TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT 1787

The Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

1862

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

1908

Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge of the U.S. Army Signal Corps became the first person to die in the crash of a powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer, at Fort Myer, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C.

1937

The likeness of President Abraham Lincoln’s head was dedicated at Mount Rushmore.

1939

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

1944

During World War II, Allied paratroopers launched Operation Market Garden, landing behind German lines in the Netherlands.

1947

James V. Forrestal was sworn in as the first U.S. Secretary of Defense.

1971

Citing health reasons, Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, 85, retired.

1978

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

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.”

1997

Comedian Red Skelton died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 84.

2011

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

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Riowa, is 87. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson is 75. Actor Cassandra Peterson (“Elvira, Mistress of the Dark”) is 69. Comedian Rita Rudner is 67. Rapper Doug E. Fresh is 54. Actor Felix Solis is 49. NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson is 45.