On This Day in History: September 14

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

September 14 is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 108 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this Day in 1901, U.S. President William McKinley dies after being shot by a deranged anarchist during the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.

President and Mrs. McKinley attended the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. He delivered a speech about his positions on tariffs and foreign trade on September 5, 1901. The following morning, McKinley visited Niagara Falls before returning to the Exposition. That afternoon McKinley had an engagement to greet the public at the Temple of Music. Standing in line, Leon Frank Czolgosz waited with a pistol in his right hand concealed by a handkerchief. At 4:07 p.m. Czolgosz fired twice at the president. The first bullet grazed the president’s shoulder. The second, however, went through McKinley’s stomach, pancreas, and kidney, and finally lodged in the muscles of his back. The president whispered to his secretary, George Cortelyou  “My wife, Cortelyou, be careful how you tell her, oh be careful.” Czolgosz would have fired again, but he was struck by a bystander and then subdued by an enraged crowd. The wounded McKinley even called out “Boys! Don’t let them hurt him!” because the angry crowd beat Czolgosz so severely it looked as if they might kill him on the spot.

One bullet was easily found and extracted, but doctors were unable to locate the second bullet. It was feared that the search for the bullet might cause more harm than good. In addition, McKinley appeared to be recovering, so doctors decided to leave the bullet where it was.

The newly developed x-ray machine was displayed at the fair, but doctors were reluctant to use it on McKinley to search for the bullet because they did not know what side effects it might have on him. The operating room at the exposition’s emergency hospital did not have any electric lighting, even though the exteriors of many of the buildings at the extravagant exposition were covered with thousands of light bulbs. The surgeons were unable to operate by candlelight because of the danger created by the flammable ether used to keep the president unconscious, so doctors were forced to use pans instead to reflect sunlight onto the operating table while they treated McKinley’s wounds.

McKinley’s doctors believed he would recover, and the President convalesced for more than a week in Buffalo at the home of the exposition’s director. On the morning of September 12, he felt strong enough to receive his first food orally since the shooting-toast and a small cup of coffee. However, by afternoon he began to experience discomfort and his condition rapidly worsened. McKinley began to go into shock. At 2:15 a.m. on September 14, 1901, eight days after he was shot, he died from gangrene surrounding his wounds. He was 58. His last words were “It is God’s way; His will be done, not ours.” He was originally buried in West Lawn Cemetery in Canton, Ohio, in the receiving vault. His remains were later reinterred in the McKinley Memorial, also in Canton.

Czolgosz was tried and found guilty of murder, and was executed by electric chair at Auburn Prison on October 29, 1901.

 81 – Domitian becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire upon the death of his brother Titus.

786 – Harun al-Rashid becomes the Abbasid caliph upon the death of his brother al-Hadi.

1180 – Battle of Ishibashiyama in Japan.

   * 1607 – Flight of the Earls from Lough Swilly, Donegal, Ireland.

1682 – Bishop Gore School, one of the oldest schools in Wales, is founded.

1752 – The British Empire adopts the Gregorian calendar, skipping eleven days (the previous day was September 2).

1812 – Napoleonic Wars: French grenadiers enter Moscow. The Fire of Moscow begins as soon as Russian troops leave the city.

1814 – The poem Defence of Fort McHenry is written by Francis Scott Key. The poem is later used as the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner.

1829 – The Ottoman Empire signs the Treaty of Adrianople with Russia, thus ending the Russo-Turkish War.

1847 – Mexican-American War: Winfield Scott captures Mexico City.

1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of South Mountain, part of the Maryland Campaign, is fought.

1901 – President of the United States William McKinley dies after an assassination attempt on September 6, and is succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt.

1917 – Russia is officially proclaimed a republic.

1923 – Miguel Primo de Rivera becomes dictator of Spain.

1944 – World War II: Maastricht becomes the first Dutch city to be liberated by allied forces.

1948 – Groundbreaking for the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

1958 – The first two German post-war rockets, designed by the German engineer Ernst Mohr, reach the upper atmosphere.

1959 – The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach it.

1960 – The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded.

1975 – The first American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, is canonized by Pope Paul VI.

1982 – President-elect of Lebanon, Bachir Gemayel, is assassinated.

1984 – Joe Kittinger becomes the first person to fly a hot air balloon alone across the Atlantic Ocean.

1987 – The Toronto Blue Jays set a record for the most home runs in a single game, belting 10 of them.

1994 – The Major League Baseball season is canceled because of a strike.

1995 – Body Worlds opens in Tokyo, Japan

1998 – Telecommunications companies MCI Communications and WorldCom complete their $37 billion merger to form MCI WorldCom.

1999 – Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the United Nations.

2001 – Historic National Prayer Service held at Washington National Cathedral for victims of the September 11 attacks. A similar service is held in Canada on Parliament Hill, the largest vigil ever held in the nation’s capital.

2003 – In a referendum, Estonia approves joining the European Union.