Today in History
1978 Camp David Accords are signed
Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords. The accords were the precursor to the 1974 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty.
1939 Man runs 10,000 meters in less than 30 minutes for the first time in recorded history
Finnish runner Taisto Mäki, broke his previous record by running the distance in 29 minutes 52 seconds.
1894 A day after Japan wins the Battle of Pyongyang it defeats China in the Battle of the Yalu River
Also known as the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the conflict was fought between Japan and China during the First Sino-Japanese War.
1862 Bloodiest Single Day of the American Civil War takes place
The Battle of Antietam occurred in Sharpsburg, Maryland, near Antietam Creek. The battle, considered the bloodiest day of the American Civil War (at least 4,000 soldiers died on both sides), ended Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s incursion into the North. While there were no clear winners, many believed that the withdrawal of Confederate troops from the battlefield before the Union Army did mean that the Union had won.
1809 Treaty of Fredrikshamn is signed between Sweden and Russia
It ended the Finnish War and ceded Swedish territories that later formed Finland to Russia. It is also known as the Treaty of Hamina.
Births On This Day, September 17
1985 Tomáš Berdych
Czech tennis player
1975 Jimmie Johnson
American race car driver
1923 Hank Williams
American singer-songwriter, guitarist
1915 M. F. Husain
Indian painter, director
1879 Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
Indian businessman, politician, activist
Deaths On This Day, September 17
1997 Red Skelton
American actor, comedian
1996 Spiro Agnew
American politician, 39th Vice President of the United States
1994 Karl Popper
Austrian/English philosopher
1948 Ruth Benedict
American anthropologist
1179 Hildegard of Bingen
German saint, philosopher, composer
