TODAY IN HISTORY

September 17

1787:The Constitution was completed and signed by a majority of the delegates attending the constitutional convention in Philadelphia.

1862:The bloodiest day in U.S. military history occurred at the Battle of Antietam when more than 23,000 were killed or wounded.

1908:Lt. Thomas Selfridge, a passenger in a plane piloted by Orville Wright, became the first airplane fatality when the craft crashed.

1920:The American Professional Football Association—a precursor of the NFL—was formed in Canton, Ohio.

1980:Anastasio Somoza Debayle, former president of Nicaragua, was assassinated in Paraguay.

1994:Heather Whitestone of Alabama became the first deaf Miss America.

2004:Barry Bonds became the third baseball player to hit 700 career home runs, joining Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.