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Today April 17th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
69 – After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes Roman Emperor.
1397 – Geoffrey Chaucer tells the Canterbury Tales for the first time at the court of Richard II. Chaucer scholars have also identified this date (in 1387) as when the book s pilgrimage to Canterbury starts.
1492 – Spain and Christopher Columbus sign a contract for him to sail to Asia to get spices.
1521 – Martin Luther speaks to the assembly at the Diet of Worms, refusing to recant his teachings.
1524 – Giovanni da Verrazzano reaches New York harbor.
1555 – After 18 months of siege, Siena surrenders to the Florentine-Imperial army. The Republic of Siena is incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
1797 – Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico in what would be one of the largest invasions to Spanish territories in America.
1861 – American Civil War: Virginia secedes from the United States.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Plymouth begins – Confederate forces attack Plymouth, North Carolina.
1865 – Mary Surratt is arrested as a conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
1895 – The Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan is signed. This marks the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtien province, Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands to Japan.
1905 – The Supreme Court of the United States decides Lochner v. New York which held that the right to free contract was implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
1907 – The Ellis Island immigration center processes 11,747 people, more than any other day.
1924 – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios is formed from a merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and the Louis B. Mayer Company.
1941 – World War II: The Kingdom of Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany.
1942 – POW French General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Festung Königstein.
1949- At midnight 26 counties officially leave the British Commonwealth. A 21-gun salute on O Connell Bridge, Dublin, ushers in the Republic of Ireland.
1961 – Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of CIA finances and trains Cuban refugees lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro.
1964 – The Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Mustang at the New York World s Fair.
1964 – Jerrie Mock becomes the first woman to circumnavigate the world by air.
1964 – Shea Stadium opens.
1969 – Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.
1969 – Czechoslovakian Communist Party chairman Alexander Dubcek is deposed.
1970 – Apollo program: The ill-fated Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely.
1971 – The People s Republic of Bangladesh forms, under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Mujibnagor.
1971 – Sierra Leone becomes a republic.
1973 – German counter-terrorist unit GSG 9 founded.
1975 – The Cambodian Civil War ends. The Khmer Rouge captures the capital Phnom Penh and Cambodian government forces surrender.
1982 – Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.
1984 – Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher is killed by gunfire from the Libyan People s Bureau in London during a small demonstration outside the embassy. Ten others are wounded. The events lead to an 11-day siege of the building.
1986 – The Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years War between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly ends.
2002 – Four Canadian Forces soldiers are killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire from two United States Air Force F-16s, the first deaths in a combat zone for Canada since the Korean War.
Births
1278 – Michael IX Palaeologus, co-ruling Eastern Roman Emperor (d. 1320)
1573 – Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1651)
1586 – John Ford, English dramatist
1598 – Giovanni Riccioli, Italian astronomer (d. 1671)
1620 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame (d. 1700)
1622 – Henry Vaughan, Welsh poet (d. 1695)
1710 – Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, British Freemason (d. 1767)
1734 – Taksin, King of Thailand (d. 1782)
1741 – Samuel Chase, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1811)
1750 – François de Neufchâteau, French statesman and intellectual figure (d. 1828)
1794 – Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist (d. 1868)
1798 – Étienne Bobillier, French mathematician (d. 1840)
1816 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English Methodist chapel builder (d. 1876)
1833 – Jean-Baptiste Accolay, Belgian composer (d. 1900)
1837 – J. P. Morgan, American financier (d. 1913)
1842 – Maurice Rouvier, French statesman (d. 1911)
1849 – William R. Day, American diplomat and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1923)
1863 – Augustus Edward Hough Love, English mathematician (d. 1940)
1863 – Constantine P. Cavafy, Greek poet (d. 1933)
1865 – Ursula Julia Ledochowska, Polish-Austrian Catholic saint (d. 1939)
1866 – Ernest Starling, British physiologist (d. 1927)
1877 – Matsudaira Tsuneo, Japanese diplomat (d. 1949)
1882 – Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist (d. 1951)
1884 – Leo Frank, American convict (d. 1915)
1885 – Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), Danish author (d. 1962)
1890 – Art Acord, American actor and rodeo rider (d. 1931)
1894 – Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1971)
1896 – Señor Wences, Spanish ventriloquist (d. 1999)
1897 – Thornton Wilder, American dramatist (d. 1975)
1902 – Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican politician (d. 1974)
1903 – Gregor Piatigorsky, Russian cellist (d. 1976)
1903 – Morgan Taylor, American athlete (d. 1975)
1905 – Arthur Lake, American actor (d. 1987)
1906 – Sidney R. Garfield, American physician (d. 1984)
1909 – Alain Poher, French politician (d. 1996)
1910 – Ivan Goff, Australian screenwriter (d. 1999)
1914 – George W. Davis, American art director (d. 1984)
1915 – Joe Foss, American soldier and politician (d. 2003)
1916 – Helenio Herrera, French footballer player and manager (d. 1997)
1917 – Bill Clements, American politician
1918 – William Holden, American actor (d. 1981)
1919 – Gilles Lamontagne, French Canadian politician
1919 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer
1923 – Lindsay Anderson, English film director (d. 1994)
1923 – Harry Reasoner, American journalist (d. 1991)
1923 – Solly Hemus, American baseball player
1926 – Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
1928 – Cynthia Ozick, American writer
1929 – James Last, German band leader
1929 – Peggy McKercher, 11th Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan)
1930 – Chris Barber, British jazz band leader
1934 – Don Kirshner, American composer
1935 – Theo Angelopoulos, Greek film director
1937 – Ferdinand Piëch, Austrian-German automotive engineer and executive
1938 – Ben Barnes, American politician
1938 – Kerry Wendell Thornley, co-founder of Discordianism
1940 – Billy Fury, British singer (d. 1983)
1940 – John McCririck, English television horse racing pundit
1940 – Anja Silja, German soprano
1942 – David Bradley, British actor
1942 – Kenas Aroi, Nauruan politician
1947 – Linda Martin, Irish singer
1947 – Tsutomu Wakamatsu, Japanese baseball player
1948 – Jan Hammer, Czech composer
1950 – L. Scott Caldwell, American actress
1950 – Bruce McNall, American former NHL team owner
1951 – Olivia Hussey, Argentine-born actress
1951 – Börje Salming, Swedish ice hockey player
1952 – Željko Ražnatovic, Serbian warlord (d. 2000)
1954 – Riccardo Patrese, Italian race car driver
1954 – Rowdy Roddy Piper, Canadian professional wrestler
1954 – Michael Sembello, American musician
1954 – Lester Square, Canadian musician
1955 – Pete Shelley, British musician
1957 – Nick Hornby, English author
1959 – Sean Bean, English actor
1961 – Boomer Esiason, American football player, TV/Radio Sportscaster
1961 – Frank J. Christensen, American labor leader
1963 – Joel Murray, American actor
1964 – Maynard James Keenan, American singer (Tool and A Perfect Circle)
1964 – Ken Daneyko, Canadian ice hockey player
1964 – Lela Rochon, American actress
1965 – William Mapother, American actor
1965 – Yoshiki Kuroda, Japanese urban planner
1966 – Vikram, Indian actor
1967 – Marquis Grissom, American baseball player
1967 – Kimberly Elise, American actress
1967 – Henry Ian Cusick, Peruvian-born Scottish actor
1967 – Liz Phair, American musician/songwriter
1968 – Prince Maurits of the Netherlands
1970 – Redman, American rapper
1972 – Gary Bennett, American baseball player
1972 – Tony Boselli, American football player
1972 – Jennifer Garner, American actress
1972 – Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lankan cricketer
1972 – Jarkko Wiss, Finnish Footballer
1972 – Terran Sandwith, Canadian ice hockey player
1972 – Claire Sweeney, English actress
1973 – Brett Maher, Australian basketballer
1973 – Kaiho Ryoji, Japanese sumo wrestler
1974 – Victoria Beckham, English singer
1974 – Mikael Åkerfeldt, Swedish guitarist and singer (Opeth)
1975 – Gabriel Soto, Mexican actor
1975 – Travis Roy, American hockey player
1976 – Monet Mazur, American actress and musician
1976 – Alex Nesic, American actor
1977 – Chad Hedrick, American speed skater
1977 – Sizzla, Jamaican dancehall artist
1977 – Phil Jamieson, Australian singer (Grinspoon)
1978 – Lindsay Hartley, American actress
1978 – Jason White, Scottish rugby player
1979 – Eric Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player
1979 – Siddharth Narayan, Indian actor
1980 – Curtis Woodhouse, English footballer/boxer
1980 – Lee Hyun-il, South Korean badminton player
1981 – Hanna Pakarinen, Finnish singer
1981 – Ryan Raburn, American baseball player
1982 – Lee Jun Ki, South Korean actor and model
1982 – Brad Boyes, Canadian hockey player
1983 – Stanislav Chistov, Russian hockey player
1983 – Roberto Jimenez, Peruvian football player
1985 – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, French tennis player
1990 – Jonathan Brown, Welsh footballer
1995 – Paulie Litt, American actor
1996 – Dee Dee Davis, American actress
Deaths
326 – Alexander of Alexandria, Patriarch of Alexandria
485 – Proclus, Greek philosopher (b. 412)
617 – Donnán of Eigg, Celtic Christian martyr, patron saint of Eigg
1080 – King Harald III of Denmark (b. 1041)
1427 – John IV, Duke of Brabant (b. 1403)
1539 – George, Duke of Saxony (b. 1471)
1574 – Joachim Camerarius, German classical scholar (b. 1500)
1680 – Kateri Tekakwitha, first American Indian to receive beatification (b. 1656)
1695 – Sor Juana, Mexican writer
1696 – Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, French writer (b. 1626)
1711 – Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1678)
1713 – David Hollatz, Pomeranian dogmatician (b. 1648)
1742 – Arvid Horn, Swedish statesman (b. 1664)
1761 – Thomas Bayes, English mathematician
1764 – Johann Mattheson, German composer (b. 1681)
1790 – Benjamin Franklin, American inventor, diplomat, and printer (b. 1706)
1799 – Richard Jupp, English architect (b. 1728)
1843 – Samuel Morey, American inventor (b. 1762)
1849 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentine statesman and priest (b. 1777)
1873 – Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter (b. 1783)
1882 – George Jennings Sanitary engineer (b. 1810)
1892 – Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1822)
1902 – Francis of Assisi of Bourbon, King Consort of Spain (b. 1822)
1921 – Manuel Dimech, Maltese philosopher and social reformer (b. 1860)
1930 – Alexander Golovin, Russian painter (b. 1863)
1936 – Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, Dutch prime minister (b. 1873)
1937 – Yi Sang, Korean Poet (b. 1910)
1941 – Al Bowlly, British dance band vocalist (b. 1899)
1942 – Jean Perrin, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
1944 – J.T. Hearne, English cricketer (b. 1867)
1954 – Lucretiu Patrascanu, Romanian communist activist (b. 1900)
1960 – Eddie Cochran, American musician (b. 1938)
1967 – Red Allen, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1908)
1975 – Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher (b. 1888)
1976 – Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1895)
1977 – William Cardinal Conway, Northern Irish clergyman (b. 1913)
1983 – Felix Pappalardi, American musician and recording producer (b. 1939) (Mountain)
1984 – Claude Provost, French Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1933)
1987 – Cecil Harmsworth King, owner of Mirror Group Newspapers (b. 1901)
1988 – Louise Nevelson, American sculptor (b. 1900)
1990 – Ralph Abernathy, American civil rights activist (b. 1936)
1993 – Turgut Ozal, 8th president of Turkey (b. 1927)
1994 – Roger Wolcott Sperry, American neurobiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1913)
1995 – Frank E. Resnik, American business executive (b. 1928)
1997 – Allan Francovich, American documentarian
1997 – Piet Hein, Danish scientist and poet (b. 1905)
1998 – Linda McCartney, American-born wife of Paul McCartney (b. 1941)
2003 – Robert Atkins, American dietician (b. 1930)
2003 – Paul Getty, American-born philanthropist (b. 1932)
2003 – Earl King, American musician and songwriter (b. 1934)
2003 – Yiannis Latsis, Greek shipping tycoon (b. 1910)
2004 – Edmond Pidoux, Swiss writer (b. 1908)
2004 – Soundarya, Indian actress (b. 1971)
2007 – Kitty Carlisle, American actress and television personality (b. 1910)
2007 – Gil Dobrica, Romanian singer. (b. 1946)
2008 – Aimé Césaire, French Martinican poet and politician (b. 1913)
2008 – Danny Federici, organ player for E-Street Band (b. 1950)
Holidays and observances
Liturgical Feast day of the following Catholic saints:
Pope Anicetus (d. 166)
Saint Stephen Harding (d. 1134)
Simeon Barsabae and companions
Independence Day of Syria
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