Today in History

On February 17 in history ..

• 1370 - Battle at Rudau: Germany beats Lithuania
• 1568 - Holy Roman Emperor agrees to pay tribute to the Sultan for peace
• 1598 - Boris Godunov chosen tsar of Russia
• 1621 - Miles Standish appointed 1st commander of Plymouth colony
• 1634 - William Prynne tried in Star Chamber for publishing "Histrio-masti
• 1670 - France & Bavaria sign military assistance treaty
• 1676 - Kings Charles II & Louis XIV sign secret treaty
• 1691 - Thomas Neale granted British patent for American postal service
• 1714 - Parliament of Paris accepts Pope Clemens XI's "Unigenitus" degree
• 1772 - 1st partition of Poland-Russia & Prussia, joined later by Austria
• 1776 - 1st volume of Gibbon's "Decline & Fall of Roman Empire" published
• 1791 - Messier catalogs M83 (spiral galaxy in Hydra)
• 1795 - Thomas Seddal harvests 8.3-kg potato from his garden Chester, England
• 1801 - House breaks electoral college tie, chooses Jefferson pres over Burr
• 1817 - 1st US city lit by gas (Baltimore)
• 1818 - Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun patents "draisine" (early bicycle)
• 1836 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin leaves Tasmania
• 1841 - Dutch ex-king Willem I marries Henriette d'Oultremont de Wégimont
• 1848 - Toscane gets liberal Constitution
• 1854 - British recognize independence of Orange Free State (South Africa)
• 1859 - Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Un Ballo in maschera" premieres in Napoli
• 1864 - Confederate sub "HL Hunley" sinks Union ship "Housatonic"
• 1865 - -18] Battle of Charleston SC
• 1865 - Columbia SC burns down during Civil War
• 1867 - 1st ship passes through Suez Canal
• 1867 - Gyula Andressy becomes premier of Hungary
• 1870 - Esther Morris appointed 1st female judge
• 1870 - Mississippi becomes 9th state readmitted to US after Civil War
• 1876 - Sardines 1st canned (Julius Wolff-Eastport, Maine)
• 1878 - 1st telephone exchange in SF opens with 18 phones
• 1880 - Tsar Alexander II of Russia survives an assassination attempt
• 1882 - 1st Test Cricket match played at Sydney Cricket Ground
• 1883 - A Ashwell patents free-toilet in London
• 1885 - Bismarck gives Carl Peters' firm management of East-Africa
• 1896 - London Country Councils' Muzzling Order becomes effective
• 1897 - National Organization of Mothers forms (Parent Teacher Association)
• 1904 - Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly," premieres in Milan
• 1905 - Frances Willard becomes 1st women honored in National Statuary Hall
• 1906 - Theodore Roosevelt's daughter Alice marries in the White House
• 1911 - 1st hydroplane flight to & from a ship (Glenn Curtiss, San Diego)
• 1913 - 1st minimum wage law in US takes effect (Oregon)
• 1913 - NY Armory Show introduces Picasso, Matisse, Duchamp to US public
• 1915 - Edward Stone, 1st US combatant to die in WW I, is mortally wounded
• 1916 - Romberg/Hanley/Atteridge/Smith' musical premieres in NYC
• 1921 - Arthur Honegger's "Pastorale D'été," premieres
• 1923 - Ottawa Senator Cy Denneny becomes NHL's all time scorer (143 goals)
• 1924 - Johnny Weissmuller sets 100-yard freestyle record (52.4 seconds)
• 1926 - Avalanche buries 75 in Sap Gulch Bingham Utah, 40 die
• 1926 - Tennis star Suzanne Lenglen beats Helen Wills in their only match
• 1930 - French govt of Tardieu, falls
• 1931 - 1st telecast of a sporting event in Japan (baseball)
• 1931 - Hockey's Hershey Bears (now with AHL) 1st game
• 1932 - Irving Berlin's musical "Face the Music," premieres in NYC
• 1933 - 1st issue of "Newsweek" magazine published
• 1933 - Blondie Boopadoop married Dagwood Bumstead in the comic Blondie
• 1933 - Marinus van der Lubbe arrives in Glindow, at Potsdam
• 1933 - US Senate accept Blaine Act: ending prohibition
• 1934 - 1st high school auto driving course offered (State College, Penn)
• 1936 - "Phantom" cartoon strip by Lee Falk debuts
• 1936 - -58°F (-50°C), McIntosh, South Dakota (state record)
• 1936 - SN Behrmann's "End of Summer," premieres in NYC
• 1938 - 1st public experimental demonstration of Baird color TV (London)
• 1939 - Katwijk soccer team forms
• 1940 - Bradman scores 135 in a non-Shield match for SA v West Australia
• 1940 - British destroyers board German Altmark off Norway
• 1941 - Joe Louis KOs Gus Dorazio in 2 for heavyweight boxing title
• 1943 - -19] Hitler visits fieldmarshal von Mansteins hq in Zaporozje
• 1943 - Dutch churches protest at Seyss-Inquart against persecution of Jews
• 1943 - Gen-major Bradley flies to Wash DC
• 1943 - NY Yankee Joe DiMaggio, enlists into the US army
• 1944 - Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins; US victory on Feb 22
• 1944 - US begins night bombing of Truk
• 1946 - Humanistic Covenant forms in Amsterdam
• 1947 - Dutch RC bishops publish manifest against "godless communism"
• 1947 - Voice of America begins broadcasting to USSR
• 1949 - Chaim Weitzman elected 1st president of Israel
• 1949 - Ice Pairs Championship at Paris won by Andrea Kekesy/Ede Kiraly of HUN
• 1949 - Ladies Figure Skating Champions in Paris won by Alena Vrzanova of CZE
• 1949 - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Paris won by Richard Button USA
• 1949 - Richard Button retains world figure skating championship in Paris
• 1950 - 31 die in a train crash in Rockville Center NY
• 1953 - Baseball star/pilot Ted Williams uninjured as plane shot down in Korea
• 1953 - DSB soccer team forms in Eindhoven
• 1955 - Ice Dance Championship at Vienna Austria won by J Westwood/Demmy GRB
• 1955 - Ice Pairs Championship at Vienna won by Frances Dafoe & Bowden of CAN
• 1955 - KTVF TV channel 11 in Fairbanks, AK (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting
• 1955 - Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Vienna won by Tenley Albright US
• 1955 - Mike Souchak sets PGA 72-hole record of 257
• 1956 - Ice Dance Championship at Garmisch won by Pamela Weight/P Thomas GRB
• 1956 - Ice Pairs Championship at Garmisch won by Schwarz & Oppelt of AUT
• 1956 - Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Garmisch won by Carol Heiss USA
• 1956 - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Garmisch won by H A Jenkins USA
• 1957 - Fire in Warreton Mo, kills 72
• 1957 - Mary Lena Faulk wins LPGA St Petersburg Golf Open
• 1957 - Suez Canal reopens
• 1958 - Comic strip "BC" 1st appears
• 1958 - WETV (now WPBA) TV channel 30 in Atlanta, GA (PBS) begins broadcasting
• 1959 - 1st weather satellite launched, Vanguard 2, 9.8 kg
• 1962 - Beach Boys introduced a new musical style with their hit "Surfin"
• 1962 - Storm in Hamburg, kills 265
• 1962 - Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Phila Warriors scores 67 points vs St Louis
• 1963 - Toru Terasawa runs world record marathon (2:15:15.8
• 1964 - 101st member elected to baseball's hall of fame (Luke Appling)
• 1964 - US House of Reps accept Law on the civil rights
• 1964 - US Supreme court rules - 1 man 1 vote (Westberry v Sanders)
• 1964 - WMEM TV channel 10 in Presque Isle, ME (PBS) begins broadcasting
• 1965 - US Ranger 8 launched, will transmit 7,137 lunar pictures
• 1965 - US-Japan baseball relations suspended over Masanori Murakami dispute
• 1966 - French satellite Diapason D-1A launch into Earth orbit
• 1967 - Beatles release "Penny Lane" & "Strawberry Fields"
• 1967 - Kosmos 140 (Soyuz Test) launches into Earth orbit
• 1968 - Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield Mass, opens
• 1969 - Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash record an album (never released)
• 1969 - Golda Meir sworn in as Israel's 1st female prime minister
• 1970 - Jeffrey McDonald slices up his wife & daughter
• 1970 - Joni Mitchell's final concert (Royal Albert Hall)
• 1970 - Robert Marasco's "Child's Play," premieres in NYC
• 1971 - England regains cricket Ashes with a 2-0 series win
• 1972 - British Parliament votes to join European Common Market
• 1972 - President Nixon leaves Washington DC for China
• 1973 - Rodney Redmond scores 107 on debut v Pakistan, his only Test Cricket
• 1974 - 49 die in stampede for seats at soccer match, Cairo, Egypt
• 1974 - Carol Mann wins LPGA Naples Lely Golf Classic
• 1976 - "Rockabye Hamlet" opens at Minskoff Theater NYC for 7 performances
• 1976 - Macau adopts constitution (Organic Law of Macau)
• 1976 - NZ scores their 1st innings win in Test Cricket, v India
• 1976 - Richard Hadlee takes 7-23 v India, his 1st match-winning spell
• 1979 - China invades Vietnam
• 1979 - Eric Heiden equals skating world record 1000m (1:14.99)
• 1980 - Buddy Baker wins Daytona 500 (177.6 MPH/285.8 kph)
• 1980 - Dot Germain wins LPGA S&H Golf Classic
• 1981 - Chrysler Corp reports largest corporate losses in US history
• 1982 - Commencement of Sri Lanka's 1st Test Cricket match, v England
• 1983 - Bob Bourne fails on 8th Islander penalty shot
• 1983 - Netherlands adopts constitution
• 1983 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1985 - 1st class postage rises from 20ø to 22ø
• 1985 - 1st day/night game at the MCG, Australia v England
• 1985 - 3rd person to receive an artificial heart (Murray Haydon)
• 1985 - Hein Vergeer becomes world champion skater
• 1985 - Laffit Pincay Jr is third to ride 6,000th winners at Santa Anita
• 1986 - 1st Francophone Summit convenes at Versailles
• 1986 - Howard Stern radio show returns to NYC morning radio (WXRK 92.3 FM)
• 1986 - Johnson & Johnson announces it no longer sell capsule drugs
• 1986 - Libyan bombers attack N'djamena Airport in Chad
• 1987 - Don Mattingly wins highest salary arbitration ($1,975,000 per year)
• 1987 - Michelle Renee Royer, 21, (Texas), crowned 36th Miss USA
• 1988 - Lebanese terrorists kidnap UN truce observer Lt Col William Higgins
• 1988 - US Lt Col Wm Higgins kidnapped by Lebanese terrorists & later killed
• 1989 - 6-week study of Arctic atmosphere shows no ozone "hole"
• 1989 - Former baseball player/manager Leo Durocher injured in a car crash
• 1989 - Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia & Libya form common market
• 1989 - Orel Hershiser, Dodger pitcher signs record $7.9M-3 year contract
• 1989 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
• 1989 - Whitesnake's rocker David Coverdale weds actress Tawny Kitaen
• 1991 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Todd Eldredge
• 1993 - Haitian ferry boat capsize in storm, 800-2,000 die
• 1993 - Mark Foster swims world record 50m free style (21.60 sec)
• 1995 - 11th Soap Opera Digest Awards
• 1995 - Colin Fergusson found guilty of killing 6 people on the LIRR in NY
• 1995 - Tiger mgr Sparky Anderson takes unpaid leave due to baseball strike
• 1995 - Federal judge allows lawsuit claiming US tobacco makers knew nicotine was addictive & manipulated its levels to keep customers hooked
• 1996 - 1st full ODI for the Netherlands, v NZ, cricket World Cup Nolan Clarke makes ODI debut for Netherlands at age 47
• 1997 - Carl Sagan Public Memorial at Pasadena Calif
• 1997 - Weekly Standard shows evidence Larry Flint sex abused his daughter
• 1998 - Diane Zamora, 20, Naval Academy cadet convicted of capital murder
• 1998 - Larry Wayne Harris & Bill Levitt arrested for possession of anthrax

Famous birthdays on February 17 ..

• 1444 - Rudolf Agricola, [Roelof Huysman], Dutch humanist/organist
• 1490 - Charles de Bourbon, officer/governor (Lombardy)
• 1519 - François de Guise, [Balafré], French general strategist (Calais)
• 1583 - J Henry Alting, Dutch theologist
• 1653 - Arcangelo Corelli, Fusignano Italy, violinist/comp (Concerto Grossi)
• 1667 - Georg Bronner, composer
• 1675 - Johann Melchior Conradi, composer
• 1696 - Baron Ernst Gottlieb, composer
• 1697 - Louis-Maurice de La Pierre, composer
• 1699 - Hans Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, German architect (Sanssouci)
• 1723 - Tobias Mayer, "method of lunars" for longitude determination
• 1740 - Horace B de Saussure, Swiss physicist/geologist
• 1747 - Narciso Casanovas, composer
• 1752 - Friedrich M Klinger, German playwright (Wirrwarr)
• 1754 - Jan Jachym Kopriva, composer
• 1758 - John Pinkerton, Scottish historian
• 1774 - Raphaelle Peale, US, painter (After the Rain-1823)
• 1781 - René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Lannec, France, inventor (stethoscope)
• 1796 - Giovanni Pacini, composer
• 1804 - Samuel Read Anderson, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1883
• 1816 - Friedrich Wilhelm Markull, composer
• 1820 - Henri Vieuxtemps, Verviers Belgium, composer/teacher (Brussels Cons)
• 1824 - William Farrar "Baldy" Smith, Mjr Gen (Union volunteers), died in 1903
• 1831 - Francisco Salvador Daniel, composer
• 1837 - Francis Jay Herron, Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1902
• 1837 - Sam[uel] van Houten, Dutch (lib) minister (child labor laws)
• 1844 - A Montgomery Ward, found mail-order business (Montgomery Ward)
• 1849 - Selwyn Image, Bodiam Sussex, painter
• 1850 - Anton Urspruch, composer
• 1850 - Ludwig Bonvin, composer
• 1853 - Jaroslav Vrchlicky, [Emil Frída], Czech poet (1 night on Karlstein)
• 1854 - Friedrich A Krupp, German arms manufacturer
• 1855 - Otto Liman von Sanders, German general in Turkey (WW I)
• 1857 - Samuel Sidney McClure, Irish-American newspaper editor/publisher
• 1858 - Ernest Ford, composer
• 1862 - Edward German (Jones), Whitchurch Shropshire, British composer
• 1862 - Mori Ogai [Mori Rintarô), Japanese author (Maihime/Gan)
• 1864 - Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, NSW Australia, poet (Waltzing Matilda)
• 1867 - William Cadbury, England, chocolate manufacturer (Cadbury)
• 1870 - Louis de Raet, Belgian economist/founder (Flemish People's Party)
• 1874 - Thomas J Watson, US, representative/founder (IBM)
• 1877 - Henri Vandeputte, Belgian author/poet (L'homme Jeune)
• 1879 - Dorothy Canfield Fisher, US, novelist (Book-of-Month-Club)
• 1880 - Alvaro Obregon, general/president Mexico (1920-24)
• 1882 - Kurt Schindler, composer
• 1882 - Noah Beery, Smithville AR, actor (Story of Esther, Mark of Zorro)
• 1884 - Arthur Vanderpoorten, Flemish minister of Internal affairs (1940)
• 1887 - Leevi Antti Madetoja, composer
• 1888 - Henrietta P "Hetty" Beck, actress (Bouwmeester Award)
• 1888 - Otto Stern, German/US physicist (Stern-Gerlach-experiment, Nobel 1943)
• 1888 - Ronald Aburthnott Knox, English priest/writer (Viaduct Murder)
• 1889 - H[aroldson] L Hunt, Texas oil multi-millionaire
• 1891 - Georg Britting, writer
• 1892 - Theodor Plievier, German writer (Des Kaisers Kulis, Stalingrad)
• 1895 - Anita Stewart, NY, actress (South of Hell Mountain)
• 1895 - Edna Park Edwards, PA
• 1897 - Johan[nes A] Kaart, Dutch actor/stage manager (My Fair Lady)
• 1898 - Tom Lowry, cricketer (NZ batsman in seven Tests & their 1st Test capt)
• 1902 - Marian Anderson, Phila, operatic contralto (banned by D.A.R.)
• 1903 - Johannes Linthorst Homan, director of the queen in Groningen
• 1904 - Albert Kuyle, [Louis Kuitenbrouwer], Dutch writer (Jesus' Robe)
• 1906 - Galo Plaza Lasso, pres of Ecuador (1948-52), head of OAS (1968-75)
• 1906 - Ramon Tapales, composer
• 1907 - Alec Wilder, Rochester NY, composer (1973 ASCAP award)
• 1907 - Charles B Timmer, Dutch translator/writer (Russia Black on White)
• 1908 - Staats Cotsworth, Oak Park IL, actor (Peyton Place)
• 1908 - Walter L "Red" Barber, Miss, sports announcer (Bkln Dodgers, NY Yanks)
• 1909 - Joseph "Poeske" Scherens, Belgian cyclist (champ sprinter 1932-37)[NS]
• 1909 - Marjorie Lawrence, Australia, soprano (Venus-Tannhäuser)
• 1910 - Ai Qing, poet
• 1910 - Marc Lawrence, NYC, actor (Man With Golden Gun)
• 1911 - Arthur Hunnicutt, Gravelly AR, actor (Big Sky, Apache Uprising)
• 1913 - Joséphine F "Fietje" van Anrooy, Dutch actress/director
• 1913 - Oskar Danon, composer
• 1913 - Rene Leibowitz, composer
• 1914 - Albert Westerlinck, [José J M Aerts], Flemish literary
• 1914 - Arthur Kennedy, Worcester Mass, actor (Fantastic Voyage, Peyton Place)
• 1914 - Per-Jakez Helias, writer/teacher
• 1914 - [Bert de] Wayne Morris, LA Calif, WW II-pilot/actor (Paths of Glory)
• 1915 - Homer Keller, composer
• 1916 - Don Tallon, cricketer (perhaps Australia's greatest wicket-keeper)
• 1916 - Raf Vallone, Tropea Italy, actor (El Cid, 2 Women, Greek Tycoon)
• 1918 - Charles A Hayes, (Rep-D-IL, 1983- )
• 1918 - Olive Gibbs, peace campaigner
• 1919 - Jock Mahoney, Chicago, actor (Dallas, Yancy Derringer, Day of Fury)
• 1919 - Joseph R Hunt, tennis champ (US Open-1943)
• 1919 - Kathleen Freeman, Chicago Ill, actress (Beverly Hillbillies)
• 1920 - Colin Franklin, doctor
• 1920 - Paul Fetler, composer
• 1920 - Trevor Oswald Ling, religious studies professor
• 1922 - Tommy Edwards, rock vocalist (It's All in the Game)
• 1923 - Alden Winship Clausen, Hamilton Ill, banker (Pres of World Bank)
• 1924 - Margaret Truman, Mo, pres daughter/writer (Murder at FBI)/pianist
• 1925 - Fritz Behrendt, German/Dutch cartoon character (The Slogan)
• 1925 - Hal Holbrook, Cleveland, actor (All the President's Men, Mark Twain)
• 1926 - Friedrich Cerha, composer
• 1926 - Lee Hoiby, Madison Wisconsin, composer (1957 Arts & Letters)
• 1929 - Chaim Potok, NYC, novelist (Promise)
• 1929 - Yasser Arafat, PLO-leader (Achille Lauro, Nobel 1994)
• 1930 - Usko Merilainen, composer
• 1932 - Buck Trent, Spartanburg SC, banjoist/singer (Hee Haw)
• 1933 - Bobby Lewis, rocker (Tossin' & Turnin')
• 1933 - Craig Thomas, (Rep-R-Wyoming)
• 1934 - Alan Bates, Allestree Engld, actor (Zorba the Greek, Unmarried Woman)
• 1934 - Barry Humphries, Australia TV host (Dame Edna Everage)
• 1934 - Buddy Ryan, NFL coach (Phila Eagles, Phoenix Cardinals)
• 1935 - Johnny Bush, country singer
• 1936 - Barry Jarman, cricketer (Australian wicket-keeper in 60's)
• 1936 - Jim Brown, Ga, NFL full back (Cleveland Browns)/actor (Dirty Dozen)
• 1936 - Peter Walker, cricket all-rounder (Glamorgan did little for Eng 1960)
• 1937 - Mickey McGill, US vocalist (Dells-Love is Blue)
• 1938 - Mary Frances Berry, educator/head (US Commission on Civil Rights)
• 1939 - Mary Ann Mobley, Biloxi Ms, Miss America-1959/actr (Diff'rent Strokes)
• 1940 - Dennis Gamsy, cricketer (S African bat in 2 Tests v Australia 1970)
• 1941 - Gene Pitney, Hartford Ct, vocalist/songwriter (Town Without Pity)
• 1941 - Heidi Biebi, German Fed Rep, downhill skier (Olympic-gold-1960)
• 1942 - Huey Newton, Black Panther leader
• 1944 - Bernie Grant, British politician (Labour)
• 1945 - Brenda Fricker, Dublin Ireland, actress (My Left Foot)
• 1945 - Patricia Morrow, actress (Rita-Peyton Place)
• 1945 - Willie J L Swildens-Rozendal, Dutch MP (PvdA)
• 1946 - André Dussollier, Annecy France, actor (3 Men & a Cradle)
• 1946 - Valdemar Bandolowski, Denmark, yachting (Olympic-gold-1976, 80)
• 1946 - Zina Bethune, NYC, actress (Nurses, Who's That Knocking at My Door)
• 1947 - Ben Cramer, Dutch vocalist (Clown)
• 1947 - Dallas Adams, British actor/painter/writer (Terror From Within)
• 1947 - Dodie Stevens, actress (Mary Hartman!)
• 1949 - Fred Frith, English guitarist/violinist/bassist (Skeleton Crew)
• 1950 - Rick Medlocke, rock guitarist/vocalist (Blackfoot)
• 1952 - Guillermo Vilas, tennis player (1977 US Open)
• 1952 - Insook Bhushan, Seoul Korea, US US table tennis player (Olympic-92)
• 1953 - Janice Dickinson, Bkln NY, model (Vogue)
• 1954 - Rene Russo, actress (Ransom)
• 1958 - Heidi Hagman, actress (Linda-Archie Bunker's Place)
• 1958 - Karen Lende O'Connor, Concord Ma, equestrian 3-day (Oly-silver-96)
• 1959 - Ambrose "Rowdy" Gaines, US, 100m swimmer (Olympic-gold-1984)
• 1959 - Daniel Ray "Danny" Ainge, basketball & football star
• 1959 - Richard Karn, Seattle WA, actor (Al-Home Improvement)
• 1959 - Rowdy Gaines, US swimmer (Olympics-3 gold-1984)
• 1960 - Michael Jordan, NBA guard/forward
• 1961 - Deb[ra] Richardson, Minneapolis MN, beach volleyballer (Olympics-96)
• 1961 - Guy McIntyre, NFL guard (Phila Eagles)
• 1961 - Michael "Air" Jordan, Bkln NY, NBA guard/forward (Chicago Bulls)
• 1962 - David McComb, Australia, vocalist/songwriter (Triffids)
• 1962 - Hennie Meijer, soccer player (Cambuur L, FC Heerenveen)
• 1962 - Lou Diamond Phillips, Philippines, actor (La Bamba, Stand & Deliver)
• 1962 - Tony Blain, cricketer (NZ Test wicket-keeper)
• 1963 - Dan Reed, rocker/actor (HOTS, Lake Consequence)
• 1963 - Michael Jordan, NBA guard (Chicago Bulls)
• 1964 - Mike Campbell, Seattle WA, pitcher (Chic Cubs)
• 1965 - Clayton Prince, Phila, actor (Hairspray, Reuben-Another World)
• 1965 - Jim Bowie, Japanese/US baseball infielder (Oakland Athletics)
• 1966 - Luc Robitaille, Montreal, NHL left wing (NY Rangers, Pitts Penguins)
• 1966 - Melissa Brooke-Belland, rocker (Voice of the Beehive-Let it Bee)
• 1967 - Gary Shuchuk, Edmonton, NHL center (LA Kings)
• 1967 - Michelle Forbes, Austin TX, actress (Ensign Ro-Star Trek Next Gen)
• 1968 - Bryan Cox, NFL linebacker (Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears)
• 1968 - Celita Schutz, Riverdale NJ, half-middleweight judoka (Olympics-96)
• 1968 - Patrick Uterwijk, pop guitarist (Pestilence, Consuming Impulse)
• 1969 - David Klingler, NFL quarterback (Oakland Raiders, Cin Bengals)
• 1969 - Joel Steed, NFL nose tackle (Pitts Steelers)
• 1969 - Levon Kirkland, NFL linebacker (Pitts Steelers)
• 1969 - Traci Adell, New Orleans La, playmate (July, 1994)
• 1970 - Tommy Moe, Anchorage Alaska, nordic skiier (Olympic-gold/silver-1994)
• 1972 - Billie Joe Armstrong, singer/musician (Green Day)
• 1972 - Lloy Ball, Ft Wayne Ind, volleyball setter (Olympics-96)
• 1972 - Richard MacQuire, Melbourne VIC Australia, canoeist (Olympics-96)
• 1972 - Stephen Robinson, Arlington Va, rower (Olympics-1996)
• 1972 - Tony Lawson, NSA Australia, diver (Olympics-96)
• 1972 - Vladimir Vujtek, NHL forward (Team Czech Oly-Gold-1998, Tampa Bay)
• 1972 - William Floyd, full back (San Francisco 49ers)
• 1973 - Chris Robinson, NBA guard (Vancouver Grizzlies)
• 1973 - Drew Barry, NBA guard (Atlanta Hawks)
• 1973 - Frank Sanders, NFL wide receiver (Arizona Cardinals)
• 1973 - Raymond Jackson, NFL defensive back (Buffalo Bills)
• 1974 - Jerry O'Connell, NYC, actor (Scream 2, Andrew-My Secret Identity)
• 1974 - Valeria Mazza, Rosario Argentina, model (Cosmo-July 1995)
• 1975 - Sung-Hee Park, Pusan Korea, tennis star (1993 Futures-Seoul)
• 1975 - Todd Harvey, Hamilton, NHL center (Dallas Stars)
• 1975 - Vaclav Prospal, NHL forward (Team Czech Oly-Gold-1998, Philadelphia)
• 1980 - Shanyn MacEachern, Brampton Ontario, gymnist (Olympics-96)
• 1981 - Donielle Thompson, Wheatridge CO, gymnast (World-bronze-95, Oly-96)
• 1981 - Lisa Skinner, Queensland Australia, gymnast (Olympics-96)
• 1982 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, actor (Tommy Solomon-Third Rock From the Sun)

Famous deaths on February 17 ..

• 0364 - Flavius Jovianus, Christian emperor of Rome (363-64), dies at about 32
• 0956 - Hugo the Great, earl of Paris/duke of Francia, dies at about 55
• 1600 - Giordano Bruno, advocate of Copernican theory, burned at stake
• 1612 - Ernst of Bayern, prince/bishop of Luik/archbish Cologne, dies at 57
• 1612 - Jodocus Hondius, Flemish cartoonist/mathematician, dies at 48
• 1652 - Gregorio Allegri, Italian singer/composer (Miserere), dies at about 67
• 1654 - Michael Lohr, composer, dies at 62
• 1673 - Moliare, [Jean Baptiste Poquelin], French author (Learned Lady), dies
• 1688 - Rev James Renwick, hanged in Scotland for being a Presbyterian
• 1715 - Antoine Galland, French interpreter, dies at 68
• 1732 - Louis Marchand, composer, dies at 63
• 1796 - James Macpherson, poet, dies
• 1803 - Louis R E prince de Rohan-Guémené, archbisp of Straatsburg, dies at 68
• 1804 - Christian Ernst Graf, composer, dies at 80
• 1815 - Franz Gotz, composer, dies at 59
• 1827 - Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss educator, dies at 81
• 1841 - Ferdinando Carulli, composer, dies at 70
• 1847 - William Collins, landscape painter, dies
• 1852 - Micha Joseph Levenson, Hebrew poet, dies
• 1854 - Hugues F R de Lamennais, French priest/writer, dies at 71
• 1856 - Heinrich Heine, German poet, dies at 58 in Paris
• 1856 - John Braham, singer/composer, dies at 81
• 1874 - [Lambert] Adolphe J Quetelet, Belg astronomer/sociologist, dies at 77
• 1875 - Luís NF Varela, Brazilian romantic poet, dies at 33
• 1878 - José Amador de los Ríos, Spanish historian/poet, dies at 59
• 1883 - Napoleon Coste, composer, dies at 76
• 1901 - Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin, composer, dies at 38
• 1903 - Joseph Parry, composer, dies at 61
• 1905 - Serge Alexandrovich, gov-gen Moscow, murdered
• 1907 - Henry Olcott, co-founder (Theosophical Society-Madras), dies
• 1907 - Henry Steel Olcott, US co-founder (Theosophist Society), dies at 74
• 1908 - Geronimo, Apache chief, dies at about 79
• 1912 - Aloys von Aerenthal, foreign minister (Austria-Hungary), dies at 57
• 1912 - L Oates, British explorer (Antarctica), dies
• 1917 - Edmund Bishop, English secretary of Thomas Carlyle, dies at 70
• 1918 - Wilfrid Laurier, Canadian PM (1896-1911), dies
• 1924 - Oskar Merikanto, composer, dies at 55
• 1929 - John Read, cricketer (batted in 17 Tests for Eng for 463 runs), dies
• 1932 - Frans Gailliard, Belgian painter/graphic artist (Egina), dies at 70
• 1933 - Henri[cus A] Viotta, Dutch composer (Handbook of Music), dies at 84
• 1934 - Albert I LCMM von Saksen-Coburg, king of Belgium (1909-34), dies at 58
• 1936 - Erich Schaeder, German theologist (Theozentrische), dies at 74
• 1944 - Fausto Agnelli, Swiss painter, dies at 64
• 1951 - Nikoghayos Fadeyi Tigranyan, composer, dies at 94
• 1954 - Evert Gorter, children artist (Kindergeneeskunde), dies at 72
• 1955 - Otto J Gombosi, Hungarian/US musicologist, dies at 52
• 1959 - Kathryn Adams, actress (Meet the Chump, 5th Avenue Girl), dies
• 1959 - Tim Mara, co-founder of NFL's NY Giants, dies
• 1961 - Nita Naldi, actress (Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde), dies of heart attack at 63
• 1962 - Bruno Walter, symphony conductor (NY Philharmonic), dies at 85
• 1962 - Joseph Kearns, actor (George-Dennis the Menace), dies at 55
• 1966 - Frank Pettingell, actor (Becket, Up the Creek), dies at 75
• 1966 - Gail Kane, actress (White Sister, Arizona), dies at 81
• 1966 - Hans Hofmann, German/US painter (Search for the Real), dies at 85
• 1968 - Donald Wolfit, actor (Lawrence of Arabia), dies of heart ailment at 65
• 1970 - Agnon, [SJ Czaczkes], Hebrew writer (Nobel 1966), dies at 81
• 1970 - Alfred Newman, US composer, dies at 69
• 1970 - Schmuel J Agnon, novelist (Nobel 1966), dies
• 1971 - Teddy Hart, actor (3 Men on a Horse), dies at 73
• 1972 - Gavril Nikolayevich Popov, composer, dies at 67
• 1972 - Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, founder (SF Zen Center), ½ ashes buried
• 1976 - Jean Servais, Belgian actor (Every Man is My Enemy), dies at 65
• 1976 - Johan[nes A] Card, actor/stage manager (My Fair Lady), dies at 78
• 1977 - Quincy Howe, newscaster (CBS Weekend News), dies at 76
• 1979 - William Gargan, actor (Rain, Bells of St Mary), dies at 73
• 1980 - Graham Sutherland, painter, dies
• 1980 - Jerry Fielding, composer (Bewitched, Hogan's Heroes), dies at 57
• 1982 - Lee Strasberg, acting coach/actor (And Justice for All), dies at 81
• 1982 - Theolonious S Monk, US, jazz pianist/composer (Blue Monk), dies at 64
• 1984 - Lucille Benson, actress (Lilly-Bosom Buddies), dies at 69
• 1985 - Wanda Perry, actress (Roberta, Death of a Salesman), dies at 67
• 1986 - Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (Kingdom Happiness), dies at 90
• 1986 - Paul Stewart, actor (Opening Night, In Cold Blood, Window), dies
• 1987 - Hal K Dawson, actor (Another Language, Wells Fargo), dies
• 1987 - Verree Teasdale, actress (Skyscraper Souls), dies
• 1989 - Lefty Gomez, pitching great (NY Yankees), dies at 80
• 1990 - Erik Rhodes, actor (Top Hat), dies of pneumonia at 84
• 1990 - Frans Kellendonk, Dutch writer (Good for Nothing), dies at 39
• 1990 - Keith Haring, US graffiti-artist, dies at 31
• 1990 - Marc Clement, actor (Career Opportunities, Sluggers Wife), dies
• 1991 - Enrique Bermudez, commandant (Contra), dies
• 1993 - Alfredo de Leon, leader (Philippines Red Scorpio Gang), killed
• 1993 - George E Wilburn, film editor, dies of emphysema at 77
• 1993 - Leslie Townsend, cricket all-rounder (Engld in 4 Tests 1930-34), dies
• 1994 - Randy Shilts, US journalist (& the band played on), dies of AIDs at 41
• 1995 - Jan Bart Klaster, music editor (The Slogan), dies at 50
• 1995 - Thelma Hulbert, painter, dies at 81
• 1995 - Timothy Hugh Brown, theatre critic, dies at 52
• 1995 - Uta Graf, singer/teacher, dies at 80
• 1996 - Bentley Bridgewater, british Museum secretary, dies at 84
• 1996 - Henry Guinness, missionary, dies at 87
• 1996 - Jean Writer-Pierre Herve Bazin, dies at 84
• 1996 - Michael Raptis, writer/recolutionary, dies at 84
• 1996 - [Elsie] Evelyn Laye, actress/singer (Sun Child), dies at 95
• 1998 - Ernst Juenger, German writer, dies at 102