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Today July 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
180 – Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians. This is the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world.
1203 – The Fourth Crusade captures Constantinople by assault. The Byzantine emperor Alexius III Angelus flees from his capital into exile.
1453 – Hundred Years War: Battle of Castillon: The French under Jean Bureau defeat the English under the Earl of Shrewsbury, who is killed in the battle in Gascony.
1686 – A meeting takes place at Lüneburg between several Protestant powers in order to discuss the formation of an evangelical league of defence, called the Confederatio Militiae Evangelicae , against the Catholic League.
1762 – Catherine II becomes tsar of Russia upon the murder of Peter III of Russia.
1771 – Bloody Falls Massacre: Chipewyan chief Matonabbee, traveling as the guide to Samuel Hearne on his Arctic overland journey, massacres a group of unsuspecting Inuit.
1791 – Members of the French National Guard under the command of General Lafayette open fire on a crowd of radical Jacobins at the Champ de Mars, Paris, during the French Revolution, killing as many as 50 people.
1794 – The sixteen Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne are executed 10 days prior to the end of the French Revolution s Reign of Terror.
1815 – Napoleonic Wars: In France, Napoleon surrenders at Rochefort, Charente-Maritime to British forces.
1856 – The Great Train Wreck of 1856 occurs in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania killing over 60 people.
1899 – NEC Corporation is organized as the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital.
1917 – King George V of the United Kingdom issues a Proclamation stating that the male line descendants of the British royal family will bear the surname Windsor.
1918 – On the orders of the Bolshevik Party carried out by Cheka, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, his immediate family and retainers are murdered at the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, Russia.
1918 – The RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued the 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic, is sunk off Ireland by the German submatine U-55; only 5 lives are lost.
1933 – After successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Lithuanian research aircraft Lituanica crashes in Europe under mysterious circumstances.
1936 – Spanish Civil War: An Armed Forces rebellion against the recently-elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain starts the civil war.
1938 – Douglas Corrigan takes off to fly the wrong way to Ireland and becomes known as Wrong Way Corrigan.
1944 – Port Chicago disaster: Near the San Francisco Bay, two ships laden with ammunition for the war explode in Port Chicago, California, killing 320.
1944 – World War II: Napalm incendiary bombs were dropped for the first time by American P-38 pilots on a fuel depot at Coutances, near St. Lô, France.
1945 – World War II: Potsdam Conference – at Potsdam, U.S. President Harry Truman, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the three main Allied leaders, begin their final summit of the war. The meeting would end on August 2.
1951 – Western New England College in Springfield, Massachusetts is chartered.
1955 – Disneyland televises its grand opening in Anaheim, California.
1962 – Nuclear testing: The Small Boy test shot Little Feller I becomes the last atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada Test Site.
1968 – A revolution occurs in Iraq when Abdul Rahman Arif is overthrown and the Ba ath Party is installed as the governing power in Iraq with Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as the new Iraqi President.
1973 – King Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan is deposed by his cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan while in Italy undergoing eye surgery.
1975 – Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: An American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock with each other in orbit marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations.
1976 – History of East Timor: East Timor is annexed, and becomes the 27th province of Indonesia.
1976 – The opening of the Summer Olympics in Montreal is marred by 25 African teams boycotting the New Zealand team.
1979 – Nicaraguan president General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees to Miami, Florida.
1981 – A walkway at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri collapses killing 114 people and injuring more than 200 caused by structural failure.
1989 – First flight of the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber.
1996 – TWA Flight 800: Off the coast of Long Island, New York, a Paris-bound TWA Boeing 747 explodes, killing all 230 on board.
1997 – The F.W. Woolworth Company closes after 117 years in business.
1998 – Papua New Guinea earthquake: A tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake destroys 10 villages in Papua New Guinea killing an estimated 3,183, leaving 2,000 more unaccounted for and thousands more homeless.
1998 – A diplomatic conference adopts the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, establishing a permanent international court to prosecute individuals for genocide, crime against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
2007 – TAM Airlines (TAM Linhas Aéreas) Flight 3054 crashes upon landing during rain in São Paulo. This is Brazil s deadliest aviation accident to date with an estimated 199 deaths.
Births
1239 – Edward Longshanks, English king (d. 1307)
1487 – Ismail I, Shah of Persia (d. 1524)
1674 – Isaac Watts, English hymnwriter (d. 1748)
1698 – Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician (d. 1759)
1744 – Elbridge Gerry, 5th Vice President of the United States (d. 1814)
1745 – Petr Alekseevich Pahlen, Russian general (d. 1826)
1763 – John Jacob Astor, American businessman (d. 1848)
1797 – Hippolyte Delaroche, French painter (d. 1856)
1831 – Xianfeng, Emperor of China (d. 1861)
1839 – Ephraim Shay, American inventor (d. 1916)
1853 – Alexius Meinong, Austrian philosopher (d.1920)
1888 – Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israeli writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
1889 – Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author (Perry Mason) (d. 1970)
1898 – George Robert Vincent, American sound recording pioneer (d. 1985)
1898 – Osmond Borradaile, Canadian cinematographer (d. 1999)
1898 – Berenice Abbott, American photographer (d. 1991)
1899 – James Cagney, American actor (d. 1986)
1900 – Marcel Dalio, French actor (d. 1983)
1901 – Luigi Chinetti, Italian-American race car driver and team owner (NART (d. 1994)
1901 – Bruno Jasienski, Polish poet (d. 1938)
1902 – Christina Stead, Australian novelist (d. 1983)
1911 – Ted Anderson, English footballer (d. 1979)
1912 – Art Linkletter, Canadian television host
1912 – Erwin Bauer, German racing driver (d. 1958)
1913 – Bertrand Goldberg, American architect (d. 1997)
1917 – Phyllis Diller, American comedian
1917 – Red Sovine, American country music singer (d. 1980)
1917 – Lou Boudreau, Major League baseball player and manager (d. 2001)
1918 – Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, President of Guatemala (d. 2003)
1920 – Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish chairman of the International Olympic Committee
1920 – Kenneth Wolstenholme, English sports commentator (d. 2002)
1920 – Gordon Gould, inventor of the laser (d. 2005)
1921 – František Zvarík, Slovakian actor
1923 – John Cooper, English race car designer (d. 2000)
1926 – Édouard Carpentier, French-born professional wrestler
1926 – Charles Champlin, American film critic and writer
1928 – Vince Guaraldi, American musician and composer (d. 1976)
1929 – Sergei K. Godunov, Russian mathematician
1932 – Hal Riney, American advertising executive (d. 2008)
1933 – Bruce Wells, British boxer & actor
1933 – Tony Pithey, Former South African Cricketer (d. 2006)
1935 – Diahann Carroll, American actor
1935 – Peter Schickele, American author and radio host
1935 – Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor
1939 – Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran
1939 – Andrée Champagne, French Canadian actress and politician
1939 – Spencer Davis, British singer and guitarist (Spencer Davis Group)
1940 – Tim Brooke-Taylor, English comedian
1941 – Daryle Lamonica, American football player
1941 – Achim Warmbold, German rally driver
1941 – Bob Taylor, Former English Cricketer
1942 – Gale Garnett, Canadian singer
1942 – Don Kessinger, American baseball player
1942 – Peter Sissons, British newsreader
1944 – Carlos Alberto, Brazilian football player
1944 – Catherine Schell, Hungarian born British actress
1944 – Mark Burgess, Former New Zealand Cricketer
1945 – Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
1946 – Alun Armstrong, English actor
1947 – Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
1947 – Wolfgang Flür, German musician (Kraftwerk)
1948 – Ron Asheton, American musician and composer (Iggy Pop & The Stooges)
1948 – Luc Bondy, Swiss theatre and opera director
1949 – Terence Geezer Butler, British musician and lyricist (Black Sabbath)
1949 – Charlie Steiner, American sports broadcaster
1951 – Lucie Arnaz, American actress
1950 – Derek de Lint, Dutch actor
1950 – P.J. Soles, German-born American actress
1952 – David Hasselhoff, American actor and musician
1952 – Phoebe Laub, American singer and songwriter
1952 – Nicolette Larson, American singer (d. 1997)
1954 – Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
1954 – J. Michael Straczynski, American author
1955 – Paul Stamets, American mycologist and environmentalist
1955 – Christopher Chappell, Former Canadian Cricketer
1956 – Robert Romanus, American actor
1956 – Bryan Trottier, Canadian ice hockey player
1957 – Fern Britton, British television presenter
1958 – Wong Kar-wai, Chinese film director
1960 – Mark Burnett, English-born television producer
1960 – Nancy Giles, American actress
1960 – Robin Shou, Hong Kong actor
1960 – Jan Wouters, Dutch football player and manager
1960 – Dawn Upshaw, American soprano
1960 – Kim Barnett, Former English Cricketer
1961 – Jonathan Potts, Canadian actor
1961 – Roy Pienaar, former South African cricketer
1962 – Bill Sage, American actor
1963 – Matti Nykänen, Finnish ski jumper
1963 – Letsie III, King of Lesotho
1963 – John Ventimiglia, American actor
1965 – Craig Morgan, American singer
1965 – Alex Winter, English film director
1965 – Santiago Segura, Spanish film director and actor
1966 – Sten Tolgfors, Swedish politician
1968 – Beth Littleford, American comedian
1968 – Bitty Schram, American actress
1970 – Mandy Smith, English model and singer
1971 – Calbert Cheaney, American basketball player
1971 – Cory Doctorow, Canadian author and activist
1971 – Nico Mattan, Belgian cyclist
1972 – Jason Rullo, American drummer (Symphony X, Redemption)
1972 – Jaap Stam, Dutch footballer
1973 – Eric Moulds, American football player
1973 – Tony Dovolani, Albanian ballroom dancer
1973 – Liam Kyle Sullivan, American comedian and actor
1974 – Laura Macdonald, Scottish jazz musician
1975 – Elena Anaya, Spanish actress
1975 – Cécile de France, Belgian actress
1975 – Paul Hinojos, American guitarist (At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta)
1975 – Konnie Huq, English television presenter
1975 – Terence Tao, Australian-Chinese mathematician
1975 – Gino D Acampo, Italian celebrity chef
1975 – Andre Adams, Former New Zealand Cricketer
1976 – Dagmara Dominczyk, Polish actress
1976 – Eric Winter, American actor
1976 – Matthew Holmes, Australian actor
1977 – M.I.A., British rapper
1977 – Lehmber Hussainpuri, Famous Indian Singer
1977 – Marc Savard, Canadian hockey player
1977 – Tiffany Taylor, American model
1978 – Mike Hettinga, American professional wrestler
1978 – Ricardo Arona, Brazilian mixed martial artist
1978 – Émilie Simon, French singer
1978 – Katharine Towne, American actress
1979 – Mike Vogel, American actor
1980 – Ryan Miller, American hockey player
1980 – Javier Camuñas, Spanish footballer
1981 – Elpida Romantzi, Greek archer
1982 – Natasha Hamilton, British singer (Atomic Kitten)
1982 – Omari Banks, West Indian Cricketer
1983 – Ryan Guettler, professional Australian BMX rider
1983 – Sarah Jones, American actress
1983 – Brooke Kinsella, British actress
1983 – Adam Lind, American baseball player
1984 – Sotiris Leontiou, Greek footballer
1984 – Asami Kimura, Japanese singer (Country Musume)
1985 – Neil McGregor, Scottish footballer
1985 – Tom Fletcher, British singer (McFly)
1986 – Dana, Korean singer and actress (TSZX)
1987 – Darius Boyd, Australian rugby player
1987 – Jan Charouz, Czech racing driver
1987 – Moussa Dembélé, Belgian footballer
1988 – Summer Bishil, American actress
1989 – Marko Todorovic, Swiss swimmer
1998 – Felipe Juan Froilán de Marichalar y de Borbón, Spanish royal
Deaths
521 – Magnus Felix Ennodius, bishop and Latin poet (b. 474)
656 – Uthman ibn Affan, Third Caliph, assassinated.
924 – King Edward the Elder of England
1070 – Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders (b. 1030)
1453 – John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, English military leader
1531 – Hosokawa Takakuni, Japanese military commander (b. 1484)
1566 – Bartolomé de Las Casas, Spanish priest (b. 1484)
1571 – Georg Fabricius, German poet and historian (b. 1516)
1588 – Sinan, Ottoman architect (b. 1489)
1645 – Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, Scottish politician
1704 – Pierre-Charles Le Sueur, French fur trader and explorer
1709 – Robert Bolling, English settler in Virginia (b. 1646)
1790 – Adam Smith, Scottish economist and philosopher (b. 1723)
1791 – Martin Dobrizhoffer, Austrian Jesuit missionary (b. 1717)
1793 – Charlotte Corday, French aristocrat and murderer (b. 1768)
1794 – John Roebuck, British inventor (b. 1718)
1845 – Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1764)
1878 – Aleardo Aleardi, Italian poet (b. 1812)
1879 – Maurycy Gottlieb, Ukrainian painter (b. 1856)
1881 – Jim Bridger, American mountain man, Indian fighter, and explorer (b. 1804)
1885 – Jean-Charles Chapais, Canadian politician (b. 1811)
1887 – Dorothea Dix, french social activist (b. 1802)
1893 – Frederick A. Johnson, American politician (b. 1833)
1894 – Josef Hyrtl, Austrian anatomist (b. 1810)
1894 – Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle, French poet (b. 1818)
1907 – Hector Malot, French writer (b. 1830)
1912 – Henri Poincaré, French mathematician (b. 1854)
1918 (N.S.) – Family of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (b. 1868)
Tsaritsa Alexandra Fyodorovna (b. 1872)
Grand Duchess Olga (b. 1895)
Grand Duchess Tatiana (b. 1897)
Grand Duchess Maria (b. 1899)
Grand Duchess Anastasia (b. 1901)
Tsarevich Alexei (b. 1904)
1928 – Giovanni Giolitti, Italian statesman (b. 1842)
1935 – George William Russell, Irish nationalist, poet and artist (b. 1867)
1944 – William James Sidis, gifted mathematician and child prodigy (b. 1898)
1945 – Ernst Busch, German field marshal (b. 1885)
1946 – General Dragoljub Mihailovic, commandant of the Yugoslav Royal Army in the Fatherland (b. 1893)
1950 – Evangeline Booth, the 4th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1865)
1959 – Billie Holiday, American singer (b. 1915)
1959 – Eugene Meyer, American businessman and newspaper publisher (b. 1875)
1961 – Ty Cobb, baseball player (b. 1886)
1967 – John Coltrane, American musician (b. 1926)
1974 – Dizzy Dean, Major League baseball pitcher (b. 1910)
1975 – Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Georgian writer and public benefactor (b. 1893)
1980 – Boris Delaunay, Russian mathematician (b. 1890)
1987 – Yujiro Ishihara, Japanese actor (b. 1934)
1988 – Frank Goodish, professional wrestler (b. 1946)
1989 – Itubwa Amram, Nauruan pastor and politician (b. 1922)
1995 – Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1911)
1996 – Chas Chandler, bass guitarist (The Animals), record producer and manager (b. 1938)
2001 – Katharine Graham, American publisher (b. 1917)
2003 – David Kelly, Welsh UN weapons inspector (b. 1944)
2003 – Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist (b. 1914)
2004 – Pat Roach, British professional wrestler and actor (b. 1937)
2005 – Laurel Aitken, Jamaican singer (b. 1927)
2005 – Geraldine Fitzgerald, Irish-born actress (b. 1913)
2005 – Edward Heath, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)
2005 – Gavin Lambert, British-born screenwriter (b. 1924)
2005 – Joe Vialls, Australian writer (b. 1944)
2006 – Sam Myers, American musician and songwriter (b. 1936)
2006 – Mickey Spillane, American author (b. 1918)
2007 – Júlio Redecker, Brazilian Politician (b. 1956)
2008 – Larry Haines, American actor (b. 1918)
Holidays and observances
South Korea – Constitution Day.
Kyoto, Japan – Gion Matsuri.
World Day for International Justice
Yellow Pigs Day at Hampshire College
Saint Alexius, confessor
Saint Cynllo
Saint Ennodius, bishop of Pavia
Saint Marcellina, virgin
Saint Piatus, bishop of Tournai Paris
The Russian Royal Family
Saint Speratus and companions the Sicilian Martyrs
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