September 17



Events

Up to 1900 
 1577  The Peace of Bergerac is signed between Henry III of France and the Huguenots.
 1630  The city of Boston, Massachusetts is founded.
 1631  Thirty Years' War: The Battle of Breitenfeld ends in victory for Sweden over the Holy Roman Empire.
 1683  Anton van Leeuwenhoek writes a letter to the Royal Society, describing 'animalcules', the first-known description of protozoa.
 1716  Jean Thurel enlists in the Touraine army regiment at age 17, beginning over 90 years of military service lasting until his death at the age of 108.
 1775  American Revolutionary War: Invasion of Canada begins with the Siege of Fort St. Jean.
 1776  The Presidio of San Francisco is founded in New Spain.
 1787  The United States Constitution is signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
 1789  William Herschel discovers Saturn's moon Mimas.
 1809  The Finnish War between Sweden and Russia ends.
 1814  Francis Scott Key finishes his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry", later to become the lyrics for The Star-Spangled Banner, the national Anthem of the United States.
 1843  The Universidad de Chile (University of Chile) is founded in Santiago, Chile.
 1849  Abolitionist Harriet Tubman escapes Slavery.
 1859  Joshua A. Norton declares himself "Emperor of the United States".
 1862  American Civil War: The Battle of Antietam is fought. It is the bloodiest day in US military history.
 1862  American Civil War: The Allegheny Arsenal explosion results in the worst civilian disaster of the war.
 1894  First Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Yalu River, the largest naval engagement of the war.
 1900  Philippine-American War: Filipinos under Juan Cailles defeat Americans under Benjamin F. Cheatham at Mobitac.

1901  2000 
 1908  The Wright Flyer flown by Orville Wright, with Thomas Selfridge as passenger, crashes, killing Selfridge.
 1914  Andrew Fisher becomes Prime Minister of Australia for a third time.
 1916  World War I: German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen wins his first aerial combat near Cambrai, France.
 1928  The Okeechobee Hurricane hits southeastern Florida, killing more than 2,500 people.
 1939  World War II: The Soviet Union joins the Nazis' invasion of Poland.
 1939  World War II: German U-boat U 29 sinks British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous.
 1939  Taisto Maki becomes the first person to run the 10,000 metres in under 30 minutes, doing so in 29 minutes, 52 seconds.
 1940  World War II: Adolf Hitler calls off Operation Sealion after defeat in the Battle of Britain.
 1943  World War II: The Russian city of Bryansk is liberated.
 1944  World War II: Allied troops parachute into the Netherlands.
 1949  Canadian steamship SS Norronic burns in Toronto Harbour, killing over 118 people.
 1957  The Federation of Malaya (later Malaysia) joins the UN.
 1974  Bangladesh, Grenada and Guinea-Bissau join the UN.
 1976  The first Space Shuttle, the Enterprise, is unveiled by NASA.
 1978  The Camp David Accords are signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
 1980  The Solidarity trade union is established.
 1980  In Paraguay, former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is killed by Sandinista activists.
 1983  Vanessa L. Williams becomes the first African American Miss America.
 1988  The Summer Olympics in Seoul begin.
 1991  Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Korea, South Korea, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia join the UN.
 1993  The last Russian troops leave Poland.

From 2001 
 2001  The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
 2004  Tamil is declared as the first classical language of India.
 2004  The 2004 Summer Paralympics begin in Athens, lasting until September 28.
 2005  Helen Clark is elected to a third term in-a-row as Prime Minister of New Zealand.
 2006  The Fourpeaked Mountain volcano in Alaska erupts for the first time in over 10,000 years.
 2006  Fredrik Reinfeldt is elected Prime Minister of Sweden.
 2006  An audio tape of then-Prime Minister of Hungary Ferenc Gyurcsany is leaked to the public, in which he confessed that his Hungarian Socialist Party lied to win the 2006 General Election, sparking widespread protests across the country.
 2011  The Occupy Wall Street movement begins in New York City. By October 15, the Occupy movement had spread to protests in cities around the world against economic mismanagement.
 2016  Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad dies after a crash in the road race during the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
 2016  An explosion in New York City injures 29 people.

Births

Up to 1900 
 879  King Charles III of France (d. 929)
 1192  Minamoto no Sanetomo, Japanese shogun (d. 1219)
 1216  Robert I, Count of Artois (d. 1250)
 1505  Mary of Hungary (d. 1558)
 1550  Pope Paul V (d. 1621)
 1605  Francesco Sacrati, Italian composer (d. 1650)
 1630  Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma (d. 1694)
 1674  Ernest Augustus, Duke of York and Albany (d. 1728)
 1677  Stephen Hales, English physiologist and chemist (d. 1761)
 1688  Maria Luisa of Savoy, Queen of Spain (d. 1714)
 1730  Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, Prussian army officer (d. 1794)
 1739  John Rutledge, Chief Justice of the United States and Governor of South Carolina (d. 1800)
 1743  Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician (d. 1794)
 1764  John Goodricke, English astronomer (d. 1786)
 1771  Johann August Apel, German jurist and writer (d. 1816)
 1776  Langdon Cheves, American politician (d. 1857)
 1806  Duchenne de Boulogne, French neurologist (d. 1875)
 1811  John Brough, 26th Governor of Ohio (d. 1865)
 1819  Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, 1st President of the Republic of South Africa (d. 1901)
 1826  Bernhard Riemann, German mathematician (d. 1866)
 1832  Sergey Botkin, Russian physician (d. 1889)
 1850  Guerra Junqueiro, Portuguese lawyer, journalist, writer and poet (d. 1923)
 1854  David Dunbar Buick, Scottish-born American businessman (d. 1929)
 1857  Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovskii, Russian rocket scientist (d. 1935)
 1859  I. L. Patterson, American politician, 18th Governor of Oregon (d. 1929)
 1864  Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, Ukrainian writer (d. 1913)
 1869  Christian Lous Lange, Norwegian peace advocate (d. 1938)
 1872  Florencio Harmodio Arosemena, 14th President of Panama (d. 1945)
 1878  Vincenzo Tommasini, Italian composer (d. 1950)
 1879  Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy, Indian businessman, politician and activist (d. 1973)
 1883  William Carlos Williams, American poet (d. 1963)
 1885  George Cleveland, Canadian actor (d. 1957)
 1890  France Bevk, Slovenian writer (d. 1970)
 1892  Hendrik Andriessen, Dutch composer and organist (d. 1981)
 1895  Princess Margaret of Denmark (d. 1992)
 1900  J. Willard Marriott, American businessman (d. 1985)

1901  1950 
 1901  Francis Chichester, British sailor and adventurer (d. 1972)
 1903  Dolores Costello, American actress (d. 1979)
 1904  Frederick Ashton, English ballet dancer and choreographer (d. 1988)
 1904  Jerry Colonna, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1986)
 1906  Junius Richard Jayewardene, President of Sri Lanka (d. 1996)
 1907  Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1995)
 1914  Shin Kanemaru, Japanese politician (d. 1996)
 1915  M. F. Husain, Indian painter (d. 2011)
 1916  Mary Stewart, English novelist (d. 2014)
 1917  Isang Yun, Korean-German composer (d. 1995)
 1918  Chaim Herzog, President of Israel (d. 1997)
 1922  Agostinho Neto, 1st President of Angola (d. 1979)
 1922  Virgilio Barco Vargas, President of Colombia (d. 1997)
 1923  Hank Williams, American musician (d. 1953)
 1925  John List, American murderer (d. 2008)
 1926  Jean-Marie Lustiger, French cardinal (d. 2007)
 1928  Roddy McDowall, British actor (d. 1998)
 1929  Stirling Moss, British racing driver
 1929  Pat Crowley, American actress
 1930  David Huddleston, American actor (d. 2016)
 1930  Thomas Patten Stafford, American astronaut
 1930  Edgar Mitchell, American astronaut (d. 2016)
 1931  Anne Bancroft, American actress (d. 2005)
 1933  Claude Provost, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
 1933  Chuck Grassley, United States Senator from Iowa
 1934  Maureen Connolly, American tennis player (d. 1969)
 1935  Ken Kesey, American writer (d. 2001)
 1936  Rolv Wesenlund, Norwegian actor and singer (d. 2013)
 1937  Nigel Boocock, English speedway rider (d. 2015)
 1939  David Souter, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
 1940  Jan Eliasson, Swedish diplomat
 1940  Lorella De Luca, Italian actress (d. 2014)
 1942  Des Lynam, English television presenter
 1942  Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (d. 2012)
 1944  Reinhold Messner, Italian mountaineer
 1945  Phil Jackson, American basketball player and coach
 1945  Bruce Spence, New Zealand actor
 1945  David Emerson, Canadian politician
 1946  Billy Bonds, English footballer
 1947  Tessa Jowell, English politician
 1948  John Ritter, American actor (d. 2003)
 1948  Kemal Monteno, Bosnian singer (d. 2015)
 1950  Narendra Modi, Indian politician, Prime Minister of India

1951  1975 
 1951  Cassandra Peterson, American actress
 1951  Russell Brown, Scottish politician
 1951  Kermit Washington, American basketball player
 1953  Rita Rudner, American actress and comedienne
 1953  Tamasin Day-Lewis, English chef
 1954  Joel-François Durand, French composer
 1956  Andreas Starke, Lord Mayor of Bamberg in Bavaria
 1956  Almazbek Atambayev, President of Kyrgyzstan
 1957  Richie Ramone, American musician (The Ramones)
 1958  Janez Jansa, former Prime Minister of Slovenia
 1960  Damon Hill, British racing driver
 1960  Annabelle Apsion, British actress
 1960  Kevin Clash, American actor and puppeteer
 1961  Pamela Melroy, American astronaut
 1962  Baz Luhrmann, Australian movie director
 1962  Hesham Qandil, 51st Prime Minister of Egypt
 1962  BeBe Winans, American singer-songwriter and producer
 1963  Warren Gatland, New Zealand rugby player and coach
 1965  Yuji Naka, Japanese video game designer, creator of Sonic the Hedgehog
 1966  Paula Jones, American state employee
 1968  Anastacia, American singer
 1968  Marie-Chantal, former Crown Princess of Greece
 1968  Akhenaton, French rapper and producer
 1968  Tito Vilanova, Spanish football manager (d. 2014)
 1969  Ken Doherty, Irish snooker player
 1969  Keith Flint, English singer-songwriter (The Prodigy)
 1970  Dallas Campbell, Scottish television presenter
 1971  Mauro Milanese, Italian footballer
 1971  Mike Catt, English rugby player
 1972  Bobby Lee, American comedian and actor
 1973  Diego Albanese, Argentine rugby player
 1974  Sheed Wallace, American basketball player
 1975  Constantine Maroulis, American singer

From 1976 
 1977  Simone Perrotta, Italian footballer
 1979  Chuck Comeau, Canadian musician (Simple Plan)
 1980  Shabana Mahmood, English lawyer and politician
 1981  Bakari Koné, Ivorian footballer
 1982  Shermine Shahrivar, Iranian-German model
 1983  Jennifer Peña, American singer-songwriter, producer and actress
 1983  Aiza, Filipino singer and actor
 1984  John Kucera, Canadian skier
 1985  Tomas Berdych, Czech tennis player
 1985  Alexander Ovechkin, Russian ice hockey player
 1985  Jon Walker, American singer-songwriter
 1985  Umit Korkmaz, Turkish footballer
 1985  Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala, Crown Prince of Tonga
 1989  Kate Deines, American soccer player
 1989  Dijon Talton, American actor and singer
 1991  Minako Kotobuki, Japanese voice actress and singer
 1991  Ryo Ishikawa, Japanese golfer
 1994  Taylor Ware, American singer
 2008  Mia Talerico, American actress

Deaths

Up to 1900 
 454  Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria
 456  Remistus, Roman general
 1179  Hildegard of Bingen, German abbess and composer (b. 1098)
 1312  Ferdinand IV of Castile (b. 1285)
 1322  Robert III of Flanders (b. 1249)
 1422  Constantine II of Bulgaria
 1574  Pedro Menendez de Aviles, Spanish admiral and explorer (b. 1519)
 1575  Heinrich Bullinger, Swiss religious reformer (b. 1504)
 1665  King Philip IV of Spain (b. 1605)
 1676  Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi, founder of the Jewish Sabbatean Movement (b. 1626)
 1679  John of Austria the Younger, Spanish general (b. 1629)
 1762  Francesco Geminiani, Italian violinist (b. 1687)
 1802  Richard Owen Cambridge, English poet and historian (b. 1717)
 1808  Benjamin Bourne, American jurist and politician (b. 1755)
 1836  Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist (b. 1748)
 1863  Alfred de Vigny, French author, poet and playwright (b. 1797)
 1877  Henry Fox Talbot, British inventor and photography pioneer (b. 1800)
 1894  Deng Shichang, Chinese admiral (b. 1849)

1901  2000 
 1904  Kartini, Indonesian activist (b. 1879)
 1907  Ignaz Brüll, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1846)
 1908  Thomas Selfridge, First Lieutenant of the United States Army (b. 1882)
 1909  Thomas Bent, Premier of Victoria (b. 1838)
 1916  Hermann Krone, German photographer (b. 1827)
 1923  Stephanos Dragoumis, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1842)
 1948  Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (b. 1895)
 1951  Jimmy Yancey, American pianist (b. 1898)
 1961  Adnan Menderes, Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1899)
 1965  Alejandro Casona, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1903)
 1966  Fritz Wunderlich, German tenor (b. 1930)
 1970  France Bevk, Slovenian writer (b. 1890)
 1972  Akim Tamiroff, Georgian actor (b. 1899)
 1973  Hugo Winterhalter, American bandleader (b. 1909)
 1980  Anastasio Somoza Debayle, former President of Nicaragua (b. 1925)
 1985  Laura Ashley, Welsh designer (b. 1925)
 1991  Zino Francescatti, French violinist (b. 1902)
 1993  Willie Mosconi, American pool player (b. 1913)
 1994  Karl Popper, Austrian philosopher (b. 1902)
 1994  Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player (b. 1954)
 1996  Spiro Agnew, Vice President of the United States (b. 1918)
 1997  Red Skelton, American entertainer (b. 1913)
 2000  Paula Yates, British television personality (b. 1959)

From 2001 
 2003  Erich Hallhuber, German actor (b. 1951)
 2006  Patricia Kennedy Lawford, sister of John F. Kennedy (b. 1924)
 2009  Noordin Mohammad Top, Malaysian Islamist militant (b. 1968)
 2011  Kurt Sanderling, German conductor (b. 1912)
 2012  Russell Train, American politician (b. 1920)
 2013  Eiji Toyoda, Japanese industrialist (b. 1913)
 2013  Marti de Riquer i Morera, Spanish-Catalan linguist (b. 1914)
 2014  Andriy Husin, Ukrainian footballer (b. 1972)
 2014  China Zorrilla, Uruguayan actress (b. 1922)
 2014  George Hamilton IV, American country music singer (b. 1937)
 2014  Peter von Bagh, Finnish movie historian (b. 1943)
 2014  Lorna Thomas, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1917)
 2015  Dettmar Cramer, German football manager (b. 1925)
 2015  Milo Hamilton, American sportscaster (b. 1927)
 2015  David Willcocks, British choirmaster (b. 1919)
 2015  Vadim Kuzmin, Russian theoretical physicist (b. 1937)
 2016  Bahman Golbarnezhad, Iranian Paralympic cyclist (b. 1968)
 2016  Charmian Carr, American actress (b. 1942)
 2016  Sigge Parling, Swedish footballer (b. 1930)

Observances 
 Constitution Day (United States)
 Heroes' Day (Angola)

Days of the year