On This Day, Sept. 7: Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio

UPI Staff
·4 min read
On September 7, 1963, the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in Canton, Ohio. The inaugural inductees included George Halas and Harold "Red" Grange. File Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI
On September 7, 1963, the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in Canton, Ohio. The inaugural inductees included George Halas and Harold "Red" Grange. File Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI

Sept. 7 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1822, Brazil declared independence from Portugal.

In 1892, James Corbett knocked out John L. Sullivan in the 21st round of a prizefight at New Orleans, the first major fight under the Marquess of Queensberry Rules.

In 1901, the Boxer Rebellion in China ended with the Boxer Protocol, a peace agreement between China and other world powers.

In 1926, Hollywood studios closed for the day in honor of the funeral of Rudolph Valentino, the silent movie superstar who had died after ulcer surgery.

The family of former St. Louis Blues player Igor Korolev hold his jersey during a tribute ceremony before the St. Louis Blues-Chicago Blackhawks hockey game at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on November 8, 2011. Korolev was among those killed on September 7, 2011, when the plane carrying their KHL team, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, crashed in Russia. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

In 1940, Nazi Germany launched the London blitz, bombings that Adolf Hitler believed would soften Britain for invasion. The invasion never materialized.

In 1943, a fire swept through the Gulf Hotel in Houston, killing 55 men, many of whom were homeless.

Britain's King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, view damage at the cinema attached to Madame Tussaud's on September 19, 1940, during one of their tours of London areas affected by the German bombings. UPI File Photo
Britain's King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, view damage at the cinema attached to Madame Tussaud's on September 19, 1940, during one of their tours of London areas affected by the German bombings. UPI File Photo

In 1963, the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in Canton, Ohio. The inaugural inductees included George Halas and Harold "Red" Grange.

File Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI
File Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI
Construction of the Panama Canal, looking north at Gold Hill, from the Cucaracha Slide ca. 1912. On September 7, 1977, President Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos signed a treaty to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama. File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI
Construction of the Panama Canal, looking north at Gold Hill, from the Cucaracha Slide ca. 1912. On September 7, 1977, President Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos signed a treaty to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama. File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI

In 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos signed a treaty agreeing to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama at the end of the 20th century.

In 1986, Desmond Tutu was installed as the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, becoming first black titular head of South Africa's fourth-largest Christian church.

The Fannie Mae corporate headquarters is seen in Washington The Bush administration announced September 7, 2008, it was taking control of the troubled mortgage lending giants Fannie Mae Freddie Mac in an attempt to help save the lenders and reverse the housing and credit crisis. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
The Fannie Mae corporate headquarters is seen in Washington The Bush administration announced September 7, 2008, it was taking control of the troubled mortgage lending giants Fannie Mae Freddie Mac in an attempt to help save the lenders and reverse the housing and credit crisis. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

In 1992, 12 people were killed when a twin-engine plane carrying skydivers crashed in a soybean field in Hinckley, Ill.

In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur was hospitalized after being shot four times in Las Vegas. Shakur died six days later.

On September 7, 1926, Hollywood studios closed for the day in honor of the funeral of Rudolph Valentino, the silent movie superstar who had died after ulcer surgery. File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI
On September 7, 1926, Hollywood studios closed for the day in honor of the funeral of Rudolph Valentino, the silent movie superstar who had died after ulcer surgery. File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI
File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI
File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI

In 2007, the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego agreed to pay almost $200 million to 144 people who said they were sexually abused by members of the clergy.

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks at a luncheon gathering, March 25, 1999, at a U.S. Capitol office building in Washington. On September 7, 1986, Tutu was installed as the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, becoming first black titular head of South Africa's fourth-largest Christian church. File Photo by Ian Wagreich/UPI
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks at a luncheon gathering, March 25, 1999, at a U.S. Capitol office building in Washington. On September 7, 1986, Tutu was installed as the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, becoming first black titular head of South Africa's fourth-largest Christian church. File Photo by Ian Wagreich/UPI

In 2008, the U.S. government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, giant mortgage firms that owned or backed $5.3 trillion in mortgages, after they failed to properly account for losses, using questionable accounting methods to push them into the future so they wouldn't need to be reported until the next year.

In 2009, the British government convicted three men of plotting to blow up seven trans-Atlantic flights, smuggling explosives aboard in soft drink bottles, a plan that led to tighter airline regulations on carry-on bottles of liquid.

In 2011, a plane crash near the Russian city of Yaroslavl killed 44 people, including almost the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Kontinental Hockey League team. Several of the victims had ties to North America's National Hockey League. A member of the aircraft's crew was the only survivor.

In 2019, Bianca Andreescu became the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam when she defeated Serena Williams to take the U.S. Open.

In 2021, El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.

In 2022, researchers announced that they found what appears to be the earliest-known evidence of surgical amputation, from a 31,000-year-old skeleton unearthed in Indonesia.