TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Sunday, Sept. 17, the 260th day of 2017. There are 105 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History: On September 17, 1967, The Doors appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on CBS-TV for the first — and last — time. The group was banned from the program after Jim Morrison ignored a producer’s request to change the line, “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher” to “Girl, we couldn’t get much better” while singing “Light My Fire” during the live broadcast.
In 1787, the Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
In 1862, more than 3,600 men were killed in the Civil War Battle of Antietam in Maryland.
In 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland during World War II, more than two weeks after Nazi Germany had launched its assault.
In 1957, two male attorneys “stood in” as actress Sophia Loren and producer Carlo Ponti were married by proxy in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Legal issues later forced an annulment; the couple wed in Sevres, France, in 1966.
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 1997, a U.N. helicopter slammed into a fog-shrouded mountain in central Bosnia and burst into flames, killing German diplomat Gerd Wagner, five Americans and six others.
In 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, R-Iowa, is 84. Singer LaMonte McLemore (The Fifth Dimension) is 82. Retired Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter is 78. Singer Fee Waybill is 67. Actress Cassandra Peterson (“Elvira, Mistress of the Dark”) is 66. Comedian Rita Rudner is 64. Director-actor Paul Feig, movie director Baz Luhrmann and singer BeBe Winans are 55. Actor Kyle Chandler and director-producer Bryan Singer are 52. Actor Malik Yoba is 50. Actor-comedian Bobby Lee and actor Felix Solis are 46. Rhythm-and-blues singer Marcus Sanders (Hi-Five) is 44. Actress-singer Nona Gaye is 43. Pop singer Maile Misajon (Eden’s Crush) is 41. Country singer Desi Wasdin (3 of Hearts) is 34. Rock musician Jon Walker is 32. Actress Danielle Brooks is 28. Actress-singer Denyse Tontz is 23.