Historical Events
- Sep 1 4th Chicago College All-Star Game: All-Stars beat Green Bay, 6-0; 84,560 at Soldier Field
- Sep 1 Battle of Gijon in Spain begins
The Prisoner of Zenda
Sep 2 Film "The Prisoner of Zenda" based on the novel and play by Anthony Hope, starring Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is released
- Sep 2 US Housing Authority created by National Housing Act
- Sep 4 15-year-old cyclist Doris Kopsky becomes 1st Amateur Bicycle League of America woman's national champion in 4:22.4 in Buffalo, NY
- Sep 5 Spanish Civil War: Llanes falls
- Sep 6 Spanish Civil War: The start of the Battle of El Mazuco
- Sep 8 Pan Arab conference about Palestine opens
- Sep 10 2nd American Football League plays 1st game (LA 21, Pittsburgh 0)
- Sep 10 Cleveland (Los Angeles) Rams plays their 1st NFL game, lose 28-0
- Sep 11 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: American Don Budge wins first of 2 straight US titles; beats Gottfried von Cramm of Germany 6-1, 7-9, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
- Sep 11 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Anita Lizana of Chile becomes first Latin American to win a major; beats Jadwiga Jędrzejowska of Poland 6-4, 6-2
Neutrality Act of 1937
Sep 14 President Franklin D. Roosevelt bans US ships from trading arms with China or Japan
- Sep 15 Works Progress Administration (WPA) extends L-Taraval streetcar line to San Francisco Zoo, at Sloat Blvd (San Francisco, California)
Redskins First Game
Sep 16 Redskins NFL franchise play first game in Washington at Griffith Stadium; defeat the New York Giants in season opener, 13–3
- Sep 17 1st NFL game in Washington, D.C.; Redskins beat NY Giants 13-3
- Sep 18 The first New Zealand State house opens in Miramar
- Sep 19 Seven convicts take Folsom Prison Warden Clarence Larkin hostage in escape attempt, the warden, a guard, and 2 inmates are killed in ensuing stand-off; 5 remaining prisoners convicted of murder and executed by newly introduced gas chamber in California
The Hobbit
Sep 21 J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" is published by George Allen and Unwin in London
- Sep 22 Date celebrated as the first International Hobbit Day and the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins
- Sep 22 Forest fire kills 14 and injures 50 in Cody, Wyoming
- Sep 22 Spanish Civil War: Peña Blanca is taken; the end of the Battle of El Mazuco.
- Sep 23 Yankees lose 9-5 but clinch pennant when Red Sox beat Detroit
- Sep 25 "il duce" visits Berlin/named "the Fuhrer" to corporal 1st class
- Sep 25 Battle of Pingxingguan Pass: Chinese force defeat the Japanese army in a key battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War
- Sep 27 1st Santa Claus Training School opens (Albion NY)
- Sep 27 Balinese Tiger declared extinct
- Sep 28 FDR dedicates Bonneville Dam on Columbia River (Oregon)
- Sep 29 Frans Slaats cycles a world hour record time (45,563 km)
- Sep 30 Ryder Cup Golf, Southport & Ainsdale GC: US wins 8-4; first time the host team loses the competition
Famous Birthdays
- Sep 1 Al Geiberger, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1966; first sub-60 PGA Tour round 1977; Players Tour C'ship 1975), born in Red Bluff, California
- Sep 1 Ron O'Neal, American actor (Super Fly), born in Utica, New York (d. 2004)
- Sep 2 Derek Fowlds, British actor (Yes Minister, The Basil Brush Show), born in London, England (d. 2020)
Peter Ueberroth (86 years old)
Sep 2 American organizer of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and commissioner of baseball (1984-89), born in Evanston, Illinois
- Sep 3 Willie Bell, Scottish soccer defender (2 caps; Queen's Park FC, Leeds United, Leicester City, Brighton & HA) and manager (Birmingham City, Lincoln City, Liberty Flames), born in Johnstone, Scotland (d. 2023)
Dawn Fraser (86 years old)
Sep 4 Australian swimmer (Olympic gold 100m freestyle 1956, 60, 64; 4×100m freestyle relay 1956), born in Sydney, Australia
- Sep 4 Gene Ludwig, American jazz and R&B Hammond B-3 organist (Sonny Stitt, Arthur Prysock), born in Twin Rocks, Pennsylvania (d. 2010)
- Sep 4 Mikk Mikiver, Estonian actor and director, born in Tallinn, Estonia (d. 2006)
- Sep 5 Antonio Valentín Angelillo, Italian-Argentinian footballer who played for both Argentina and Italy, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2018)
- Sep 6 Brigid Berlin, American actress (Andy Warhol films), born in New York City (d. 2020)
- Sep 6 Irina Solovyova, Russian cosmonaut, born in Tula Oblast, Soviet Union
- Sep 6 Jo Anne Worley, American comedienne (Laugh-in), born in Lowell, Indiana
- Sep 6 Sergio Aragonés, Spanish-Mexican cartoonist (Groo the Wanderer), born in Sant Mateu, Spain
- Sep 7 Cüneyt Arkın, Turkish film actor (The Adam Trilogy), born in Gökçeoğlu village, Alpu, Eskişehir Province, Turkey
- Sep 7 John Phillip Law, American actor (Barbarella, Love Machine), born in Hollywood, California
- Sep 7 Olly Wilson, American composer and founder of TIMARA, born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2018)
- Sep 8 Josef Panáček, Czech sport shooter (Olympic gold skeet 1976), born in Uherské Hradiště, Czech Republic (d. 2022)
- Sep 8 Les Wexner, American businessman (L Brands - Victoria's Secret), born in Dayton, Ohio
- Sep 10 Alun Pask, Welsh rugby union flanker (26 caps; British Lions 8 caps; Abertillery), born in Blackwood, Monmouthshire (d. 1995)
- Sep 10 Jared Diamond, American biologist and author (Guns, Germs and Steel), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Sep 10 Paul Martin Palombo, American composer, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1987)
- Sep 11 Iosif Kobzon, Soviet-Russian singer and businessman, born in Chasiv Yar, Ukraine (d. 2018)
- Sep 11 Paola Ruffo di Calabria, Italian princess and Queen of Belgium (1993-2013), born in Villa Claudia, Forte dei Marmi, Italy
- Sep 11 Robert Crippen, American astronaut (STS 1, 7, 41C, 41G), born in Beaumont, Texas
- Sep 12 Daniela Rocca, Italian actress (Battle of Austerlitz, Empty Canvas), born in Acireale, Italy (d. 1995)
- Sep 12 George Chuvalo, Canadian boxer, born in Toronto, Ontario
- Sep 12 Wes Hall, West Indian cricket fast bowler (48 Tests, 192 wickets; Barbados, Queensland CA, Trinidad) and politician (Minister of Tourism & Sport, Barbados), born in Glebe Land, Station Hill, Barbados
- Sep 13 Don Bluth, American animator and film director (The Secret of NIMH), born in El Paso, Texas
- Sep 13 Fred Silverman, American broadcasting executive and producer (ABC, NBC and CBS), born in New York City (d. 2020)
- Sep 14 Renzo Piano, Italian architect (Whitney Museum of American Art, The Shard), born in Genoa, Italy
- Sep 15 Fernando de la Rúa, Argentine politician, 51st President of Argentina (1999-2001), born in Argentina (d. 2019)
- Sep 15 Les Braid, British bassist (Swinging Blue Jeans - "Hippie-Hippie Shake), born in West Derby, Liverpool, England (d. 2005)
- Sep 15 Robert Lucas, Jr., American economist (1995 Nobel Prize for Economics for rational expectations theory), born in Yakima, Washington
- Sep 15 Tony Yates, American college basketball point guard (National C'ship 1961, 62 Cincinnati Bearcats) and head coach (Cincinnati 1983-89), born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana (d. 2020)
- Sep 16 Aleksandr Medved, Ukrainian freestyle wrestler (Olympic gold USSR heavyweight 1964 68, 72; World C'ship gold x 7), born in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine
- Sep 16 Bella Emberg [Sybil Dyke], British comic actress (The Russ Abbott Show), born in Brighton, England (d. 2018)
- Sep 16 Vince Naimoli, American businessman and MLB team owner (Tampa Bay Devil Rays), born in Paterson, New Jersey (d. 2019)
- Sep 17 Albertine Sarrazin, French author (L'astragale, La Cavale), born in Algiers, Algeria (d. 1967)
- Sep 17 Orlando Cepeda, Puerto Rican Baseball HOF first baseman (11 × MLB All-Star; World Series & NL MVP 1967 St. Louis Cardinals; NL Rookie of the Year 1958 SF Giants; Atlanta Braves), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Sep 18 Norman Dinerstein, American composer, born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 1982)
- Sep 18 Ralph Backstrom, Canadian ice hockey centre (6 x Stanley Cup Montreal Canadiens; 6 x NHL All-Star), born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario (d. 2021)
- Sep 19 Abner Haynes, American AFL running back (AFL MVP 1960; Kansas City Chiefs), born in Denton, Texas
- Sep 19 Paul Siebel, American folk singer and songwriter (Louise; Spanish Johnny), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 2022)
- Sep 20 Birgitta Dahl, Swedish politician (Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden 1994-2002), born in Råda, Härryda Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden
- Sep 20 Margo Guryan, American jazz and pop pianist, songwriter, and singer (“I’m on My Way to Saturday”; "Take a Picture"), born in Hempstead, Long Island, New York (d. 2021)
- Sep 20 Monica Zetterlund, Swedish jazz singer (with Bill Evans - "Waltz For Debby"), and actress, born in Hagfors, Sweden (d. 2005)
- Sep 22 Hameur Hizem, Tunisian soccer coach (Tunisia national team 1970-74, 1978-79, 1980-81; US Monastir), born in Monastir, French Tunisia (d. 2023)
- Sep 22 Jalal Zolfonun, Iranian composer (Gol-e Sadbarg) and setar player (Persian lute), born in Abadeh, Iran (d. 2012)
- Sep 22 Raul Machado, Portuguese soccer centre-back (11 caps; Leixões SC, SL Benfica), born in Matosinhos, Portugal (d. 2023)
- Sep 24 Alan Grose, British vice-admiral
- Sep 25 Michael Gibbs, British jazz composer, arranger, and bandleader (Mike Gibbs + 12 play Gil Evans), born in Harare, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)
- Sep 25 Thomas Kessler, Swiss composer, and electronic music pioneer, born in Zurich, Switzerland
- Sep 26 Joop Admiraal, Dutch actor and director (You Are My Mother), born in Ophemert, Gelderland, Netherlands (d. 2006)
- Sep 26 Valentin Pavlov, Russian politician and Prime Minister of the Soviet Union (1991), born in Moscow, Soviet Union (d. 2003)
- Sep 28 Colin Berry, British pathologist
- Sep 28 Edward Applebaum, American jazz pianist and contemporary classical music composer (The Princess In The Garden), born In Los Angeles, California (d. 2020)
- Sep 28 Rod Roddy, American television announcer (d. 2003)
- Sep 29 Barry Heywood, British director of the British Antarctic Survey (d. 2021)
- Sep 30 Jurek Becker, Polish-born German writer (Jacob the Liar), born in Łódź, Poland (d. 1997)
- Sep 30 Valentin Silvestrov, Ukranian pianist and contemporary classical composer (Melodies of Instances; Quiet Songs), born in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, USSR (now Ukraine)
Famous Weddings
Muriel Spark
Sep 3 Author Muriel Spark (19) weds teacher Sidney Oswald Spark in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia
John Kenneth Galbraith
Sep 17 Economist John Kenneth Galbraith (29) weds author Catherine Atwater (24) at the Reformed Church of North Hempstead in New York
Famous Divorces
- Sep 28 Martha Raye (21) divorces Hamilton "Bud" Westmore (19) on the basis of extreme cruelty
Famous Deaths
- Sep 2 Esther de Farmer-of Rich, actress (Kniertje-On hope of blessing), dies
- Sep 2 Pierre de Coubertin, French educator and historian (founder International Olympic Committee; President IOC 1896–1925), dies of a heart attack at 74
- Sep 4 Giovanni Salviucci, Italian composer, dies at 29
- Sep 6 Henry Kimball Hadley, American composer (Bianca; Streets of Pekin), and conductor (San Francisco Symphony, 1915-18), dies of cancer at 65
- Sep 10 Sergei Tretyakov, Russian constructivist writer, playwright and special correspondent for Pravda, executed by Stalinist regime at 47
- Sep 13 Ellis Parker Butler, American author (Pigs is Pigs), dies at 67
Tomáš Masaryk (1850-1937)
Sep 14 Czech philosopher and 1st President of Czechoslovakia (1918-35), dies at 87
- Sep 15 Clifford Heatherley, English actor (For Love or Money, Cash), dies at 48
- Sep 21 Henri Capitant, French lawyer (Loi Falcidie), dies at 72
- Sep 23 Caro Roma [Carrie Northey], American composer and singer, dies at 68
- Sep 24 Clarence Larkin, American prison warden (Folsom Prison, California), dies from injuries inflicted during attempted prison break at 46
- Sep 26 Bessie Smith, American blues singer known as the "Empress of the Blues" (recorded over 200 songs), dies of injuries sustained in car crash at 43
- Sep 26 Edward A. Filene, American entrepreneur and philanthropist, dies at 77
- Sep 29 Ray Ewry, American track and field athlete (8 Olympic golds 1900, 04, 08), dies at 63
