January 17
January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the
Gregorian calendar. There are 348 days remaining (349 in
leap years).
*
1562 -
France recognizes the
Huguenots under the
Edict of Saint-Germain.
*
1648 -
England's
Long Parliament passes the
Vote of No Address, breaking off negotiations with
King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the
English Civil War.
*
1746 -
Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie", defeats a
Hanoverian army at
Falkirk in his ultimately unsuccessful campaign to recover the throne for the
Jacobite dynasty.
*
1772 -
Johann Friedrich Struensee and Queen
Caroline Matilda are arrested, leading to his execution and her banishment from
Denmark.
*
1773 - Captain
James Cook becomes the first explorer to cross the
Antarctic Circle.
*
1781 -
American Revolutionary War:
Battle of Cowpens - Continental troops under Brigadier General
Daniel Morgan defeat British forces under Lieutenant Colonel
Banastre Tarleton at the battle in
South Carolina.
*
1806 - James Madison Randolph, the grandson of
Thomas Jefferson, became the first child born in the
White House.
*
1819 -
Simón Bolívar proclaims the Republic of
Colombia.
*
1852 -
United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the
Boer colonies of the
Transvaal.
*
1873 -
First Battle of the Stronghold in the
US Modoc War.
*
1885 - A
British force defeats a large
Dervish army at the
Battle of Abu Klea in the
Sudan.
*
1893 - The
Citizen's Committee of Public Safety, led by
Lorrin A. Thurston overthrew the government of Queen
Liliuokalani of the
Kingdom of Hawaii.
*
1899 - The
United States takes possession of
Wake Island in the
Pacific Ocean.
*
1912 - Sir
Robert Falcon Scott (Scott of the Antarctic) reaches the
South Pole, one month after
Roald Amundsen.
*
1916 - The
Professional Golfers Association (PGA) is formed.
*
1917 - The
United States pays
Denmark $25 million for the
Virgin Islands.
*
1929 -
Popeye the Sailor Man, a
cartoon character created by
Elzie Crisler Segar, first appeared in the
Comic Strip Thimble Theatre.
*
1941 -
Kuomintang forces under the order of
Chiang Kai-Shek opened fire at communist force,
Chinese Civil War resumes after
WWII.(This event is known as
皖南事变).
*
1945 -
Soviet forces capture the almost completely destroyed
Polish city of
Warsaw.
* 1945 - The
Nazis begin the evacuation of the
Auschwitz concentration camp as
Soviet forces close in.
* 1945 -
Swedish diplomat
Raoul Wallenberg disappears in
Hungary while in
Soviet custody.
*
1946 - The
UN Security Council holds its first session.
*
1949 -
The Goldbergs, the first
sitcom on American
television, first airs.
*
1950 - The
Great Brinks Robbery - 11 thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car Company's offices in
Boston, Massachusetts.
*
1961 - U.S .President
Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the "military-industrial complex."
*
1966 -
Simon and Garfunkel release their second album,
Sounds of Silence, on
Columbia Records.
* 1966 - A
B-52 bomber collides with a
KC-135 Stratotanker over
Spain, dropping three 70-kiloton
hydrogen bombs near the town of
Palomares and another one into the sea.
* 1966 -
Carl Brashear, the first
African American United States Navy diver, loses his leg in an accident on a routine mission.
*
1973 -
Ferdinand Marcos becomes "President for Life" of the
Philippines.
*
1974 -
Joni Mitchell releases
Court and Spark, arguably her most mainstream album.
*
1975 -
Bob Dylan releases
Blood on the Tracks, often considered one of his best albums.
*
1977 - Convicted murderer
Gary Gilmore is executed by a
firing squad in
Utah, ending a ten-year
moratorium on the
death penalty in the
United States.
*
1982 -
"Cold Sunday" in the
United States sees temperatures fall to their lowest levels in over 100 years in numerous cities.
*
1983 - Launch of breakfast television in the
United Kingdom with the
BBC's Breakfast programme presented by
Frank Bough and
Selina Scott*
1985 -
British Telecom announces the retirement of the
United Kingdom's famous
red telephone boxes.
*
1991 -
Gulf War:
Operation Desert Storm began early in the morning.
Iraq fires 8
Scud missiles into
Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.
* 1991 -
Harald V becomes King of
Norway on the death of his father,
Olav V.
*
1994 - A magnitude 6.7
earthquake hits
Northridge, California; see
1994 Northridge Earthquake.
*
1995 - A magnitude 7.3
earthquake (known as "
the Great Hanshin earthquake") hits near
Kobe, Japan, causing extensive property damage and killing 6,433 people.
*
1996 - The
Czech Republic applies for membership of the
European Union.
*
1998 -
Paula Jones accuses
President Bill Clinton of
sexual harassment.
*
2002 -
Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
*
2006 -
Clarence Ray Allen becomes the oldest condemned inmate executed in
California and the 2nd oldest in the
United States.
*
1463 -
Friedrich III, Elector of Saxony (d.
1525)
*
1484 -
George Spalatin, German reformer (d.
1545)
*
1501 -
Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (d.
1566)
*
1504 -
Pope Pius V (d.
1572)
*
1560 -
Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist (d.
1624)
*
1600 -
Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Spanish playwright (d.
1681)
*
1612 -
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, English Civil War general (d.
1671)
*
1686 -
Archibald Bower, Scottish historian (d.
1766)
*
1706 -
Benjamin Franklin American writer, inventor, publisher, and ambassador (d.
1790)
*
1712 -
John Stanley, English composer (d.
1786)
*
1719 -
William Vernon, American merchant (d.
1806)
*
1761 -
James Hall, Scottish geologist (d.
1832)
*
1763 -
John Jacob Astor, American entrepreneur (d.
1848)
*
1789 -
August Neander, German theologian (d.
1850)
*
1820 -
Anne Brontë, British author (d.
1849)
*
1828 -
Lewis A. Grant, American Civil War General (d.
1918)
*
1832 -
Henry Martyn Baird, American historian and educationalist (d.
1906)
*
1851 -
A. B. Frost, American illustrator (d.
1928)
*
1860 -
Douglas Hyde,
President of Ireland (d.
1949)
*
1863 -
David Lloyd George,
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d.
1945)
*
1867 -
Carl Laemmle, German-born film executive (d.
1939)
*
1871 -
David Earl Beatty British admiral (d.
1936)
* 1871 -
Nicolae Iorga, Romanian writer (d.
1940)
*
1880 -
Mack Sennett, Canadian film director and producer (d.
1960)
*
1881 -
Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician (d.
1941)
*
1882 -
Noah Beery, American actor (d.
1946)
*
1886 -
Glenn L. Martin, American aviation pioneer (d.
1955)
*
1899 -
Al Capone, American gangster (d.
1947)
* 1899 -
Nevil Shute, English author (d.
1960)
*
1905 -
Guillermo Stábile, Argentine footballer (d.
1966)
* 1905 -
Ray Cunningham, baseball player (d.
2005)
*
1911 -
George Joseph Stigler, American economist,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1991)
*
1914 -
William Stafford, American poet and essayist (d.
1993)
*
1921 -
Antonio Prohias, Cuban cartoonist (d.
1998)
*
1922 -
Luis Echeverría Álvarez,
President of Mexico* 1922 -
Nicholas Katzenbach, American politician
* 1922 -
Betty White, American actress
*
1925 -
Robert Cormier, American author (d.
2000)
* 1925 -
Abdul Kardar, Pakistani cricketer
*
1926 -
Newton N. Minow, American telecommunications lawyer and statesman
* 1926 -
Moira Shearer, Scottish actress and dancer (d.
2006)
*
1927 -
Eartha Kitt, American actress and singer
*
1928 -
Jean Barraqué, French composer (d.
1973)
* 1928 -
Vidal Sassoon, English cosmetologist
*
1929 -
Jacques Plante, Canadian hockey player (d.
1986)
*
1930 -
Eddie LeBaron, American football quarterback
*
1931 -
James Earl Jones, American actor
* 1931 -
L. Douglas Wilder, 66th
Governor of Virginia* 1931 -
Don Zimmer, baseball coach
*
1932 -
Sheree North, American actress
*
1933 -
Dalida, French singer (d.
1987)
* 1933 -
Prince Sadruddhin Aga Khan, French UN High Commissioner for Refugees (d.
2003)
* 1933 -
Shari Lewis, American puppeteer (d.
1998)
*
1935 -
Ruth Ann Minner,
Governor of Delaware*
1937 -
Troy Donahue, American actor
*
1939 -
Maury Povich, American talk show host
*
1940 -
Kipchoge Keino, Kenyan runner
*
1942 -
Muhammad Ali, American boxer
* 1942 -
Cus D'Amato, boxing manager (d.
1985)
* 1942 -
Ulf Hoelscher, German violinist
* 1942 -
Nancy Parsons, American actress (d.
2001)
*
1943 -
René Préval,
President of Haiti*
1944 -
Françoise Hardy, French singer
*
1948 -
Davíð Oddsson, former
Prime Minister of Iceland* 1948 -
Mick Taylor, British musician (
The Rolling Stones)
* 1948 -
Jim Ladd, American
freeform (radio format) Disc Jockey (
KLOS)
*
1949 -
Andy Kaufman, American comedian (d.
1984)
*
1952 -
Darrell Porter, American baseball player (d.
2002)
* 1952 -
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese musician, composer, producer, actor
*
1955 -
Steve Earle, American musician
*
1956 -
Paul Young, English musician
*
1957 -
John Crawford, American musician (
Berlin (band))
*
1959 -
Susanna Hoffs, American musician (
The Bangles)
* 1959 -
Momoe Yamaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
*
1962 -
Jim Carrey, Canadian actor and comedian
* 1962 -
Sebastian Junger, American journalist and author
*
1963 -
Kai Hansen, German musician/singer (
Gamma Ray)
*
1964 -
Andy Rourke, bass guitarist,
The Smiths*
1966 -
Shabba Ranks, Jamaican singer
*
1967 -
Paul Summers, English poet
*
1968 -
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Dutch writer
* 1968 -
Svetlana Masterkova, Russian athlete
*
1969 -
Lukas Moodysson, Swedish film director
* 1969 -
Naveen Andrews, British actor
*
1970 -
Jeremy Roenick, American hockey player
* 1970 -
Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-born animator
* 1970 -
James Wattana, Thai snooker player
*
1971 -
Kid Rock, American singer
* 1971 -
Youki Kudoh, Japanese actress
* 1971 -
Ann Wolfe, female boxer
*
1972 -
Ken Hirai, Japanese singer and songwriter
*
1974 -
Yang Chen, Chinese footballer
*
1977 -
Kevin Fertig, American professional wrestler
*
1979 -
Brad Miller, American actor, filmmaker, and musician
*
1980 -
Zooey Deschanel, American actress
* 1980 -
Kimberly Spicer, American model
*
1981 -
Warren Feeney, Northern Irish footballer
* 1981 -
Scott Mechlowicz, American actor
* 1981 -
William Raymond Norwood, Jr. (a.k.a. Ray J),
American R&B singer
*
1982 -
Alex Varkatzas, American singer (
Atreyu)
* 1982 -
Dwyane Wade, American basketball player
*
1985 -
Simone Simons, Dutch singer (
Epica)
*
1986 -
Chloe Rose Lattanzi, Australian actress and singer
*
1988 -
Nikki Reed, American actress
*
2001 -
Sophie Delezio, Australian burn victim
*
395 -
Theodosius I,
Roman Emperor*
1229 -
Albert of Buxhoeveden, German soldier
*
1369 - King
Peter I of Cyprus (murdered) (b.
1328)
*
1468 -
Skanderbeg, Albanian leader (b.
1405)
*
1617 -
Faust Vrancic, Croatian inventor (b.
1551)
*
1654 -
Paulus Potter, Dutch painter (b.
1625)
*
1705 -
John Ray, English naturalist (b.
1627)
*
1718 -
Captain Benjamin Church, Plymouth Colony settler
*
1737 -
Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, German architect (b.
1662)
*
1751 -
Tomaso Albinoni, Italian composer (b.
1671)
*
1826 -
Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer (b.
1806)
*
1834 -
Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist (b.
1762)
*
1861 -
Lola Montez, Irish-born adventurer (b.
1821)
*
1863 -
Horace Vernet, French painter (b.
1789)
*
1884 -
Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist (b.
1804)
*
1886 -
Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer (b.
1834)
*
1893 -
Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th
President of the United States (b.
1822)
*
1942 -
Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (b.
1884)
*
1947 -
Pyotr Krasnov, Russian counter-revolutionary (d.
1947)
*
1961 -
Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b.
1925)
*
1964 -
T.H. White, English author (b.
1906)
*
1967 -
Evelyn Nesbit, American actress (b.
1884)
*
1972 -
Betty Smith, American writer and singer (b.
1896)
*
1977 -
Gary Gilmore, American murderer (executed) (b.
1940)
*
1983 -
Doodles Weaver, American actor (b.
1911)
*
1987 -
Hugo Fregonese, Argentine film director (b.
1908)
*
1991 -
Olav V of Norway (b.
1903)
*
1993 -
Albert Hourani, English historian (b.
1915)
*
1994 -
Helen Stephens, American runner (b.
1918)
*
1996 -
Barbara Jordan, American politician (b.
1936)
*
1997 -
Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer (b.
1906)
*
2001 -
Gregory Corso, American poet (b.
1930)
* 2001 -
Laurent-Desire Kabila,
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b.
1939)
*
2002 -
Bishop Karas, First Coptic Bishop of St. Antony Monastery
* 2002 -
Camilo Jose Cela, Spanish writer,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1916)
*
2003 -
Richard Crenna, American actor (b.
1926)
*
2004 -
Czeslaw Niemen, Polish musician (b.
1939)
* 2004 -
Ray Stark, American stage and film producer (b.
1915)
* 2004 -
Noble Willingham, American actor (b.
1931)
* 2004 -
Harry Brecheen, Baseball player (b.
1914)
*
2005 -
Charlie Bell, American fast food executive (b.
1960)
* 2005 -
Virginia Mayo, American actress (b.
1920)
* 2005 -
Albert Schatz, American microbiologist (b.
1920)
* 2005 -
Zhao Ziyang,
Premier of the People's Republic of China (b.
1919)
*
2006 -
Clarence Ray Allen, American murderer (b.
1930)
* Ancient
Latvia -
Zirgu Diena observed
*
Catholicism -
Feast day of the following
saints:
St. Anthony and
Amelbert.
*
BBC: On This Day*
NY Times: On this day*
On this day in CanadaJanuary 16 -
January 18 -
December 17 -
February 17 "
listing of all days
