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Today February 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
1500 – Battle of Hemmingstedt.
1600 – Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de Fiori in Rome, charged of heresy.
1621 – Myles Standish is appointed as first commander of Plymouth colony.
1753 – February 17 is followed by March 1 as Sweden moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
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.
1814 – Battle of Mormans.
1819 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise.
1854 – The British recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
1864 – American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
1865 – American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
1867 – The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.
1871 – The victorious Prussian Army parades though Paris, France after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
1904 – Madama Butterfly premiers at La Scala in Milan.
1913 – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying 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.
1925 – Harold Ross and Jane Grant found The New Yorker magazine; the debut issue is dated February 21, 1925.
1933 – The magazine Newsweek is published for the first time.
1933 – The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.
1936 – The world s first superhero, The Phantom, makes his first appearance in comics.
1944 – World War II: Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
1944 – World War II: Operation Hailstone begins. U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk (Chuuk), Japan s main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
1947 – The Voice of America begins to transmit radio broadcasts into the Soviet Union.
1957 – A fire at a home for the elderly in Warrenton, Missouri kills 72 people.
1958 – Pope Pius XII declares Saint Clare of Assisi (1193~1253) the patron saint of television.
1959 – Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2 – The first weather satellite launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
1962 – A storm kills more than 300 people in Hamburg, West Germany.
1964 – In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
1964 – Gabonese president Leon M ba is toppled by a coup and his archrival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
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.
1974 – Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House with a stolen helicopter.
1979 – The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
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.
1995 – The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a cease-fire brokered by the UN.
1996 – In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
2003 – The London Congestion Charge scheme begins.
2006 – A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
2008 – Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.
Births
1490 – Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, Constable of France (d. 1527)
1519 – Francis, Duke of Guise, French soldier and politician (d. 1563)
1524 – Charles of Guise, French cardinal (d. 1574)
1581 – Fausto Poli, Italian Catholic priest (d. 1653)
1646 – Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (d. 1714)
1653 – Arcangelo Corelli, Italian composer (d. 1713)
1718 – Matthew Tilghman, American Continental Congressman (d. 1790)
1723 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer (d. 1762)
1752 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German writer (d. 1831)
1754 – Nicolas Baudin, French explorer (d. 1803)
1781 – René Laënnec, French physician (d. 1826)
1792 – Karl Ernst von Baer, German biologist (d. 1876)
1796 – Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician (d. 1866)
1816 – Haller Nutt, Southern Plantation owner (d. 1864)
1820 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Catholic cardinal (d. 1898)
1820 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian composer (d. 1881)
1821 – Lola Montez, Irish dancer (d. 1861)
1836 – Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish poet (d. 1870)
1844 – Aaron Montgomery Ward, American department store founder (d. 1913)
1848 – Louisa Lawson, Australian suffragist and writer (d. 1920)
1854 – Friedrich Alfred Krupp, German industrialist (d. 1902)
1861 – Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany (d. 1922)
1862 – Mori Ogai, Japanese novelist and poet (d. 1922)
1863 – Fyodor Sologub, Russian symbolist novelist and poet (d. 1927)
1864 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak inventor (d. 1929)
1864 – Banjo Paterson, Australian poet (d. 1941)
1874 – Thomas J. Watson, American computer manufacturer (d. 1956)
1877 – Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and writer (d. 1904)
1877 – André Maginot, French politician (d. 1932)
1885 – Steve Evans, American baseball player (d. 1943)
1887 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer (d. 1947)
1888 – Otto Stern, German physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1969)
1893 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player (d. 1965)
1904 – Hans Morgenthau, German political philosopher (d. 1980)
1908 – Red Barber, American baseball announcer (d. 1992)
1908 – Bo Yibo, Chinese politician (d. 2005)
1910 – Arthur Hunnicutt, American actor (d. 1979)
1910 – Marc Lawrence, American actor (d. 2005)
1911 – Oskar Seidlin, Silesian-born American literary scholar (d. 1984)
1912 – Andre Norton, American author (d. 2005)
1914 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (d. 1990)
1914 – Wayne Morris, American actor (d. 1959)
1916 – Raf Vallone, Italian actor (d. 2002)
1916 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian prince and famed Rugby Union footballer who played for England (d. 1940)
1917 – Abdur Rahman Badawi, Egyptian philosopher (d. 2002)
1917 – Guillermo González Camarena, Mexican inventor (d. 1965)
1919 – Kathleen Freeman, American actress (d. 2001)
1920 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian animated film director
1922 – Enrico Banducci, American nightclub owner (d. 2007)
1922 – Tommy Edwards, American singer (d. 1969)
1922 – Marshall Teague, American race car driver (d. 1959)
1924 – Margaret Truman, American novelist (d. 2008)
1925 – Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (d. 2003)
1925 – Hal Holbrook, American actor
1928 – Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress & singer
1929 – Paul Meger, Canadian ice hockey player
1929 – Chaim Potok, American author (d. 2002)
1929 – Patricia Routledge, English actress
1930 – Roger Craig, American baseball player and manager
1930 – Ruth Rendell, English writer
1932 – Buck Trent, American banjo player
1933 – Bobby Lewis, American singer
1933 – Craig L. Thomas, American politician (d. 2007)
1934 – Alan Bates, English actor (d. 2003)
1934 – Barry Humphries, Australian actor and comedian
1935 – Christina Pickles, UK-born American actress
1936 – Jim Brown, American football player
1939 – John Leyton, British singer
1939 – Mary Ann Mobley, American actress and beauty queen
1940 – Gene Pitney, American singer (d. 2006)
1941 – Julia McKenzie, English actress and theatre director
1942 – Huey P. Newton, American political activist (d. 1989)
1944 – Karl Jenkins, Welsh composer
1945 – Zina Bethune, American actress
1945 – Brenda Fricker, Irish actress
1946 – Dodie Stevens, American singer
1948 – José José, Mexican singer and actor
1948 – Rick Majerus, American basketball coach
1949 – Fred Frith, English musician and composer
1952 – Karin Janz, East German gymnast
1953 – Norman Pace, British actor and comic
1954 – Rene Russo, American actress
1955 – Mo Yan, Chinese novelist
1956 – Richard Karn, American actor
1957 – Loreena McKennitt, Canadian musician
1959 – Aryeh Deri, Israeli rabbi and politician
1959 – Neil Lomax, American football player
1962 – Samuel Bayer, American music video director
1962 – Alison Hargreaves, British mountaineer (d. 1995)
1962 – Tyrone Ty Jones, American screenwriter
1962 – David McComb, Australian musician (The Triffids) (d. 1999)
1962 – Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor
1963 – Michael Jordan, American basketball player
1963 – Larry the Cable Guy, American comedian
1963 – Jen-Hsun Huang, American entrepreneur and businessman
1963 – Rene Syler, American journalist
1964 – Buster Olney, American sports columnist
1965 – Michael Bay, American film director
1966 – Ioannis Kalitzakis, Greek footballer
1966 – Quorthon, Swedish musician (Bathory) (d. 2004)
1966 – Luc Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player
1966 – Michael Lepond, American musician
1967 – Chanté Moore, American singer
1968 – Bryan Cox, National Football League player
1969 – Tuesday Knight, American actress
1970 – Tim Mahoney, American musician (311)
1970 – Tommy Moe, American Olympic skier
1970 – Dominic Purcell, English-born actor
1971 – Martyn Bennett, Canadian composer (d. 2005)
1971 – Jeremy Edwards, British actor
1971 – Denise Richards, American actress
1972 – Billie Joe Armstrong, American musician (Green Day)
1972 – Philippe Candeloro, French figure skater
1972 – Taylor Hawkins, American musician (Foo Fighters)
1972 – Valeria Mazza, Argentinian model
1972 – Yuki Isoya, Japanese singer (formerly Judy and Mary)
1973 – SaRenna Lee, American pornographic actress
1974 – Kaoru, Japanese musician
1974 – Jerry O Connell, American actor
1974 – Bryan White, American singer
1975 – Wish Bone, American rapper
1975 – Harisu, South Korean singer, model and actress
1975 – Todd Harvey, Canadian ice hockey player
1975 – Vaclav Prospal, Czech ice hockey player
1976 – Kelly Carlson, American actress
1976 – Scott Williamson, American baseball player
1977 – Wong Choong Hann, Malaysian Badminton player
1978 – Jacob Wetterling, American kidnapping victim
1979 – Dee, Puerto Rican pornographic actress
1979 – Josh Willingham, American baseball player
1980 – Al Harrington, American basketball player
1980 – Klemi Saban, Israeli footballer
1980 – Jason Ritter, American actor
1981 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor
1981 – Paris Hilton, American actress and heiress
1982 – Adriano, Brazilian footballer
1982 – Brian Bruney, American baseball player
1983 – Gérald Cid, French footballer
1983 – Marios Kaperonis, Greek boxer
1984 – Jimmy Jacobs, American professional wrestler
1984 – Kenta Kamakari, Japanese actor and seiyuu
1984 – AB de Villiers, South African cricketer
1985 – Anne Curtis, Filipino actress and commercial model
1986 – Joey O Brien, Irish footballer
1986 – Sandra Nilsson, Swedish model
1988 – Natascha Kampusch, Austrian kidnapping victim
1991 – Bonnie Wright, British actress
1992 – Meaghan Jette Martin, American child actress and singer
1996 – Sasha Pieterse, South African child actress
Deaths
364 – Jovian, Roman Emperor
440 – Mesrop Mashtots
1339 – Otto, Duke of Austria (b. 1301)
1371 – Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
1596 – Friedrich Sylburg, German classical scholar (b. 1536)
1600 – Giordano Bruno, Italian philosopher (burned at the stake) (b. 1548)
1609 – Ferdinando I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1549)
1624 – Juan de Mariana, Spanish historian (b. 1536)
1659 – Abel Servien, French diplomat (b. 1593)
1673 – Molière, French playwright (b. 1622)
1680 – Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English statesman and writer (b. 1599)
1680 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist (b. 1637)
1715 – Antoine Galland, French archaeologist (b. 1646)
1732 – Louis Marchand, French organist and harpsichordist (b. 1669)
1768 – Arthur Onslow, English politician (b. 1691)
1780 – Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (b. 1706)
1841 – Ferdinando Carulli, Italian guitarist (b. 1770)
1854 – John Martin, English painter (b. 1789)
1856 – Heinrich Heine, German writer (b. 1797)
1874 – Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet, Belgian mathematician (b. 1796)
1883 – Napoleon Coste, French guitarist and composer (b. 1806)
1883 – Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, Indian revolutionary (b. 1845)
1890 – Christopher Sholes, American inventor (b. 1819)
1909 – Geronimo, Apache leader (b. 1829)
1912 – Edgar Evans, Welsh naval officer (b. 1876)
1919 – Wilfrid Laurier, 7th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1841)
1934 – King Albert I of Belgium (b. 1875)
1934 – Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player (b. 1862)
1939 – Willy Hess, German violinist (b. 1859)
1943 – Armand J. Piron, American jazz violinist and composer (b. 1888)
1943 – Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (b. 1872)
1958 – Hugh McCrae, Australian writer (b. 1876)
1961 – Nita Naldi, American actress (b. 1897)
1962 – Bruno Walter, German conductor (b. 1876)
1970 – Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israeli writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1888)
1970 – Alfred Newman, American film composer (b. 1901)
1977 – Janani Luwum, Ugandan Archbishop (b. 1922)
1982 – Nestor Chylak, American baseball umpire (b. 1922)
1982 – Thelonious Monk, American jazz pianist (b. 1917)
1982 – Lee Strasberg, Austrian-born actor (b. 1901)
1986 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (b. 1895)
1989 – Lefty Gomez, American baseball player (b. 1908)
1990 – Erik Rhodes, American actor (b. 1906)
1990 – Hap Day, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1901)
1994 – Randy Shilts, American author and activist (b. 1951)
1996 – Hervé Bazin, French writer (b. 1911)
1997 – Zein Isa, Palestinian militant imprisoned in the United States for the honor killing of his daughter
1998 – Ernst Jünger, German author (b. 1895)
1998 – Bob Merrill, American composer and lyricist (b. 1921)
2001 – Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman (b. 1948)
2001 – Bob Geary, Canadian football player and manager (b. 1933)
2004 – José López Portillo, President of Mexico (b. 1920)
2005 – Dan O Herlihy, Irish actor (b. 1919)
2005 – Omar Sivori, Argentine footballer (b. 1935)
2006 – Ray Barretto, Puerto Rican musician (b. 1929)
2006 – Bill Cowsill, American singer (The Cowsills) (b. 1948)
2007 – Jurga Ivanauskaite, Lithuanian writer (b. 1961)
2007 – Mike Awesome, American professional wrestler (b. 1965)
2007 – Dermot O Reilly, Irish-born Canadian musician, producer and songwriter (b. 1943)
2007 – Maurice Papon, French Nazi collaborator (b. 1910)
2008 – Brian Harris, English footballer (b. 1935)
Holidays and observances
Roman Empire – Quirinalia in honor of Quirinus.
Ancient Latvia – Tanis Diena observed.
Seven Founders of the Servite Order
Saint Alexis Falconieri (d. 1310)
Saint Constabilis
February 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
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