On This Day September 17

2001
President Bush: When asked, Do you want bin Laden dead?", 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 bin Laden, he would state, "¼You know, I just don't spend that much time on him¼"

1983
First black Miss America: Vanessa Williams (Miss New York) is crowned. She was forced to relinquish her crown in 1984 when Penthouse magazine published nude photos of her with another woman.

1968
Julia debuts on NBC making Diahann Carroll the first black woman to star in a TV series since Beulah (1950-53).

1966
Mission: Impossible: The CBS series debuts. "Your mission, should you decide to accept it..."

1960
U.S. Embassy in Panama is attacked by mobs over dispute of flying U.S. and Panamanian flags.

1937
Mt. Rushmore: Lincoln's face is dedicated. The memorial was completed in 1941.

1911
First airplane flight across the U.S.: Calbraith P. Rodgers departs from Sheepshead Bay, New York arriving in Pasadena, California on November 5th.

1908
First airplane fatality: Orville Wright crashes his plane after the propeller breaks, killing his passenger Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge and seriously injuring himself.

1895
First U.S. battleship: The USS Maine is commissioned.

1796
George Washington gives his farewell address as president, warning against a large public dept, a large military, and minority interests controlling the government.

1789
A seventh moon of Saturn, Mimas, is discovered by Sir William Herschel.

1787
U.S. Constitution: It is signed and adopted. It was ratified by the necessary nine states in June of 1788.

1951
Elvira (Cassandra Peterson), American horror show host, "Hostess with the Mostest."

1948 d. 2003
John Ritter (Jonathan Southworth Ritter), American Emmy-winning actor. TV: Three's Company (Jack Tripper), The Waltons (Rev. Fordwick), and 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter (the Father).

1947
Jeff MacNelly, American Pulitzer-winning cartoonist, creator of Shoe (1977).

1938
Paul Benedict, American actor. Film: The Addams Family (1991, Judge Womack). TV: The Jeffersons (Harry Bentley).

1934 d. 1969
Maureen "Little Mo" Connolly, 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).

1931
Anne Bancroft (Anne Maria Louise Italiano), American Oscar-winning actress. Film: The Miracle Worker (1962, Oscar), The Graduate (1967, Mrs. Robinson), and Agnes of God (1985).

1928 d. 1998
Roddy McDowall (Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall), British-born American Tony-winning actor. Film: Lassie Come Home (1943, Joe Carraclough), Planet of the Apes (1968, Cornelius). TV: Batman (Bookworm). He won both the Charleston and Cha-Cha contests on the The Arthur Murray Party (1950).

1923 d. 1953
Hank Williams, American country singer, composed Your Cheatin' Heart. His chauffeur was stopped by a highway patrolman who commented that Hank looked dead. Later on he realized that Hank really was dead.

1997 b. 1913
Red Skelton (Richard Skelton), 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."

1996 b. 1918
Spiro Theodore Agnew, 39th U.S. Vice-President (1969-73). He resigned after pleading no contest to income tax evasion charges (1973).

1984 b. 1914
Richard Basehart, American actor. TV: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Admiral Harriman Nelson).

1909 b. 1866
Herman Long, American baseball player. He holds the record for most career errors (1,037 errors during 1,877 games from 1889-1904). In 1900 he led the National League in home runs.

1775 b. 1729
John Parker, 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 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."

1574 b. 1519
Pedro Menéndes de Avilés, Spanish explorer. He founded St. Augustine, Florida (1565).

September 17

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