1873: Cetshwayo becomes King of the Zulu.
1905: The territories of Alberta and Saskatchewan become part of Canada.
1914: Martha, the last known passenger pigeon on earth, dies in Cincinatti Zoo.
1923: The Great Kantō Earthquake in Japan kills 105 000 people in Tokyo and Yokohama.
1939: Germany invades Poland, starting the European phase of World War Two.
1969: A coup in Libya brings Muammar Gaddafi to power.
1991: Uzbekistan declares independence from the USSR.
Born:
1923: Rocky Marciano, American boxer.
1926: Abdur Rahman Biswas, tenth President of Bangladesh.
1939: Lily Tomlin, American actress, known for 9 to 5 and (more recently) Grace and Frankie.
1946: Barry Gibb, musician, founding member of The Bee Gees.
1957: Gloria Estefan, Cuban-American musician.
1988: Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladeshi cricket test captain.
Died:
1967: Siegfried Sassoon, British poet.
1 September is Constitution Day in Slovakia, Journalist Day in Taiwan, International Random Acts of Kindness Day, and the first day of school in North America, Europe and parts of Asia.