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September 1.
1715. After 72 years of reign, the longest of any monarch in European history, King Louis XIV of France, the Sun King, dies.
1870. The Battle of Sedan, between the forces of Prussia and France. The Prussian forces won a decisive victory, including the capture of Emperor Napoleon III. The result effectively decided the war, though fighting would continue for some time yet. The fighting would continue under a provisional government, however, as the Second French Empire collapsed immediately upon Napoleon III's capture, in a bloodless revolution. As a result of the Prussian victory in the war, the territory of Alsace-Lorraine was taken from France and made part of Germany, where it would remain as a bone of contention until it was given back to France following the end of WWI.
1897. The Boston subway opens, becoming the first underground rapid transit system in North America.
1939. After the staged attack on a German radio station (described yesterday), the German Wehrmacht invades Poland. With overwhelming numerical and equipment advantages, and the impact of its "new" blitzkrieg assault -- Polish defenses quickly crumble.
1939. George Catlett Marshall becomes Chief of Staff of the United States Army. He brings to the job with him a list of young, promising soldiers whom he intends to elevate as quickly as possible through the ranks, notwithstanding their technically junior status in the hide-bound US Army which has traditionally valued length of service above all other qualifications. Within three years, he will grow the US Army by a factor of 40.
1969. A revolution in Libya brings Muammar al-Gaddafi to power.
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