a flood that:
    (a) is caused by heavy rain rather than from the flooding of a river
    (b) occurs in urban areas
    (c) occurs suddenly and unexpectedly and for a short duration
    (d) is caused by the blocking of drains.
    Answer: (c)
    Flash floods are defined by the speed of flooding, not the source or location of flooding. While flash floods are often caused by heavy rainfall, they can also result from other events, such as drain blockages and bursts or the flooding of a river.

    Monsoon is caused by: (CSS-2009)
    (a) Seasonal reversal of winds
    (b) Revolution of earth
    (c) Movement of clouds
    (d) Rise in temperature
    (e) Rain forests
    Answer: (a)
    The monsoon, which is essentially the seasonal reversal in wind direction, causes most of the rainfall received in Pakistan and some other parts of the world. The primary cause of monsoons is the difference between annual temperature trends over land and sea. The apparent position of the Sun with reference to the Earth oscillates from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn. Thus the low pressure region created by solar heating also changes latitude. The northeast and southeast trade winds converge in this low pressure zone, which is also known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ. This low pressure regions sees continuous rise of moist wind from the sea surface to the upper layers of the atmosphere, where the cooling means the air can no longer hold so much moisture resulting in precipitation. The rainy seasons of East Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and the southern parts of North America coincide with the shift of ITCZ towards these regions.

    A flood can vary in:
    (a) size
    (b) speed of water flow
    (c) duration
    (d) all of the above.
    Answer: (d)
    The size, duration and water flow speed of floods can vary. The volume, rate of rise and areal extent (i.e. the total area under flood waters) of flooding can also vary.

    When a river’s water level reaches 10 meters, this means that:
    (a) the water level is 10 meters above an arbitrary ‘zero’ level
    (b) the water level is 10 meters above mean sea level
    (c) the water level is 10 meters above mean sea level or an arbitrary ‘zero’ level
    (d) it will flood.
    Answer: (c)
    River height is the level of water in a river as measured by a river gauging station and is expressed in meters above either the Australian Height Datum (i.e. mean sea level) or an alternative arbitrary ‘zero’ level, depending on the location.

    The size of a flood is measured by:
    (a) the rate of flow of water in a waterway or river
    (b) the level of water in a waterway or river
    (c) a river gauging station
    (d) all of the above.
    Answer: (d)
    The size of a flood can be measured by the highest level that water in a waterway reaches, referred to as the ‘peak water level’ or ‘flood peak’. It can also be measured by the maximum water flow rate in a waterway, referred to as the ‘peak flow rate’ or ‘peak water flow’. Each of these variables can be measured using a river gauging station.

    Which of the following is associated with a La Niña event?
    (a) The Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) is strongly negative.
    (b) The ocean surface off the coast of South America is warmer than usual.
    (c) There is an increased chance of above average rainfall in eastern Australia.
    (d) All of the above.
    Answer: (c)
    In a La Niña event, the equatorial ocean surface off the coast of South America is abnormally cool, and the SOI is strongly positive. Trade winds blow strongly across the warm Pacific, picking up plenty of moisture and increasing the likelihood of above average rainfall in eastern Australia.

    Which of the following potentially affects the size of a flood?
    (a) bridges and other structures in waterways
    (b) the size and windiness of a river
    (c) vegetation in and around a river
    (d) all of the above.
    Answer: (d)
    Many factors can affect the size of a flood, including rainfall intensity, weather conditions prior to a rainfall event, tidal and storm surges, dams and other man-made and natural water storages, catchment size and shape, soil types in a catchment, vegetation in and around a waterway, the size and windiness of a waterway, levees, bridges and other structures in waterways and catchments, and urbanization.

    Seasons are generated by (CSS-2012)
    (a) The movement of sun around the Milky Way
    (b) The movement of the earth around the sun
    (c) Relativistic Quantum
    (d) None of these
    Answer: (b)

    The 2010 floods had cost the Pakistan’s economy around
    (a) $17b
    (b) $11b
    (c) $10b
    (d) $13b
    Answer: (c)
    It estimates that just a little less than 1pc of Pakistan’s GDP is exposed to river floods every year. It is ranked 16th by the WRI on the list of the top 20 countries with the highest GDP exposure to river floods.
    The World Resources Institute (WRI) says Pakistan falls 5th on the list of top 15 countries that account for 80pc of the population exposed to river-flood risk worldwide.

    In Pakistan, the most expensive natural disaster is:
    (a) Drought
    (b) Floods
    (c) Bushfires
    (d) Cyclones.
    Answer: (b)
    Pakistan faces a major financing challenge arising from natural catastrophes, with flooding causing an estimated annual economic impact of between three and four per cent of the federal budget,” adds the report. It estimates the annual economic impact of flooding at between $1.2bn and $1.8bn, or 0.5-0.8pc of GDP.

    Which of the following is an environmental consequence of floods?
    (a) dispersal of weed species
    (b) erosion of soil
    (c) release of pollutants into waterways
    (d) all of the above.
    Answer: (d)
    Floods can have negative environmental consequences, such as soil erosion, release of pollutants and excess sediments and nutrients into waterways and the ocean, dispersal of weed species, and negative impacts on fish and other aquatic life. Floods can also have positive environmental consequences, such as recharging groundwater systems, filling wetlands, moving useful nutrients around the landscape, and triggering breeding events (for example, of water birds).

    Which of the following is used to estimate which areas will be inundated during a flood, based on river height information?
    (a) satellite and radar images
    (b) flood maps / floodplain hydraulic models
    (c) river gauging stations
    (d) all of the above.
    Answer: (b)
    Floodplain hydraulic models and flood maps are used to estimate which areas will be inundated based on river height information. Satellite and radar images, rain gauges and river gauging stations are used to estimate river heights.

    Which of the following statements is false?
    (a) Weather forecasts for a small region are more accurate than those for a large region.
    (b) Weather forecasts are more accurate in Melbourne than in Darwin.
    (c) Forecasts of temperature are more accurate than forecasts of rainfall.
    (d) All of the above.
    Answer: (a)
    The accuracy of weather forecasts varies depending on lead time, the size of the region of interest, the weather variable being forecast, and the latitude of the region. Generally, temperature forecasts are more accurate than rainfall forecasts; the mid-latitudes are easier to forecast than the tropics; and it is generally easier to forecast rainfall over a large area (for example, a large catchment) than local rainfall (for example, a reservoir).

    Which of the following is true? Flood warnings:
    (a) should not be released until the information is certain
    (b) should indicate what the threat is, what
    (c) action should be taken, by whom and when
    (d) are best if they come from a single source
    (e) all of the above.
    Answer: (b)
    Flood warnings should provide information on what the threat is, what action should be taken, by whom and when. While it is desirable for flood warnings to be accurate, warnings are predictions about the future, so there is inevitably some uncertainty. Accuracy needs to be balanced with timeliness, to allow enough time for appropriate action. Warnings are most likely to reach different audiences and to be heeded if they come from multiple trusted sources.

    Flood risk refers to:
    (a) the chance of a flood occurring
    (b) the number of people and properties exposed to floodwaters if a flood occurs
    (c) the vulnerability of people and properties that are exposed to floodwaters
    (d) all of the above.
    Answer: (d)
    Flood risk includes both the chance (or probability) of a flood occurring, and the consequences if a flood occurs. The consequences of a flood are in turn affected by the number of people and properties exposed to floodwaters for a flood of a particular size, and the vulnerability of those people and properties. For example, a river might burst its banks regularly, but if this flooding occurs in an isolated area where there are no people or infrastructure, then the risk is low. Similarly, a river might flood very rarely, but if many people and properties are located near this river and they live in dwellings that are vulnerable to water damage, then the flood risk will be greater.

    Which of the following can reduce the risk of flooding?
    (a) zonings and building regulations for new developments
    (b) dams, detention basins and levees
    (c) flood awareness and education programs
    (d) all of the above.
    Answer: (d)
    Flood risk in new developments can be reduced by restricting the location of development (zonings) and placing controls (regulations) on development. In existing developed areas, risk can be reduced by modifying flood behaviour (for example, through dams, detention basins, levees, waterway modifications), property modification measures (for example, land filling, flood proofing, house raising, removing developments), and response modification measures (for example, upgrading flood evacuation routes, flood warnings, flood evacuation planning, flood education programs).

    The Probable Maximum Flood is:
    (a) an estimation of the largest possible flood that could occur at a particular location
    (b) the maximum flood experienced in the last 100 years
    (c) the maximum flood experienced in the last 200 years
    (d) the maximum flood experienced since flood records have existed.
    Answer: (d)
    The Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) is an estimate of the largest possible flood that could occur at a particular location, under the most severe meteorological and hydrological conditions as they are currently understood.

    In the future, which of the following is expected to increase the risk of flooding?
    (a) population growth
    (b) urbanization
    (c) climate change
    (d) all of the above.
    Answer: (d)
    In the future, climate change is likely to result in an increased chance of flash floods and coastal inundation. Australia’s growing population and urbanization are likely to place increased pressure on our waterways and to increase the chance of flooding in cities and the number of properties and people exposed to floodwaters.

    In the future, which of the following is unlikely?
    (a) There will be an increased chance of flash flooding and coastal inundation.
    (b) Flood risk will increase due to population growth and urbanization.
    (c) Improvements in flood forecasting and warning technologies will reduce the impacts of floods.
    (d) We will be able to eliminate the risk of flooding.
    Answer: (d)
    It is not possible to eliminate the risk of flooding. Indeed, it is likely that flood risk will increase in the future due to climate change, population growth and urbanization. However, we can better manage flood risk through improvements in flood forecasting and warning technologies, as well as improved land use planning, floodplain management and integrated water management.

    Higher level of floods and droughts are led by
    (a) sand storms
    (b) lower precipitation
    (c) higher precipitation
    (d) none of the above
    Answer: (c)

    Approximately how fast do tsunami waves travel in the open ocean?
    (a) 100 km/hour
    (b) 1600 km/hour
    (c) 200 km/hour
    (d) 400 km/hour
    (e) 800 km/hour
    Answer: (e)

    Tsunami waves travel between 500 and 950 km/hour.
    What can cause a tsunami?
    (a) Landslide
    (b) Underwater earthquake
    (c) Volcanic eruption
    (d) All of the above
    Tsunamis are usually generated by undersea earthquakes at tectonic plate boundaries, but they can also be triggered by underwater landslides, volcanic eruptions, or even a giant meteor impact with the ocean.

    Do all undersea earthquakes trigger a tsunami?
    (a) Yes
    (b) No
    Answer: (b)
    An undersea earthquake creates a tsunami only if it is of sufficient force and there is a violent enough movement of the seafloor to displace a massive amount of water.

    What does the word “tsunami” mean in Japanese?
    (a) Tidal wave
    (b) Harbor wave
    (c) Killer wave
    (d) Century wave
    Answer: (b)
    English word “tsunami” comes from the Japanese term for “harbor wave.” Tsunamis are not the same things as tidal waves and actually consist of a series of waves.

    Witnesses have said that an approaching tsunami sounds like what?
    (a) Firecrackers exploding
    (b) A freight train
    (c) Ice cracking
    (d) Nothing—there is absolute silence
    Answer: (b)
    Many witnesses have described the sound of an approaching tsunami as being similar to a freight train’s.

    What is the most active tsunami area?
    (a) Pacific Ocean
    (b) Caribbean Sea
    (c) Indian Ocean
    (d) North Atlantic Ocean
    Answer: (a)
    Most tsunamis, about 80 percent, happen within the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire, a geologically active area where tectonic shifts make volcanoes and earthquakes common.

    What is the deadliest tsunami ever recorded?
    (a) The 1782 South China Sea tsunami
    (b) The 1868 northern Chile tsunami
    (c) The 1883 South Java Sea tsunami
    (d) The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
    Answer: (d)
    In 2004 more than 200,000 people—the most ever recorded—died in an Indian Ocean tsunami that was triggered by an earthquake off Sumatra, Indonesia.

    How fast can a tsunami travel?
    (a) Up to 100 miles an hour (160 kilometers an hour)
    (b) Up to 200 miles an hour (320 kilometers an hour)
    (c) Up to 500 miles an hour (800 kilometers an hour
    (d.) Up to 1,000 miles an hour (1,600 kilometers an hour)
    Answer: (c)
    Tsunamis race across the sea at up to 500 miles (805 kilometers) an hour—about as fast as a jet airplane. At that pace they can cross the entire expanse of the Pacific Ocean in less than a day.

    Can you detect a tsunami in the open ocean?
    (a) Yes
    (b) No
    Answer: (b)
    No. In the open ocean, the wave length of a tsunami is hundreds of miles long and only a few feet high. Boaters are safer out at sea during a tsunami than close to shore or tied up at port.

    Where was the largest tsunami in history recorded?
    (a) India
    (b) Philippines
    (c) Chile
    (d) Japan
    Answer: (d)
    In 1971 a wall of water 278 feet (84.7 meters) high surged past Ishigaki Island, Japan. It moved a 750-block of coral 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) closer to shore but did little other damage.

    What is frequently a warning sign of an impending tsunami?
    (a) Winds suddenly change direction
    (b) The sky suddenly clears
    (c) Seawater suddenly retreats from the shore
    (d) All of the above
    Answer: (c)
    If the tsunami’s trough reaches shore first, it sucks the water seaward, exposing the seafloor suddenly. The wave’s crest usually hits shore about five minutes later. Recognizing this phenomenon—and getting to higher ground immediately—can save lives.

    Which one of the following is an example of non-renewable resources?
    (a) Wind
    (b) Water
    (c) Vegetation
    (d) Coal and minerals
    Answer: (d)

    Which of the following is a renewable resource?
    (a) Soil
    (b) Water
    (c) Flora and fauna
    (d) All the above
    Answer: (d)

    _____ of stratosphere provides protection to our life.
    (a) Nitrogen
    (b) Hydrogen
    (c) Ozone
    (d) Argon
    Answer: 3

    The life supporting gases such as O2, CO2 and N2 are chiefly concentrated in the_______.
    (a) Troposphere
    (b) Exosphere
    (c) Homosphere
    (d) Stratosphere
    Answer: (a)

    Which of the following soil is the best for plant growth?
    (a) Sandy soil
    (b) Clay
    (c) Gravel
    (d) Loamy soil
    Answer: (d)

    Both power and manure are provided by _______.
    (a) Thermal plants
    (b) Nuclear plants
    (c) Biogas plants
    (d) Hydroelectric plants
    Answer: (c)

    In the atmosphere, the layer above the troposphere is _____.
    (a) Stratosphere
    (b) Exosphere
    (c) Mesosphere
    (d) Thermosphere
    Answer: (a)

    ______ is the major raw material for biogas.
    (a) Plant leaves
    (b) Cow dung
    (c) Mud
    (d) Grass
    Answer: (b)

    A biosphere reserve conserves and preserves_______.
    (a) Wild animals
    (b) Wild land
    (c) Natural vegetation
    (d) All the above
    Answer: (d)

    Atomic energy is obtained by using ores of_______.
    (a) Copper
    (b) Uranium
    Answer: (b)

    Sanctuaries are established to_______.
    (a) Rear animals for milk
    (b) Entrap animals
    (c) Protect animals
    (d) None of the above
    Answer: (c)
    An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be protected for the rest of their lives. Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, instead maintaining each animal until his or her natural death. At present there are 99 Wildlife Sanctuaries in Pakistan

    The death of the last individual of a species is called_______.
    (a) Extinction
    (b) Clad
    (c) Neither (a) nor (b)
    (d) Species diversity
    Answer: (a)
    In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms (taxon), normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point.

    Which one of the following is not a fossil fuel?
    (a) Natural gas
    (b) Petrol
    (c) Coal
    (d) Uranium
    Answer: (d)
    Fossil fuels are sources of energy that have developed within the earth over millions of years. Because fossil fuels – oil, natural gas, and coal – take so long to form, they are considered nonrenewable

    Biogas generation is mainly based on the principle of_______.
    (a) Fermentation
    (b) Degradation
    (c) Putrification
    (d) Both (a) and (b)
    Answer: (a)
    The biogas plant operating on the principle of a wet anaerobic fermentation process was selected for the determination of the composition of in-put raw material which is determinative for the final biogas quality. The biogas plant is designed as an accumulation through-flow device. The biogas production takes place during the wet fermentation process in the mesophile operation (average temperature 40°C). The produced biogas is used in a cogeneration unit. The biogas plant operates in automatic mode.

    Floods can be prevented by_______.
    (a) Afforestation
    (b) Cutting the forests
    (c) Tilling the land
    (d) Removing the top soil
    Answer: (a)
    Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no forest. Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover, either naturally (by natural seeding, coppice, or root suckers) or artificially (by direct seeding or planting).
    Afforestation Trees are planted near to the river. This means greater interception of rainwater and lower river discharge. This is a relatively low cost option, which enhances the environmental quality of the drainage basin.

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    General Science & Ability | Constituents and Structure Solved MCQs (Set-III)

    Click HERE for Q.No.1-50
    Click HERE for Q.No.51-100

    101) Which type of star is maintained by the pressure of an electron gas?
    (a) Main Sequence Star
    (b) White Dwarf
    (c) Neutron Star
    (d) Black Hole
    Answer: (b)
    White dwarfs are stars supported by pressure of degenerate electron gas. i.e. in their interiors thermal energy kT is much smaller then Fermi energy Ep. We shall derive the equations of structure of white dwarfs, sometimes called degenerate dwarfs, in the limiting case when their thermal pressure may be neglected, but the degenerate electron gas may be either non-relativistic. somewhat relativistic. or ultra-relativistic.

    102) Which of the following first hypothesized that the Earth orbited the sun?
    (a) Alexander the Great
    (b) Copernicus
    (c) Socrates
    (d) Tycho Brahe
    Answer: (b)
    Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the universe.

    103) The LAST manned moon flight was made in what year?
    (a) 1971 (b) 1972
    (c) 1973 (d) 1974
    Answer: (b)
    The last manned landing Apollo 17 on the Moon to date, which took place on December 11, 1972, was made by Commander Eugene Cernan and lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt who was also the first scientist on the Moon.

    104) A planet is said to be at aphelion when it is:
    (a) closest to the sun
    (b) farthest from the sun
    (c) at it’s highest point above the ecliptic
    (d) at it’s lowest point below the ecliptic
    Answer: (b)

    105) The word Albedo refers to which of the following?
    (a) The wobbling motion of a planet
    (b) The amount of light a planet reflects
    (c) The phase changes of a planet
    (d) The brightness of a star
    Answer: (b)
    Albedo is a measure of the reflectivity of a surface. The albedo effect when applied to the Earth is a measure of how much of the Sun’s energy is reflected back into space. Overall, the Earth’s albedo has a cooling effect. (The term ‘albedo’ is derived from the Latin for ‘whiteness’).

    106) A pulsar is actually a:
    (a) black hole
    (b) white dwarf
    (c) red giant
    (d) neutron star
    Answer: (d)

    107) Astronomers use Cepheid’s principally as measures of what? Is it:
    (a) size
    (b) speed
    (c) chemical composition
    (d) distance
    Answer: (d)

    108) Where are most asteroids located? Is it between:
    (a) Jupiter and Saturn
    (b) Mars and Venus
    (c) Earth and Mars
    (d) Mars and Jupiter
    Answer: (d)

    109) The precession of the Earth refers to the:
    (a) change from night to day.
    (b) Earth’s motion around the sun.
    (c) change in orientation of the Earth’s axis.
    (d) effect of the moon on the Earth’s orbit.
    Answer: (c)
    Precession is the change in orientation of the Earth’s rotational axis. The precession cycle takes about 19,000 – 23,000 years. Precession is caused by two factors: a wobble of the Earth’s axis and a turning around of the elliptical orbit of the Earth itself (Thomas, 2002). Obliquity affected the tilt of the Earth’s axis, precession affects the direction of the Earth’s axis. The change in the axis location changes the dates of perihelion (closest distance from sun) and aphelion (farthest distance from sun), and this increases the seasonal contrast in one hemisphere while decreasing it in the other hemisphere ( Kaufman, 2002). currently, the Earth is closest to the sun in the northern hemisphere winter, which makes the winters there less severe (Thomas, 2002). Another consequence of precession is a shift in the celestial poles. 5000 years ago the North Star was Thuban in the constellation Draco. Currently the North Star is Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor.

    110) The Magellanic cloud is a:
    (a) nebula
    (b) galaxy
    (c) super nova remnant
    (d) star cluster
    Answer: (b)

    111) The comet known as Halley’s Comet has an average period of:
    (a) 56 years
    (b) 66 years
    (c) 76 years
    (d) 86 years
    Answer: (c)
    Halley’s Comet orbits the Sun every 76.0 years and has an orbital eccentricity of 0.97. Comet Halley was visible in 1910 and again in 1986. Its next perihelion passage will be in early 2062.

    112) Which one of the following planets has no moons?
    (a) Mars
    (b) Neptune
    (c) Venus
    (d) Jupiter
    Answer: (c)

    113) The rocks that enter the earth’s atmosphere and blaze a trail all the way to the ground and do not burn up completely are known as:
    (a) meteorites
    (b) meteors
    (c) asteroids
    (d) none of these
    Answer: (a)
    A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the Earth’s atmosphere and impact with the Earth’s surface

    114) 95% of the Martian atmosphere is composed of what substance?
    (a) Carbon dioxide
    (b) Nitrogen
    (c) Argon
    (d) Carbon monoxide
    Answer: (a)
    The atmosphere of Mars is about 100 times thinner than Earth’s, and it is 95 percent carbon dioxide.

    115) What is the motion called when a planet seems to be moving westward in the sky?
    (a) Retrograde
    (b) Parallax
    (c) Opcentric
    (d) Reverse parallax
    Answer: (a)
    Retrograde motion, in astronomy, describes the orbit of a celestial body that runs counter to the direction of the spin of that body which it orbits. Apparent retrograde motion, in astronomy, is the apparent motion of planets as observed from a particular vantage point.

    116) In what year did Galileo first use an optical telescope to study the moon?
    (a) 1492 (b) 1611
    (c) 1212 (d) 1743
    Answer: (b)

    117) Geocentric means around:
    (a) Jupiter (b) the Earth
    (c) the Moon (d) the Sun
    Answer: (b)

    118) The Pythagoreans appear to have been the first to have taught that the Earth is:
    (a) at the center of the Universe.
    (b) spherical in shape.
    (c) orbits around the sun.
    (d) flat with sharp edges.
    Answer: (b)

    119) A device which would not work on the Moon is:
    (a) thermometer
    (b) siphon
    (c) spectrometer
    (d) spring balance
    Answer: (b)
    Siphons will not work in the International Space Station where there is air but no gravity, but neither will they work on the Moon where there is gravity but no air

    120) Of the following colors, which is bent least in passing through aprism?
    (a) orange (b) violet
    (c) green (d) red
    Answer: (d)

    121) In a reflecting telescope where in the tube is the objective mirror placed?
    (a) the top to the tube
    (b) the middle of the tube
    (c) the bottom of the tube
    (d) the side of the tube
    Answer: (c)

    122) What does it mean when someone says that comets have eccentric orbits? Does it mean
    (a) they have open orbits
    (b) they have nearly circular orbits
    (c) their orbits are unpredictable
    (d) the sun is far from the foci of their orbits
    Answer: (d)

    123) What causes the gas tail of a comet to always point away from the sun?
    (a) solar wind
    (b) air pressure
    (c) centrifugal force
    (d) gravity
    Answer: (a)

    124) What are Saturn’s rings composed of?
    (a) completely connected solid masses
    (b) billions of tiny solid particles
    (c) mixtures of gases
    (d) highly reflective cosmic clouds
    Answer: (b)

    125) Of the following, which is the only planet which CANNOT be seen with the unaided eye?
    (a) Jupiter
    (b) Mars
    (c) Neptune
    (d) Saturn
    Answer: (c)
    The ice giant Neptune was the first planet located through mathematical predictions rather than through regular observations of the sky. Nearly 4.5 billion kilometers (2.8 billion miles) from the Sun, Neptune orbits the Sun once every 165 years. It is invisible to the naked eye because of its extreme distance from Earth. In 2011 Neptune completed its first orbit since its discovery in 1846.

    126) Accretion is:
    (a) the gradual accumulation of matter in one location usually due to gravity.
    (b) the process of moon formation for planets.
    (c) the process of matter accumulation due to centripetal force.
    (d) the disintegration of matter.
    Answer: (b)

    127) A blue shift means a Doppler shift of light from a(an)
    (a) receding star.
    (b) blue star.
    (c) approaching star.
    (d) fixed star.
    Answer: (c)
    In the Doppler effect for visible light, the frequency is shifted toward the blue end of the spectrum when the light source (such as a star) is approaching.

    128) The first and largest asteroid discovered was:
    (a) Pallas.
    (b) Juno.
    (c) Ceres.
    (d) Trojan.
    Answer: (c)

    129) The Crab Nebula consists of the remnants of a supernova which was observed by:
    (a) Brahe in 1572.
    (b) Kepler and Galileo in 1604.
    (c) the Chinese in 1054 A.D.
    (d) several ancient civilizations in 236 B.C.
    Answer: (c)
    The Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova noted by Earth-bound chroniclers in 1054 A.D., is filled with mysterious filaments that are are not only tremendously complex, but appear to have less mass than expelled in the original supernova and a higher speed than expected from a free explosion. The Crab Nebula spans about 10 light-years. In the nebula’s very center lies a pulsar: a neutron star as massive as the Sun but with only the size of a small town. The Crab Pulsar rotates about 30 times each second.

    130) The atmosphere of Venus contains mostly
    (a) oxygen
    (b) carbon dioxide
    (c) nitrogen
    (d) water
    Answer: (b)
    The atmosphere of Venus is composed of about 96% carbon dioxide, with most … various other corrosive compounds, and the atmosphere contains little water.

    131) On the celestial sphere, the annual path of the Sun is called
    (a) the eclipse path.
    (b) ecliptic.
    (c) diurnal.
    (d) solstice.
    Answer: (b)
    The ecliptic is an imaginary line on the sky that marks the annual path of the sun. It is the projection of Earth’s orbit onto the celestial sphere.

    132) The angular distance between a planet and the Sun, as viewed from the Earth, is called
    (a) angle of inclination.
    (b) elongation.
    (c) latitude.
    (d) opposition.
    Answer: (b)
    Elongation is the angular distance between the sun, and another object such a moon or a planet as seen from earth. There are several special names for these angular distances. The different names of these angles depend on the status, inferior or superior, of the planet. The planets closer to the sun than the earth are called inferior planets. The planets farther away from the sun than earth are called superior planets.
    Elongation is measured from earth as the angle between the sun and the planet. Sometimes the apparent relative position of a planet in relation to the sun is called the aspect, or configuration, of a planet.

    133) Which of the following has the highest density?
    (a) Earth
    (b) Venus
    (c) Mars
    (d) Jupiter
    Answer: (a)
    Earth has the highest density of any planet in the Solar System, at 5.514 g/cm3. This is considered the standard by which other planet’s densities are measured. In addition, the combination of Earth’s size, mass and density also results in a surface gravity of 9.8 m/s². This is also used as a the standard (one g) when measuring the surface gravity of other planets.

    134) Which of the following planets is NOT a terrestrial planet?
    (a) Earth
    (b) Jupiter
    (c) Mars
    (d) Mercury
    Answer: (b)
    The term terrestrial planet is derived from the Latin “Terra” (i.e. Earth). Terrestrial planets are therefore those that are “Earth-like”, meaning they are similar in structure and composition to planet Earth. All those planets found within the Inner Solar System – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars – are examples of terrestrial planets. Each are composed primarily of silicate rock and metal, which is differentiated between a dense, metallic core and a silicate mantle.

    135) Why do we see lunar eclipses much more often than solar eclipses?
    (a) Lunar eclipses occur more often than solar eclipses.
    (b) Lunar eclipses last longer than solar eclipses.
    (c) The lunar eclipse is visible to much more of the Earth than a solar eclipse.
    (d) The moon is closer to the Earth than the sun.
    Answer: (c)
    Lunar and solar eclipses occur with about equal frequency. Lunar eclipses are more widely visible because Earth casts a much larger shadow on the Moon during a lunar eclipse than the Moon casts on Earth during a solar eclipse. As a result, we are more likely to see a lunar eclipse than a solar eclipse.

    136) A star like object with a very large red shift is a
    (a) Neutron star.
    (b) Nova.
    (c) Quasar.
    (d) Supernova.
    Answer: (c)
    Quasars: In the 1930’s, Edwin Hubble discovered that all galaxies have a positive redshift. In other words, all galaxies were receding from the Milky Way.

    137) The apparent magnitude of an object in the sky describes its
    (a) Size
    (b) Magnification
    (c) Brightness
    (d) Distance
    Answer: (c)

    138) The Van Allen belts are:
    (a) caused by the refraction of sunlight like rainbows.
    (b) charged particles trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field.
    (c) caused by the reflection of polar snow.
    (d) caused by precession.
    Answer: (b)
    The Van Allen belts are a collection of charged particles, gathered in place by Earth’s magnetic field. They can wax and wane in response to incoming energy from the sun, sometimes swelling up enough to expose satellites in low-Earth orbit to damaging radiation.

    139) A coordinate system based on the ecliptic system is especially useful for the studies of
    (a) Planets
    (b) Stars
    (c) The Milky Way
    (d) Galaxies
    Answer: (a)

    140) The mean distance of the earth from the sun in astronomical units is:
    (a) 3.7 (b) 10
    (c) 1 (d) 101
    Answer: (c)
    In astronomy, an astronomical unit is defined as the average distance from the Sun to the Earth, or about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles). You can abbreviate astronomical unit as AU.
    Since the distances in astronomy are so vast, astronomers use this measurement to bring the size of numbers down.
    For example, Earth is 1 au from the Sun, and Mars is 1.523 AU. That’s much easier than saying that Mars is 227,939,000 km away from the Sun.

    141) What process produces a star’s energy?
    (a) hydrogen and oxygen combustion
    (b) nuclear fusion
    (c) neutron beta decay
    (d) nuclear fission
    Answer: (b)
    The enormous luminous energy of the stars comes from nuclear fusion processes in their centers. Depending upon the age and mass of a star, the energy may come from proton-proton fusion, helium fusion, or the carbon cycle.

    142) What is the most distant object in the sky that the human eye can see without optical instruments?
    (a) The Horsehead Nebula
    (b) The Andromeda Galaxy
    (c) The Sagittarius Constellation
    (d) The Aurora Borealis
    Answer: (b)
    The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the closest large galaxy to the Milky Way and is one of a few galaxies that can be seen unaided from the Earth. In approximately 4.5 billion years the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way are expected to collide and the result will be a giant elliptical galaxy. Andromeda is accompanied by 14 dwarf galaxies, including M32, M110, and possibly M33 (The Triangulum Galaxy).

    143) Which civilization developed and implemented the first solar calendar?
    (a) Babylonian
    (b) Greek
    (c) Egyptian
    (d) Aztec
    Answer: (c)
    A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun and is based on the seasonal year of approximately 365 1/4 days, the time it takes the Earth to revolve once around the Sun. The Egyptians appear to have been the first to develop a solar calendar, using as a fixed point the annual sunrise reappearance of the Dog Star — Sirius, or Sothis — in the eastern sky, which coincided with the annual flooding of the Nile River. They constructed a calendar of 365 days, consisting of 12 months of 30 days each, with 5 days added at the year’s end. The Egyptians’ failure to account for the extra fraction of a day, however, caused their calendar to drift gradually into error.

    144) What is the HOTTEST region of the sun?
    (a) The core
    (b) The photosphere
    (c) The chromospheres
    (d) The corona
    Answer: (d)
    The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun, starting at about 1300 miles (2100 km) above the solar surface (the photosphere) The temperature in the corona is 500,000 K (900,000 degrees F, 500,000 degrees C) or more, up to a few million K. The corona cannot be seen with the naked eye except during a total solar eclipse, or with the use of a coronagraph. The corona does not have an upper limit.
    A study published in 2012 in Nature Communications by researchers at Northumbria University found a possible mechanism that causes some stars to have a corona that is almost 200 times hotter than their photosphere (the star’s surface).

    145) The same side of the moon always faces the Earth because:
    (a) the moon is not rotating about its axis.
    (b) the moon’s motion was fixed at its creation by the laws of inertia.
    (c) tidal forces keep the moon’s rotation and orbiting motion in sync with each other.
    (d) the moon’s magnetic poles keep aligned with the Earth’s magnetic field.
    Answer: (b)

    146) The resolving power of a telescope depends on the:
    (a) focal ratio
    (b) diameter of the objective
    (c) magnification
    (d) focal length
    Answer: (b)
    The resolving power of a telescope depends on the diameter of the telescope’s light-gathering apparatus, or objective. In a refracting telescope, the objective lens is the first lens the light passes through. In a reflecting telescope, the objective is the telescope’s primary mirror. In a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, the objective is also the primary mirror. As the diameter of the telescope’s objective increases, the resolving power increases.

    147) On a clear, dark, moonless night, approximately how many stars can be seen with the naked eye?
    (a) 300 (b) 1,000
    (c) 3,000 (d) 10,000
    Answer: (c)
    On any clear dark moonless night a person can see about 3000 stars of our galaxy without the aid of a telescope

    148) The study of the origin and evolution of the universe is known as:
    (a) Tomography
    (b) cystoscopy
    (c) cryology
    (d) cosmology
    Answer: (d)
    Cosmology is the branch of astronomy involving the origin and evolution of the universe, from the Big Bang to today and on into the future. According to NASA, the definition of cosmology is “the scientific study of the large scale properties of the universe as a whole.”

    149) According to Kepler’s Laws, all orbits of the planets are:
    (a) ellipses
    (b) parabolas
    (c) hyperbolas
    (d) square
    Answer: (a)
    Johannes Kepler, working with data painstakingly collected by Tycho Brahe without the aid of a telescope, developed three laws which described the motion of the planets across the sky.
    1. The Law of Orbits: All planets move in elliptical orbits, with the sun at one focus.
    2. The Law of Areas: A line that connects a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
    3. The Law of Periods: The square of the period of any planet is proportional to the cube of the semimajor axis of its orbit.
    Kepler’s laws were derived for orbits around the sun, but they apply to satellite orbits as well.