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This Day in History

September 12, 2026

South African Anti-Apartheid Activist Steve Biko Dies in Police Custody (1977)

A former medical student, Biko founded the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa in 1968 to combat racism and apartheid. He was officially "banned" by the South African government in 1973 and was arrested several times in the years that followed. Arrested for the last time in 1977, he was tortured and beaten to death in police custody, prompting international protests and a UN arms embargo. Twenty years later, five former policemen admitted killing him. Why were they never prosecuted?

September 11, 2026

9/11 Terrorist Attacks (2001)

On September 11, 2001, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. They crashed two planes into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City and flew a third into the Pentagon building in Virginia. Passengers on the fourth flight attempted to retake control of the aircraft, but it crashed in a Pennsylvania field. The devastating terrorist attacks of 9/11 were responsible for 2,996 deaths and countless more injuries. What were the environmental consequences of 9/11?

September 10, 2026

People of Gibraltar Vote to Remain a British Dependency (1967)

A rocky peninsula on the southern tip of Spain, the Rock of Gibraltar was held by the Moors from 711 to 1462, annexed by Spain in 1501, and captured by the British in 1704. After more than 200 years as a British crown colony, the people of Gibraltar participated in a national referendum and rejected a proposal to transfer control of Gibraltar to Spain, choosing instead for it to remain a British territory. What were the results of a 2002 referendum proposing shared British-Spanish sovereignty?