Date with History: September 10

Perry's Lake Erie victory, Bikila's barefoot marathon gold, and the LHC's first beam.

One paperback for one calendar date: what happened on September 10, and who was born on it.

What happened on September 10

1813: Perry Wins the Battle of Lake Erie

Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's flagship Lawrence was shot to pieces, with four-fifths of her crew dead or wounded. Rather than surrender, the 28-year-old climbed into a rowboat with his battle flag and transferred to the Niagara under heavy fire. From the fresh ship he broke the British line and sent Harrison the message "We have met the enemy and they are ours," handing the United States control of the lake and the Northwest Territory.

1960: Abebe Bikila Runs Rome's Marathon Barefoot

A member of Emperor Haile Selassie's Imperial Guard, Abebe Bikila ran the Olympic marathon through floodlit Rome without shoes because his racing flats had blistered his feet in training. He won gold in a world record 2:15:16, becoming the first sub-Saharan African Olympic champion. That an Ethiopian won in the country that had occupied Ethiopia added poetic justice to the athletic feat.

Famous birthdays on September 10

1929 — Arnold Palmer
Greenskeeper's son turned golf's first television celebrity, with 62 PGA Tour wins and his own drink.

1960 — Colin Firth
The BBC's Mr. Darcy who became an Oscar winner as the stammering George VI in The King's Speech.

Nearby dates

September 9 · September 11 · All September dates

Part of Date with History, a 366-book collection with one book for every date of the year. 5″×8″ paperback, cream paper.

Historical selections are editorially researched. This is a date-specific book, not a personalized or custom-made product.