17th February
February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 317 days remaining (318 in leap years).
Events
- 197 - Battle of Lugdunum, Roman Emperor Septimius Severus defeats his rival Clodius Albinus, securing full control over the Roman Empire.
- 1621 - Miles Standish is appointed as first commander of Plymouth colony.
- 1753 - February 17 is followed by March 1 as Sweden moves to the Gregorian from the Julian calendar.
- 1772 - First partition of Poland, by Russia and Prussia, later including Austria.
- 1801 - An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
- 1819 - The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise.
- 1854 - The British recognize the independence of the Orange Free State.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina burns as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
- 1867 - The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.
- 1913 - The Armory Show opens in New York City. It displays works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
- 1924 - In Miami, Florida, Johnny Weissmuller sets a new world record in the 100-yard freestyle swimming competition with a time of 52-2/5 seconds.
- 1933 - The magazine Newsweek is published for the first time.
- 1933 - The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.
- 1944 - World War II: Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins. The battle ended in an American victory on February 22.
- 1947 - Propaganda: The Voice of America begins to transmit radio broadcasts into the Soviet Union.
- 1955 - Christian Pineau becomes Prime Minister of France
- 1964 - In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
- 1968 - In Springfield, Massachusetts the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
- 1972 - Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle model exceed those of Ford Model-T ?(15 million).
- 1979 - China invades Vietnam.
- 1992 - A court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin sentences serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to life in prison.
- 1995 - Colin Ferguson is convicted of six counts of murder for the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shootings and later receives a 200+ year sentence.
- 1996 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the "Deep Blue" supercomputer in a chess match.
Births
- 1653 - Arcangelo Corelli, composer, (d. 1713)
- 1699 - Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, master builder, (d. 1753)
- 1774 - Raphael Peale, painter
- 1798 - Auguste Comte, "father" of sociology, (d. 1857)
- 1821 - Lola Montez, dancer, actress, friend of monarchs, (d. 1861)
- 1844 - Montgomery Ward, department store founder
- 1854 - Friedrich Alfred Krupp, industrialist, (d. 1902)
- 1864 - Banjo Paterson, Australian poet (d. 1941)
- 1874 - Thomas Watson, computer pioneer, first president of IBM
- 1877 - Andre Maginot, politician, Maginot Line, (d. 1932)
- 1888 - Otto Stern, physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics 1943, (d. 1969)
- 1908 - Red Barber, baseball announcer, sports journalist, (d. 1992)
- 1924 - Margaret Truman, novelist, daughter of President Harry S. Truman
- 1925 - Hal Holbrook, actor
- 1929 - Chaim Potok, author, (d. 2002)
- 1929 - Patricia Routledge, actress
- 1930 - Ruth Rendell, writer
- 1934 - Alan Bates, actor, (d. 2003)
- 1934 - Barry Humphries (aka "Dame Edna Everage"), actor, comedian
- 1936 - Jim Brown, American football star
- 1937 - Rita Süssmuth, politician
- 1941 - Julia McKenzie, actress
- 1941 - Gene Pitney, singer
- 1945 - Brenda Fricker, actress
- 1953 - Norman Pace, actor, comic
- 1962 - Lou Diamond Phillips, actor
- 1963 - Michael Jordan, basketball
- 1972 - Denise Richards, actress
- 1972 - Philippe Candeloro, figure skater
- 1972 - Billie Joe Armstrong, musician ("Green Day")
Deaths
- 197 - Clodius Albinus, aspirant to Emperor of Rome (killed in battle)
- 364 - Jovian, Roman Emperor, (b. c. 332)
- 1600 - Giordano Bruno, religious reformer, (b. 1548)
- 1673 - Molière, writer, (b. 1622)
- 1856 - Heinrich Heine, writer, (b. 1797)
- 1919 - Wilfrid Laurier, seventh Prime Minister of Canada, (b. 1841)
- 1934 - King Albert I of Belgium, (b. 1875)
- 1962 - Bruno Walter, conductor, (b. 1876)
- 1982 - Thelonious Monk, jazz pianist, (b. 1917)
- 1982 - Lee Strasberg, acting teacher, actor
- 1994 - Randy Shilts, author, AIDS activist
- 1998 - Ernst Jünger, militaristic German author, dies at 102, (b. 1895)
- 2004 - Shirley Strickland, Australian athlete
Holidays and observances
See Also:
February 16 - February 18 - January 17 - March 17 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Referenced By
Cenepa War | Test cricket
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