and Drake was finishing his game of bowls, or when Nelson stood between us and Napoleon's Grand Army at Boulogne. We have read about all this in the history books, but what is happening now is on a far greater scale and of far more consequence to the life and future of the world and its civilization than those brave old days of the past. Every man and woman will therefore prepare himself and herself to do his duty whatever it may be, with special pride and care." Born: Brian De Palma, film director and screenwriter, in Newark, New Jersey; Ajit Singh, economist, in Lahore, British India (d. 2015) Died: Issy Smith, 49, Australian-born British soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross (coronary thrombosis) September 12, 1940 (Thursday) Prehistoric cave paintings were discovered in the Lascaux Cave near Montignac, France. The paintings are mostly of animals and are some of the finest examples of art from the Upper Paleolithic age. U.S. Ambassador to Tokyo Joseph Grew warned Secretary of State Hull that Japan might treat an American embargo on oil exports as sanctions and retaliate. An explosion at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Kenvil, New Jersey killed 51 people. Born: Linda Gray, actress, model, director and producer, in Santa Monica, California; Skip Hinnant, actor and comedian, on Chincoteague Island, Virginia; Mickey Lolich, baseball player, in Portland, Oregon September 13, 1940 (Friday) Italian forces captured Fort Capuzzo in Libya and Sallum in Egypt. Born: Óscar Arias, President of Costa Rica and Nobel laureate, in Heredia, Costa Rica September 14, 1940 (Saturday) Hitler postponed Operation Sea Lion to September 27. The RAF conducted a particularly heavy bombing raid on Antwerp. 158 ethnic Romanians were killed in the Ip massacre in Northern Transylvania. German submarine U-96 was commissioned. Born: Larry Brown, basketball coach, in Brooklyn, New York Born: Ventseslav Konstantinov, Bulgarian writer and translator September 15, 1940 (Sunday) The large-scale air battle known as Battle of Britain Day was fought. Believing the RAF was near its breaking point, the Luftwaffe mounted an all-out offensive, sending two huge waves of about 250 bombers each to bomb London and surrounding areas. The RAF managed to scatter many of the German bomber formations and shoot down 61 planes while losing 31 in return, inflicting a clear and decisive defeat on the Germans. Canada introduced conscription for men between the ages of 21 and 24. Hitler