SEPTEMBER 17 | Birthdays and Events
Famous Birthdays
People born on September 17
David Dunbar Buick
Died: March 5, 1929 (age 74 years)
Founder of the Buick Motor Company.
Henry McCarty
Died: July 14, 1881 (age 21 years)
Wild West gunman also known as the alias William H. Bonney or Billy the Kid.
J. Willard Marriott
Died: August 13, 1985 (age 84 years)
Founder of the Marriott Corporation.
Oswald Garrison Villard Jr.
Died: January 7, 2004 (age 87 years)
Electronics engineer who invented the over-the-horizon radar.
Hank Williams
Died: January 1, 1953 (age 29 years)
Country singer/musician of hits like Cold Cold Heart, Hey, Good Lookin', and Your Cheatin' Heart.
John Ritter
Died: September 11, 2003 (age 54 years)
Actor fondly remembered for his comedic role as Jack in the sitcom Three's Company.
Steve Sanders
Died: June 10, 1998 (age 45 years)
Musician with the distinct baritone voice for the Oak Ridge Boys.
Charles Martinet
Voice actor of Mario in Nintendo video games.
Kyle Chandler
Actor who played coach Eric Taylor in television series Friday Night Lights.
Yuji Naka
Japanese video game designer who created Sonic the Hedgehog.
Historical Events on September 17
Events that occurred on September 17 throughout history
Boston, Massachusetts, is founded.
The city of Boston, Massachusetts, is founded. The city is named after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, which is the origin home of of several of the prominent Puritan colonists.
The first formal treaty between the United States and a Native American tribe is signed.
The first formal treaty between the United States and a Native American tribe is signed. The Treaty of Fort Pitt was signed between the U.S. and the Lenape Nation of Delaware.
The U.S. Constitution is signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The U.S. Constitution is signed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thirty-nine delegates from the Constitutional Convention were present, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.
Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery.
Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery from Maryland's Eastern Shore to the safety of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The first airplane fatality occurs.
The Wright Flyer crashed, killing passenger Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge. The aircraft, flown by Orville Wright, was the result of the airplane fatality.
The NFL is organized as the American Professional Football Association.
The NFL is organized as the American Professional Football Association (APFA). The Association started with 10 original teams and expanded to 14 later that year. The APFA was renamed two hours later.
Bewitched premieres on television.
Bewitched premieres on television. The sitcom aired for eight seasons from 1964–1972, with 254 episodes.
Hogan's Heroes premiers on television.
Hogan's Heroes premiers on television. The sitcom aired for six seasons and 168 episodes.
M*A*S*H premiers on television.
M*A*S*H premiers on television. The sitcom aired 256 episodes over 11 seasons, from 1972 to 1983.
Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America.
Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America. She relinquished her crown after Penthouse magazine purchased and published unauthorized nude photographs of her taken before her pageant days.
The first version of the Linux kernel is released
The first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) is released to the Internet.
The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11 attacks.
The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11 attacks. It was the longest closure of the Stock Exchange since the Great Depression.
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