What Happened on September 17
Historical Events
- 642 Arab forces under Amr ibn al-'As conquer Alexandria
- 1683 Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is the first to report the existence of bacteria
- 1787 The US Constitution is signed by delegates at the Philadelphia Convention
- 1862 Battle of Antietam [Battle of Sharpsburg], bloodiest day in the American Civil War: 22,000 dead, wounded or missing in first battle on Union soil
- 1916 WWI flying ace The Red Baron of the German Luftstreitkräfte, wins his first aerial combat near Cambrai, France
- 1940 Adolf Hitler indefinitely postpones Operation Sealion, the planned German invasion of Great Britain
- 1978 Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Camp David Accords, frameworks for peace in the Middle East and between Egypt and Israel
- More Historical Events
Sep 17 in Film & TV
- 1972 TV comedy series "M*A*S*H", adapted from the movie, starring Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, Wayne Rogers, and McLean Stevenson debuts on CBS in the US; runs for 11 years garnering 14 Emmy and 1 Peabody Award
Sep 17 in Music
- 1964 The Beatles are paid a then record $150,000 by baseball team owner Charles Finley for a concert at Municipal Stadium in Kansas, Missouri on a scheduled day off
Sep 17 in Sport
- 1941 Cards' Stan Musial makes his major league debut, going 2-for-4
- 1964 The Beatles are paid a then record $150,000 by baseball team owner Charles Finley for a concert at Municipal Stadium in Kansas, Missouri on a scheduled day off
Did You Know?
NASA publicly unveils space shuttle Enterprise in Palmdale, California, named after Star Trek Enterprise with cast attending
On September 17, 1976
Marquis de Condorcet
Hank Williams
Anne Bancroft
Maureen Connolly
Keith Flint
Narendra ModiWould You Believe?
Joshua Abraham Norton, English-born resident of San Francisco, proclaims himself his Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, Emperor of the United States of America
On September 17, 1859
Famous Weddings
- 1918 Abbott and Costello straight man Bud Abbott (22) weds Betty Smith
- 1937 Economist John Kenneth Galbraith (29) weds author Catherine Atwater (24) at the Reformed Church of North Hempstead in New York
- 1942 Ice hockey player Maurice Richard (20) weds Lucille Norchet (17)
Famous Divorces
- 1994 Princess Christina separates
More Weddings & Divorces
Dred Scott
William Henry Fox Talbot
Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Vitas Gerulaitis
Spiro Agnew
Paula YatesArticles, Photos and Quiz
Constitution of the United States
Page one of the original copy of the Constitution of the United States
September 17, 1787
The Diary of a Dead Officer
Mud and blood were features of the First World War trenches, and soldier Arthur Graeme West’s vivid descriptions of it all were captured in his diaries.
September 17, 1916
Weekly Quiz for September 16-22
Which famous American automobile manufacturer was founded by William C. Durant in 1908? In 1893, which country was the 1st in the world to grant women the vote?
