Volume 13 , Issue 3

This Day In History (January 17)

On Jan. 17, 1863, an Editorial Cartoon of the Day appeared in Harper's Weekly, featuring a cartoon about the Civil War. READ MORE about the Editorial Cartoon

On this day in history, January 17th, do you remember back to you school days of studies and history class?

1562 French Protestants were recognized under the Edict of St. Germain.

1706 Statesman and inventor Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston.

1806 Thomas Jefferson's daughter, Martha, gave birth to James Madison Randolph, the first child born in the White House.

1893 Hawaii's monarchy was overthrown as a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate. READ Article

1893 Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States, died in Fremont, Ohio, at age 70.

1899 On Jan. 17 , 1899, Al Capone, the American gangster and prohibition era crime leader, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Following his death on Jan. 25 , 1947, his obituary appeared in The Times and began, "Capone Dead At 48; Dry Era Gang Chief, by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, MIAMI BEACH, FLA., Jan. 25 --Al Capone, ex-Chicago gangster and prohibition era crime leader, died in his home here tonight. 'Death came very suddenly,' said Dr. Kenneth S. Phillips, who has been attending Capone since he was stricken with apoplexy Tuesday. 'All the family was present. His wife, Mae, collapsed and is in very serious condition.' Dr. Phillips said death was caused by heart failure."

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.

1977 Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore was shot by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade.

1994 A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Southern California, killing at least 61 people and causing $20 billion worth of damage.

1995 A magnitude 7.2 earthquake devastated the city of Kobe, Japan; more than 6,000 people were killed.   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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