On This Day — 17 September

2025

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement.

Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement

2018

A Russian reconnaissance aircraft carrying 15 people on board is brought down by a Syrian surface-to-air missile over the Mediterranean Sea.

Syria missile strikes (September 2018)

2016

Two bombs explode in Seaside Park, New Jersey, and Manhattan. Thirty-one people are injured in the Manhattan bombing.

2016 New York and New Jersey bombings

2013

Grand Theft Auto V earns more than half a billion dollars on its first day of release.

Grand Theft Auto V

2011

Occupy Wall Street movement begins in Zuccotti Park, New York City.

Occupy Wall Street

2006

Fourpeaked Mountain in Alaska erupts, marking the first eruption for the volcano in at least 10,000 years.

Fourpeaked Mountain

2006

An audio tape of a private speech by Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány is leaked to the public, in which he confessed that his Hungarian Socialist Party had lied to win the 2006 election, sparking widespread protests across the country.

Őszöd speech

2001

The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11 attacks, the longest closure since the Great Depression.

New York Stock Exchange

2001

George W. Bush, president of the United States, delivers remarks at the Islamic Center of Washington praising Muslim Americans and condemning Islamophobia in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

George W. Bush

1992

An Iranian Kurdish leader and his two joiners are assassinated by political militants in Berlin.

Mykonos restaurant assassinations

1991

Estonia, North Korea, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia join the United Nations.

Estonia

1991

The first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) is released to the Internet.

Linux

1983

Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America.

Vanessa Williams

1980

After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, the nationwide independent trade union Solidarity is established.

Gdańsk Shipyard

1980

Former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is killed in Asunción, Paraguay.

Anastasio Somoza Debayle

1978

The Camp David Accords are signed by Israel and Egypt.

Camp David Accords

1976

The Space Shuttle Enterprise is unveiled by NASA.

Space Shuttle Enterprise

1974

Bangladesh, Grenada and Guinea-Bissau join the United Nations.

Bangladesh

1965

The Battle of Chawinda is fought between Pakistan and India.

Battle of Chawinda

1961

The world's first retractable roof stadium, the Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)

1961

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 crashes during takeoff from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, killing all 37 people on board.

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706

1950

The People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps (Then known as the PLAAF 1st Ground Forces Brigade) is founded.

People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps

1950

The Republic of India formally recognised the State of Israel.

India

1949

The Canadian steamship SS Noronic burns in Toronto Harbour with the loss of over 118 lives.

SS Noronic

1948

The Lehi (also known as the Stern gang) assassinates Count Folke Bernadotte, who was appointed by the United Nations to mediate between the Arab nations and Israel.

Lehi (militant group)

1948

The Nizam of Hyderabad surrenders his sovereignty over the Hyderabad State and joins the Indian Union.

Nizam of Hyderabad

1944

World War II: Allied airborne troops parachute into the Netherlands as the "Market" half of Operation Market Garden and British XXX Corps advances into the Netherlands as the "Garden" half of the Operation.

Operation Market Garden

1944

World War II: Soviet troops launch the Tallinn Offensive against Germany and pro-independence Estonian units.

Tallinn offensive

1944

World War II: German forces are attacked by the Allies in the Battle of San Marino.

Battle of San Marino

1941

World War II: A decree of the Soviet State Committee of Defense restores compulsory military training.

Vsevobuch

1941

World War II: Soviet forces enter Tehran during the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.

Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran

1940

World War II: Due to setbacks in the Battle of Britain and approaching autumn weather, Hitler postpones Operation Sea Lion.

Battle of Britain

1939

World War II: The Soviet invasion of Poland begins.

World War II

1939

World War II: German submarine U-29 sinks the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous.

German submarine U-29 (1936)

1935

The Niagara Gorge Railroad ceases operations after a rockslide.

Niagara Gorge Railroad

1932

A speech by Laureano Gómez leads to the escalation of the Leticia Incident.

Laureano Gómez

1930

The Kurdish Ararat rebellion is suppressed by the Turks.

Ararat rebellion

1928

The Okeechobee hurricane strikes southeastern Florida, killing more than 2,500 people.

1928 Okeechobee hurricane

1924

The Border Protection Corps is established in the Second Polish Republic for the defence of the eastern border against armed Soviet raids and local bandits.

Border Protection Corps

1920

The National Football League is organized as the American Professional Football Association in Canton, Ohio.

National Football League

1916

World War I: Manfred von Richthofen ("The Red Baron"), a flying ace of the German Luftstreitkräfte, wins his first aerial combat near Cambrai, France.

Manfred von Richthofen

1914

Andrew Fisher becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.

Andrew Fisher

1914

World War I: The Race to the Sea begins.

World War I

1908

The Wright Flyer flown by Orville Wright, with Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge as passenger, crashes, killing Selfridge, who becomes the first airplane fatality.

Wright Flyer

1901

Second Boer War: A Boer column defeats a British force at the Battle of Blood River Poort.

Second Boer War

1901

Second Boer War: Boers capture a squadron of the 17th Lancers at the Battle of Elands River.

Battle of Elands River (1901)

1900

Philippine–American War: Filipinos under Juan Cailles defeat Americans under Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham Jr. at Mabitac.

Philippine–American War

1894

Battle of the Yalu River, the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War.

Battle of the Yalu River (1894)

1862

American Civil War: George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac halts the first invasion of the North by Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia in the single-day Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American military history.

American Civil War

1862

American Civil War: The Allegheny Arsenal explosion in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania results in the single largest civilian disaster during the war.

Allegheny Arsenal

1861

Argentine Civil Wars: The State of Buenos Aires defeats the Argentine Confederation at the Battle of Pavón.

Argentine Civil Wars

1859

Joshua A. Norton declares himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States".

Emperor Norton

1849

American abolitionist Harriet Tubman makes her first attempt to escape from slavery.

Harriet Tubman

1809

Peace between Sweden and Russia in the Finnish War; the territory that will become Finland is ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Fredrikshamn.

Finnish War

1794

Flanders Campaign: France completes its conquest of the Austrian Netherlands at the Battle of Sprimont.

Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition

1793

War of the Pyrenees: France defeats a Spanish force at the Battle of Peyrestortes.

War of the Pyrenees

1787

The United States Constitution is signed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, bringing the Constitutional Convention to an end.

Constitution of the United States

1778

The Treaty of Fort Pitt is signed. It is the first formal treaty between the United States and a Native American tribe.

Treaty of Fort Pitt

1776

The Presidio of San Francisco is founded in New Spain.

Presidio of San Francisco

1775

American Revolutionary War: The invasion of Quebec by the Continental Army begins with the Siege of Fort St. Jean.

American Revolutionary War

1683

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek writes a letter to the Royal Society describing "animalcules", later known as protozoa.

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

1658

The Battle of Vilanova is fought between Portugal and Spain during the Portuguese Restoration War.

Battle of Vilanova

1631

Sweden wins a major victory at the Battle of Breitenfeld against the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War.

Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)

1630

The city of Boston, Massachusetts, is founded in North America.

Boston

1620

Polish–Ottoman War: The Ottoman Empire defeats the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Battle of Cecora.

Polish–Ottoman War (1620–1621)

1577

The Treaty of Bergerac is signed between King Henry III of France and the Huguenots.

Treaty of Bergerac

1543

The first Finnish-language book, the Abckiria by Mikael Agricola, is published in Stockholm.

Finnish language

1462

Thirteen Years' War: A Polish army under Piotr Dunin decisively defeats the Teutonic Order at the Battle of Świecino.

Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466)

1382

Louis the Great's daughter, Mary, is crowned "king" of Hungary.

Louis I of Hungary

1176

The Battle of Myriokephalon is the last attempt by the Byzantine Empire to recover central Anatolia from the Seljuk Turks.

Battle of Myriokephalon

1111

Highest Galician nobility led by Pedro Fróilaz de Traba and the bishop Diego Gelmírez crown Alfonso VII as "King of Galicia".

Kingdom of Galicia