- 1939 1 Sep Germany invades Poland, despite British and French guarantees, bringing Europe to the brink of war.
- 1941 1 Sep German troops lay siege to Leningrad. It will last until January 1944 and claim 880,000 civilian lives.
- 1985 1 Sep RMS 'Titanic', the 'unsinkable' liner lost to an iceberg in 1912, is found by a French-US search team.

