12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 7 Deaths for September 17, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1630 – Boston is founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- 1683 – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek writes his famous letter describing “animalcules” (bacteria) to the Royal Society.
- 1776 – The Presidio of San Francisco is founded in New Spain.
- 1787 – Delegates sign the U.S. Constitution at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
- 1862 – Battle of Antietam: the bloodiest single day in American military history.
- 1862 – Allegheny Arsenal explosion becomes the Civil War’s deadliest civilian disaster.
- 1908 – Lt. Thomas Selfridge dies in an Orville Wright crash—the first airplane fatality.
- 1920 – The NFL is organized in Canton as the American Professional Football Association.
- 1939 – The Soviet Union invades Poland from the east.
- 1976 – NASA rolls out Space Shuttle Enterprise, the program’s first orbiter.
- 1978 – Egypt and Israel sign the Camp David Accords at the White House.
- 2011 – Occupy Wall Street begins with a protest and encampment at Zuccotti Park.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1933 – Chuck Grassley, long-serving U.S. senator from Iowa (92).
- 1945 – Phil Jackson, 11× NBA-champion head coach (80).
- 1950 – Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India (75).
- 1962 – Baz Luhrmann, filmmaker (Moulin Rouge!, Elvis) (63).
- 1965 – Kyle Chandler, Emmy-winning actor (Friday Night Lights) (60).
- 1989 – Danielle Brooks, actor (Orange Is the New Black; The Color Purple) (36).
- 1995 – Patrick Mahomes, NFL quarterback and 3× Super Bowl champion (30).
Today’s Deaths:
- 1858 – Dred Scott, freedom-suit plaintiff in Dred Scott v. Sandford (c.59).
- 1877 – William Henry Fox Talbot, photography pioneer (77).
- 1980 – Anastasio Somoza Debayle, former Nicaraguan president (assassinated) (54).
- 1985 – Laura Ashley, fashion designer and retailer (60).
- 1994 – Karl Popper, philosopher of science (92).
- 1994 – Vitas Gerulaitis, tennis Grand Slam champion (40).
- 2017 – Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, influential wrestling manager/commentator (72).
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