● Sept 15 in History
1795 — Britain seizes the Dutch Cape Colony at the Cape of Good Hope (their invasion started on June 10) to prevent its use by the Batavian Republic.
1830 — British MP William Huskisson, 60, dies after his leg is mangled under the wheels of the locomotive “Rocket” in a freak accident at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. He is the first person to be run over by a railroad train. The publicity heightens global awareness of cheap and rapid longdistance transport … and the possible dangers.
1881 — Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti, race car builder (winning four of the first five Monaco Grands Prix, from 1929), is born in Milan, Italy.
1894 — Japan defeats China in the Battle of Pyongyang, Korea, during the first Sino-Japanese War.
1910 — The first general elections in the Union of South Africa, which came into force on May 31, is won by the South African National Party (South African Party from 1911) with General Louis Botha as the first prime minister. The SANP wins 67 of the 121 seats, the Unionist Party of South Africa 39, independents 11 and the South African Labour Party 4.
1914 — Boer leader and politician General Koos de la Rey, 66, en route in a chauffeur-driven car from Pretoria to Potchefstroom with General Christiaan Beyers, is shot dead when they fail to stop at a roadblock near Langlaagte, Johannesburg. De la Rey, who played a leading role in bringing about the May 31 1902 Treaty of Vereeniging, was among those opposed to SA supporting Britain in World War 1 and thought the roadblock was for them. But the roadblocks around Johannesburg were meant to apprehend the Foster Gang, wanted for murder and robbery. The gang members are cornered in a cave in Kensington and commit suicide on September 17. 1916 — The British introduce armoured tanks during the Battle of the Somme (World War 1).
1946 — Mike Procter, SA cricketer, is born in Durban. 1950 — During the Korean War (1950-53), UN forces begin landing at Inchon on the western coast of
Korea. The communist North started invading on
June 25 and quickly pinned the forces of the capitalist South in a small southeast corner behind the Pusan Perimeter. Here, UN forces helped to hold off the attack. Considered the greatest amphibious attack in history, devised by General Douglas MacArthur, surprises the North Koreans because it is so far from Pusan and the South Korean capital Seoul is recaptured on the 26th.
1971 — Wayne Ferreira, SA tennis player, is born in Johannesburg.