January 17
1562 - French Protestants were recognized under the Edict of St. Germain.
1706 - Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston.
1806 - President Thomas Jefferson's daughter, Martha, gave birth to James Madison Randolph, the first child born in the White House.
1893 - Hawaii's Queen Liliuokalani was forced to abdicate by a group of planters and businessmen, ending the monarchy.
1893 - Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States (1877-1881), died in Fremont, Ohio at age 70.
1899 - Al Capone, American gangster and prohibition era crime leader, was born in Brooklyn.
1917 - Denmark ceded the Virgin Islands to the United States for $25 million.
1929 - The cartoon character "Popeye" made his debut in the Thimble Theatre comic strip.
1945 - Soviet and Polish forces liberated Warsaw during World War II.
1945 - Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, was taken into Soviet custody in Budapest, Hungary. (His fate has never been determined.)
1946 - The United Nations Security Council held its first meeting.
1953 - A prototype of the Chevrolet Corvette was unveiled during the General Motors Motorama at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.
1961 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address in which he warned against "the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."
1966 - A U.S. Air Force B-52 carrying four unarmed hydrogen bombs crashed on the Spanish coast. (Three of the bombs were quickly recovered, but the fourth wasn't recovered until April.)
1977 - Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore was shot by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade.
1984 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., ruled 5-4 that the use of home video cassette recorders to tape television programs for private viewing did not violate copyright law.
1991 - Operation Desert Storm was launched against Iraq.
1994 - A magnitude 7.2 earthquake devastated the city of Kobe, Japan, killing more than 6,000 people.
1997 - A court in Ireland granted the first divorce in the Roman Catholic country's history.
1998 - President Bill Clinton became the first sitting U.S. president to testify as a defendant in a criminal or civil suit when he answered questions from lawyers for Paula Jones, who had accused Clinton of sexual harassment. That same day, the Drudge Report said Newsweek magazine had killed a story about an affair between President Bill Clinton and an unidentified White House intern.
2001 - Gov. Gray Davis declared a state of emergency concerning California's electricity crisis.
2008 - Chess master Bobby Fischer died at age 64.
2017 - President Barack Obama granted clemency to Chelsea Manning, allowing the transgender Army intelligence officer convicted of leaking more than 700,000 U.S. documents to go free nearly three decades early.
Birthdays
25 - Anna Nystrom (model)
26 - Marnie Simpson (reality star)
27 - Willa Fitzgerald (actress)
29 - Danilo Carrera (actor)
35 - January Gessert (model)
36 - Dwayne Wade (basketball player)
37 - Ray J (rapper)
38 - Zooey Deschanel (actress)
47 - Lil Jon (rapper)
47 - Kid Rock (singer)
54 - Michelle Obama (former first lady)
56 - Jim Carrey (actor)
61 - Steve Harvey (actor/comedian/TV host)
79 - Maury Povich (TV host)
87 - James Earl Jones (actor)
96 - Betty White (actress)
======================================
Today in Sports History - January 17
1916 - The Professional Golf Association (PGA) is formed in Bronxville, New York.
1963 - Wilt Chamberlain of the San Francisco Warriors scores 67 points against the Los Angeles Lakers.
1971 - The Baltimore Colts defeat the Dallas Cowboys in Miami 16-13 to win Super Bowl V. Dallas linebacker Chuck Howley is named MVP.
1977 - The Kansas City Royals release Tommy Davis, ending an 18-year career with the franchise.
1989 - Al Arbour wins his 600th NHL game as a coach.
1989 - The Phoenix Suns cancel a game at the Miami Heat due to racial riots in Miami.
1995 - The Los Angeles Rams announce their move to St. Louis, Missouri.
1996 - Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) became the 22nd player in NHL history to score 500 goals.
1997 - The NBA suspends Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls indefinitely and fines him $25,000 for kicking a cameraman.
2002 - Jermaine Dye agrees to a three-year extension worth $32 million to stay with the Oakland Athletics.
2003 - Torii Hunter agrees to four-year, US$32 million deal to stay with the Minnesota Twins.
1562 - French Protestants were recognized under the Edict of St. Germain.
1706 - Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston.
1806 - President Thomas Jefferson's daughter, Martha, gave birth to James Madison Randolph, the first child born in the White House.
1893 - Hawaii's Queen Liliuokalani was forced to abdicate by a group of planters and businessmen, ending the monarchy.
1893 - Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States (1877-1881), died in Fremont, Ohio at age 70.
1899 - Al Capone, American gangster and prohibition era crime leader, was born in Brooklyn.
1917 - Denmark ceded the Virgin Islands to the United States for $25 million.
1929 - The cartoon character "Popeye" made his debut in the Thimble Theatre comic strip.
1945 - Soviet and Polish forces liberated Warsaw during World War II.
1945 - Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, was taken into Soviet custody in Budapest, Hungary. (His fate has never been determined.)
1946 - The United Nations Security Council held its first meeting.
1953 - A prototype of the Chevrolet Corvette was unveiled during the General Motors Motorama at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.
1961 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address in which he warned against "the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."
1966 - A U.S. Air Force B-52 carrying four unarmed hydrogen bombs crashed on the Spanish coast. (Three of the bombs were quickly recovered, but the fourth wasn't recovered until April.)
1977 - Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore was shot by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade.
1984 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., ruled 5-4 that the use of home video cassette recorders to tape television programs for private viewing did not violate copyright law.
1991 - Operation Desert Storm was launched against Iraq.
1994 - A magnitude 7.2 earthquake devastated the city of Kobe, Japan, killing more than 6,000 people.
1997 - A court in Ireland granted the first divorce in the Roman Catholic country's history.
1998 - President Bill Clinton became the first sitting U.S. president to testify as a defendant in a criminal or civil suit when he answered questions from lawyers for Paula Jones, who had accused Clinton of sexual harassment. That same day, the Drudge Report said Newsweek magazine had killed a story about an affair between President Bill Clinton and an unidentified White House intern.
2001 - Gov. Gray Davis declared a state of emergency concerning California's electricity crisis.
2008 - Chess master Bobby Fischer died at age 64.
2017 - President Barack Obama granted clemency to Chelsea Manning, allowing the transgender Army intelligence officer convicted of leaking more than 700,000 U.S. documents to go free nearly three decades early.
Birthdays
25 - Anna Nystrom (model)
26 - Marnie Simpson (reality star)
27 - Willa Fitzgerald (actress)
29 - Danilo Carrera (actor)
35 - January Gessert (model)
36 - Dwayne Wade (basketball player)
37 - Ray J (rapper)
38 - Zooey Deschanel (actress)
47 - Lil Jon (rapper)
47 - Kid Rock (singer)
54 - Michelle Obama (former first lady)
56 - Jim Carrey (actor)
61 - Steve Harvey (actor/comedian/TV host)
79 - Maury Povich (TV host)
87 - James Earl Jones (actor)
96 - Betty White (actress)
======================================
Today in Sports History - January 17
1916 - The Professional Golf Association (PGA) is formed in Bronxville, New York.
1963 - Wilt Chamberlain of the San Francisco Warriors scores 67 points against the Los Angeles Lakers.
1971 - The Baltimore Colts defeat the Dallas Cowboys in Miami 16-13 to win Super Bowl V. Dallas linebacker Chuck Howley is named MVP.
1977 - The Kansas City Royals release Tommy Davis, ending an 18-year career with the franchise.
1989 - Al Arbour wins his 600th NHL game as a coach.
1989 - The Phoenix Suns cancel a game at the Miami Heat due to racial riots in Miami.
1995 - The Los Angeles Rams announce their move to St. Louis, Missouri.
1996 - Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) became the 22nd player in NHL history to score 500 goals.
1997 - The NBA suspends Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls indefinitely and fines him $25,000 for kicking a cameraman.
2002 - Jermaine Dye agrees to a three-year extension worth $32 million to stay with the Oakland Athletics.
2003 - Torii Hunter agrees to four-year, US$32 million deal to stay with the Minnesota Twins.
