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THURSDAY, Sept.10, 2026

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Summary

Thursday, Sept. 10 is marked by several historical events, including Nathan Hale volunteering as a spy for George Washington in 1776 and Oliver Hazard Perry defeating the British in the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. The date also recalls Elias Howe’s 1846 sewing machine patent and the 1924 guilty verdict in the murder of Bobby Franks in Chicago. Other entries include the 2008 powering up of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Geneva and the 2020 growth of California’s August Complex wildfire into the state’s largest recorded fire.


Key Facts

  • In 1924, Leopold and Loeb were found guilty of the murder of Bobby Franks in Chicago in the crime of the century.
  • In 1977, Hamida Djandoubi, convicted of torture and murder, was the last person executed by guillotine in France.
  • In 2008, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN was powered up in Geneva, Switzerland.
  • In 2020, California's August Complex wildfire became the largest recorded in state history at 471,000 acres, or 736 square miles.
  • Published Sep 9, 2026 11:30 am KST

1776-George Washington asks for a spy, and Nathan Hale volunteers

1813-American naval commander Oliver Hazard Perry defeats the British in the Battle of Lake Erie

1846-Elias Howe takes out a U.S. patent for a lockstitch sewing machine

1924-Leopold and Loeb are found guilty of the murder of Bobby Franks in Chicago in "the crime of the century"

1965-Great Britain performs a nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site in the U.S.

1976-Five Croatian terrorists hijack TWA flight 355 from LaGuardia Airport, New York headed to Chicago, Illinois to advocate Croat independence from Yugoslavia; plane redirected to Paris, France where arrests are made

1977-Hamida Djandoubi, convicted of torture and murder, is the last person to be executed by guillotine in France

2008-The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, described as the biggest scientific experiment in the history of mankind, is powered up in Geneva, Switzerland

2020-California's August Complex wildfire becomes the largest recorded in state history at 471,000 acres (736 square miles)

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