1848 vermont railroad worker phineas gage survives an iron rod 1 09 13
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1848 178 years ago Selected Events September 13

An explosion drove an iron rod through the head of railroad foreman Phineas Gage; his survival and recovery influenced 19th-century discussion of psychology and neuroscience.

On September 13, in the year 1848, An explosion drove an iron rod through the head of railroad foreman Phineas Gage; his survival and recovery influenced 19th-century discussion of psychology and neuroscience. This event is recorded as a Selected Events event in the history of September 13, one of 462 recorded events on this date across all of history.

Phineas P. Gage (1823–1860) was an American railroad construction foreman remembered for his improbable[B1] survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and behavior over the remaining 12 years of his life‍—‌effects sufficiently profound that friends saw him as "no longer Gage".

Key Facts

  • This event took place on September 13, 1848 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Selected Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 1 Wikipedia article.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 23 August 2026.

On This Date in History 462

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 13 Wolfgang Gerhardt, German politician (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 13 Pravin Gordhan, South African politician (born 1949)
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 13 Lex Marinos, Australian actor (born 1949)
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 13 Mary McFadden, American fashion designer (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2022 Sep 13 Jean-Luc Godard, French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2019 Sep 13 Eddie Money, American musician (born 1949)
Notable Deaths 2017 Sep 13 Pete Domenici, American politician, senator of New Mexico (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2016 Sep 13 Jonathan Riley-Smith, British historian (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 13 Vivinho, Brazilian footballer (born 1961)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 13 Erma Bergmann, American baseball player (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 13 Brian Close, English cricketer and coach (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 13 Moses Malone, American basketball player and sportscaster (born 1955)
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 13 Benjamin Adekunle, Nigerian general (born 1936)
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 13 Helen Filarski, American baseball player (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 13 Milan Galić, Serbian footballer (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 13 Frank Torre, American baseball player and manager (born 1931)
Historical Events 2013 Sep 13 Taliban insurgents attack the United States consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, with two members of the Afghan National…
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 13 Olusegun Agagu, Nigerian politician, 15th Governor of Ondo State (born 1948)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 13 Robert J. Behnke, American biologist and academic (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 13 Rick Casares, American football player (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 13 Luiz Gushiken, Brazilian trade union leader and politician (born 1950)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 13 William Duckworth, American composer and author (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 13 Peter Lougheed, Canadian football player, lawyer, and politician, 10th Premier of Alberta (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 13 Edgar Metcalfe, English-Australian actor and director (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 13 Ranganath Misra, Indian lawyer and jurist, 21st Chief Justice of India (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 13 Lehri, (Actual name:Safirullah Siddiqui), Pakistani comedian and an actor in the Urdu film industry of Pakistan (born…
Notable Deaths 2011 Sep 13 Walter Bonatti, Italian mountaineer and journalist (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2009 Sep 13 Paul Burke, American actor (born 1926)
Historical Events 2008 Sep 13 Delhi, India, is hit by a series of bomb blasts, resulting in 30 deaths and 130 injuries.
Selected Events 2008 Sep 13 Five bomb blasts took place in Delhi, India, killing at least 20 people as part of a series of attacks perpetrated by…
Historical Events 2007 Sep 13 The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.
Historical Events 2007 Sep 13 The McLaren F1 team are found guilty of possessing confidential information from the Ferrari team, fined $100 million,…
Notable Deaths 2007 Sep 13 Whakahuihui Vercoe, New Zealand archbishop (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2006 Sep 13 Ann Richards, American educator and politician, 45th Governor of Texas (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2005 Sep 13 Toni Fritsch, Austrian footballer (born 1945)
Notable Deaths 2005 Sep 13 Julio César Turbay Ayala, Colombian lawyer and politician, 25th President of Colombia (born 1916)
Selected Events 2005 Sep 13 A software bug caused a simulated pandemic in the online video game World of Warcraft, serving as a model for…
Notable Deaths 2004 Sep 13 Luis E. Miramontes, Mexican chemist, co-invented the birth-control pill (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2004 Sep 13 Charlie Brandt, American serial killer (born 1957)
Notable Deaths 2003 Sep 13 Frank O'Bannon, American publisher, lawyer, and politician, 47th Governor of Indiana (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2002 Sep 13 George Stanley, Canadian soldier, historian, and author, designed the Flag of Canada (born 1907)
Historical Events 2001 Sep 13 Civilian aircraft traffic resumes in the United States after the September 11 attacks.
Notable Deaths 2001 Sep 13 Johnny Craig, American sailor and illustrator (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2001 Sep 13 Jaroslav Drobný, Czech-English ice hockey player and tennis player (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2001 Sep 13 Dorothy McGuire, American actress (born 1916)
Notable Deaths 2000 Sep 13 Betty Jeffrey, Australian nurse and author (born 1908)
Notable Births 1999 Sep 13 Yeonjun, South Korean singer, songwriter and dancer
Notable Deaths 1999 Sep 13 Benjamin Bloom, American psychologist and academic (born 1913)
Notable Births 1998 Sep 13 Satoshi, Moldovan rapper and singer-songwriter
Notable Deaths 1998 Sep 13 Necdet Calp, Turkish civil servant and politician (born 1922)

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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