- 1997 – In France, the prosecutor’s office announced that the driver of the car, in which Britain’s Princess Diana was killed, was over the legal alcohol limit.
- 1998 – The movie “Titanic” went on sale across North America.
- 1998 – Mark McGwire (St. Louis Cardinals) hit his 56th and 57th homeruns to set a new National League record. He would eventually reach a total of 70 for the season on September 27.
- 1998 – J.K. Rowling’s book “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” was released in the U.S. This was the first book in the Harry Potter series.
- 1998 – Vietnam released 5,000 prisoners, including political dissidents, on National Day.
- 1999 – Twenty-two of major league baseball’s 68 permanent umpires were replaced. The problem arose from their union’s failed attempt to force an early start to negotiations for a new labor contract.
- 2004 – The Beslan school siege begins when armed terrorists take schoolchildren and school staff hostage in North Ossetia, Russia; by the end of the siege three days later more than 385 people are dead (including hostages, other civilians, security personnel and terrorists).
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Clinton Portis, American football player
- 1981 – Adam Quick, Australian basketball player
- 1982 – Jeffrey Buttle, Canadian figure skater
- 1982 – Paul Dumbrell, Australian racing driver
- 1982 – Ryan Gomes, American basketball player
- 1983 – Iñaki Lejarreta, Spanish cyclist (d. 2012)
- 1983 – José Antonio Reyes, Spanish footballer (d. 2019)
- 1983 – Jeff Woywitka, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Ludwig Göransson, Swedish film composer[
- 1984 – László Köteles, Hungarian footballer
- 1984 – Nick Noble, American football player
- 1984 – Rod Pelley, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Joe Trohman, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1985 – Larsen Jensen, American swimmer
- 1986 – Anthony Allen, English rugby player
- 1986 – Gaël Monfils, French tennis player
- 1986 – Stella Mwangi, Kenyan-Norwegian singer-songwriter
- 1987 – Dann Hume, New Zealand singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer
- 1987 – Leonel Suárez, Cuban decathlete
- 1987 – Mats Zuccarello, Norwegian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Simona de Silvestro, Swiss racing driver
- 1988 – Gabriel Ferrari, American soccer player
- 1988 – Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1988 – Chanel West Coast, Rapper-songwriter and model
- 1989 – Astrid Besser, Italian tennis player
- 1989 – Jefferson Montero, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1989 – Daniel Sturridge, English footballer
- 1990 – Stanislav Tecl, Czech footballer
- 1991 – Rhys Bennett, English footballer
- 1991 – Angélica Kvieczynski, Brazilian gymnast
- 1992 – Cristiano Biraghi, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Kirani James, Grenadian sprinter[
- 1992 – Woo Hye-lim, South Korean singer-songwriter
- 1993 – Mario Lemina, Gabonese footballer
- 1994 – Anna Smolina, Russian tennis player
- 1994 – Betty Cantrell, Miss America 2016
- 1995 – Nathan MacKinnon, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1996 – Zendaya, American actress and singer
- 1997 – Jungkook, South Korean singer, songwriter and record producer[