What are the important events that happened on September 17? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

September 17: Facts & Myths About This Day

September 17 is the 261^st day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 105 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is September 4, 2024 – a Tuesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 479,592 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectahexacontahenagon’ day.

Virgo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Sapphire is the modern birthstone for this month. Agate is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 134 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,288 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

September 17 Historical Events

• 1775 –
  American Revolutionary War: The Invasion of Canada begins with the Siege of Fort St. Jean.
• 1862 –
  American Civil War: The Allegheny Arsenal explosion results in the single largest civilian disaster during the war.
• 1908 –
  The Wright Flyer flown by Orville Wright, with Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge as passenger, crashes killing Selfridge. He becomes the first airplane fatality.
• 1914 –
  Andrew Fisher becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.
• 1924 –
  The Border Defence Corps is established in the Second Polish Republic for the defence of the eastern border against armed Soviet raids and local bandits.
• 1928 –
  The Okeechobee Hurricane strikes southeastern Florida, killing upwards of 2,500 people. It is the third deadliest natural disaster in United States history, behind the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
• 1943 –
  World War II: The Russian city of Bryansk is liberated from Nazis.
• 1944 –
  World War II: Allied Airborne troops parachute into the Netherlands as the “Market” half of Operation Market Garden.
• 1980 –
  Former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is killed in Asunción, Paraguay.
• 1992 –
  An Iranian Kurdish leader and his two joiners are assassinated by political militants in Berlin, Germany.

Who were born on September 17?

• 1912 –
  Irena Kwiatkowska, Polish actress and comedian (d. 2011)
• 1933 –
  Chuck Grassley, American politician
• 1933 –
  Dorothy Loudon, American actress (d. 2003)
• 1947 –
  Tessa Jowell, British politician
• 1965 –
  Guy Picciotto, American musician (Rites of Spring, Fugazi)
• 1967 –
  Koen Wauters, Flemish singer, television presenter, and actor
• 1968 –
  Akhenaton French rapper and producer
• 1968 –
  Lord Jamar American emcee and actor
• 1972 –
  Brian Henry, American poet
• 1979 –
  Chuck Comeau, Canadian musician (Simple Plan)

Who died on September 17?

• 1563 –
  Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, English soldier (b. 1526)
• 1574 –
  Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, first Spanish Governor of Florida (b. 1519)
• 1665 –
  Philip IV of Spain (b. 1605)
• 1727 –
  Glückel of Hameln, German businesswoman (b. 1647)
• 1864 –
  Walter Savage Landor, English writer (b. 1775)
• 1873 –
  Alexander Berry, Scottish adventurer (b. 1781)
• 1899 –
  Charles Alfred Pillsbury, American industrialist (b. 1842)
• 1909 –
  Sir Thomas Bent, Premier of Victoria (b. 1838)
• 1946 –
  Frank Burke, American baseball player (b. 1880)
• 1985 –
  Laura Ashley, Welsh designer (b. 1925)