This Day in History

On Sept. 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

On this date:

In 1862, more than 3,600 men were killed in the Civil War Battle of Antietam in Maryland.

In 1920, the American Professional Football Association – a precursor of the National Football League – was formed in Canton, Ohio.

In 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland during World War II, more than two weeks after Nazi Germany had launched its assault.

In 1964, the James Bond movie “Goldfinger,” starring Sean Connery, premiered in London. The fantasy sitcom “Bewitched,” starring Elizabeth Montgomery, debuted on ABC-TV.

In 1971, citing health reasons, Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, 85, retired. (Black, who was succeeded by Lewis F. Powell Jr., died eight days after making his announcement.)

In 1978, after meeting at Camp David, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed a framework for a peace treaty.

In 1980, former Nicaraguan president Anastasio Somoza was assassinated in Paraguay.

In 1987, the city of Philadelphia, birthplace of the U.S. Constitution, threw a big party to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the historic document; in a speech at Independence Hall, President Ronald Reagan acclaimed the framing of the Constitution as a milestone “that would profoundly and forever alter not just these United States but the world.”

In 1996, former Vice President Spiro T. Agnew died in Berlin, Maryland, at age 77.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton lifted restrictions on trade, travel and banking imposed on North Korea a half-century earlier, rewarding it for agreeing to curb missile tests.

In 2001, Six days after 9/11, stock prices nosedived but stopped short of collapse in an emotional, flag-waving reopening of Wall Street; the Dow Jones industrial average ended the day down 684.81 at 8,920.70.

In 2011, a demonstration calling itself Occupy Wall Street began in New York, prompting similar protests around the U.S. and the world.