On September 2, 1997, the Dow gained 257.36 (+3.4%), the largest daily point gain in the history of that index, to that point.  For the week of September 1-5, 1997, the Dow gained 199.99 points. 

The largest September declines (by points) were in 1990 and 1986, but the worst month of all (by percent decline) was September of 1931.  Here are the five worst Septembers in the 20th Century:

The Worst Septembers Since 1929

1931: -30.7% (The worst percentage loss of any month in history, from Dow 129.4 to 96.6.)

1930: -14.8% (The 1930 summer swoon, caused by the Smoot-Hawley trade acts in Congress.)

1937: -12.9% (The start of the second huge stock market crash, in 1937-38, down 50%).

1974: -10.4% (Capping a 24.6% loss in 1974's third quarter, from 806 to 607).

1929: -9.7% (The October 1929 Crash was warming up; the peak day was Sept. 3, 1929).

A Day to Start (or End) Wars

September 2 was a great day to start or end wars.  First of all, Phidippides ran from Marathon to Sparta and back, and then to Athens, on Sept. 2, 490 BC: Three marathons in 24 hours killed him.   

In modern times, the French took Verdun from the Prussians on Sept. 2, 1792; the Prussians took it back on Sept. 2, 1870, but then the Allies won back Verdun again, on the same day in 1916.  

On Sept. 2, 1900, the British invaded Natal, South Africa, launching the Boer War.

1864: General William T. Sherman entered Atlanta on September 2, 1864.  In a belated rebel counter-attack, 99 years later, Alabama Governor George Wallace called up the National Guard to keep young black students out of Tuskegee High in Huntsville, Alabama, on Sept. 2, 1963.   That night, CBS and NBC expanded evening news from 15 to 30 minutes for the first time.

World War II Benchmarks on This Date

1939, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany, a day after Hitler invaded Poland

1940: Lend-Lease: America loaned Britain 50 destroyers in trade for a lease on Newfoundland. 

1943: The Allies first invaded Italy. 

1944: The U.S. Army entered Belgium….and George H.W. Bush jumped out of a burning plane.

1945: The Japanese formally surrendered to Gen. MacArthur in Tokyo Bay on the Missouri.  Also on Sept. 2, 1945, Ho Chi Minh entered Hanoi, driving the French out.  (As a result, Sept. 2 is Independence Day in Vietnam...) Also, 24 years later, on Sept. 2, 1969, Ho Chin Minh died.

More about September 2 in British History

• On Sept. 2, 1189, Richard the Lion Hearted was crowned in Westminster Abbey. 

• On Sept. 2, 1658, Oliver Cromwell died. 

• On Sept. 2, 1666, The Great Fire of London continued, burning 80% of London in three days.

September 2 in U.S. History

The U.S. Treasury was formed on September 2, 1789. President Washington named his former aide-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton, to head the Treasury.  He took office on September 11, 1789.

1901: Teddy Roosevelt said, "Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick" in Minnesota, on Sept. 2, 1901 (10 days later, McKinley was shot and killed, making Teddy America's youngest President).

1935: George Gershwin finished the massive score of Porgy & Bess on September 2, 1935.

September 2, 1752 didn't exist, as Europe and America went from Julian to Gregorian calendars.

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