September 17

September 17 in recent years

2024 (Tuesday)

2023 (Sunday)

2022 (Saturday)

2021 (Friday)

2020 (Thursday)

2019 (Tuesday)

2018 (Monday)

2017 (Sunday)

2016 (Saturday)

2015 (Thursday)

September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 105 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 456 – Remistus, Roman general (magister militum), is besieged by a Gothic force at Ravenna and later executed in the Palace in Classis, outside the city.
• 1111 – Highest Galician nobility led by Pedro Fróilaz de Traba and the bishop Diego Gelmírez crown Alfonso VII as "King of Galicia".
• 1176 – The Battle of Myriokephalon is fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks.
• 1382 – Louis the Great's daughter, Mary, is crowned "king" of Hungary.
• 1462 – The Battle of Świecino (also known as the Battle of Żarnowiec) is fought during Thirteen Years' War.
• 1577 – The Treaty of Bergerac is signed between Henry III of France and the Huguenots.
• 1620 – The Battle of Cecora (1620) is fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Polish–Ottoman War (1620–21).
• 1630 – The city of Boston, Massachusetts is founded.
• 1631 – Sweden wins a major victory at the Battle of Breitenfeld against the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War.
• 1658 – The Battle of Vilanova is fought between the Portugal and Spain during the Portuguese Restoration War.
• 1683 – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek writes a letter to the Royal Society describing "animalcules": the first known description of protozoa.
• 1716 – Jean Thurel enlists in the Touraine Regiment at the age of 18, the first day of a military career that would span for over 90 years.
• 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 (the Lenape or Delaware Indians).
• 1787 – The United States Constitution is signed in Philadelphia.
• 1793 – The Battle of Peyrestortes is fought.
• 1794 – The Battle of Sprimont is fought.
• 1809 – Peace between Sweden and Russia in the Finnish War; the territory that will become Finland is ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Fredrikshamn.
• 1814 – Francis Scott Key finishes his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry", later to be the lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner".
• 1849 – American abolitionist Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery.
• 1859 – Joshua A. Norton declares himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States."
• 1861 – Battle of Pavón is fought.
• 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.
• 1894 – Battle of the Yalu River, the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War.
• 1900 – Philippine–American War: Filipinos under Juan Cailles defeat Americans under Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham Jr. at Mabitac.
• 1901 – The Battle of Blood River Poort is fought.
• 1901 – The Battle of Elands River is fought.
• 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.
• 1914 – World War I: The Race to the Sea begins.
• 1916 – World War I: Manfred von Richthofen ("The Red Baron"), a flying ace of the German Luftstreitkräfte, wins his first aerial combat near Cambrai, France.
• 1920 – The National Football League is organized as the American Professional Football Association in Canton, Ohio
• 1924 – The Border Protection Corps is established in the Second Polish Republic for the defence of the eastern border against armed Soviet raids and local bandits.
• 1928 – The Okeechobee hurricane strikes southeastern Florida, killing more than 2,500 people. It is the third deadliest natural disaster in United States history, behind the Galveston hurricane of 1900 and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
• 1930 – The Ararat rebellion is suppressed.
• 1932 – A speech by Laureano Gómez leads to the escalation of the Leticia Incident.
• 1939 – World War II: The Soviet Union joins Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland during the Polish Defensive War of 1939.
• 1939 – World War II: German submarine U-29 sinks the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous.
• 1940 – World War II: Following Nazi Germany's defeat in the Battle of Britain, Hitler postpones Operation Sea Lion indefinitely.
• 1941 – World War II: A decree of the Soviet State Committee of Defense, restoring Vsevobuch in the face of the Great Patriotic War, is issued.
• 1941 – World War II: Soviet forces enter Tehran marking the end of the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.
• 1944 – World War II: Allied Airborne troops parachute into the Netherlands as the "Market" half of Operation Market Garden.
• 1944 – World War II: Soviet troops launch the Tallinn Offensive against Germany and pro independence Estonian units.
• 1944 – World War II: German forces are attacked by the Allies in the Battle of San Marino.
• 1948 – The Lehi (also known as the Stern gang) assassinates Count Folke Bernadotte, who was appointed by the United Nations to mediate between the Arab nations and Israel.
• 1948 – The Nizam of Hyderabad surrenders his sovereignty over the Hyderabad State and joins the Indian Union.
• 1949 – The Canadian steamship SS Noronic burns in Toronto Harbour with the loss of over 118 lives.
• 1957 – Malaysia joins the United Nations.
• 1961 – The world's first retractable-dome stadium, the Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• 1961 –The Minnesota Vikings play and win their first regular season National Football League game.
• 1965 – The Battle of Chawinda is fought between Pakistan and India.
• 1974 – Bangladesh, Grenada and Guinea-Bissau join the United Nations.
• 1976 – The first Space Shuttle, Enterprise, is unveiled by NASA.
• 1978 – The Camp David Accords are signed by Israel and Egypt.
• 1980 – After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, the nationwide independent trade union Solidarity is established.
• 1980 – Former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is killed in Asunción, Paraguay.
• 1983 – Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America.
• 1988 – The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad are opened in Seoul, South Korea.
• 1991 – Estonia, North Korea, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia join the United Nations.
• 1991 – The first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) is released to the Internet.
• 1992 – An Iranian Kurdish leader and his two joiners are assassinated by political militants in Berlin, Germany.
• 2001 – The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11 attacks, the longest closure since the Great Depression.
• 2006 – Fourpeaked Mountain in Alaska erupts, marking the first eruption for the long-dormant volcano in at least 10,000 years.
• 2006 – An audio tape of a private speech by Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány is leaked to the public, in which he confessed that his Hungarian Socialist Party had lied to win the 2006 election, sparking widespread protests across the country.
• 2011 – Occupy Wall Street movement begins in Zuccotti Park, New York City.
• 2016 – Two bombs explode in Seaside Park, New Jersey, and Manhattan, New York. 31 people are injured in the Manhattan bombing.

Births

• 879 – Charles the Simple, French king (d. 929)
• 1192 – Minamoto no Sanetomo, Japanese shogun (d. 1219)
• 1550 – Pope Paul V (d. 1621)
• 1605 – Francesco Sacrati, Italian composer (d. 1650)
• 1630 – Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma (d. 1694)
• 1639 – Hans Herr, Swiss bishop (d. 1725)
• 1674 – Ernest Augustus, Duke of York and Albany (d. 1728)
• 1677 – Stephen Hales, English physiologist and chemist, invented Forceps (d. 1761)
• 1687 – Durastante Natalucci, Italian historian and scholar (d. 1772)
• 1688 – Maria Luisa of Savoy (d. 1714)
• 1730 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, Prussian-American general (d. 1794)
• 1739 – John Rutledge, American judge and politician, 2nd Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1800)
• 1743 – Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician and political scientist (d. 1794)
• 1771 – Johann August Apel, German jurist and author (d. 1816)
• 1773 – Jonathan Alder, American captain and farmer (d. 1849)
• 1783 – Nadezhda Durova, Russian soldier (d. 1866)
• 1819 – Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, South African general and politician, 1st President of the South African Republic (d. 1901)
• 1820 – Émile Augier, French playwright (d. 1889)
• 1821 – Arthur Saint-Léon, French playwright (d. 1870)
• 1825 – Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II, American jurist and politician, 16th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1893)
• 1826 – Bernhard Riemann, German-Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1866)
• 1850 – Guerra Junqueiro, Portuguese journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1923)
• 1854 – David Dunbar Buick, Scottish-American businessman, founded Buick Motor Company (d. 1929)
• 1857 – Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian scientist and engineer (d. 1935)
• 1859 – Frank Dawson Adams, Canadian geologist and academic (d. 1942)
• 1859 – Billy the Kid, American gunman (d. 1881)
• 1859 – I. L. Patterson, American politician, 18th Governor of Oregon (d. 1929)
• 1860 – Mihkel Martna, Estonian journalist and politician (d. 1934)
• 1864 – James Tancred, English admiral (d. 1943)
• 1864 – Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, Ukrainian writer (d. 1913)
• 1867 – Vera Yevstafievna Popova, Russian chemist (d. 1896)
• 1868 – James Alexander Calder, Canadian educator and politician, Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence (d. 1956)
• 1869 – Christian Lous Lange, Norwegian political scientist, historian, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1938)
• 1874 – Walter Murdoch, Australian author and academic (d. 1970)
• 1878 – Vincenzo Tommasini, Italian composer (d. 1950)
• 1879 – Rube Foster, American baseball player and manager (d. 1930)
• 1879 – Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, Indian businessman and politician (d. 1973)
• 1881 – Alfred Carpenter, English admiral, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1955)
• 1883 – William Carlos Williams, American poet, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1963)
• 1884 – Charles Griffes, American pianist and composer (d. 1920)
• 1886 – Anton Irv, Estonian captain (d. 1919)
• 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)
• 1901 – Francis Chichester, English pilot and sailor (d. 1972)
• 1902 – Bea Miles, Australian author (d. 1973)
• 1903 – Karel Miljon, Dutch boxer (d. 1984)
• 1903 – Frank O'Connor, Irish short story writer, novelist, and poet (d. 1966)
• 1903 – Minanogawa Tōzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 34th Yokozuna (d. 1971)
• 1906 – J. R. Jayewardene, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Sri Lanka (d. 1996)
• 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 – John Creasey, English author and politician (d. 1973)
• 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)
• 1912 – Irena Kwiatkowska, Polish actress (d. 2011)
• 1914 – Thomas J. Bata, Czech-Canadian businessman (d. 2008)
• 1914 – Shin Kanemaru, Japanese politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1996)
• 1915 – M. F. Husain, Indian painter and director (d. 2011)
• 1916 – Mary Stewart, English-Scottish author and poet (d. 2014)
• 1917 – William Grut, Swedish pentathlete (d. 2012)
• 1917 – Ib Melchior, Danish-American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
• 1917 – Isang Yun, South Korean-German composer and educator (d. 1995)
• 1918 – Lea Gottlieb, Hungarian-Israeli fashion designer, founded the Gottex Company (d. 2012)
• 1918 – Chaim Herzog, Irish-born Israeli general and politician, 6th President of Israel (d. 1997)
• 1920 – Dinah Sheridan, English actress (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Agostinho Neto, Angolan poet and politician, 1st President of Angola (d. 1979)
• 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)
• 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 – Jean-Marie Lustiger, French cardinal (d. 2007)
• 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)
• 1928 – Roddy McDowall, English-American actor (d. 1998)
• 1929 – Sil Austin, American saxophonist (d. 2001)
• 1929 – David Craig, Baron Craig of Radley, Northern Irish air marshal and politician
• 1929 – Stirling Moss, English race car driver and sportscaster
• 1930 – David Huddleston, American actor (d. 2016)
• 1930 – Lalgudi Jayaraman, Indian violinist and composer (d. 2013)
• 1930 – Theo Loevendie, Dutch clarinet player and composer
• 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)
• 1931 – Jean-Claude Carrière, French actor and screenwriter
• 1932 – Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, emir of Qatar (d. 2016)
• 1932 – Robert B. Parker, American author and academic (d. 2010)
• 1932 – Indarjit Singh, Indian-English journalist
• 1933 – Chuck Grassley, American lawyer and politician
• 1933 – Claude Provost, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 1984)
• 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)
• 1937 – Nigel Boocock, English-Australian motorcycle racer (d. 2015)
• 1937 – Orlando Cepeda, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
• 1937 – Sitakant Mahapatra, Indian poet and literary critic
• 1938 – Paul Benedict, American actor (d. 2008)
• 1938 – Perry Robinson, American clarinet player and composer
• 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
• 1940 – Jan Eliasson, Swedish politician and diplomat, 4th Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
• 1940 – Peter Lever, English cricketer
• 1940 – Gilberto Parlotti, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 1972)
• 1941 – Bob Matsui, American lawyer and politician (d. 2005)
• 1942 – Robert Graysmith, American author and illustrator
• 1942 – Des Lynam, Irish-English journalist and author
• 1942 – Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (d. 2012)
• 1944 – Les Emmerson, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1944 – Reinhold Messner, Italian mountaineer and explorer
• 1945 – David Emerson, Canadian economist and politician, 8th Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada
• 1945 – Phil Jackson, American basketball player and coach
• 1945 – Bhakti Charu Swami, Indian religious leader
• 1946 – Billy Bonds, English footballer and manager
• 1946 – Heimar Lenk, Estonian journalist and politician
• 1947 – Tessa Jowell, English social worker and politician, Minister for the Cabinet Office
• 1947 – Gail Carson Levine, American author
• 1947 – Jeff MacNelly, American cartoonist (d. 2000)
• 1948 – Raphy Leavitt, Puerto Rican-American accordion player and composer (d. 2015)
• 1948 – Kemal Monteno, Bosnian singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
• 1948 – John Ritter, American actor and producer (d. 2003)
• 1949 – Ron Stevens, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
• 1950 – Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat, India (2001-14) and politician, 15th Prime Minister of India
• 1950 – Fee Waybill, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1951 – Russell Brown, Scottish politician
• 1951 – Piet Kleine, Dutch speed skater and coach
• 1951 – Cassandra Peterson, American actress, television host, and producer
• 1952 – Harold Solomon, American tennis player and coach
• 1953 – Luís Amado, Portuguese politician, former minister of Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1953 – Tamasin Day-Lewis, English chef and author
• 1953 – Altaf Hussain, Pakistani-English soldier and politician
• 1953 – Rita Rudner, American actress, comedian, and screenwriter
• 1954 – Joël-François Durand, French pianist and composer
• 1955 – Scott Simpson, American golfer
• 1956 – Thad Bosley, American baseball player and coach
• 1956 – Mandawuy Yunupingu, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
• 1956 – Almazbek Atambayev, Kyrgyz politician, 4th President of Kyrgyzstan
• 1957 – David Bintley, English ballet dancer and director
• 1957 – Steve Bryles, American businessman and politician (d. 2012)
• 1958 – Janez Janša, Slovenian politician, 5th Prime Minister of Slovenia
• 1958 – Tom Waddell, Scottish-American baseball player
• 1960 – John Bottomley, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
• 1960 – John Franco, American baseball player
• 1960 – Damon Hill, English race car driver and guitarist
• 1960 – Alan Krueger, American economist and academic
• 1961 – Jim Cornette, American wrestling manager and sportscaster
• 1961 – Giorgos Koumoutsakos, Greek politician
• 1962 – Baz Luhrmann, Australian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1962 – Dustin Nguyen, Vietnamese-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1962 – Hesham Qandil, Egyptian engineer and politician, 51st Prime Minister of Egypt
• 1962 – Wayne Riley, Australian golfer
• 1962 – BeBe Winans, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1963 – Masahiro Chono, American-Japanese wrestler and manager
• 1963 – William Shockley, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1963 – James Urbaniak, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1965 – Kyle Chandler, American actor
• 1965 – Yuji Naka, Japanese video game designer, created Sonic the Hedgehog
• 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 – Tito Vilanova, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 2014)
• 1969 – Adam Devlin, English guitarist and songwriter
• 1969 – Keith Flint, English singer-songwriter
• 1969 – Greg King, New Zealand lawyer and television host (d. 2012)
• 1969 – Tarvo Seeman, Estonian chess player
• 1970 – Mark Brunell, American football player and coach
• 1971 – Nate Berkus, American interior designer and television host
• 1971 – Mike Catt, South African-English rugby player and coach
• 1971 – Steve Kerrigan, American businessman and politician
• 1971 – Mauro Milanese, Italian footballer and manager
• 1971 – Andy Edwards, English footballer
• 1972 – Bobby Lee, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1973 – Diego Albanese, Argentine rugby player
• 1973 – Demis Nikolaidis, Greek footballer
• 1974 – Mirah, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1974 – Tormod Granheim, Norwegian skier and explorer
• 1974 – Craig Spence, Australian golfer
• 1974 – Rasheed Wallace, American basketball player and coach
• 1975 – Wilko de Vogt, Dutch footballer
• 1975 – Jade Esteban Estrada, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
• 1975 – Jimmie Johnson, American race car driver
• 1975 – Pumpkinhead, American rapper (d. 2015)
• 1977 – Sam Esmail, American screenwriter
• 1977 – Simone Perrotta, Italian footballer
• 1978 – Sheeri Cabral, American computer scientist and blogger
• 1978 – Shawn Horcoff, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Steffen Algreen, Danish footballer
• 1979 – Akin Ayodele, American football player
• 1980 – Dan Haren, American baseball player
• 1980 – Shabana Mahmood, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
• 1980 – Oliver Risser, Namibian footballer
• 1981 – Casey Janssen, American baseball player
• 1981 – Bakari Koné, Ivorian footballer
• 1981 – Francis Manioru, Solomon sprinter
• 1982 – Hope Larson, American illustrator
• 1982 – Garth Murray, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1984 – Domenico Citro, Italian footballer
• 1984 – Mary DeScenza, American swimmer
• 1984 – John Kucera, Canadian skier
• 1984 – Patrick van Luijk, Dutch sprinter
• 1984 – Eugenia Volodina, Russian model
• 1985 – Tomáš Berdych, Czech tennis player
• 1985 – Brendan Clarke, Irish footballer
• 1985 – José Gonçalves, Portuguese footballer
• 1985 – Alexander Ovechkin, Russian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Mason Raymond, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Jon Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1986 – Ravichandran Ashwin, Indian cricketer
• 1986 – Paolo De Ceglie, Italian footballer
• 1986 – Yussef Suleiman, Syrian footballer (d. 2013)
• 1987 – Paul Huntington, English footballer
• 1989 – Kate Deines, American soccer player
• 1990 – Sean Scannell, English footballer
• 1991 – Ryo Ishikawa, Japanese golfer
• 1991 – Justyna Jegiołka, Polish tennis player
• 1991 – Sanne Wevers, Dutch gymnast
• 1996 – Ella Purnell, British actress
• 1997 – Auston Matthews, American ice hockey player

Deaths

• 456 – Remistus, Roman general
• 1179 – Hildegard of Bingen, German mystic, composer, and saint (b. 1098)
• 1322 – Robert III, Count of Flanders (b. 1249)
• 1422 – Constantine II of Bulgaria (b. 1370)
• 1563 – Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, English soldier (b. 1526)
• 1574 – Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Spanish admiral and explorer, founded St. Augustine, Florida (b. 1519)
• 1575 – Heinrich Bullinger, Swiss theologian and reformer (b. 1504)
• 1609 – Judah Loew ben Bezalel, Bohemian rabbi, mystic and philosopher (b. 1520)
• 1621 – Robert Bellarmine, Italian cardinal and saint (b. 1542)
• 1626 – Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg, German cleric and politician, Archbishop-Elector of Mainz (b. 1553)
• 1630 – Thomas Lake, English politician, English Secretary of State (b. 1567)
• 1665 – Philip IV of Spain (b. 1605)
• 1676 – Sabbatai Zevi, Turkish rabbi and scholar (b. 1626)
• 1679 – John of Austria the Younger, Spanish general and politician, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands (b. 1629)
• 1762 – Francesco Geminiani, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1687)
• 1771 – Tobias Smollett, Scottish-Italian author and poet (b. 1721)
• 1803 – Franz Xaver Süssmayr, Austrian composer and director (b. 1766)
• 1808 – Benjamin Bourne, American judge and politician (b. 1755)
• 1817 – Jacques Bernard d'Anselme, French general (b. 1740)
• 1836 – Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist and author (b. 1748)
• 1858 – Dred Scott, American slave (b. 1795)
• 1863 – Charles Robert Cockerell, English archaeologist and architect (b. 1788)
• 1863 – Alfred de Vigny, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1797)
• 1864 – Walter Savage Landor, English author and poet (b. 1775)
• 1868 – Roman Nose, Native American warrior (b. circa 1823)
• 1877 – Henry Fox Talbot, English photographer, developed the Calotype Process (b. 1800)
• 1878 – Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, French lawyer and adventurer (b. 1825)
• 1879 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect and theorist (b. 1814)
• 1894 – Deng Shichang, Chinese captain (b. 1849)
• 1899 – Charles Alfred Pillsbury, American businessman, co-founded the Pillsbury Company (b. 1842)
• 1907 – Ignaz Brüll, Czech-Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1846)
• 1908 – Henri Julien, Canadian cartoonist (b. 1852)
• 1908 – Thomas Selfridge, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1882)
• 1909 – Thomas Bent, Australian businessman and politician, 22nd Premier of Victoria (b. 1838)
• 1923 – Stefanos Dragoumis, Greek judge and politician, 92nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1842)
• 1925 – Carl Eytel, German-American painter and illustrator (b. 1862)
• 1933 – Joseph De Piro, Maltese priest and missionary (b. 1877)
• 1936 – Ettie Annie Rout, New Zealand author and activist (b. 1877)
• 1937 – Walter Dubislav, German logician and philosopher of science, Vienna circle member (b. 1895)
• 1938 – Bruno Jasieński, Polish poet and author (b. 1901)
• 1943 – Friedrich Zickwolff, German general (b. 1893)
• 1948 – Ruth Benedict, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1887)
• 1948 – Folke Bernadotte, Swedish soldier and diplomat (b. 1895)
• 1951 – Jimmy Yancey, American pianist and composer (b. 1898)
• 1953 – David Munson, American runner (b. 1884)
• 1953 – Hans Feige, German general (Wehrmacht) (b. 1880)
• 1961 – Adnan Menderes, Turkish lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1899)
• 1965 – Alejandro Casona, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1903)
• 1966 – Fritz Wunderlich, German tenor and actor (b. 1930)
• 1971 – Carlos Lamarca, Brazilian captain (b. 1937)
• 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)
• 1980 – Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Nicaraguan commander and politician, 73rd President of Nicaragua (b. 1925)
• 1982 – Manos Loïzos, Egyptian-Greek composer (b. 1937)
• 1983 – Humberto Sousa Medeiros, Portuguese-American cardinal (b. 1915)
• 1984 – Richard Basehart, American actor and director (b. 1914)
• 1985 – Laura Ashley, Welsh fashion designer, founded Laura Ashley plc (b. 1925)
• 1987 – Harry Locke, English actor (b. 1913)
• 1991 – Zino Francescatti, French violinist and composer (b. 1902)
• 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)
• 1994 – Karl Popper, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (b. 1902)
• 1995 – Isadore Epstein, Estonian-American astronomer and academic (b. 1919)
• 1995 – Lucien Victor, Belgian cyclist (b. 1931)
• 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)
• 1998 – Geoffrey Dutton, Australian historian and author (b. 1922)
• 1999 – Frankie Vaughan, English singer and actor (b. 1928)
• 2000 – Georgiy Gongadze, Georgian-Ukrainian journalist and director (b. 1969)
• 2003 – Erich Hallhuber, German actor (b. 1951)
• 2005 – Jacques Lacarrière, French journalist and critic (b. 1925)
• 2005 – Alfred Reed, American composer and educator (b. 1921)
• 2009 – Dick Durock, American stuntman and actor (b. 1937)
• 2009 – Noordin Mohammad Top, Malaysian terrorist (b. 1968)
• 2011 – Colin Madigan, Australian architect and author, designed the National Gallery of Australia (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Melvin Charney, Canadian sculptor and architect (b. 1935)
• 2012 – Lou Kenton, English soldier and potter (b. 1908)
• 2012 – Russell E. Train, American soldier and civil servant (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Kristian Gidlund, Swedish drummer and journalist (b. 1983)
• 2013 – Larry Lake, American-Canadian trumpet player and composer (b. 1943)
• 2013 – Bernie McGann, Australian saxophonist and composer (b. 1937)
• 2013 – Alex Naumik, Lithuanian-Norwegian singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1949)
• 2013 – Michael J. Noonan, Irish farmer and politician, 25th Irish Minister of Defence (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Marvin Rainwater, American singer-songwriter (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Eiji Toyoda, Japanese businessman (b. 1913)
• 2014 – George Hamilton IV, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1937)
• 2014 – Andriy Husin, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1972)
• 2014 – Wakachichibu Komei, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Charles Read, Australian air marshal (b. 1918)
• 2014 – Peter von Bagh, Finnish historian, director, and screenwriter (b. 1943)
• 2014 – China Zorrilla, Uruguayan actress (b. 1922)
• 2015 – Ingrīda Andriņa, Latvian actress (b. 1944)
• 2015 – Dettmar Cramer, German footballer and manager (b. 1925)
• 2015 – Milo Hamilton, American sportscaster (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Vadim Kuzmin, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1937)
• 2015 – David Willcocks, English organist, composer, and conductor (b. 1919)
• 2016 – Bahman Golbarnezhad, Iranian racing cyclist (b. 1968)
• 2016 – Sigge Parling, Swedish footballer (b. 1936)

Holidays and observances

• Australian Citizenship Day
• Batman Day, an annual observance begun by DC Comics on September 17, 2013
• Christian feast day:
  • Albert Avogadro
  • Ariadne of Phrygia
  • Blessed Cecilia Eusepi
  • Stanislaus Papczyński
  • Hildegard of Bingen
  • Lambert
  • Robert Bellarmine
  • Satyrus of Milan
  • Socrates and Stephen
  • Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński
  • September 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Constitution Day, observed on the previous Friday if it falls on a Saturday, the following Monday if on a Sunday; and the beginning of the Constitution Week (United States)
• Heroes' Day (Angola)
• Marathwada Liberation Day (Maharashtra)
• Operation Market Garden Anniversary is still remembered with parachuting and dedications on this day. (Netherlands)
• Sybirak's Day (Poland)
• Teachers' Day (Honduras)

External links

• BBC News. "September 17: On This Day". news.bbc.co.uk. UK.
• Canada Channel. "September 17: Today in Canadian History". canadachannel.ca. Canada.
• The New York Times: On This Day