September 17 - Traveler

Traveler

Overheard

[In the car, E notices the sunset]
E: Oh! Somebody painted again!

This Day In History

1630

The city of Boston, Massachusetts is founded.

1683

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek writes a letter to the Royal Society describing "animalcules": the first known description of protozoa.

1776

The Presidio of San Francisco is founded in New Spain.

1787

The United States Constitution is signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1814

Francis Scott Key finishes his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry", later to be the lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner".

1859

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

1920

The American Professional Football Association (later renamed National Football League) is organized in Canton, Ohio, United States.

1961

The world's first retractable-dome stadium, the Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh.

1976

The first Space Shuttle, Enterprise, is unveiled by NASA.

1978

The Camp David Accords are signed by Israel and Egypt.

1991

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

2006

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

Famous Birthdays

1677

Stephen Hales, English physiologist, chemist, and inventor (d. 1761)

1730

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, Prussian army officer (d. 1794)

1857

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian rocket scientist (d. 1935)

1884

Charles Tomlinson Griffes, American composer (d. 1920)

1900

John Willard Marriott, American hotelier (d. 1985)

1903

Frank O'Connor, Irish-American short-story writer (d. 1966)

1908

John Creasey, English crime and science fiction novelist (d. 1973)

1923

Hank Williams, American musician (d. 1953)

1928

Roddy McDowall, English actor (d. 1998)

1932

Robert B. Parker, American author (d. 2010)

1945

Bruce Spence, New Zealand actor

1948

John Ritter, American actor (d. 2003)
1953
Rita Rudner, American comedienne, writer and actress
1962
Baz Luhrmann, Australian film director