Today:
1180 – Death of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, leading to the beginning of the empire’s decline.
1321 – Dante Alighieri, the Italian poet and author of *The Divine Comedy*, dies in Ravenna.
1741 – George Frideric Handel completes his oratorio *Messiah* after 24 days of composition.
1812 – The Fire of Moscow begins during Napoleon’s invasion, leading to the destruction of much of the city.
1829 – The Treaty of Adrianople is signed, ending the Russo-Turkish War and securing Russian access to the Danube and the Black Sea.
1901 – U.S. President William McKinley dies after being shot on September 6, and Theodore Roosevelt becomes the 26th president.
1917 – Russia is declared a republic by the Russian Provisional Government under Alexander Kerensky.
1944 – Maastricht, the Netherlands, becomes the first Dutch city to be liberated by Allied forces during World War II.
1960 – The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded in Baghdad by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.
1982 – Princess Grace of Monaco (formerly actress Grace Kelly) dies following a car accident the previous day.