This Day in History – September 17, 2011

480 BC The Battle of Thermopylae, fought between 300 Spartans, led by their king, Leonidas, and the Achaemenid Empire begins 1394 Jews are expelled from France by order of King Charles VI 1683 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek writes a letter to the Royal Society describing “animalcules”: the first known description of protozoa. 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, Pennsylvania. 1789 William Herschel discovers Mimas, satellite of Saturn 1814 Francis Scott Key finishes his poem “Defense of Fort McHenry”, later to be the lyrics of “The Star-Spangled Banner”. 1819 1st whaling ship arrives in Hawaii 1859 Joshua A. Norton declares himself “Emperor Norton I” 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 history. 1862 American Civil War: The Allegheny Arsenal explosion results in the single largest civilian disaster during the war. 1873 19 students attend opening class at Ohio State University 1900 Philippine-American War: Filipinos under Juan Cailles defeat Americans under Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham at Mabitac. 1908 The Wright Flyer flown by Orville Wright, with Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge as passenger, crashes killing Selfridge. He becomes the first airplane fatality. 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 American Professional Football Association (later renamed National Football League) is organized in Canton, Ohio, United States. 1928 The Okeechobee Hurricane strikes southeastern Florida, killing upwards of 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. 1934 1st 33 1/3 rpm recording released (Beethoven’s 5th) 1940 World War II: Following the German defeat in the Battle of Britain, Hitler postpones Operation Sea Lion indefinitely. 1943 World War II: The Russian city of Bryansk is liberated from Nazis. 1944 World War II: Allied Airborne troops parachute into the Netherlands as the “Market” half of Operation Market Garden. 1947 James V. Forrestal is sworn in as the first Secretary of Defense of United States. 1952 “I am an American Day” & “Constitution Day” renamed “Citizenship Day” 1953 1st successful separation of Siamese twins 1956 Television is first broadcast in Australia. 1957 Malaysia joins the United Nations. 1961 Minnesota Vikings’ 1st NFL game (beat Chicago Bears 37-13) 1961 The world’s first retractable-dome stadium, the Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh. 1962 US space officials announce selection of 9 new astronauts 1964 “Bewitched” premiers on ABC TV 1964 Mickey Mantle gets hits #1999, 2000 & 2001 1967 “Mission Impossible” premieres on CBS-TV 1967 New Orleans Saints 1st NFL game, they lose to LA Rams 27-13 1968 Zond 5 completes circumnavigation of the Moon 1972 “M*A*S*H,” premiers on TV 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. 1983 Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America. 1986 US Senate confirms William Rehnquist as 16th chief justice 1991 4,355 turn out to see the Expos play the NY Mets at Shea Stadium 1991 North & South Korea joins the UN 1991 The first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) is released to the Internet. 1993 Last Russian troops leave Poland. 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. 2007 AOL, once the largest ISP in the U.S., officially announces plans to refocus the company as an advertising business and to relocate its corporate headquarters from Dulles, Virginia to New York, New York.]]]]> ]]>