September 17
Activity of the day
Today is . . .
- National Heroes' Day in Angola
- Constitution Day in the United States
- Citizenship Day in the United States
On this day . . .
- The Constitution of the United States of America is signed (1787)
- The Commonwealth of Australia is proclaimed (1900)
- The first long-playing 33rpm record is demonstrated in New York by RCA-Victor (1931)
- Poland is invaded by the USSR (1939)
- Police make 1,314 arrests during sit-down demonstrations by CND members in Trafalgar Square, London (1961)
- The American TV series M*A*S*H premieres on CBS (1972)
- NASA unveils the space shuttle Enterprise at ceremonies in California (1976)
Births
- Sir Francis Chichester, English adventurer who sailed solo around the world (1901)
- Sir Frederick Ashton, British dancer and choreographer (1906)
- Hank Williams, American country western singer and guitarist (1923)
- Roddy McDowall, English-born American actor (1928)
- Stirling Moss, English racing driver (1929)
- Anne Bancroft, American actress (1931)
- Lol Creme, English rock guitarist (1947)
- Anastacia, American singer (1968)
Deaths
- Philip IV, King of Spain (1665)
- William Henry Fox Talbot, English photographic pioneer (1877)
- Laura Ashley, Welsh designer and fabric retailer (1985)
- Karl Popper, Austrian philosopher of science (1994)
- Richard Bernard ('Red') Skelton, American comedian (1997)