By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Thursday, Sept. 17, the 261st day of 2020. There are 105 days left in the year.

Todayís Highlight in History:

On Sept. 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

On this date:

In 1862, more than 3,600 men were killed in the Civil War Battle of Antietam (an-TEEí-tum) in Maryland.

In 1908, Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge of the U.S. Army Signal Corps became the first person to die in the crash of a powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer, at Fort Myer, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C.

In 1937, the likeness of President Abraham Lincolnís head was dedicated at Mount Rushmore.

In 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland during World War II, more than two weeks after Nazi Germany had launched its assault.

In 1944, during World War II, Allied paratroopers launched Operation Market Garden, landing behind German lines in the Netherlands. (After initial success, the Allies were beaten back by the Germans.)

In 1947, James V. Forrestal was sworn in as the first U.S. Secretary of Defense.

In 1971, citing health reasons, Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, 85, retired. (Black, who was succeeded by Lewis F. Powell Jr., died eight days after making his announcement.)

In 1978, after meeting at Camp David, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (men-AHí-kem BAYí-gihn) and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed a framework for a peace treaty.

In 1987, the city of Philadelphia, birthplace of the U.S. Constitution, threw a big party to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the historic document; in a speech at Independence Hall, President Ronald Reagan acclaimed the framing of the Constitution as a milestone ìthat would profoundly and forever alter not just these United States but the world.î

In 1997, Comedian Red Skelton died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 84.

In 2001, six days after 9/11, stock prices nosedived but stopped short of collapse in an emotional, flag-waving reopening of Wall Street; the Dow Jones industrial average ended the day down 684.81 at 8,920.70.

In 2011, a demonstration calling itself Occupy Wall Street began in New York, prompting similar protests around the U.S. and the world.

Ten years ago: Thousands of cheering Catholic schoolchildren feted Pope Benedict XVI on his second day in Britain, offering a boisterous welcome, as the pontiff urged their teachers to make sure to provide a trusting, safe environment. A scientist and his wife who once worked at a top-secret U.S. nuclear laboratory were arrested after an FBI sting operation and charged with conspiring to help develop a nuclear weapon for Venezuela. (After pleading guilty, Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni was sentenced to five years in federal prison while his wife, Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni, received a year and a day;)