September 17:

Events

• 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Invasion of Canada begins with the Siege of Fort St. Jean.
• 1776 – The Presidio of San Francisco is founded in New Spain.
• 1778 – The Treaty of Fort Pitt is signed. It is the first formal treaty between the United States and a Native American tribe.
• 1787 – The United States Constitution is signed in Philadelphia.
• 1849 – American abolitionist Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery.
• 1859 – Joshua A. Norton declares himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States."
• 1862 – American Civil War: George B. McClellan halts the northward drive of Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army in the single-day Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American military history.
• 1862 – American Civil War: The Allegheny Arsenal explosion results in the single largest civilian disaster during the war.
• 1900 – Philippine–American War: Filipinos under Juan Cailles defeat Americans under Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham Jr. at Mabitac.
• 1908 – The Wright Flyer flown by Orville Wright, with Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge as passenger, crashes, killing Selfridge, who becomes the first airplane fatality.
• 1914 – Andrew Fisher becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.
• 1920 – The National Football League is organized as the American Professional Football Association in Canton, Ohio.
• 1928 – The Okeechobee hurricane strikes southeastern Florida, killing more than 2,500 people.
• 1935 – The Niagara Gorge Railroad ceases operations after a rockslide.
• 1961 – The world's first retractable roof stadium, the Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• 1961 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 crashes during takeoff from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, killing all 37 people on board.
• 1976 – The Space Shuttle Enterprise is unveiled by NASA.
• 1978 – The Camp David Accords are signed by Israel and Egypt.
• 1983 – Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America.
• 2001 – The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11 attacks, the longest closure since the Great Depression.
• 2011 – Occupy Wall Street movement begins in Zuccotti Park, New York City.
• 2016 – Two bombs explode in Seaside Park, New Jersey, and Manhattan. Thirty-one people are injured in the Manhattan bombing.

Births

• 1739 – John Rutledge, American judge and politician, 2nd Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1800)
• 1773 – Jonathan Alder, American captain and farmer (d. 1849)
• 1730 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, Prussian-American general (d. 1794)
• 1825 – Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II, American jurist and politician, 16th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1893)
• 1859 – Billy the Kid, American gunman (d. 1881)
• 1859 – I. L. Patterson, American politician, 18th Governor of Oregon (d. 1929)
• 1879 – Rube Foster, American baseball player and manager (d. 1930)
• 1883 – William Carlos Williams, American poet, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1963)
• 1884 – Charles Griffes, American pianist and composer (d. 1920)
• 1897 – Earl Webb, American baseball player and coach (d. 1965)
• 1900 – Hughie Critz, American baseball player (d. 1980)
• 1900 – J. Willard Marriott, American businessman, founded the Marriott Corporation (d. 1985)
• 1906 – Edgar Wayburn, American physician and environmentalist (d. 2010)
• 1907 – Warren E. Burger, American lawyer and judge, 15th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1995)
• 1908 – Rafael Israelyan, Armenian architect and educator, designed the Sardarapat Memorial and St. Vartan Cathedral (d. 1973)
• 1909 – Elizabeth Enright, American author and illustrator (d. 1968)
• 1917 – Ib Melchior, Danish-American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
• 1923 – Ralph Sharon, English-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2015)
• 1923 – Hank Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1953)
• 1925 – Dorothy Loudon, American actress and singer (d. 2003)
• 1925 – John List, American murderer (d. 2008)
• 1926 – Bill Black, American bass player and bandleader (d. 1965)
• 1926 – Curtis Harrington, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2007)
• 1926 – Hovie Lister, American minister and pianist (d. 2001)
• 1926 – Jack McDuff, American singer and organist (d. 2001)
• 1927 – George Blanda, American football player (d. 2010)
• 1928 – Park Honan, American author and academic (d. 2014)
• 1929 – Sil Austin, American saxophonist (d. 2001)
• 1930 – David Huddleston, American actor (d. 2016)
• 1930 – Edgar Mitchell, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2016)
• 1930 – Jim Rohn, American philosopher and author (d. 2009)
• 1930 – Thomas P. Stafford, American general, pilot, and astronaut
• 1931 – Anne Bancroft, American actress (d. 2005)
• 1932 – Robert B. Parker, American author and academic (d. 2010)
• 1933 – Bulldog Brower, American wrestler (d. 1997)
• 1933 – Chuck Grassley, American lawyer and politician
• 1934 – Maureen Connolly, American tennis player (d. 1969)
• 1935 – Ken Kesey, American novelist, essayist, and poet (d. 2001)
• 1936 – Gerald Guralnik, American physicist and academic (d. 2014)
• 1936 – Michael Hennagin, American composer and educator (d. 1993)
• 1938 – Paul Benedict, American actor (d. 2008)
• 1938 – Perry Robinson, American clarinet player and composer (d. 2018)
• 1938 – Bobby Wine, American baseball player and coach
• 1939 – Carl Dennis, American poet and educator
• 1939 – Shelby Flint, American singer-songwriter and voice actress
• 1939 – David Souter, American lawyer and jurist
• 1941 – Bob Matsui, American lawyer and politician (d. 2005)
• 1942 – Robert Graysmith, American author and illustrator
• 1942 – Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (d. 2012)
• 1944 – Jean Taylor, American mathematician and academic
• 1945 – Phil Jackson, American basketball player and coach
• 1947 – Gail Carson Levine, American author
• 1947 – Jeff MacNelly, American cartoonist (d. 2000)
• 1948 – John Ritter, American actor and producer (d. 2003)
• 1950 – Fee Waybill, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1951 – Cassandra Peterson, American actress, television host, and producer
• 1952 – Harold Solomon, American tennis player and coach
• 1953 – Rita Rudner, American actress, comedian, and screenwriter
• 1954 – Bill Irwin, American wrestler
• 1955 – Scott Simpson, American golfer
• 1955 – Mike Parson, American politician, 57th Governor of Missouri
• 1956 – Thad Bosley, American baseball player and coach
• 1957 – Steve Bryles, American businessman and politician (d. 2012)
• 1960 – John Franco, American baseball player
• 1960 – Alan Krueger, American economist and academic (d. 2019)
• 1961 – Jim Cornette, American wrestling manager and sportscaster* 1962 – BeBe Winans, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1963 – Masahiro Chono, American-Japanese wrestler and manager
• 1963 – James Urbaniak, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1965 – Kyle Chandler, American actor
• 1965 – Guy Picciotto, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1965 – Bryan Singer, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1966 – Doug E. Fresh, American rapper and producer
• 1967 – Michael Carbajal, American boxer
• 1968 – Cheryl Strayed, American author
• 1969 – Paul Varelans, American MMA fighter and wrestler
• 1971 – Nate Berkus, American interior designer and television host
• 1977 – Sam Esmail, American screenwriter
• 1979 – Akin Ayodele, American football player
• 1979 – Flo Rida, American rapper
• 1980 – Dan Haren, American baseball player
• 1981 – Casey Janssen, American baseball player
• 1989 – Kate Deines, American soccer player
• 1995 – Patrick Mahomes, American football player
• 1997 – Auston Matthews, American ice hockey player

Deaths

• 1808 – Benjamin Bourne, American judge and politician (b. 1755)
• 1858 – Dred Scott, American slave (b. 1795)
• 1862 – Lawrence O'Bryan Branch, American politician and Confederate general (b. 1820)
• 1862 – William E. Starke, Confederate general (b. 1814)
• 1868 – Roman Nose, Native American warrior (b. circa 1823)
• 1899 – Charles Alfred Pillsbury, American businessman, co-founded the Pillsbury Company (b. 1842)
• 1907 – Edmonia Lewis, American sculptor (b. 1844)
• 1908 – Thomas Selfridge, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1882)* 1925 – Carl Eytel, German-American painter and illustrator (b. 1862)
• 1948 – Ruth Benedict, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1887)
• 1951 – Jimmy Yancey, American pianist and composer (b. 1898)
• 1953 – David Munson, American runner (b. 1884)
• 1972 – Akim Tamiroff, American actor (b. 1899)* 1973 – Hugo Winterhalter, American bandleader and composer (b. 1909)* 1975 – Nicola Moscona, Greek-American singer-songwriter (b. 1907)
• 1984 – Richard Basehart, American actor and director (b. 1914)
• 1992 – Roger Wagner, American conductor and educator (b. 1914)
• 1993 – Willie Mosconi, American pool player and actor (b. 1913)
• 1993 – Christian Nyby, American director and producer (b. 1913)
• 1994 – John Delafose, American accordion player (b. 1939)
• 1994 – Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player and coach (b. 1954)
• 1996 – Spiro Agnew, American soldier and politician, 39th Vice President of the United States (b. 1918)
• 1997 – Red Skelton, American actor and comedian (b. 1913)
• 1998 – Ted Binion, American poker player and businessman (b. 1943)
• 2005 – Alfred Reed, American composer and educator (b. 1921)
• 2009 – Dick Durock, American stuntman and actor (b. 1937)
• 2012 – Russell E. Train, American soldier and civil servant (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Larry Lake, American-Canadian trumpet player and composer (b. 1943)
• 2013 – Marvin Rainwater, American singer-songwriter (b. 1925)
• 2014 – George Hamilton IV, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1937)
• 2015 – Milo Hamilton, American sportscaster (b. 1927)
• 2017 – Bobby Heenan, American professional wrestling manager (b. 1944)
• 2019 – Cokie Roberts, American journalist and bestselling author (b. 1943)
• 2020 – Robert W. Gore, American engineer and businessman, co-inventor of Gore-Tex (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances

• Constitution Day