January 17: Ancient Latvia - Zirgu Diena observed

Genial.Soul · Fun Addict Joined: 17 Mar 2007 Posts: 641 Gender:

January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 348 days remaining until the end of the year (349 in leap years).

Events

38 BC - Octavian marries Livia Drusilla.
1287 - King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca.
1377 - Pope Gregory XI moves the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon.
1524 - Beginning of Giovanni da Verrazzano's voyage to find a passage to China.
1562 - France recognizes the Huguenots under the Edict of Saint-Germain.
1595 - Henry IV of France declares war on Spain.
1605 - First publication of Don Quixote.
1648 - England's Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Addresses, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War.
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.
1799 - Maltese patriot Dun Mikiel Xerri, along with a number of other patriot is executed.
1819 - SimÃ³n BolÃvar proclaims the Republic of Colombia.
1852 - The 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 overthrows the government of Queen Liliuokalani of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
1899 - The United States takes possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.
1904 - Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard receives its premiere performance at the Moscow Art Theatre.
1912 - Sir Robert Falcon Scott (Scott of the Antarctic) reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen.
1913 - Raymond PoincarÃ© is elected President of France.
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 appears in the Thimble Theatre comic strip.
1941 - Kuomintang forces under orders from Chiang Kai-Shek open fire at communist forces, resuming the Chinese Civil War after WWII.
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.
1956 - Allen Ginsberg writes his poem "America".
1961 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhowerdelivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days beforeleaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power bythe "military-industrial complex".
1966 - A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, dropping four 70-kiloton hydrogen bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea in the Palomares hydrogen bombs incident.
1973 - Ferdinand Marcos becomes "President for Life" of the Philippines.
1977 - Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by a firing squad in Utah, ending a ten-year moratorium on Capital punishment 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.
1985 - British Telecom announces the retirement of the United Kingdom's red telephone boxes.
1989 - Stockton massacre: Patrick Purdy opens fire with an assault rifleat the Cleveland Elementary School playground, killing five childrenand wounding 29 others and one teacher before taking his own life.
1991 - Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins 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.
1997 - A Delta 2 carrying a GPS2R satellite explodes 13 seconds after launch, dropping 250 tons of burning rocket remains around the launch pad.
1998 - Paula Jones accuses President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment.
2001 - President Bill Clinton posthumously raises Captain Meriwether Lewis' rank from Lieutenant to Captain.
2002 - Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
2007 - Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to N. Korea nuclear testing

Births

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 statesman (d. 1790)
1712 - John Stanley, English composer (d. 1786)
1719 - William Vernon, American merchant (d. 1806)
1761 - James Hall, Scottish geologist (d. 1832)
1789 - August Neander, German theologian (d. 1850)
1820 - Anne BrontÃ«, British author (d. 1849)
1828 - Lewis A. Grant, American Civil War General (d. 1918)
1831 - Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria (d. 1903)
1832 - Henry Martyn Baird, American educationalist (d. 1906)
1851 - A. B. Frost, American illustrator (d. 1928)
1853 - Alva Belmont, American socialite (d. 1933)
1858 - TomÃ¡s Carrasquilla, Colombian writer(d. 1940)
1860 - Douglas Hyde, President of Ireland (d. 1949)
1863 - David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1945)
1863 - Constantin Stanislavski, Russian theatre practitioner (d. 1938)
1867 - Carl Laemmle, German-born film executive (d. 1939)
1871 - David Earl Beatty British admiral (d. 1936)
1871 - Nicolae Iorga, Romanian writer (d. 1940)
1875 - Florencio SÃ¡nchez, Uruguayan dramatist (d. 1910)
1880 - Mack Sennett, Canadian film director (d. 1960)
1881 - Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician (d. 1941)
1882 - Noah Beery, Sr., American actor (d. 1946)
1886 - Glenn L. Martin, American aviation pioneer (d. 1955)
1897 - Marcel Petiot, French mass murderer (d. 1946)
1899 - Al Capone, American gangster (d. 1947)
1899 - Nevil Shute, English author (d. 1960)
1901 - Aron Gurwitsch, Lithuanian-born philosopher (d. 1973)
1903 - Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, Assamese poet, playwright, film maker (d. 1953)
1905 - Guillermo StÃ¡bile, Argentine footballer (d. 1966)
1905 - Peggy Gilbert, American jazz saxophonist and bandleader (d.2007)
1905 - Ray Cunningham, American baseball player (d. 2005)
1908 - Cus D'Amato, American boxing manager (d. 1985)
1911 - George Joseph Stigler, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
1914 - William Stafford, American poet and essayist (d. 1993)
1914 - Anacleto Angelini, Chilean businessman (d. 2007)
1914 - Irving Brecher, American Screenwriter
1917 - M. G. Ramachandran, Indian politician, actor (d. 1987)
1917 - RamÃ³n Cardemil, Chilean huaso (d. 2007)
1918 - Keith Joseph, British politician (d. 1994)
1921 - Antonio Prohias, Cuban cartoonist (d. 1998)
1922 - Luis EcheverrÃa Ãlvarez, 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 lawyer and statesman
1926 - Moira Shearer, Scottish actress (d. 2006)
1927 - Eartha Kitt, American actress and singer
1928 - Jean BarraquÃ©, French composer (d. 1973)
1928 - Vidal Sassoon, English cosmetologist
1929 - Jacques Plante, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1986)
1930 - Eddie LeBaron, American football player
1931 - James Earl Jones, American actor
1931 - L. Douglas Wilder, 66th Governor of Virginia
1931 - Don Zimmer, American baseball coach
1932 - Sheree North, American actress (d. 2005)
1933 - Dalida, French singer (d. 1987)
1933 - Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French UN High Commissioner for Refugees (d. 2003)
1933 - Shari Lewis, American ventriloquist (d. 1998)
1935 - Ruth Ann Minner, Governor of Delaware
1939 - Maury Povich, American talk show host
1940 - Kipchoge Keino, Kenyan runner
1942 - Muhammad Ali, American boxer
1942 - Ulf Hoelscher, German violinist
1942 - Nancy Parsons, American actress (d. 2001)
1943 - RenÃ© PrÃ©val, President of Haiti
1943 - Geoffrey Deuel, American actor
1943 - Chris Montez, American singer
1944 - FranÃ§oise Hardy, French singer
1945 - Javed Akhtar, Indian lyricist, poet and scriptwriter
1946 - MichÃ¨le Deslauriers, Quebec actress
1948 - DavÃÃ° Oddsson, former Prime Minister of Iceland
1948 - Jim Ladd, American freeform (radio format) Disc Jockey
1949 - Mick Taylor, British musician (The Rolling Stones)
1949 - Andy Kaufman, American comedian (d. 1984)
1952 - Darrell Porter, American baseball player (d. 2002)
1952 - Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese musician
1954 - Susan Kiefel, Australian lawyer and judge
1954 - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., American lawyer and environmental activist
1955 - Steve Earle, American musician
1956 - Paul Young, English musician
1957 - Keith Chegwin, English television presenter
1957 - Steve Harvey, American actor, comedian and radio personality
1959 - Susanna Hoffs, American musician
1959 - Momoe Yamaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
1960 - John Crawford, American musician
1960 - Chatchai Plengpanich, Thai actor
1961 - Brian Helgeland, American writer and film director
1962 - Jim Carrey, Canadian actor and comedian
1962 - Sebastian Junger, American journalist and author
1963 - Kai Hansen, German musician/singer
1964 - Andy Rourke, English bass guitarist (The Smiths)
1964 - Michelle Obama, wife of Barack Obama
1965 - Sylvain Turgeon, Canadian ice hockey player
1965 - Nikos Nioplias, Greek footballer
1966 - Stephin Merritt, American singer and songwriter (The Magnetic Fields, The 6ths, The Gothic Archies)
1966 - Shabba Ranks, Jamaican singer
1967 - Richard Hawley, English singer, guitarist and songwriter (Pulp, The Longpigs)
1967 - Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (d. 2007)
1967 - Song Kang-ho, South Korean actor
1968 - Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Dutch writer
1968 - Svetlana Masterkova, Russian athlete
1969 - Lukas Moodysson, Swedish film writer and director
1969 - Naveen Andrews, British actor
1969 - Tijs Verwest, (DJ TiÃ«sto) Dutch DJ
1970 - Jeremy Roenick, American ice hockey player
1970 - Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-born animator
1970 - James Wattana, Thai snooker player
1971 - Kid Rock, American singer
1971 - Richard Burns, English rally driver (d. 2005)
1971 - Leonardo Ciampa, Italian-American musician
1971 - Youki Kudoh, Japanese actress
1971 - Sylvie Testud, French actress
1971 - Ann Wolfe, female boxer
1972 - Ken Hirai, Japanese singer and songwriter
1972 - Lil Jon, American rapper/producer
1973 - CuauhtÃ©moc Blanco, Mexican footballer
1973 - Liz Ellis, Australian netball captain
1973 - Aaron Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
1974 - Yang Chen, Chinese footballer
1974 - Derrick Mason, American football player
1974 - Vesko Kountchev, Bulgarian musician
1975 - Tom Jenkinson, English musician (Squarepusher)
1975 - Freddy Rodriguez, Puerto Rican-American actor
1977 - Kevin Fertig, American professional wrestler
1977 - Leigh Whannell, Australian screenwriter/actor
1980 - Zooey Deschanel, American actress
1980 - Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Ukrainian ballroom dancer
1980 - Kimberly Spicer, American model
1980 - Gareth McLearnon, Northern Irish flautist
1981 - Warren Feeney, Northern Irish footballer
1981 - Scott Mechlowicz, American actor
1981 - Ray J, American R&B singer
1982 - Alex Varkatzas, American singer
1982 - Dwyane Wade, American basketball player
1982 - Amanda Wilkinson, Canadian singer
1983 - Alvaro Arbeloa, Spanish Footballer
1983 - Johannes Herber, German basketball player
1983 - Andrea Lowell, American Model
1983 - Rick Kelly, Australian racing driver
1985 - Simone Simons, Dutch singer (Epica)
1985 - Riyu Kosaka, Japanese singer BeForU
1985 - Kang-In, South Korean singer/dancer/actor/MC/DJ(Super Junior)

Deaths

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 Vrančić, 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 and military leader
1737 - MatthÃ¤us Daniel PÃ¶ppelmann, German architect (b. 1662)
1751 - Tomaso Albinoni, Italian composer (b. 1671)
1826 - Juan CrisÃ³stomo 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)
1903 - Ignaz Wechselmann, Hungarian architect and philanthropist (b. 1828)
1927 - Juliette Gordon Low, American founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA (b. 1860)
1931 - Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia, son of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich (b. 1864)
1933 - Louis Comfort Tiffany, American artist and designer (b. 1848)
1942 - Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (b. 1884)
1947 - Pyotr Krasnov, Russian counter-revolutionary (b. 1869)
1947 - Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve, French Archbishop of Quebec (b. 1883)
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)
1970 - Simon Kovar, Russian-American bassoonist (b. 1890)
1970 - Billy Stewart, American singer (b. 1937)
1972 - Betty Smith, American writer and singer (b. 1896)
1977 - Gary Gilmore, American murderer (b. 1940)
1981 - Loukas Panourgias, Greek footballer (b. 1899)
1983 - Doodles Weaver, American actor (b. 1911)
1987 - Hugo Fregonese, Argentine film director (b. 1908)
1991 - King Olav V of Norway (b. 1903)
1993 - Albert Hourani, English historian (b. 1915)
1994 - Helen Stephens, American runner (b. 1918)
1996 - Amber Hagerman, American namesake of the Amber Alert system (b. 1986)
1996 - Barbara Jordan, American politician (b. 1936)
1996 - Mostafa Sid Ahmed, Sudanese singer (b. 1953)
1997 - Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer (b. 1906)
1998 - Junior Kimbrough, American bluesman (b. 1930)
1999 - Robert Eads, American transexual (b. 1945)
2001 - Gregory Corso, American poet (b. 1930)
2002 - Bishop Karas, First Coptic Bishop of St. Antony Monastery (b. 1955)
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, American baseball player (b. 1914)
2005 - Charlie Bell, Australian 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)
2006 - Pierre Grondin, French Canadian cardiac surgeon (b. 1925)
2007 - Art Buchwald, American humorist (b. 1925)
2007 - Yevhen Kushnaryov, Ukrainian politician (b. 1951)

Holidays and observances

Ancient Latvia - Zirgu Diena observed

Religious observances

Catholicism - Feast day of the following saints:
- St. Anthony
- Amelbert
- Sulpitius the Pious
Eastern (Byzantine) Catholic Church: Venerable Anthony the Great
January 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)