February 17
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.
* 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 (+ 1713)
* 1699 - Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, master builder (+ 1753)
* 1774 - Raphael Peale, painter
* 1821 - Lola Montez, dancer, actress, friend of monarchs (+ 1861)
* 1844 - Montgomery Ward, department store founder
* 1854 - Friedrich Alfred Krupp, industrialist (+ 1902)
* 1874 - Thomas Watson, computer pioneer, first president of IBM
* 1877 - Andre Maginot, politician, Maginot Line (+ 1932)
* 1888 - Otto Stern, physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics 1943
(+ 1969)
* 1908 - Red Barber, baseball announcer, sports journalist (+ 1992)
* 1924 - Margaret Truman, novelist, daughter of President Harry S Truman
* 1925 - Hal Holbrook, actor
* 1929 - Chaim Potok, author (+ 2002)
* 1929 - Patricia Routledge, actress
* 1930 - Ruth Barbara Rendell, writer
* 1934 - Alan Bates, actor
* 1934 - Barry Humphries (aka "Dame Edna Everage"), actor, comedian
* 1936 - Jim Brown, American football star
* 1937 - Rita Sssmuth, 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)
* 1600 - Giordano Bruno, religious reformer
* 1673 - Molire, writer
* 1856 - Heinrich Heine, writer
* 1919 - Wilfrid Laurier, seventh Prime Minister of Canada
* 1934 - King Albert I of Belgium
* 1962 - Bruno Walter, conductor
* 1982 - Thelonious Monk, jazz pianist
* 1982 - Lee Strasberg, acting teacher, actor
* 1994 - Randy Shilts, author, AIDS activist
* 1998 - Ernst Jnger, militaristic German author, dies at 102
Holidays and observances
* Roman Empire - Quirinalia in honor of Quirinus
* Ancient Latvia - Tanis Diena observed
