TODAY INHISTORY
Today isThursday, Sept. 17.
TODAY’SHIGHLIGHT
OnSept. 17,1787, the Constitution of the United Stateswas completed and signedby a majority of delegates attending the ConstitutionalConvention in Philadelphia.
ONTHISDATE
In1862, more than 3,600 menwere killed in the Civil WarBattle ofAntietamin Maryland.
In1908, Lt. ThomasE. Selfridge of theU.S. Army Signal Corpsbecamethe first person to die in the crash ofapowered aircraft, theWright Flyer, at Fort
Myer, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C.
In 1937, the likeness of PresidentAbrahamLincoln’s headwasdedicated at Mount Rushmore.
In 1939, theSoviet Union invadedPoland duringWorld War II, more than twoweeks after Nazi Germanyhad launched its assault.
In 1944, duringWorldWar II, Alliedparatroopers launched Operation Market Garden, landing behindGermanlines in theNetherlands. (After initial success, theAllies were beatenbackby the Germans.)
In 1947, JamesV. Forrestal was sworn in as the firstU.S. SecretaryofDefense.
In 1971, citing health reasons, SupremeCourtJustice
Hugo Black, 85, retired. (Black, whowas succeeded by Lewis F. Powell Jr., died eight days aftermaking his announcement.)
In 1978, aftermeeting at CampDavid, IsraeliPrime MinisterMenachemBegin and EgyptianPresident AnwarSadat signed a framework fora peace treaty. In1987, the cityof Philadelphia, birthplace of theU.S. Constitution, threw a bigparty to celebrate the 200th anniversaryof the historic document; in a speech at Independence Hall, PresidentRonald Reagan acclaimed the framing of the Constitution as amilestone“thatwould profoundlyand forever alter not just these UnitedStates but theworld.”
In1997, ComedianRed Skelton died inRancho Mirage, California, at age84. In 2001, sixdays after9/11, stock prices nosedived but stopped short ofcollapse in anemotional, flag-waving reopening ofWallStreet; the DowJones industrial average ended the daydown 684.81 at8,920.70.
In 2011, ademonstration calling itselfOccupyWall Street began inNewYork, prompting similar protests around theU.S. and the world.
Tenyearsago: Thousands of cheering Catholic schoolchildren fetedPope BenedictXVI on his second day inBritain, offering a boisterouswelcome, as the pontiffurged their teachers tomake sure to provide a trusting, safe environment. Fiveyearsago: General Motors agreed to pay$900 million to fendoffcriminal prosecution over the deadly ignition-switch scandal, striking adeal that brought criticism downon theJustice Department fornot bringing charges against individual employees; GMalso announced itwould spend $575 million to settle the majorityof the civil lawsuits filed over the scandal. Oneyearago: NewYork becamethe first state to ban the sale offlavored e-cigarettes; themove came as federal health officials investigateda surgeofsevere breathing illnesses linked to vaping.