Sept. 14 (UPI) — On this date in history:
In 1901, U.S. President William McKinley died of wounds inflicted by an assassin eight days earlier. He was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt.
1 of 7 | On September 14, 1959, the Soviet probe Luna 2 — known informally as Lunik 2 — became the first Earth-launched space vehicle to land on the moon. File Photo by Ismael Mohamad/UPI | License Photo
In 1920, the first live radio dance music was broadcast, carried by a Detroit station and featuring Paul Specht and his orchestra.
In 1959, the Soviet probe Luna 2 — known informally as Lunik 2 — became the first Earth-launched space vehicle to land on the moon.
In 1960, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was founded.
OPEC ministers meet in Moscow on December 23, 2008. File Photo by Anatoli Zhdanov/UPI
In 1975, Pope Paul VI canonized Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint.
In 1982, Princess Grace of Monaco — American film actress Grace Kelly — was killed when her car plunged off a mountain road by the Cote D’Azur. She was 52.
In 1991, the South African government, ANC, Inkatha Freedom Party and 20 other anti-apartheid groups signed a peace accord to end black factional violence.
In 1996, Bosnians elected a three-person collective presidency: one Muslim, one Serb and one Croat.
In 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush proclaimed this to be a day of national mourning and remembrance for those killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The FBI identified the hijackers and said several had taken flying lessons in Florida.
In 2003, authorities said an estimated 124 people were dead or missing after South Korea was struck by the most powerful typhoon to hit the country in a century.
In 2005, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, the third and fourth largest U.S. air carriers, filed for bankruptcy as the industry reeled under record high jet fuel costs.
In 2008, the U.S. brokerage firm Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank of America for $50 billion and Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy after it failed to find a buyer.
File Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/UPI
In 2010, U.S. hiker Sarah Shourd, imprisoned in Iran on charges of espionage for more than a year after she and two male companions were accused of illegally crossing into Iranian territory, was released on $500,000 bail. The men — Shane Bauer, her fiance, and Josh Fattal — were freed just over a year later.
In 2023, the U.S. Justice Department indicted Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, on felony gun charges. He was the first child of a sitting president to be charged by the department.
File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI