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1939 87 years ago Selected Events September 9 5 sources

World War II: About 3,000 Polish Army troops began a nearly month-long defence of the Hel Peninsula during the German invasion of Poland.

On September 9, in the year 1939, World War II: About 3,000 Polish Army troops began a nearly month-long defence of the Hel Peninsula during the German invasion of Poland. This event is recorded as a Selected Events event in the history of September 9, one of 457 recorded events on this date across all of history.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many engaging in total war on an unprecedented scale. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on September 9, 1939 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Selected Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 5 Wikipedia articles.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 23 August 2026.

On This Date in History 457

Type Year Date Event
Historical Events 2025 Sep 9 Six people are killed when Israel carries out an airstrike on Doha in a failed attempt to decapitate the Hamas…
Historical Events 2025 Sep 9 Several Russian drones incur on Polish airspace and are subsequently shot down, marking the first time a NATO member…
Notable Deaths 2025 Sep 9 Mark Norell, American vertebrate paleontologist (born 1957).
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 9 John Cassaday, American comic book artist and writer (born 1971)
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 9 James Earl Jones, American actor (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 9 Caterina Valente, Italian-French singer and dancer (born 1931)
Historical Events 2016 Sep 9 The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test. World leaders condemn the act,…
Historical Events 2015 Sep 9 Elizabeth II becomes the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom.
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 9 Annemarie Bostroem, German poet, playwright, and songwriter (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 9 Einar H. Ingman Jr., American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 9 K. Kunaratnam, Sri Lankan physicist and academic (born 1934)
Selected Events 2015 Sep 9 Elizabeth II (pictured) became the longest-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria.
Historical Events 2014 Sep 9 The album Songs of Innocence by U2 is digitally released at no charge to all customers of the iTunes Music Store,…
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 9 Montserrat Abelló i Soler, Spanish poet and translator (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 9 Firoza Begum, Bangladeshi singer (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 9 Graham Joyce, English author and educator (born 1954)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 9 Sunila Abeysekera, Sri Lankan scholar and activist (born 1952)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 9 Alberto Bevilacqua, Italian director and screenwriter (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 9 Saul Landau, American journalist, director, and author (born 1936)
Historical Events 2012 Sep 9 The Indian space agency puts into orbit its heaviest foreign satellite yet, in a streak of 21 consecutive successful…
Historical Events 2012 Sep 9 A wave of attacks kills more than 100 people and injure 350 others across Iraq.
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 9 Verghese Kurien, Indian engineer and businessman, founded Amul (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 9 John McCarthy, Australian footballer (born 1989)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 9 Mike Scarry, American football player and coach (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 9 Ron Tindall, English footballer and manager (born 1935)
Selected Events 2010 Sep 9 A natural-gas pipeline in San Bruno, California, exploded and "shot a fireball more than 1,000 feet (300 m) in the…
Historical Events 2009 Sep 9 The Dubai Metro, the first urban train network in the Arabian Peninsula, is ceremonially inaugurated.
Historical Events 2006 Sep 9 Space Shuttle Program: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-115 to resume assembling the International Space…
Notable Deaths 2006 Sep 9 Gérard Brach, French director and screenwriter (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2006 Sep 9 Richard Burmer, American composer and engineer (born 1955)
Notable Deaths 2006 Sep 9 Matt Gadsby, English footballer (born 1979)
Notable Deaths 2006 Sep 9 William Bernard Ziff Jr., American businessman, founded Ziff Davis (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2004 Sep 9 Ernie Ball, American guitarist and businessman (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2004 Sep 9 Caitlin Clarke, American actress (born 1952)
Notable Births 2003 Sep 9 Luke Hughes, American ice hockey player
Notable Deaths 2003 Sep 9 Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (born 1908)
Notable Deaths 2003 Sep 9 Don Willesee, Australian telegraphist and politician, 29th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (born 1916)
Historical Events 2001 Sep 9 Ahmad Shah Massoud, leader of the Northern Alliance, is assassinated in Afghanistan by two al-Qaeda assassins who…
Notable Births 2001 Sep 9 Hailey Van Lith, American basketball player
Notable Deaths 2001 Sep 9 Ahmad Shah Massoud, Afghan commander and politician, Afghan Minister of Defense (born 1953)
Selected Events 2001 Sep 9 Two al-Qaeda attackers assassinated Ahmad Shah Massoud, a pivotal Afghan resistance leader, two days before the…
Notable Births 2000 Sep 9 Ricky Pearsall, American football player
Notable Deaths 2000 Sep 9 Julian Critchley, English lawyer and politician (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 1999 Sep 9 Arie de Vroet, Dutch footballer and manager (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 1999 Sep 9 Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (born 1946)
Notable Deaths 1999 Sep 9 Ruth Roman, American actress (born 1922)
Selected Events 1999 Sep 9 The first banknotes of the Portrait Series of the Singapore dollar were introduced by the Board of Commissioners of…
Notable Births 1998 Sep 9 Jordan Nwora, Nigerian-American basketball player
Notable Deaths 1998 Sep 9 Lucio Battisti, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 1998 Sep 9 Bill Cratty, American dancer and choreographer (born 1951)

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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