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Today in History ~ September 17
U.S.A. Constitution Day
Events0642 - Arabs conquer Alexandria, great library destroyed
1394 - Jews are expelled from France by order of King Charles VI
1562 - Council of Trente takes ecclesiastical canon
1631 - Battle of Breitenfeld: King Gustaaf Adolf defeats Gen Tilly
1683 - Antonie van Leeuwenhoek reports existence of bacteria
1691 - Colony Massachusetts Bay gets new charter
1745 - Edinburg occupied by Jacobites under Young Pretenders
1776 - Presidio of SF forms as a Spanish fort
1778 - 1st treaty between the US & Indian tribes signed (Fort Pitt)
1787 - The world's oldest working Constitution, the Constitution of the United States, was completed in Philadelphia, and signed by a majority of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. [H]
1796 - President George Washington -- having declined a third term -- delivered his farewell address in Philadelphia.
1835 - Charles Darwin lands on Chatham Galapagos-archipelago
1859 - Man in SF claims himself Norton I, emperor of America
1862 - Battle of Cumberland Gap, TN-evacuted by Federals
1862 - Union forces led by Gen. George McClellan attacked Confederate troops led by Gen. Robert E. Lee near Antietam Creek in Maryland. McClellan blocked Lee's advance on Washington, D.C., but fell short of victory. (-bloodiest day of Civil War, 23,110 die) [H]
1864 - Grant approves Sheridan's plan for Shenandoah Valley Campaign ("I want it so barren that a crow, flying down it, would need to pack rations.")
1872 - Phillip W Pratt patents his sprinkler system for extinguishing fires
1899 - 1st British troops leave Bombay for South Africa
1900 - Commonwealth of Australia proclaimed
1901 - Battle at Elands River Port: Boer Gen Smuts destroys unit 17th Lancers
1902 - US protests anti-semitism in Romania
1911 - 1st transcontinental airplane flight, NY-Pasadena in 82 hrs 4 min
1920 - National Football League organizes in Canton Ohio 12 teams pay $100 each to join American Prof Football Assn
1926 - Hurricane hits Miami & Palm Beach Florida; about 450 die
1928 - Hurricane hits Lake Okeechobee Florida drowning 1,800-2500
1931 - 1st LP record demonstrated (RCA Victor, NYC), venture failed
1934 - RCA Victor releases 1st 33 1/3 rpm recording (Beethoven's 5th)
1938 - British premier Neville Chamberlain leaves Munich
1939 - German U-29 sinks British aircraft carrier Courageous, 519 die
1939 - Soviet troops invaded Poland, 16 days after Nazi Germany moved into the same country.
1939 - The Harry James Orchestra and Frank Sinatra recorded "All or Nothing at All" for Columbia Records.
1940 - Nazis deprive Jews of possessions
1947 - Jackie Robinson is named Rookie of Year by Sporting News
1947 - James V. Forrestal was sworn in as the first U.S. Secretary of Defense as a new National Military Establishment unified America's armed forces.
1948 - The U.N. mediator for Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, was assassinated in Jerusalem by Jewish extremists.
1949 - North Atlantic Treaty Council meets for 1st time
1951 - Romanian bishop A Pacha of Timisoara sentenced to 18 years
1953 - 1st successful separation of Siamese twins
1954 - Rocky Marciano retained possession of the world heavyweight boxing title. He knocked out Ezzard Charles in the 8th round of their championship bout.
1956 - Black students enter Clay Ky elementary school
1957 - Louis Armstrong cancels trip to Russia [H]
1957 - 2 male attorneys "stand in" as actress Sophia Loren & producer Carlo Ponti wed by proxy in Juarez, Mexico
1959 - Typhoon kills 2,000 in Japan & Korea
1960 - Cuba nationalizes US banks
1961 - "Car 54, Where Are You?" premiered on NBC.
1962 - Justice Dept files 1st suit to end segregation in public schools
1963 - "Fugitive" premieres on ABC TV
1964 - "Bewitched" premieres on ABC TV
1965 - "The Smothers Brothers Show", debuted on CBS TV
1967 - "Mission Impossible" premieres on CBS-TV
1970 - Jordanian King Hussein moves against PLO guerrillas
1972 - "M*A*S*H," premieres on NBC TV
1976 - Amnesty International receives Erasmus-prize
1976 - NASA publicly unveiled the space shuttle Enterprise at ceremonies in Palmdale, Calif. [H]
1978 - 30th Emmy Awards: All in the Family, Ed Asner & Sada Thompson win
1978 - After meeting at Camp David, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed a framework for a peace treaty.
1980 - "Divine Madness" starring Bette Midler, premieres
1980 - Solidarity labor union in Poland forms
1980 - South Korea opposition leader Kim Dae Jung sentenced to death
1983, Vanessa Williams of New York became the first black to be named Miss America. (She resigned the crown 11 months later when Penthouse magazine published nude photos of her, but later became famous again as a singer and actress.)
1984 - Oil heir Gordon P. Getty, with a fortune of $4.1 billion dollars, was named the richest person in the US. There were a dozen billionaires in the US at the time. Bill Gates was not in the picture yet.
1986 - Bomb attack in Paris, 6 killed
1986 - US Senate confirms William Rehnquist as 16th chief justice
1989 - 41st Emmy Awards: LA Law, Cheers, Dana Delany & Candice Bergen win
1989 - Hurricane Hugo begins 4 day sweep through Caribbean, killing 62
1990 - Newspaper Guild votes 242-35 to keep NY Post publishing
1990 - Defense Secretary Dick Cheney fired Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Dugan for "poor judgment" in publicly discussing U.S. bombing plans should war erupt with Iraq.
1991 - The U.N. General Assembly opened its 46th session, welcoming new members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North and South Korea, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.
1992 - The House passed a bill to re-regulate cable TV in a bid to encourage competition and slow rate increases.
1993 - Cambodia's two leading political parties agreed that Prince Norodom Sihanouk would lead the nation. Sihanouk was installed as king a week later.
1994 - President Clinton sent a three-man delegation headed by former President Carter to Haiti on what would prove a successful mission to persuade the ruling junta to step down.
1996 - A nonpartisan commission recommended that Ross Perot be denied a spot in presidential debates, saying he had no realistic shot at winning the White House; Ross Perot, who was on the ballot in all 50 states, protested and vowed to sue.
1997 - Dr Sam Sheppard's body (Fugitive) is exhumed for DNA test
1997 - The Pentagon announced a one-day "stand-down" or suspension of all training flights, for safety instruction and a review of procedures, following a series of recent crashes involving U.S. military aircraft.
2000 - A U.N. refugee worker (Mensah Kpognon) was killed and a second (Sapeu Laurence Djeya) kidnapped in a raid in Guinea (the abducted staffer was later released).
2000 - In Sydney, Australia, swimmer Tom Dolan of the United States won the 400-meter individual medley.
2001 - President Bush said Osama bin Laden, the suspected ringleader in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was "wanted dead or alive" as Bush continued efforts to line up international support for his proposed "war on terror.
2002 - President Bush asked Congress for authority to use force against Iraq. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said meanwhile that several nations had pledged military support for offensive action against Iraq.
Birthdays Today
0879 - Charles III, [The Simple], king of France (893-923)
1271 - Wenceslas II, king of Bohemia & Poland (1278-1305)
1709 - Samuel Johnson, lexicographer/writer (Boswell's Tour Guide)
1730 - Baron Friedrich von Steuben, Prussian/US inspector-gen of Washington's army
1743 - Marquis de Condorcet, France, enlightenment philosopher
1795 - Giuseppi Saverio Rafaele Mercadante, composer
1819 - Jean-Bernard-Leon Foucault, physicist (pendulum proved Earth rotates)
1819 - Thomas Hendricks (21st vice president of the United States [1885]; passed away Nov 25, 1885)
1874 - Ben Turpin (comedian, actor: Burlesque of Carmen, Yankee Doodle in Berlin, Mack Sennett comedies, When Comedy was King)
1878 - Vincenzo Tommasini, composer
1879 - Andrew 'Rube' Foster ('The Father of Negro Baseball': Baseball Hall of Famer: pitcher: Cuban and Philadelphia Giants; manager: Chicago Leland Giants, Chicago American Giants; formed Negro National League; passed away Dec 9, 1930)
1883 - William Carlos Williams, poet
1884 - Charles Tomlinson Griffes, Elmira NY, composer (White Peacock)
1900 - J.W. (John Willard) Marriott (hotel magnate; passed away Aug 13, 1985)
1902 - Esther Ralston (actress: Tin Pan Alley, We're in the Legion Now, Oliver Twist, Shadows of the Orient, To the Last Man; passed away Jan 14, 1994)
1904 - Dolores Costello (actress: The Magnificent Ambersons)
1904 - Jerry Colonna (comedian, actor: Meet Me in Las Vegas, Kentucky Jubilee, The Road to Singapore; TV host: The Jerry Colonna Show; passed away Nov 21, 1986)
1907 - Warren (Earl) Burger (Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; passed away June 25, 1995)
1918 - Chaim Herzog, president (Israel, 1983-93)
1922 - Ursula Howells (actress: Girly, The Gilded Cage)
1923 - Hank (Hiram) Williams, Sr. (musician, songwriter, singer: I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, Cold, Cold Heart, Take These Chains from My Heart, Honky Tonkin', Jambalaya, Kaw-Liga, Your Cheatin' Heart, Lovesick Blues; 1st country musician whose music crossed over into pop; wrote 125 compositions; passed away Jan 1, 1953)
1926 - Bill Black (musician: bassist: group: Bill Black Combo: White Silver Sands, Smokie Pt. 2; played in Elvis Presley band, backup for Elvis; passed away Oct 21, 1965)
1927 - George Blanda (Pro Football Hall of Famer: Chicago Bears QB, Houston Oilers QB: AFL MVP [1961], LA Raiders kicker and quarterback: AFC Player of the Year, AP Male Athlete of the Year [1970]; holds NFL individual record for points scored in career [2002 -1949-75] and points scored after touchdowns [943])
1928 - Roddy (Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude) McDowall (Tony Award-winning actor: The Fighting Cock [1960]; Planet of the Apes series, The Poseidon Adventure, The Longest Day, How Green was My Valley, My Friend Flicka, Lassie Come Home; passed away Oct 3, 1998)
1929 - Pat Crowley (actress: Joe Forrester, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Red Garters, Return to Fantasy Island)
1929 - Sil Austin (musician, tenor saxophone: Slow Walk; composer: Ping-Pong)
1931 - Anne Bancroft (Anna Maria Louisa Italiano) (Oscar and Tony Award-winning actress: The Miracle Worker [1962]; The Graduate, The Turning Point, Agnes of God, Malice, Point of No Return, The Elephant Man, Silent Movie; married to Mel Brooks)
1933 - Dorothy Louden (actress: The Garry Moore Show)
1935 - Ken Kesey (author: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
1937 - Orlando (Manuel) Cepeda ('Baby Bull', 'Cha Cha': Baseball Hall of Famer: SF Giants [Rookie of the Year: 1958/all-star: 1959-1964, 1967/World Series: 1962, 1967, 1968], SL Cardinals [Baseball Writers' Award: 1967], Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals)
1938 - Bobby Wine (baseball: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher)
1938 - Lee Roy Yarborough (race car driver: Daytona 500 winner [1969])
1938 - Paul Benedict (actor: The Jeffersons, The Freshmen)
1939 - David H Souter, Weir NH, 107th Supreme Court Justice (1990- )
1939 - David H Souter, Weir NH, 107th Supreme Court Justice (1990- )
1940 - LaMont McLemore (singer: group: The 5th Dimension: Up Up and Away, Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In, [Last Night] I Didn't Get to Sleep at All, Wedding Bell Blues, Stoned Soul Picnic)
1946 - Joe Rudi (baseball: Oakland Athletics: World Series [1972])
1947 - Jeff MacNelly (Pulitzer Prize-winning [1972, 1978, 1985] cartoonist: Shoe; passed away June 8, 2000 [lymphoma])
1948 - John Ritter (Emmy Award winning actor: Three's Company [1983-84]; Problem Child I & II, Hooperman, Stay Tuned; son of Tex Ritter)
1951 - Cassandra Peterson (Elvira) (TV hostess: horror films; actress: Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, Echo Park, Uncensored, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Balboa, Working Girls)
1951 - Kermit Washington (basketball: American Univ., LA Lakers, Portland Trailblazers [suspended 26 games for punching Rockets' Rudy Tomjanovich: 1977])
1952 - Harold Solomon (tennis)
1954 - Wayne Krenchicki (baseball)
Famous deaths
1179 - Hildegard van Bingen, mystic/composer (Ordo Virtutum), dies at 81
1652 - Bonaventura Elsevier, book publisher/merchant, dies at about 69
1762 - Francesco Xaverio Geminiani, composer, dies at 74
1771 - Tobias George Smollett, novelist (Adv of Roderick Random), dies at 50
1803 - Franz Xaver Sussmayr, composer, dies
1858 - Dred Scott, US slave (REV-decision Supreme court), dies
1864 - Walter Savage Landor, author, dies
1869 - Peter M Roget, England, lexographer (Roget's Thesaurus), dies
1908 - Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge first fatality in an airplane accident.
1948 - Count Folke Bernadotte, UN mediator for Palestine, assassinated
1956 - Mildred E "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias, (Olympic-gold-1932), dies at 42
1966 - Fritz Wunderlich, charismatic German tenor (Stuttgart 1955-58), dies at 35 from falling down stairs, two months short of his Met Opera debut
1980 - Anastasio Somoza, former Nicaraguan Pres, assassinated in Paraguay
1980 - Katherine A Porter, US author (Ship of Fools, Pulit-66), dies at 90
1992 - Feodor Chaliapin Jr, actor (King's Whore), dies after illness at 87
1997 - Red Skelton, comedian (Red Skelton Show), dies at 84
If you have other Birthdays or events to add for this day please E-mail me
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