September 17th, 1787: The U.S. Constitution is signed by delegates at the Philadelphia Convention.
September 17th, 1862: Battle of Antietam [Battle of Sharpsburg], the bloodiest day in the American Civil War. 22,000 were killed, wounded or missing in first battle on Union soil.
September 17th, 1908: Thomas Selfridge, a passenger in a plane piloted by Orville Wright, became the first airplane fatality when the craft crashed.
September 17th, 1916: WWI flying ace The Red Baron won his first aerial combat encounter.
September 17th, 1947: Jackie Robinson was named Rookie of Year by The Sporting News.
September 17th, 1949: Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner debut in Fast and Furry-ous.
September 17th, 1954: Lord of the Flies by William Golding is published.
September 17th, 1964: Bewitched premiered on ABC.
September 17th, 1965: The Wild, Wild West and Hogan’s Heroes premiered on CBS.
September 17th, 1967: Mission: Impossible premiered on CBS.
September 17th, 1967: The Doors appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and perform Light My Fire. Sullivan had requested that the line “Girl we couldn’t get much higher” be changed for the show, but Jim Morrison performed it the way it was written. The Doors never appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show again.
September 17th, 1972: M.A.S.H. premiered on CBS.
September 17th, 1978: Battlestar Galactica premiered on ABC.
September 17th, 1982: Bad to the Bone by George Thorogood and the Destroyers released.
September 17th, 1983: Vanessa Williams was crowned the first black Miss America.
September 17th, 2009: Archer premiered on FX. Community premiered on NBC.
Basketball coach Phil Jackson turns 75 years old.
Actress & TV host Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) turns 69 years old.
Director Baz Luhrmann turns 58 years old.
Actor Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) turns 55 years old.
Thursday, September 17th is National Apple Dumpling Day.
