On September 6: Prime Minister Verwoerd of the Republic of South Africa is stabbed to death by an assassin as he sits in the nation's parliament chambers. South Africa practices apartheid, which severely limits the rights of the black population. Both the Prime Minister and the assassin are white.

On September 8, 1966, Thursday at 8:30 pm, "Star Trek" airs its first episode on NBC, "The Man Trap." Its competition on ABC is "The Tammy Grimes Show" and "Bewitched." On CBS, "My Three Sons" and the CBS Thursday Night Movie. This season for the first time, nearly all prime time network TV shows are broadcast in color.

September 12: Gemini 11 lifts off from Cape Kennedy, Florida. During the three day mission, astronauts Richard F. Gordon, Jr. and Charles Conrad, Jr. pilot the craft to a record altitude for a manned vehicle. The mission ends on September 15 with splashdown in the Atlantic, just one and a half miles from the recovery ship. Millions of Americans watch the landing and recovery on live television.

Also on September 12: South Vietnamese go to the polls to elect a 117 member assembly to draft a new constitution. American supporters point to the 75% turnout as proof that democracy is working.

Also on September 12: A mob of whites armed with ax handles, chains and metal pipes attack black students attempting to integrate two neighborhood schools in Grenada, Mississippi. The violence continues on September 13, and several police officers will later be charged with willful dereliction of duty in allowing the attacks on blacks to continue, and 13 men will be prosecuted for violating the civil rights of the children. The mob also attacks TV reporters.