What Happened On
Osama bin Laden - Wanted Dead or Alive
September 17, 2001
When asked, "Do you want Osama bin Laden dead?", U.S. President George W. Bush responds, "I want justice. There's an old poster out west, as I recall, that said, Wanted: Dead or Alive." Six months later when asked about Osama bin Laden, he would state, "…You know, I just don't spend that much time on him…"
In 2011, Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by a U.S. military special operations unit.
M*A*S*H
September 17, 1972
The TV show M*A*S*H premieres. It was almost canceled due to poor initial ratings. However, it grew in popularity and the series finale was the most watched single U.S. TV episode in history up to that point, seen by 125 million viewers.
The Hawkeye Pierce character was based on the experiences of Hiester Richard Hornberger, Jr. while serving as an army surgeon during the Korean War (1950-1953), which he wrote about in his book Mash: A Novel About Three Army Doctors (1968).
The lyrics to the theme song, "Suicide is Painless" was written by Robert Altman's 14-year-old son. Reportedly, Altman was paid $70,000 for directing the original movie version of M*A*S*H. The lyrics, which were used in both the movie and TV show and took less than 5 minutes to write, earned his son over $1,000,000.
That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please
That game of life is hard to play
I'm gonna lose it anyway
The losing card I'll someday lay
So this is all I have to say
The Doors Defy Ed Sullivan
September 17, 1967
Jim Morrison and The Doors appear on The Ed Sullivan Show. Ed Sullivan's censors requested they change the lyrics of Light My Fire from "Girl we couldn't get much higher" to "Girl we couldn't get much better", due to its perceived reference to drugs. The band agreed, but sang the song with the original lyrics anyway, to which Sullivan banned them from ever again appearing on his show, to which Morrison replied, "Hey, man - we just did the Ed Sullivan show."
Hogan's Heroes
September 17, 1965
The TV comedy Hogan's Heroes about a German prisoner of war camp premieres on CBS, starring Bob Crane as Col. Hogan. The show used Jewish actors to portray the Germans, several of whom had fled Nazi Germany. Some even spent time in concentration camps.
• Robert Clary (LeBeau) says he spent three years in a concentration camp, that his parents and other family members were killed there, and that he has an identity tattoo from the camp on his arm ("A-5714").
• Werner Klemperer (Col. Klink) fled Nazi Germany with his family in 1933.
• John Banner (Sgt. Schultz), who was also Jewish, had been held in a pre-war concentration camp before fleeing to the U.S. His family members who remained in Vienna all perished in Nazi concentration camps.
• Leon Askin (German General Burkhalter) was in a pre-war French internment camp and his parents were killed at Treblinka.
Toody (left) and Muldoon
Toody (left) and Muldoon
Car 54, Where Are You?
September 17, 1961
The television show Car 54, Where Are You? debuts on NBC, starring Fred Gwynne as Officer Francis Muldoon and Joe E. Ross as Officer Gunther Toody.
Lord of the Flies
September 17, 1954
William Golding's Pulitzer-winning book is published. It chronicled a group of British boys stranded on an uninhabited island and their attempt to govern themselves.
Fun Science Trivia: In the book, the boys take Piggy's glasses and use them to start a fire. Is this possible? See Answer
Selfridge and the crash that killed him
Selfridge and the crash that killed him
First Airplane Fatality
September 17, 1908
Orville Wright crashes his plane after the propeller breaks, killing his passenger Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge and seriously injuring himself.
The previous May, Selfridge had become the first US military officer to pilot a modern aircraft, when he flew solo in AEA's newest craft, White Wing, traveling 100 feet (30 m) on his first attempt and 200 feet (61 m) on his second.
Washington's Farewell Address
September 17, 1796
U.S. President George Washington's farewell address is published. It warned against political parties, a large public debt, a large military, and minority interests controlling the government. He also supported free trade and saw religion and morality as necessary for private and public happiness and in promoting the political prosperity of the nation.
His address is read in the U.S. Senate each year on Washington's birthday.
U.S. Constitution
September 17, 1787
The U.S. Constitution is signed and adopted. It was ratified by the necessary nine states in June of 1788.
Corey Being Pressed to Death
Corey Being Pressed to Death
Salem Witch Trials - Man Pressed to Death
September 17, 1692
80-year-old Giles Corey is pressed to death for refusing to enter a plea of guilt or innocence to charges of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. According to the law, a person who refused to plead could not be tried. To persuade someone to make a plea, they were stripped naked and a heavy board laid on their body. Rocks were then laid on the plank. He endured the torture for two days until he died.
In 1676, Corey had been fined for beating to death one of his indentured servants. Corey believed the servant had stolen some apples from his brother-in-law.
Discovery of Bacteria
September 17, 1683
Anton van Leeuwenhoek writes a letter to Britain's Royal Society describing the "animalcules" he observed under a microscope, creating the first known description of bacteria. He used a single lens microscope of his own design to observe the bacteria in mouth plaque.
Too Politically Incorrect
September 17, 2001
Bill Maher in response to the 9/11 Attacks states on his TV show Politically Incorrect, "We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building… not cowardly." The public outcry and loss of sponsors due to his politically incorrect statement led to the cancellation of his show.
First Black Miss America
September 17, 1983
Vanessa Williams (Miss New York) is 
crowned Miss America. She was forced to relinquish her crown in 1984 when Penthouse magazine published nude photos of her with another woman.
Battlestar Galactica
September 17, 1978
The TV science fiction show Battlestar Galactica debuts on ABC.
Julia
September 17, 1968
The groundbreaking TV show Julia debuts on NBC, making Diahann Carroll the first black woman to star in a TV series since Beulah (1950-53). This was the first time a black woman starred in a TV series in which they didn't play a domestic. She played a nurse whose husband had been killed in Vietnam.
Mission: Impossible
September 17, 1966
The CBS series Mission: Impossible debuts. "Your mission, should you decide to accept it…"
Bewitched
September 17, 1964
Bewitched debuts on ABC.
Mount Rushmore
September 17, 1937
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's face on Mount Rushmore is dedicated. The memorial was completed in 1941. Work had begun in 1927 by sculpture Gutzon Borglum who died in March of 1941 leaving his son to complete the task. The sculpture would feature the 60-foot (18 m) tall heads of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. These presidents were chosen by Borglum to represent the nation's birth, growth, development, and preservation, respectively.
First Airplane Flight Across the U.S.
September 17, 1911
Calbraith P. Rodgers departs from Sheepshead Bay, New York arriving in Pasadena, California on November 5th.
Harriet Tubman's First Escape
September 17, 1849
The African-American slave Harriet Tubman makes her first escape with her brothers. However, at her brothers' urging she returned, only to escape again soon after. She joined the Underground Railroad risking her life and freedom helping more than 300 other slaves to their freedom.
U.S. Congress
September 17, 1787
U.S. Congress is established.
Birthdays
Elvira (Cassandra Peterson)
Born September 17, 1951
American horror show host, "Hostess with the Mostest." She claims she lost her virginity to Tom Jones and that when she was 1½ years old she was scalded on over 35% of her body in a kitchen accident; for which she was teased in school for her scars, noting that her Elvira costume "showed only the good bits."
TV: Movie Macabre (1981-86, host).
Hank Williams
Born September 17, 1923 d. 1953
American country singer, composed Your Cheatin' Heart. His chauffeur was stopped by a highway patrolman who commented that Hank looked dead. Later on, the driver realized Hank really was dead. It is believed he died of heart failure caused by the combination of alcohol, morphine, and chloral hydrate. He began taking pain killers to ease the symptoms of his spina bifida occulta. Williams was only 29 years old.
Harper at age 32 and the Aunt Jemima character
Harper at age 32 and the Aunt Jemima character
Aunt Jemima
Ethel Ernestine Harper
Born September 17, 1903 d. 1979
American singer, advertising performer. She was featured on Aunt Jemima products and worked as a traveling representative for teh company from 1950 to 1958. She graduated from college at seventeen years old, sang with the Ginger Snaps, and sang in the Broadway production of The Hot Mikado with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (1939).
After her stint as Aunt Jemima, she worked for the Girl Scouts until her retirement in 1969.
Note: Several other woman also portrayed the Aunt Jemima character on the radio and at festivals during 1940s, 50s, and 60s.
Kyle Martin Chandler
Born September 17, 1965
American actor. TV: Early Edition (Gary Hobson, 1996-2000) and Friday Night Lights (Coach Eric Taylor, 2006‑). Film: King Kong (2005) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008).
John Ritter (Jonathan Southworth Ritter)
Born September 17, 1948 d. 2003
American Emmy-winning actor. TV: Three's Company (1976-84, Jack Tripper), The Waltons (1972-76, Rev. Fordwick), and 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter (2002-03, the Father).
Jeff MacNelly
Born September 17, 1947 d. 2000
American Pulitzer-winning cartoonist. Creator of Shoe (1977). He has three Pulitzer wins (1972, 78, 85).
Paul Benedict
Born September 17, 1938 d. 2008
American actor. He had acromegaly, which accounted for his over-sized nose and lower jaw. He was diagnosed by an endocrinologist who saw him in a play. Film: The Addams Family (1991, Judge Womack). TV: The Jeffersons (1975-85, Harry Bentley), and Sesame Street (1972-88, The Mad Painter).
Ken Kesey
Born September 17, 1935 d. 2001
American author. Writings: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962).
Maureen "Little Mo" Connolly
Born September 17, 1934 d. 1969
American tennis player. She was the first woman to win the Grand Slam (1953, by winning Wimbledon, French Open, Australian Open, and U.S. Open in the same year).
Anne Bancroft (Anne Maria Louise Italiano)
Born September 17, 1931 d. 2005
American Oscar, Tony, and Emmy-winning actress. Film: The Miracle Worker (1962, Oscar), The Graduate (1967, Mrs. Robinson), and Agnes of God (1985).
Roddy McDowall (Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall)
Born September 17, 1928 d. 1998
British-born American Tony-winning actor. He won both the Charleston and Cha-Cha contests on The Arthur Murray Party (1950). Film: Lassie Come Home (1943, Joe Carraclough), Planet of the Apes (1968, Cornelius). TV: Batman (Bookworm).
The American Venus
Esther Ralston (Esther Worth)
Born September 17, 1902 d. 1994
American silent-film actress. Film: The American Venus (1926, The American Venus became her moniker) and Peter Pan (1925, Mrs. Darling). TV: Our Five Daughters (the mother).
John Rutledge
Born September 17, 1739 d. 1800
American statesman. Associate justice of the Supreme Court (1789-91) and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1795). He was nominated for chief justice and served as a recess appointment. However, by the time of his formal nomination, his popularity had diminished due to his opposition to the Jay Treaty and his nomination was rejected.
Paul V (Camillo Borghese)
Born September 17, 1550 d. 1621
Italian religious leader, 233rd Pope (1605-21).
Deaths
Red Skelton (Richard Skelton)
Died September 17, 1997 b. 1913
American comedian, known for his trademark signoff, "Good night and may God bless, thank you." Quote: "All men make mistakes, but married men find out about them sooner."
Skelton was also known for his artwork of clowns, with his paintings, prints, and lithographs earning over $2.5 million a year.
TV: The Red Skelton Show (1951-71, host).
Dred Scott
Died September 17, 1858 b. circa 1799
American slave. In 1857 he sued for the freedom of him and his family in what became known as the Dred Scott Decision. The court ruled against him, declaring that slaves and descendants of slaves could not be American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The outcry from this decision was one of the factors that led to the American Civil War.
American Revolution: …if they mean to have a war, let it begin here
John Parker
Died September 17, 1775 b. 1729
American farmer, soldier. He led the minutemen at Lexington during the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, the first battle of the American Revolution. Tradition reports he ordered "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."
Spiro T. Agnew (Spiro Theodore Agnew)
Died September 17, 1996 b. 1918
American politician. 39th U.S. Vice-President (1969-73), Governor of Maryland (1967-69). He resigned as Vice-President after pleading no contest to income tax evasion charges (1973).
Vitas Gerulaitis
Died September 17, 1994 b. 1954
Lithuanian American tennis player. Known as "The Lithuanian Lion." After finally winning a match after having lost the previous 16 matches to Jimmy Connors, Gerulaitis said, "And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row."
He died of carbon monoxide poisoning when an improperly installed pool heater filled the guest house he was sleeping in with carbon monoxide.
Richard Basehart
Died September 17, 1984 b. 1914
American actor. TV: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-68, Admiral Harriman Nelson). Film: La Strada (1954, "The Fool") and Moby Dick (1956, Ishmael).
Pedro Menéndes de Avilés
Died September 17, 1574 b. 1519
Spanish explorer. First governor of Florida (1565-74). He founded St. Augustine, Florida (1565), which is the oldest continuously-inhabited, European-established settlement in the continental U.S.