On this day: 8 September

The funeral of Augustus takes place. His body is cremated and placed in his mausoleum.

Li Yuan defeated a Sui army at the Battle of Huoyi, opening the path to his capture of the Chinese imperial capital Chang'an and the eventual establishment of the Tang dynasty.

Philip of Swabia, Prince of Hohenstaufen, is crowned King of Germany (King of the Romans).

The Statute of Kalisz, guaranteeing Jews safety and personal liberties and giving battei din jurisdiction over Jewish matters, is promulgated by Bolesław the Pious, Duke of Greater Poland.

Stefan Dušan declares himself king of Serbia.

The Battle of Adramyttion begins in which a Christian naval league defeats a Turkish fleet in several encounters.

Battle of Kulikovo: Russian forces defeat a mixed army of Tatars and Mongols, stopping their advance.

Michelangelo's David is unveiled in Piazza della Signoria in Florence.

Battle of Orsha: In one of the biggest battles of the century, Lithuanians and Poles defeat the Russian army.

Magellan–Elcano circumnavigation: Victoria arrives at Seville, completing the first circumnavigation.

St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the contiguous United States, was founded by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés.

Ottoman–Habsburg wars: Ottoman forces led by Suleiman the Magnificent captured the fortress of Szigetvár in Hungary, but were forced to end their campaign to take Vienna.

Warsaw falls without resistance to a small force under the command of Charles X Gustav of Sweden during The Deluge, making it the first time the city is captured by a foreign army.

J. S. Bach led the first performance of Geist und Seele wird verwirret, a solo cantata for alto voice.

French and Indian War: Kittanning Expedition.

French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Hondschoote.

French Revolutionary Wars: The French defeated Austrian forces in Bassano, Venetia, Italy.

French Revolutionary Wars: Led by Napoleon, French forces defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Bassano in Veneto, Italy.

The Treaty of Paris is signed ending the French military occupation of Prussia.

The Tonquin sets sail from New York Harbor with 33 employees of John Jacob Astor's newly created Pacific Fur Company on board.

Crimean War: The French assault the tower of Malakoff, leading to the capture of Sevastopol.

Millennium of Russia monument is unveiled in Novgorod.

American Civil War: In the Second Battle of Sabine Pass, a small Confederate force thwarts a Union invasion of Texas.

The Northern Pacific Railway (reporting mark NP) was completed in a ceremony at Gold Creek, Montana. Former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in an event attended by rail and political luminaries.

Isaac Peral's submarine is first tested.

The Great Herding (Spanish: El Gran Arreo) begins with thousands of sheep being herded from the Argentine outpost of Fortín Conesa to Santa Cruz near the Strait of Magellan.

The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited.

Gertrude Stein meets her life partner and muse, Alice B. Toklas in Paris.

In a bid to prove that women were capable of serving as military dispatch riders, Augusta and Adeline Van Buren arrive in Los Angeles, completing a 60-day, 5,500 mile cross-country trip on motorcycles.

In Atlantic City, New Jersey, Margaret Gorman (pictured) was crowned the "Golden Mermaid", the forerunner to the Miss America pageant.

Rif War: Spanish forces including troops from the Foreign Legion under Colonel Francisco Franco landing at Al Hoceima, Morocco.

Germany is admitted to the League of Nations.

Ghazi bin Faisal became King of Iraq.

World War II: German forces begin the Siege of Leningrad.

World War II: The Armistice of Cassibile is proclaimed by radio. OB Süd immediately implements plans to disarm the Italian forces.

World War II: London is hit by a V-2 rocket for the first time.

The division of Korea begins when United States troops arrive to partition the southern part of Korea in response to Soviet troops occupying the northern part of the peninsula a month earlier.

A referendum abolishes the monarchy in Bulgaria.

The flag of North Korea is adopted with the passing of the country's first constitution by the Supreme People's Assembly.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation makes its first televised broadcast on the second escape of the Boyd Gang.

Eight nations signed a collective-defense treaty in Manila to create the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (flag pictured), modelled on NATO.

In Huntsville, Alabama, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally dedicates the Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA had already activated the facility on July 1).

The science fiction show Star Trek made its American premiere with "The Man Trap", launching a media franchise that has since created a cult phenomenon and has influenced the design of many current technologies.

In Washington, D.C., the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is inaugurated, with the opening feature being the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass.

Gays in the military: US Air Force Tech Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, appears in his Air Force uniform on the cover of Time magazine with the headline "I Am A Homosexual". He is given a general discharge, later upgraded to honorable.

Yellowstone National Park is closed for the first time in U.S. history due to ongoing fires.

Construction began on the Dhammakaya Cetiya, a giant stupa at the Wat Phra Dhammakaya, a Buddhist temple in Pathum Thani, Thailand.

NASA launches Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-106 to resupply the International Space Station.

NASA launches OSIRIS-REx, its first asteroid sample return mission. The probe visited 101955 Bennu and returned with samples in September 2023.

Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announce the beginning of the Deir ez-Zor campaign, with the stated aim of eliminating the Islamic State (IS) from all areas north and east of the Euphrates.

The 2023 Rugby World Cup, the tenth men's Rugby World Cup is held in France. The opening ceremony, directed and written by Jean Dujardin, Olivier Ferracci and Nora Matthey, took place at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, before the opening match between France and New Zealand, which saw the host nation winning 27 to 13.