Welcome to Today In History for Wednesday, September 17, 2025.

On this day in history...

• 0335 - Church of Heilig Grave initiated in Jerusalem
• 0642 - Arabs conquer Alexandria, library destroyed
• 1156 - Markgraafschap Austria becomes a temple (Privilegium minus)
• 1394 - Jews are expelled from France by order of King Charles VI
• 1562 - Council of Trente takes ecclesiastical canon
• 1584 - Gent surrenders to duke of Parma
• 1595 - Pope Clemens VIII recognizes Henri IV as king of France
• 1598 - Netherland sailors discover Mauritius
• 1631 - Battle of Breitenfeld: King Gustaaf Adolf defeats Gen Tilly
• 1644 - French troops occupy Mainz
• 1678 - France & Spain signs peace treaty
• 1683 - Antonie van Leeuwenhoek reports existence of bacteria
• 1691 - Colony Massachusetts Bay gets new charter
• 1697 - Battle at Zenta: Prince Eugen of Savoye beats Turks
• 1730 - Turkish coup under Mahmud I; Sultan Ahmed III flees
• 1737 - Georg-August University opens in G”ttingen
• 1745 - Edinburg occupied by Jacobites under Young Pretenders
• 1776 - Presidio of SF forms as a Spanish fort
• 1778 - 1st treaty between the US & Indian tribes signed (Fort Pitt)
• 1787 - Prussian troops conquer Gorinchem
• 1787 - US constitution adopted by Philadelphia convention
• 1789 - William Herschel discovers Mimas, satellite of Saturn
• 1796 - Pres George Washington delivers his farewell address
• 1819 - 1st whaling ship arrives in Hawaii
• 1835 - Charles Darwins lands on Chatham Galapagos-archipelago
• 1850 - Great fire in San Francisco
• 1859 - Man in SF claims himself Norton I, emperor of America
• 1861 - 1st day school for freedmen forms at Fortress Monroe Virginia
• 1861 - Hampton Institute forms
• 1862 - Battle of Cumberland Gap, TN-evacuted by Federals
• 1862 - Battle of Mumfordville, KY-US Col J Wilder surrenders city
• 1862 - Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam)-bloodiest day of Civil War, 23,110 die
• 1863 - Pope Pius IX encyclical On persecution in New Grenada
• 1864 - Grant approves Sheridan's plan for Shenandoah Valley Campaign
• 1871 - Mont Cenis railway tunnel Switzerland opens
• 1872 - Phillip W Pratt patents his sprinkler system for extinguishing fires
• 1873 - 19 students attend opening class at Ohio State University
• 1876 - Race riots in SC
• 1897 - 3rd US Golf Open: Joe Lloyd shoots a 162 at Chicago GC in Wheaton Ill
• 1899 - 1st British troops leave Bombay for South Africa
• 1900 - Commonwealth of Australia proclaimed
• 1900 - Queen Victoria disbands British parliament
• 1901 - Battle at Blood River Port: Boer Gen Botha beats mjr Goughs cavalry
• 1901 - Battle at Elands River Port: Boer Gen Smuts destroys unit 17th Lancers
• 1902 - US protests anti-semitism in Romania
• 1903 - Boston Pilgrims clinch AL pennant, beating Cleveland, 14-3
• 1906 - Playing as "Sullivan," Columbia U jr Eddie Collins debuts with A's
• 1908 - Thomas Selfridge becomes 1st fatality of powered flight
• 1911 - 1st transcontinental airplane flight, NY-Pasadena in 82 hrs 4 min
• 1911 - 25th US Womens Tennis: Hazel H Wightman beats F Sutton (8-10 61 97)
• 1912 - Center fielder Casey Stengel breaks in with Brooklyn & hits 4 singles
• 1916 - 40,000 Amsterdam demonstrators demand general voting right
• 1920 - Cards set a record of 12 consecutive hits in 4th (10) & 5th (2) innings
• 1920 - National Football League organizes in Canton Ohio 12 teams pay $100 each to join American Prof Football Assn
• 1922 - Bicyclist Piet Moeskops becomes world sprint champ
• 1922 - Radio Moscow begins transmitting (12 KWs-most powerful station)
• 1923 - Sutton Vane's "Outward Bound," premieres in London
• 1924 - Italy signs treaty of Rapallo
• 1926 - Hurricane hits Miami & Palm Beach Florida; about 450 die
• 1927 - 47th US Mens Tennis: Rene Lacoste beats William T Tilden (119 63 119)
• 1927 - Charles Lindbergh visits San Francisco
• 1928 - 48th US Mens Tennis: Henri Cochet beats F T Hunter (46 64 36 75 63)
• 1928 - Henri Cochet wins US Tennis Open
• 1928 - Hurricane hits Lake Okeechobee Florida drowning 1,800-2500
• 1928 - Pitcher Ray Boggs hits 3 batters in 1 inning
• 1929 - British troops begin evacuating
• 1931 - 1st LP record demonstrated (RCA Victor, NYC), venture failed
• 1931 - Operetta "Victoria & Her Husband," premieres in London
• 1931 - Red Sox Earl Webb sets record with 65 en route to 67 doubles
• 1934 - RCA Victor re leases 1st 33 1/3 rpm recording (Beethoven's 5th)
• 1934 - USSR joins League of Nations (Netherland, Switz & Portugal vote no)
• 1935 - Manuel Luis Quez˘n y Molina chosen 1st president of Philippines
• 1937 - 1st NFL game in Washington, DC; Redskins beat NY Giants 13-3
• 1938 - 52nd US Womens Tennis: Alice Marble beats Nancye Wynne Bolton (60 63)
• 1938 - 58th US Mens Tennis: J Donald Budge beats C Gene Mako (63 68 62 61)
• 1938 - British premier Neville Chamberlain leaves Munich
• 1938 - Don Budge wins US Tennis open & completes Grand Slam
• 1939 - German U-29 sinks British aircraft carrier Courageous, 519 die
• 1939 - Poland's president Moscicki & PM Slawoj-Skladkowski flee to Romania
• 1939 - Russia invades Eastern Poland, takes 217,000 Poles prisoner
• 1939 - Soviet Union invades Poland during WW II
• 1940 - Hitler begins invasion of England (operation Seel”we)
• 1940 - Nazis deprive Jews of possessions
• 1941 - Cards' Stan Musial makes his major league debut, going 2-for-4
• 1943 - Load of "ammunition in transit" explodes at Norfolk Naval Air Station
• 1943 - Red Army recaptures Brjansk
• 1944 - British Premier Winston Churchill travels to US
• 1944 - Dutch begin railroad strike against German occupiers
• 1944 - Operation Market Garden: British airborne division lands Arnhem Neth
• 1946 - "Gypsy Lady," opens at Century Theater NYC for 79 performances
• 1946 - "If the Shoe Fits," opens at Century Theater NYC for 20 performances
• 1947 - Jackie Robinson is named Rookie of Year by Sporting News
• 1947 - James Forrestal sworn in as 1st US secretary of defense
• 1947 - US Dept of Defense forms
• 1948 - KCOP TV channel 13 in Los Angeles/Hollywood, CA (IND) begins
• 1948 - WLS TV channel 7 in Chicago, IL (ABC) begins broadcasting
• 1949 - 128 die as fire guts Canadian passenger steamer Noronic in Toronto
• 1949 - 8th Ryder Cup: US beats Europe, 7-5 at Ganton GC, England
• 1949 - North Atlantic Treaty Council meets for 1st time
• 1949 - WFAA TV channel 8 in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting
• 1950 - San Francisco 49ers (formerly AAFC) play 1st NFL game, lose 21-17
• 1951 - "Borscht Capades" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 90 performances
• 1951 - Romanian bishop A Pacha of Timisoara sentenced to 18 years
• 1952 - "I am an American Day" & "Constitution Day" renamed "Citizenship Day"
• 1953 - 1st successful separation of Siamese twins
• 1953 - Ernie Banks becomes Chicago Cubs 1st black player
• 1954 - Rocky Marciano KOs Ezzard Charles in 8 for heavyweight boxing title
• 1955 - "Ankles Aweigh" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 176 perfs
• 1955 - Future Hall of Famer Oriole Brooks Robinson goes 2-4 in his 1st game
• 1956 - Black students enter Clay Ky elementary school
• 1956 - Yanks clinch pennant #22 on Mantle's 50th homer of year
• 1957 - KETV TV channel 7 in Omaha, NB (ABC) begins broadcasting
• 1957 - Scott Crossfield takes X-15 up for 1st powered flight
• 1957 - Thailand military coup under marshal Sarit Thanarat
• 1957 - 2 male attorneys "stand in" as actress Sophia Loren & producer Carlo Ponti wed by proxy in Juarez, Mexico
• 1958 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1959 - 59th US Golf Amateur Championship won by Jack Nicklaus
• 1959 - Transit 1A, 1st navigational satellite launched; failed to orbit
• 1959 - Typhoon kills 2,000 in Japan & Korea
• 1960 - "Vintage '60" closes at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC after 8 perfs
• 1960 - Cuba nationalizes US banks
• 1961 - Minnesota Vikings' 1st NFL game (beat Chicago Bears 37-13)
• 1961 - Samuel Beckett's "Happy Days," premieres in NYC
• 1961 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
• 1962 - Justice Dept files 1st suit to end segregation in public schools
• 1962 - US space officials announce selection of 9 new astronauts
• 1963 - "Fugitive" premieres on ABC TV
• 1963 - Train struck makeshift bus full of migrant workers, killing 32
• 1964 - "Bewitched" premieres on ABC TV
• 1964 - Beatles are paid a then record $150,000 for a concert (Kansas)
• 1964 - Mickey Mantle gets hits #1999, 2000 & 2001 & his 450th HR
• 1964 - Supremes release "Baby Love"
• 1965 - WPHL TV channel 17 in Philadelphia, PA (IND) begins broadcasting
• 1966 - Cleve pitchers set AL record striking out 19 batters in 1st 9 innings
• 1967 - "Mission Impossible" premieres on CBS-TV
• 1967 - Mount Washington cog railway train derails, kills 8 (NH)
• 1967 - New Orleans Saints 1st NFL game, they lose to LA Rams 27-13
• 1967 - Shirley Englehorn wins LPGA Shirley Englehorn Golf Invitational
• 1968 - Gaylord Perry (Giants) no-hits St Louis Cardinals, 1-0
• 1968 - Zond 5 completes circumnavigation of Moon
• 1970 - Jordan launches offensive against guerrilla army
• 1970 - Jordanian King Hussein moves against PLO guerrillas
• 1970 - WSWP TV channel 9 in Grandview, WV (PBS) begins broadcasting
• 1972 - "M*A*S*H," premieres on NBC TV
• 1972 - BART begins passenger service in SF
• 1972 - Sandra Haynie wins LPGA Quality First Golf Classic
• 1972 - Tanzania troops march in to Uganda
• 1974 - Courageous (US) beats Southern Cross (Aust) in 23rd America's Cup
• 1975 - Rollout of 1st space shuttle orbiter Enterprise (OV-101)
• 1976 - Amnesty International receives Erasmus-prize
• 1976 - NASA publicly unveils space shuttle Enterprise in Palmdale, Calif
• 1976 - Ringo releases "Ringo's Rotogravure" album
• 1977 - 22nd Ryder Cup: US, 12«-13« at Royal Lytham & St Annes England
• 1977 - China PR performs nuclear test at Lop Nor PRC
• 1977 - Dave Kingman hits his 1st Yankee homer, Reggie hits 2 more
• 1977 - Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors" is #1 for 19th straight week
• 1978 - 30th Emmy Awards: All in the Family, Ed Asner & Sada Thompson win
• 1978 - Begin, Sadat & Carter sign Camp David accord
• 1978 - Donna Caponi Young wins LPGA Sarah Coventry Golf Tournament
• 1978 - Red Sox finally beat Yanks in Sept 1978, 7-3
• 1979 - Pietro Mennea runs world record 200 m (19.72")
• 1979 - Royals George Brett is 6th to have 20 doubles/triples/HRs in a season
• 1980 - "Divine Madness" starring Bette Midler, premieres
• 1980 - Iraq (Saddam Hussein) signs accord with Algeria
• 1980 - Solidarity labor union in Poland forms
• 1980 - South Korea opposition leader Kim Dae Jung sentenced to death
• 1980 - Oak A's Rick Langford is removed with 2 outs in 9th inning ending his consecutive complete-game streak at 22
• 1981 - Fernando Valenzuela sets NL rookie record with 8th shutout of season
• 1982 - NJ Devils 1st exhibition game, beating Caps 3-1 in Hershey Pa
• 1983 - Chicago White Sox clinch their 1st-ever AL West championship,
• 1983 - Vanessa Williams (NY), 20, crowned 56th Miss America 1984, 1st black
• 1984 - Brian Mulroney sworn in as Canada's 18th PM succeeding John Turner
• 1984 - Dwight Gooden ties record of 32 strikeouts in consecutive games
• 1984 - Reggie Jackson is 13th to hit 500 HRs
• 1984 - USSR performs underground nuclear test
• 1985 - Soyuz T-14 carries 3 cosmonauts to Salyut 7 space station
• 1986 - Bomb attack in Paris, 6 killed
• 1986 - Marina Stepanova of USSR sets 400m hurdle woman's record (52.94)
• 1986 - Mets clinch NL East Championship
• 1986 - US Senate confirms William Rehnquist as 16th chief justice
• 1987 - Phila celebrates 200th anniversary of Constitution
• 1988 - 24th Olympic games open at Seoul, Korea
• 1988 - Jeff Reardon becomes 1st to record 40 or more saves in both AL & NL
• 1988 - Military coup in Haiti: Lt Gen Avril takes control, Henri Namphy flees
• 1989 - -21] Hurricane Hugo, kills 85 in Charleston SC
• 1989 - 41st Emmy Awards: LA Law, Cheers, Dana Delany & Candice Bergen win
• 1989 - Beth Daniel wins LPGA SAFECO Golf Classic
• 1989 - Emmy Creative Arts Award presentation
• 1989 - Hurricane Hugo begins 4 day sweep through Caribbean, killing 62
• 1989 - NYC court of appeals overturns lower court decision & returns America's Cup back to US (from NZ)
• 1990 - Newspaper Guild votes 242-35 to keep NY Post publishing
• 1990 - Soviet Union & Saudi Arabia restore diplomatic ties
• 1991 - 4,355 turn out to see Expos play NY Mets at Shea Stadium
• 1991 - UN admits Estonia, Latvia, Lithuiania, North & South Korea, Marshall Islands & Micronesia
• 1992 - Amsterdam stock exchange hits record ź8.8 billion
• 1992 - House votes 280 to 128 to give FCC control of cable TV rates
• 1992 - NFL decides to suspend World League Football
• 1994 - Andy Waller out handled the ball for Mashonaland CD v Mash U24
• 1994 - Heather Whitestone, 21, (Ala), crowned 68th Miss America 1995
• 1994 - Princess Christina separates
• 1995 - "Love! Valor! Compassion!" closes at Walter Kerr NYC after 276 perfs
• 1995 - Patty Sheehan wins LPGA SAFECO Golf Classic
• 1996 - Dodger Hideo Nomo no-hits Colo Rockies, 9-0 at Coors Field
• 1997 - Dr Sam Sheppard's body (Fugitive) is exhumed for DNA test