2013-07-17

1048 Damasus II appointed Pope.

1048 The third German pope, Damasus II, is enthroned in Rome. Originally named Poppo, he was born in Bavaria. He was the Bishop of Brixen in Tyrol when Heinrich III nominated him as pope.

1070 Death of Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders (b. 1030)

1086 Death of King Canute IV of Denmark

1105 Death of Rashi, French rabbi and commentator (b. 1040)

1203 Fourth Crusade captures Constantinople by assault; the Byzantine emperor Alexius III Angelus flees from his capital into exile.

1429 Charles VII is crowned king of France.

1453 Death of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, English military leader

1453 Hundred Years’ War: The French under Jean Bureau utterly defeat the English under the Earl of Shrewsbury, who is killed in the Battle of Castillon at Gascony

1487 Birth of Esma’il I shah who converted Iran from Sunni to Shi’ah.

1505 Birth of Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten in Berlin, Germany; philosopher, coined the term “aesthetics” and established it as a distinct field of philosophy.

1531 Death of Hosokawa Takakuni, Japanese military commander (b. 1484)

1549 Jews are expelled from Ghent Belgium.

1566 Death of BartolomT de Las Casas, Spanish priest (b. 1484)

1571 Death of Georg Fabricius, German poet and historian (b. 1516)

1588 Death of Sinan, Ottoman architect (b. 1489)

1645 Death of Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, Scottish politician

1674 Birth of Isaac Watts England, writer/preacher/hymnist (Horae Lyrican).

1695 The Bank of Scotland is founded, and is granted a 21-year banking monopoly with note-issuing privileges.

1698 Birth of Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician (d. 1759)

1704 Death of Pierre-Charles Le Sueur, French fur trader and explorer

1709 Death of Robert Bolling, English settler in Virginia (b. 1646)

1744 Birth of Elbridge Thomas Gerry in Marblehead, Massachusetts; American statesman and diplomat, Governor of Massachusetts (1810-11), Vice President (1813-14).

1745 Birth of Petr Alekseevich Pahlen, Russian general (d. 1826)

1762 Catherine II becomes tzar of Russia upon the murder of Peter III of Russia.

1763 Birth of John Jacob Astor in Germany; richest man in US, banker/fur trader (dies 1848).

1771 Massacre at Bloody Falls: Chipewyan chief Matonabbee traveling as the guide to Samuel Hearne on his arctic overland journey, massacre a group of unsuspecting Inuit.

1775 First military hospital approved.

1790 Death of Adam Smith, Scottish economist and philosopher (b. 1723)

1791 Death of Martin Dobrizhoffer, Austrian Jesuit missionary (b. 1717)

1791 Massacre at the Champ de Mars, Paris, during the French Revolution. 1200-1500 people were killed, including women and children.

1793 Death of Charlotte Corday, French aristocrat and murderer (b. 1768)

1794 African Church of Saint Thomas in Philadelphia, dedicated.

1794 Death of John Roebuck, British inventor (b. 1718)

1794 Richard Allen organizes Phila’s Bethel African Meth Episcopal Church.

1797 Birth of Hippolyte Delaroche, French painter (d. 1856)

1815 Napoleonic Wars: In France, Napoleon surrenders at Rochefort, Charente-Maritime to British forces.

1816 The French passenger ship Medusa runs aground off the coast of Senegal. Klondike gold rush begins when first successful prospectors arrive in Seattle, Washington, USA.

1831 Birth of Xianfeng, Emperor of China (d. 1861)

1839 Birth of Ephraim Shay, American inventor (d. 1916

1841 British humor magazine “Punch” first published.

1850 Harvard Observatory takes first photograph of a star (Vega).

1856 Sunday school excursion train collides killing 46 children (Philadelphia).

1858 Salving of the Lutine bell. The bell is subsequently hung in Lloyd’s of London.

1859 Birth of Luis Mu�oz Rivera Puerto Rico, journalist (founded Federalist Party).

1861 Congress authorizes first US government-issued paper money, $50 million worth, known as “demand notes” and “Greenbacks”.

1862 US army authorized to accept blacks as laborers.

1862 US Congress passes an Act allowing all forms of government (postage) stamps to be exchanged by assistant treasurers for greenbacks for payments of less than $5, and outlaws all privately issued notes with value under $1.

1863 Battle of Honey Springs, largest battle of war in Indian Territory.

1864 CSA President Davis replaces General Joe Johnston with John Bell Hood.

1867 First permanent university dental school in US, Harvard.

1875 Birth of Sir Donald Francis Tovey Eton England, musicologist.

1876 Birth of Rosa Jackson Lumpkin Georgia, lived to be 115 (died in 1991).

1878 Death of Aleardo Aleardi, Italian poet (b. 1812)

1879 First railroad opens in Hawaii.

1881 Death of Jim Bridger, American Mountain man, Indian fighter, and explorer (b. 1804)

1885 Death of Jean-Charles Chapais, politician, Father of Canadian Confederation (b. 1811)

1887 Death of Dorothea Dix, American social activist (b. 1802)

1888 Birth of Shmuel Agnon Israel, novelist (Day Before Yesterday-Nobel Prize 1966).

1889 Birth of Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author (Perry Mason) (d. 1970)

1893 Birth of Marvin Pierce, Women’s magazine publisher (d. 1969)

1894 Birth of Josef Hyrtl, Austrian anatomist (b. 1810)

1894 Death of Josef Hyrtl, Austrian anatomist (b. 1810)

1897 First ship arrives in Seattle carrying gold from the Yukon.

1898 Birth of Berenice Abbott Springfield Ohio, photographer (World of Atget).

1898 Spanish-American War: Battle of Santiago Bay – Troops under United States General William R. Shafter take the city of Santiago de Cuba from the Spanish.

1898 Spanish American War-Spaniads surrender to US at Santiago Cuba.

1899 Birth of James Cagney, American actor (d. 1986)

1899 James Cagney is born; American actor.

1899 NEC Corporation is organized as the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital.

1899 NEC Corporation is organized as the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital.

1900 Birth of James Cagney actor, A yankee doodle dandy, hold that grapefruit.

1901 Birth of Bruno Jasie?ski, Polish poet (d. 1938)

1902 Baltimore (American League) didn’t have enough men to field their team.

1902 Birth of Christina Stead Australia, novelist (Man Who Loved Children).

1905 Birth of William Gargan Brooklyn, New York; actor (Dynamite, Ellery Queen).

1909 Birth of Hardy Amies London England, royal dressmaker (Queen Elizabeth II).

1911 Birth of Ted Anderson, English footballer (d.1979)

1912 Birth of Art Linkletter in Saskatchwan, Canada; TV host (People are Funny).

1912 Death of Henri PoincarT, French mathematician (b. 1854)

1914 Birth of Lucille Benson Scottsboro Alabama, USA; actress (Lilly-Bosom Buddies).

1914 New York Giants beat Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-1, in 21 innings.

1915 Birth of Dorothy Poynton-Hill US, platform diver (Olympic-gold-1932).

1916 Birth of Eleanor Steber Wheeling West Virginia, soprano (Metropolitan Opera-1940).

1917 Birth of Lou Bourdeau baseball player/manager (1948 AP Athlete of Year).

1917 British Royal family changes its name from Hanover to Windsor.

1917 Death of Hector Malot, French writer (b. 1830)

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 Birth of Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, President of Guatemala (d. 2003)

1918 By order of the Bolshevik Party and carried out by Cheka, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, his immediate family, and retainers were murdered at the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

1918 Longest errorless game, Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 in 21 innings.

1919 New York Yankees 21 hits, Saint Louis Browns 17 hits; Browns win 7-6 in 17, on squeeze play.

1920 Birth of Bill Monroe New Orleans Louisiana, newscaster (NBC-TV, Congressional Report).

1921 Birth of George Barnes Chicago Heights, guitarist (Skip Farrell Show).

1923 Carl Mays gives up 13 runs and 20 hits in 13-0 lose to Cleveland Indians.

1924 Saint Louis Cardinals’ pitcher Jesse Haines no-hits Boston Braves, 5-0.

1928 Birth of Vince Guaraldi, American musician and composer (d. 1976)

1928 Death of Giovanni Giolitti, Italian statesman (b. 1842)

1928 General Alvaro Obreg=n, president of Mexico, is assassinated.

1933 After successfully crossing of the Atlantic ocean, the Lithuanian research aircraft Lituanica crashes in Europe under mysterious circumstances.

1935 Birth of P.D.Q. Bach [Peter Schickele] in Iowa, USA; composer (“5th of Beethoven”).

1935 Death of George William Russell, Irish nationalist, poet and artist (b. 1867)

1936 Spanish Civil War: An Armed Forces rebellion against the recently-elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain starts the Spanish civil war.

1938 Douglas Corrigan takes off from New York for California, accidentally flies the “wrong way” to Ireland, becoming known as “Wrong Way” Corrigan.

1939 Birth of Spencer Davis in Wales; vocalist (“Gimme Some Lovin”).

1941 Birth of Daryle Lamonica; Oakland Raiders’ quarterback (AFL leading passer 1967).

1941 Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game baseball hitting streak ends.

1941 Joe DiMaggio’s baseball hitting streak ends at 56 games, by Cleveland Indian pitchers, Al Smith & Jim Bagby.

1942 3 feet of rain falls on Pennsylvania, flooding kills 15.

1942 Birth of Connie Hawkins; Harlem Globetrotter/NBA (Phoenix Suns, ABA Most Valuable Player 1968).

1942 Estimated 87.5 cm (34.5 inches) of rainfall, Smethport, Pennsylvania (state record).

1944 Birth of Carlos Alberto, Brazilian football player

1944 Death of William James Sidis, gifted mathematician and child prodigy (b. 1898)

1944 Port Chicago disaster: Near the San Francisco Bay, two ships laden with ammunition for the war explode in Port Chicago, California, killing 232.

1944 Two ammunition ships explode at Port Chicago, California, killing 322.

1944 World War II: The largest convoy of the war embarks from Halifax, Nova Scotia under Royal Canadian Navy protection.

1945 American President Harry Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill meet at Schloss Cecilienhof in Potsdam near Berlin, Germany, beginning a 17-day conference. Partway through the conference, Chruchill is replaced by the newly elected British Prime Minister Clement Attlee. Peace terms are drafted, and discussions are held on Germany, Poland, and Japan.

1945 Birth of Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia

1945 Death of Ernst Busch, German field marshal (b. 1885)

1945 World War II: Potsdam Conference – At Potsdam, the three main Allied leaders begin their final summit of the war. The meeting will end on August 2.

1946 Mikhailovich, resistance leader, executed by Tito regime.

1947 Birth of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

1947 Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall is born.

1947 Raoul Wallenberg dies in Lubianka prison in Russia.

1948 Birth of Brian Glascock; drummer (Motels – “Only the Lonely”).

1948 C A Wirtanen discovers asteroid #1685 Toro.

1948 Proclamation of the constitution of the Republic of (South) Korea.

1949 Birth of Terry “Geezer” Butler; bassist (Black Sabbath).

1950 Death of Evangeline Booth, the 4th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1865)

1952 Birth of David Hasselhoff, American actor and musician

1954 Birth of Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany

1954 Construction begins on Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

1955 Arco, Idaho becomes first US city lit by nuclear power.

1955 At 2:00 PM, Disneyland park opens, in Anaheim, California. Eighteen attractions are ready for use. Five themed areas are Main Street, U.S.A., Frontierland, Fantasyland, Adventureland, and Tomorrowland. Based on an initial US$10,000 for planning, the final construction cost was US$17 million. 15,000 guests were invited, but attendance for the day is 28,000-33,000.

1955 Birth of Paul Stamets, American mycologist and environmentalist

1955 Disneyland televises its grand opening in Anaheim, California.

1956 Birth of Bryan Trottier in Val Marie, Saskatchewan, Canada; NHL Center (New York Islanders).

1957 Birth of Fern Britton, British television presenter

1959 Billie Holiday, blues singer, dies of liver failure at age 44 in New York City.

1959 Death of Billie Holiday, American singer (b. 1915)

1959 Dr Leakey discovers oldest human skull (600,000 years old).

1959 Tibet abolishes serfdom.

1960 Birth of Scott Norwood; NFL kicker (Buffalo Bills-Superbowl XXV goat).

1961 Death of Ty Cobb, baseball player (b. 1886)

1961 Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers’ hall of fame baseball player, dies at age 75.

1962 Nuclear testing: The “Small Boy” test shot Little Feller I becomes the last atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada Test Site.

1962 The first Cobra production car (chassis CSX2001) is built at AC Cars in England.

1962 US Senate rejects medicare for the aged.

1963 Birth of Matti NykSnen, Finnish ski jumper

1965 Birth of Craig Morgan, American singer

1966 Jim Ryun sets mile record (3:51.3).

1967 Death of John Coltrane, American musician (b. 1926)

1967 Race riots in Cairo, Illinois, USA.

1967 The Monkees music group performs at Forest Hills, New York; Jimi Hendrix is opening act.

1968 Birth of Bitty Schram, American actress

1968 Revolt in Iraq.

1970 30,000 attend Randall’s Island Rock Festival, New York City.

1970 Birth of Mandy Smith in England; rocker (I Just Can’t Wait) wife of Bill Wyman.

1970 Ralph Baer demonstrates his television video game system to Magnavox. Despite a lack of interest from most Magnavox engineers, Bill Enders negotiates an exclusive license to manufacture and distribute the system, and sublicense Sanders Associates’ patents on the technology.

1971 Birth of Cory Doctorow, Canadian author and activist

1971 Cliff Edwards “Ukulele Ike”, singer (54th Street Revue), dies at age 76.

1973 Birth of Eric Moulds, American football player

1974 Bob Gibson becomes second pitcher to strike-out 3,000.

1974 Death of Dizzy Dean, Major League baseball pitcher (b.1910)

1974 First quadrophonic studio in United Kingdom is opened by the Moody Blues.

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.

1975 Birth of Konnie Huq, English television presenter

1975 Death of Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Georgian writer and public benefactor (b. 1893)

1975 Modoc the elephant dies at age 78 (oldest known nonhuman mammal).

1976 ABA merges into the NBA.

1976 History of East Timor: East Timor was annexed, and became the 27th province of Indonesia.

1976 (to August 1) The Games of the XXI Olympiad are held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

1977 Birth of M.I.A., British rapper

1979 National League beats American League 7-6 in 50th All Star Game (Kingdome, Seattle, Washington).

1979 Nicaraguan president General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees to Miami.

1979 Sebastian Coe runs world record 3:49 mile in Oslo, Norway.

1980 Birth of Ryan Miller, American hockey player

1980 Death of Boris Delaunay, Russian mathematician (born 1890).

1980 Ronald Reagan formally accepts Republican nomination for president of US.

1981 Hyatt Regency walkway collapse: Two skywalks filled with people at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri collapse into a crowded atrium lobby killing 114.

1981 Israeli aircraft bomb Beirut, destroying multi-storey apartment blocks containing the offices of PLO associated groups, killing approximately 300 civilians and resulting in worldwide condemnation and a U.S. embargo on the export of aircraft to Israel.

1981 Two skywalks filled with people at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri collapse into a crowded atrium lobby, killing 114, injuring 200.

1983 Birth of Ryan Guettler, professional Australian BMX rider

1984 Birth of Asami Kimura, Japanese singer.

1984 J Delos Jewkes, singer/actor, dies of a heart attack at age 89.

1984 Laurent Fabius becomes Prime Minister of France

1984 Soyuz T-12 carries three cosmonauts to space station Salyut 7.

1985 Birth of Tom Fletcher; British musician (McFly).

1986 Birth of Dana, Korean singer/dancer/actress TSZX.

1987 Death of Kristjan Palusalu, Estonian wrestler (born 1908).

1987 New York Yankees’ first baseman Don Mattingly becomes the first American League player to hit a home run in seven consecutive games.

1987 Ten teens die in Guadalupe River flood (Comfort, Texas).

1987 The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 2,500 mark for the first time at 2510.04.

1987 The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 2,500 mark for the first time, at 2,510.04.

1988 Birth of Summer Bishil; American actress.

1988 Death of Bruiser Brody, American professional wrestler (born 1946).

1988 Florence Griffith Joyner of USA sets the 100m woman’s record (10.49s).

1988 Highest temperature ever recorded in San Francisco, California: 103 degrees F (39 degrees C).

1989 The B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber first flies.

1989 The Splash Mountain attraction opens in Critter Country at Disneyland, after five years of planning. The ride features 103 Audio-Animatronic characters, some from the former America Sings attraction. This is the longest flume chute ride in the world.

1990 New York Yankees’ player Deion Sanders hits an inside the park homer.

1990 Saddam Hussein’s Revolutionary Day speech claims Kuwait stole oil from Iraq.

1990 The Minnesota Twins become the first team in baseball history to turn two triple plays in the same game, against the Boston Red Sox.

1990 The Minnesota Twins become the first team in Major League Baseball to turn two triple plays in a single game, against the Boston Red Sox. Despite their defensive prowess, the Twins lose 1-0.

1992 The Splash Mountain attraction opens in Frontierland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

1994 Brazil Capture their Fourth Would Cup beating Italy in a penalty kick shootout

1994 Brazil wins the 1994 FIFA World Cup, defeating Italy 3-2 in penalties (Full time score 0-0).

1995 Death of Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentine race car driver (born 1911).

1995 The Midwestern heat wave in the United States reaches its peak. Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, among other cities, set all-time high temperature records. The heat claims over 400 lives on this day alone.

1995 The Nasdaq Composite stock market index closes above the 1,000 mark for the first time.

1995 The Nasdaq stock index closes above the 1,000 mark for the first time.

1996 Death of Chas Chandler, bass guitarist (The Animals), record producer and manager (b. 1938)

1996 Off the coast of Long Island, New York, a Paris-bound Boeing 747 carrying TWA flight 800 explodes, killing all 230 on board.

1996 Paris-bound TWA Flight 800 (Boeing 747) explodes off the coast of Long Island, New York, killing all 230 on board.

1997 Daniel Komen breaks the two-mile world record, in a time of 7:58.61.

1997 The City of Chicago proclaimed a “Jesse Saunders and the Pioneers of House Music” day.

1997 The F.W. Woolworth Company closes after 117 years in business.

1997 The F.W. Woolworth Company closes after 117 years in business.

1998 At a conference in Rome, 120 countries vote to create a permanent International Criminal Court to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

1998 A tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake destroys 10 villages in Papua New Guinea killing an estimated 1,500, leaving 2,000 more unaccounted for and thousands more homeless.

1998 Biologists report in the journal Science how they sequenced the genome of the bacterium that causes syphilis, Treponema pallidum.

1998 Birth of Felipe Juan Froil�n de Marichalar y de Borb=n, grandson of Juan Carlos I of Spain.

1998 In Papua New Guinea, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurs, generating a tsunami up to 10 metres in height. At least 2,183 people killed, thousands injured, about 9,500 homeless. Several villages were completely destroyed and others extensively damaged.

1998 In Saint Petersburg, Nicholas II of Russia and his family are buried in St. Catherine Chapel, 80 years after he and his family were killed by Bolsheviks.

1998 In St. Petersburg, Nicholas II of Russia and his family are buried in St. Catherine Chapel 80 years after he and his family were killed by Bolsheviks.

2001 Death of Katharine Graham, American publisher (b. 1917)

2001 Inauguration of the Altamira caves’ replica created by Manuel Franquelo and Sven Nebel.

2002 Apple’s program iCal premiers at the Macworld Expo in New York City. This date is displayed on the icon of the program when it is not being used.

2003 Death of Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist (born 1914).

2004 Death of Pat Roach, British professional wrestler and actor (b. 1937)

2004 Ninety children die in a fire at a private school in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India.

2005 Death of Edward Heath, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1916).

2006 Death of Mickey Spillane, American writer (born 1918).

2007 Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and three other men are arrested on charges related to their alleged operation of a dogfighting ring based at one of Vick’s properties in southeastern Virginia.

2007 TAM Linhas ATreas Flight 3054 (Airbus 320 jet) overruns the runway of Congonhas-S?o Paulo International Airport and crashes into a warehouse, killing all 186 on board and others on the ground.

2008 American investment bank Merrill Lynch & Company posts a US$4.89 billion quarterly loss after writing down bad debts, and unveils plans to sell billions of dollars of assets.

2009 Death of Meir Amit, Israeli general and politician (born 1921).

2009 Former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite, “the most trusted man in America,” dies in New York at age 92.

 

Show more