Historical eventSeptember 231884

Cape Virgenes

The French steamship Arctique ran aground on the northern coast of Cape Virgenes in Argentina; gold was discovered during the rescue effort, triggering the Tierra del Fuego gold rush.

Everything on September 23Original source

In context

When
Tuesday, September 23 1884142 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
19th century · 1880s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

Russia, Greece and some other countries used the Julian calendar into the early 20th century, so local records may show a date up to 13 days earlier.

At a glance

Dates: From 1884.

Place: Güer Aike Department, Argentina.

Type: cape.

What happened

Cape Virgenes is the southeastern promontory of continental Argentina in South America. A little to the south-west, the southernmost point of land is Punta Dúngeness. Ferdinand Magellan reached it on 21 October 1520 during the Spanish expedition to East Asia and discovered a strait, now called the Strait of Magellan in his honor. As 21 October was the feast day of Saint Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins, he named the cape in their honor.

September 23 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1884Cape Virgenes
  2. 2004Haiti
  3. 2008Kauhajoki school shooting
  4. 2010Teresa Lewis
  5. 2013Typhoon Usagi (2013)
  6. 2016Rape in Germany
  7. 20192019 Papua protests
  8. 2019Thomas Cook Group
  9. 2020Grand jury
  10. 2022Election
  11. 2024Israel

Also in 1884

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  • May 1Moses Fleetwood WalkerMoses Fleetwood Walker (pictured), the last African American in Major League Baseball until Jackie Robinson, played his first game for th…
  • January 13William Price (physician)Welsh physician William Price (pictured) was arrested for attempting to cremate his deceased infant son; this eventually led to the passi…
  • February 1Serial (literature)The first fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary, a 352-page volume that covered words from A to ant, was published.
  • March 27ManslaughterOutraged by a jury's decision to convict a man of manslaughter instead of murder, a mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, began three days of rioting.

Everything we record for 1884 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Cape Virgenes”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/cape-virgenes-1884-september-23, accessed October 27, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Cape Virgenes happen?

September 23 1884 — 142 years ago, on a Tuesday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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