1862

Today in History 09/17 (United States Constitution)

The signing of the Constitution of the United States at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 (© GraphicaArtis/Getty Images)(1787) Delegates sign the Constitution in Philadelphia
Following Benjamin Franklin’s speech, delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia sign the Constitution. The day will later be observed as I Am an American Day, which will be renamed to Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.
The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the President; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Articles Four, Five and Six embody concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government. Article Seven establishes the procedure subsequently used by the thirteen States to ratify it. It is regarded as the oldest written and codified national constitution in force of the world.
Constitution of the United States, page 1
Page one of the original copy of the Constitution
wiki/United_States_Constitution
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(1787) Delegates sign the Constitution in Philadelphia.
Also on this day,

1859 | Emperor Norton I begins his 21-year reign over the US
San Franciscan Joshua A. Norton, frustrated by government bureaucracy, declares himself, ‘Norton I, Emperor of the United States.’ His edicts, including the abolition of the US Congress, endear him to many of his fellow residents, who encourage his delusions of grandeur.
1862 | Sun sets on bloodiest battle in American history as Battle of Antietam ends
George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac stems the tide of Robert E. Lee’s Confederate advance into Union territory, but the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, exacts a terrible toll with 22,000 dead, injured, or missing by the end of the bloodiest day in US military history.
1976 | NASA unveils a new spaceship Enterprise in the California desert
NASA’s new reusable orbital space vehicle, the space shuttle, is rolled out for its first public viewing in front of thousands of invited guests in Palmdale, California. It’s christened the ‘Enterprise’ after a write-in campaign by ‘Star Trek fans, and most of the show’s original cast is on hand for the unveiling.

Today in History 09/17/17

President Lincoln and General McClellan seated inside a tent on the Battlefield of Antietam (Alexander Gardner/Library of Congress)(1862) Sun sets on bloodiest battle in American history
George McClellan's Army of the Potomac stems the tide of Robert E. Lee's Confederate advance into Union territory, but the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, exacts a terrible toll with 22,000 dead, injured, or missing by the end of the bloodiest day in US military history.
The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the South, was fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland and Antietam Creek as part of the Maryland Campaign. It was the first field army–level engagement in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War to take place on Union soil and is the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with a combined tally of 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing.
Date: Sep 17, 1862
Maryland Campaign
Maryland Campaign, actions September 3 to 15, 1862 RED - Confederate, BLUE - Union

wiki/Battle_of_Antietam
Star Trek' cast members (from left) Leonard Nimoy, George Takei and DeForest Kelly in front of the unveiling of the Space Shuttle in Palmdale, California, in 1976 (© AP)(1976) NASA unveils a new spaceship in the California desert
NASA's new reusable orbital space vehicle, the space shuttle, is rolled out for its first public viewing in front of thousands of invited guests in Palmdale, California. It's christened the 'Enterprise' after a write-in campaign by 'Star Trek fans, and most of the show's original cast is on hand for the unveiling.
Space Shuttle Enterprise was the first orbiter of the Space Shuttle system. Rolled out on September 17, 1976, it was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform atmospheric test flights after being launched from a modified Boeing 747. It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield, and was therefore not capable of spaceflight.
Manufacturer: Rockwell International
Space Shuttle Enterprise in launch configuration
Low angle view of gantry and Space Shuttle Enterprise in launch position on the Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex 6 (commonly known as "SLICK 6"), in California, during the ready-to-launch checks to verify launch procedures.

wiki/Space_Shuttle_Enterprise
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Today in History 07/12 (Medal of Honor)

Medal of Honor, 1939 (© Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Collection/Library of Congress)(1862) Valor above and beyond the call of duty honored
President Abraham Lincoln signs a law providing for the awarding of medals to Army personnel who “distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action,” and the first of these Medal of Honor five-point bronze stars coated in copper will be awarded to six Civil War Union Army volunteers.
The Medal of Honor is the United States of America’s highest and most prestigious personal military decoration that may be awarded to recognize U.S. military service members who distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the U.S. Congress. Because the medal is presented “in the name of Congress”, it is often referred to informally as the “Congressional Medal of Honor”. However, the official name of the current award is “Medal of Honor”, as it began with the U.S. Army’s version. Within United States Code the medal is referred to as the “Medal of Honor”, and less frequently as “Congressional Medal of Honor”. U.S. awards, including the Medal of Honor, do not have post-nominal titles, and while there is no official abbreviation, the most common abbreviations are “MOH” and “MH”.
Awarded for: Conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty
First awarded: March 25, 1863: American Civil War, U.S. Army recipient
Last awarded: June 26, 2018
Total awarded: 3,519

The Medals of Honor
The Medals of Honor awarded by each of the three branches of the U.S. military, and are, from left to right, the Army, Coast Guard/Navy/Marine Corps and Air Force.
wiki/Medal_of_Honor
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(1862) Valor above and beyond the call of duty honored.
Also on this day,

1562 | Ancient Maya books destroyed
Sacred books of the Maya, a people native to the Yucatan Peninsula in what will later be Mexico, are burned by Spanish Roman Catholic bishop Diego de Landa. The Maya indigenous language and religion have been deemed heretical by the Inquisition and are therefore to be destroyed.
1979 | Disco protest takes over baseball game
The Chicago White Sox and local radio DJ Steve Dahl team up for a promotional event: blowing up a crate of disco records in between games of a doubleheader. Thousands of fans—who got in for 98 cents if they brought a record to be destroyed—trash the field. The team is forced to postpone, and eventually forfeit, the second game.
1984 | US gender barrier broken as female veep nominee is chosen
Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale chooses Representative Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. The first woman, and first Italian-American, to be on a major party presidential ticket in US history will give a rousing acceptance speech at her party’s convention a week later.