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September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 105 days remaining until the end of the year.
Up to 1900
- 1577 – The Peace of Bergerac is signed between Henry III of France and the Huguenots.
- 1630 – The city of Boston, Massachusetts is founded.
- 1631 – Thirty Years' War: The Battle of Breitenfeld ends in victory for Sweden over the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1683 – Anton van Leeuwenhoek writes a letter to the Royal Society, describing 'animalcules', the first–known description of protozoa.
- 1716 – Jean Thurel enlists in the Touraine army regiment at age 17, beginning over 90 years of military service lasting until his death at the age of 108.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: Invasion of Canada begins with the Siege of Fort St. Jean.
- 1776 – The Presidio of San Francisco is founded in New Spain.
- 1787 – The United States Constitution is signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- 1789 – William Herschel discovers Saturn's moon Mimas.
- 1809 – The Finnish War between Sweden and Russia ends.
- 1814 – Francis Scott Key finishes his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry", later to become the lyrics for The Star–Spangled Banner, the national Anthem of the United States.
- 1843 – The Universidad de Chile (University of Chile) is founded in Santiago, Chile.
- 1849 – Abolitionist Harriet Tubman escapes Slavery.
- 1859 – Joshua A. Norton declares himself "Emperor of the United States".
- 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Antietam is fought. It is the bloodiest day in US military history.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The Allegheny Arsenal explosion results in the worst civilian disaster of the war.
- 1894 – First Sino–Japanese War: Battle of Yalu River, the largest naval engagement of the war.
- 1900 – Philippine–American War: Filipinos under Juan Cailles defeat Americans under Benjamin F. Cheatham at Mobitac.
1901 – 2000
- 1908 – The Wright Flyer flown by Orville Wright, with Thomas Selfridge as passenger, crashes, killing Selfridge.
- 1914 – Andrew Fisher becomes Prime Minister of Australia for a third time.
- 1916 – World War I: German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen wins his first aerial combat near Cambrai, France.
- 1928 – The Okeechobee Hurricane hits southeastern Florida, killing more than 2,500 people.
- 1939 – World War II: The Soviet Union joins the Nazis' invasion of Poland.
- 1939 – World War II: German U–boat U 29 sinks British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous.
- 1939 – Taisto Maki becomes the first person to run the 10,000 metres in under 30 minutes, doing so in 29 minutes, 52 seconds.
- 1940 – World War II: Adolf Hitler calls off Operation Sealion after defeat in the Battle of Britain.
- 1943 – World War II: The Russian city of Bryansk is liberated.
- 1944 – World War II: Allied troops parachute into the Netherlands.
- 1949 – Canadian steamship SS Norronic burns in Toronto Harbour, killing over 118 people.
- 1957 – The Federation of Malaya (later Malaysia) joins the UN.
- 1974 – Bangladesh, Grenada and Guinea–Bissau join the UN.
- 1976 – The first Space Shuttle, the Enterprise, is unveiled by NASA.
- 1978 – The Camp David Accords are signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
- 1980 – The Solidarity trade union is established.
- 1980 – In Paraguay, former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is killed by Sandinista activists.
- 1983 – Vanessa L. Williams becomes the first African American Miss America.
- 1988 – The Summer Olympics in Seoul begin.
- 1991 – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Korea, South Korea, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia join the UN.
- 1993 – The last Russian troops leave Poland.
From 2001
- 2001 – The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
- 2004 – Tamil is declared as the first classical language of India.
- 2004 – The 2004 Summer Paralympics begin in Athens, lasting until September 28.
- 2005 – Helen Clark is elected to a third term in–a–row as Prime Minister of New Zealand.
- 2006 – The Fourpeaked Mountain volcano in Alaska erupts for the first time in over 10,000 years.
- 2006 – Fredrik Reinfeldt is elected Prime Minister of Sweden.
- 2006 – An audio tape of then–Prime Minister of Hungary Ferenc Gyurcsany is leaked to the public, in which he confessed that his Hungarian Socialist Party lied to win the 2006 General Election, sparking widespread protests across the country.
- 2011 – The Occupy Wall Street movement begins in New York City. By October 15, the Occupy movement had spread to protests in cities around the world against economic mismanagement.
- 2016 – Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad dies after a crash in the road race during the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- 2016 – An explosion in New York City injures 29 people.
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Up to 1900
- 879 – King Charles III of France (d. 929)
- 1192 – Minamoto no Sanetomo, Japanese shogun (d. 1219)
- 1216 – Robert I, Count of Artois (d. 1250)
- 1505 – Mary of Hungary (d. 1558)
- 1550 – Pope Paul V (d. 1621)
- 1605 – Francesco Sacrati, Italian composer (d. 1650)
- 1630 – Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma (d. 1694)
- 1674 – Ernest Augustus, Duke of York and Albany (d. 1728)
- 1677 – Stephen Hales, English physiologist and chemist (d. 1761)
- 1688 – Maria Luisa of Savoy, Queen of Spain (d. 1714)
- 1730 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, Prussian army officer (d. 1794)
- 1739 – John Rutledge, Chief Justice of the United States and Governor of South Carolina (d. 1800)
- 1743 – Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician (d. 1794)
- 1764 – John Goodricke, English astronomer (d. 1786)
- 1771 – Johann August Apel, German jurist and writer (d. 1816)
- 1776 – Langdon Cheves, American politician (d. 1857)
- 1806 – Duchenne de Boulogne, French neurologist (d. 1875)
- 1811 – John Brough, 26th Governor of Ohio (d. 1865)
- 1819 – Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, 1st President of the Republic of South Africa (d. 1901)
- 1826 – Bernhard Riemann, German mathematician (d. 1866)
- 1832 – Sergey Botkin, Russian physician (d. 1889)
- 1850 – Guerra Junqueiro, Portuguese lawyer, journalist, writer and poet (d. 1923)
- 1854 – David Dunbar Buick, Scottish–born American businessman (d. 1929)
- 1857 – Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovskii, Russian rocket scientist (d. 1935)
- 1859 – I. L. Patterson, American politician, 18th Governor of Oregon (d. 1929)
- 1864 – Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, Ukrainian writer (d. 1913)
- 1869 – Christian Lous Lange, Norwegian peace advocate (d. 1938)
- 1872 – Florencio Harmodio Arosemena, 14th President of Panama (d. 1945)
- 1878 – Vincenzo Tommasini, Italian composer (d. 1950)
- 1879 – Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy, Indian businessman, politician and activist (d. 1973)
- 1883 – William Carlos Williams, American poet (d. 1963)
- 1885 – George Cleveland, Canadian actor (d. 1957)
- 1890 – France Bevk, Slovenian writer (d. 1970)
- 1892 – Hendrik Andriessen, Dutch composer and organist (d. 1981)
- 1895 – Princess Margaret of Denmark (d. 1992)
- 1900 – J. Willard Marriott, American businessman (d. 1985)
1901 – 1950
- 1901 – Francis Chichester, British sailor and adventurer (d. 1972)
- 1903 – Dolores Costello, American actress (d. 1979)
- 1904 – Frederick Ashton, English ballet dancer and choreographer (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Jerry Colonna, American singer–songwriter and actor (d. 1986)
- 1906 – Junius Richard Jayewardene, President of Sri Lanka (d. 1996)
- 1907 – Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1995)
- 1914 – Shin Kanemaru, Japanese politician (d. 1996)
- 1915 – M. F. Husain, Indian painter (d. 2011)
- 1916 – Mary Stewart, English novelist (d. 2014)
- 1917 – Isang Yun, Korean–German composer (d. 1995)
- 1918 – Chaim Herzog, President of Israel (d. 1997)
- 1922 – Agostinho Neto, 1st President of Angola (d. 1979)
- 1922 – Virgilio Barco Vargas, President of Colombia (d. 1997)
- 1923 – Hank Williams, American musician (d. 1953)
- 1925 – John List, American murderer (d. 2008)
- 1926 – Jean–Marie Lustiger, French cardinal (d. 2007)
- 1928 – Roddy McDowall, British actor (d. 1998)
- 1929 – Stirling Moss, British racing driver
- 1929 – Pat Crowley, American actress
- 1930 – David Huddleston, American actor (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Thomas Patten Stafford, American astronaut
- 1930 – Edgar Mitchell, American astronaut (d. 2016)
- 1931 – Anne Bancroft, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1933 – Claude Provost, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
- 1933 – Chuck Grassley, United States Senator from Iowa
- 1934 – Maureen Connolly, American tennis player (d. 1969)
- 1935 – Ken Kesey, American writer (d. 2001)
- 1936 – Rolv Wesenlund, Norwegian actor and singer (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Nigel Boocock, English speedway rider (d. 2015)
- 1939 – David Souter, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
- 1940 – Jan Eliasson, Swedish diplomat
- 1940 – Lorella De Luca, Italian actress (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Des Lynam, English television presenter
- 1942 – Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (d. 2012)
- 1944 – Reinhold Messner, Italian mountaineer
- 1945 – Phil Jackson, American basketball player and coach
- 1945 – Bruce Spence, New Zealand actor
- 1945 – David Emerson, Canadian politician
- 1946 – Billy Bonds, English footballer
- 1947 – Tessa Jowell, English politician
- 1948 – John Ritter, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1948 – Kemal Monteno, Bosnian singer (d. 2015)
- 1950 – Narendra Modi, Indian politician, Prime Minister of India
1951 – 1975
- 1951 – Cassandra Peterson, American actress
- 1951 – Russell Brown, Scottish politician
- 1951 – Kermit Washington, American basketball player
- 1953 – Rita Rudner, American actress and comedienne
- 1953 – Tamasin Day–Lewis, English chef
- 1954 – Joel–François Durand, French composer
- 1956 – Andreas Starke, Lord Mayor of Bamberg in Bavaria
- 1956 – Almazbek Atambayev, President of Kyrgyzstan
- 1957 – Richie Ramone, American musician (The Ramones)
- 1958 – Janez Jansa, former Prime Minister of Slovenia
- 1960 – Damon Hill, British racing driver
- 1960 – Annabelle Apsion, British actress
- 1960 – Kevin Clash, American actor and puppeteer
- 1961 – Pamela Melroy, American astronaut
- 1962 – Baz Luhrmann, Australian movie director
- 1962 – Hesham Qandil, 51st Prime Minister of Egypt
- 1962 – BeBe Winans, American singer–songwriter and producer
- 1963 – Warren Gatland, New Zealand rugby player and coach
- 1965 – Yuji Naka, Japanese video game designer, creator of Sonic the Hedgehog
- 1966 – Paula Jones, American state employee
- 1968 – Anastacia, American singer
- 1968 – Marie–Chantal, former Crown Princess of Greece
- 1968 – Akhenaton, French rapper and producer
- 1968 – Tito Vilanova, Spanish football manager (d. 2014)
- 1969 – Ken Doherty, Irish snooker player
- 1969 – Keith Flint, English singer–songwriter (The Prodigy)
- 1970 – Dallas Campbell, Scottish television presenter
- 1971 – Mauro Milanese, Italian footballer
- 1971 – Mike Catt, English rugby player
- 1972 – Bobby Lee, American comedian and actor
- 1973 – Diego Albanese, Argentine rugby player
- 1974 – Sheed Wallace, American basketball player
- 1975 – Constantine Maroulis, American singer
From 1976
- 1977 – Simone Perrotta, Italian footballer
- 1979 – Chuck Comeau, Canadian musician (Simple Plan)
- 1980 – Shabana Mahmood, English lawyer and politician
- 1981 – Bakari Koné, Ivorian footballer
- 1982 – Shermine Shahrivar, Iranian–German model
- 1983 – Jennifer Peña, American singer–songwriter, producer and actress
- 1983 – Aiza, Filipino singer and actor
- 1984 – John Kucera, Canadian skier
- 1985 – Tomas Berdych, Czech tennis player
- 1985 – Alexander Ovechkin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Jon Walker, American singer–songwriter
- 1985 – Umit Korkmaz, Turkish footballer
- 1985 – Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala, Crown Prince of Tonga
- 1989 – Kate Deines, American soccer player
- 1989 – Dijon Talton, American actor and singer
- 1991 – Minako Kotobuki, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1991 – Ryo Ishikawa, Japanese golfer
- 1994 – Taylor Ware, American singer
- 2008 – Mia Talerico, American actress
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Up to 1900
- 454 – Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria
- 456 – Remistus, Roman general
- 1179 – Hildegard of Bingen, German abbess and composer (b. 1098)
- 1312 – Ferdinand IV of Castile (b. 1285)
- 1322 – Robert III of Flanders (b. 1249)
- 1422 – Constantine II of Bulgaria
- 1574 – Pedro Menendez de Aviles, Spanish admiral and explorer (b. 1519)
- 1575 – Heinrich Bullinger, Swiss religious reformer (b. 1504)
- 1665 – King Philip IV of Spain (b. 1605)
- 1676 – Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi, founder of the Jewish Sabbatean Movement (b. 1626)
- 1679 – John of Austria the Younger, Spanish general (b. 1629)
- 1762 – Francesco Geminiani, Italian violinist (b. 1687)
- 1802 – Richard Owen Cambridge, English poet and historian (b. 1717)
- 1808 – Benjamin Bourne, American jurist and politician (b. 1755)
- 1836 – Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist (b. 1748)
- 1863 – Alfred de Vigny, French author, poet and playwright (b. 1797)
- 1877 – Henry Fox Talbot, British inventor and photography pioneer (b. 1800)
- 1894 – Deng Shichang, Chinese admiral (b. 1849)
1901 – 2000
- 1904 – Kartini, Indonesian activist (b. 1879)
- 1907 – Ignaz Brüll, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1846)
- 1908 – Thomas Selfridge, First Lieutenant of the United States Army (b. 1882)
- 1909 – Thomas Bent, Premier of Victoria (b. 1838)
- 1916 – Hermann Krone, German photographer (b. 1827)
- 1923 – Stephanos Dragoumis, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1842)
- 1948 – Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (b. 1895)
- 1951 – Jimmy Yancey, American pianist (b. 1898)
- 1961 – Adnan Menderes, Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1899)
- 1965 – Alejandro Casona, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1903)
- 1966 – Fritz Wunderlich, German tenor (b. 1930)
- 1970 – France Bevk, Slovenian writer (b. 1890)
- 1972 – Akim Tamiroff, Georgian actor (b. 1899)
- 1973 – Hugo Winterhalter, American bandleader (b. 1909)
- 1980 – Anastasio Somoza Debayle, former President of Nicaragua (b. 1925)
- 1985 – Laura Ashley, Welsh designer (b. 1925)
- 1991 – Zino Francescatti, French violinist (b. 1902)
- 1993 – Willie Mosconi, American pool player (b. 1913)
- 1994 – Karl Popper, Austrian philosopher (b. 1902)
- 1994 – Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player (b. 1954)
- 1996 – Spiro Agnew, Vice President of the United States (b. 1918)
- 1997 – Red Skelton, American entertainer (b. 1913)
- 2000 – Paula Yates, British television personality (b. 1959)
From 2001
- 2003 – Erich Hallhuber, German actor (b. 1951)
- 2006 – Patricia Kennedy Lawford, sister of John F. Kennedy (b. 1924)
- 2009 – Noordin Mohammad Top, Malaysian Islamist militant (b. 1968)
- 2011 – Kurt Sanderling, German conductor (b. 1912)
- 2012 – Russell Train, American politician (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Eiji Toyoda, Japanese industrialist (b. 1913)
- 2013 – Marti de Riquer i Morera, Spanish–Catalan linguist (b. 1914)
- 2014 – Andriy Husin, Ukrainian footballer (b. 1972)
- 2014 – China Zorrilla, Uruguayan actress (b. 1922)
- 2014 – George Hamilton IV, American country music singer (b. 1937)
- 2014 – Peter von Bagh, Finnish movie historian (b. 1943)
- 2014 – Lorna Thomas, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1917)
- 2015 – Dettmar Cramer, German football manager (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Milo Hamilton, American sportscaster (b. 1927)
- 2015 – David Willcocks, British choirmaster (b. 1919)
- 2015 – Vadim Kuzmin, Russian theoretical physicist (b. 1937)
- 2016 – Bahman Golbarnezhad, Iranian Paralympic cyclist (b. 1968)
- 2016 – Charmian Carr, American actress (b. 1942)
- 2016 – Sigge Parling, Swedish footballer (b. 1930)
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- Constitution Day (United States)
- Heroes' Day (Angola)
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