April 17
April 17 is the 107th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (108th in leap years ). There are 258 days remaining.
Events
1397 - Geoffrey Chaucer tells the Canterbury Tales for the first time at the court of Richard II .
1492 - Spain and Christopher Columbus sign a contract for him to sail to Asia to get spices .
1521 - Martin Luther speaks to the assembly at the Diet of Worms , refusing to recant his teachings .
1524 - Giovanni da Verrazano reaches New York harbor.
1861 - American Civil War : Virginia secedes from the Union .
1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Plymouth begins – Confederate forces attack Plymouth, North Carolina .
1865 - Mary Surratt is arrested as a conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln .
1882 - Copies of Pat Garrett 's biography of Billy the Kid , An Authentic Life of Billy the Kid , arrive at the Library of Congress .
1895 - The Treaty of Maguan (also known as the "Treaty of Shimonoseki") between China and Japan is signed. This marks the end of the first Sino-Japanese War , and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtien province , Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands to Japan .
1924 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios is formed from a merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and the Louis B. Mayer Company.
1937 - Daffy Duck debuts in Warner Bros ' short Porky's Duck Hunt 1941 - World War II : The Kingdom of Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany .
1942 - POW French General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Festung Königstein .
1945 - In Strassfurt , Germany , U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Boris T. Pash seizes half a ton of uranium , in an attempt to foil Soviet Union plans to build an atomic bomb .
1961 - Bay of Pigs Invasion : A group of CIA -financed and -trained Cuban refugees lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro .
1964 - The Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Mustang at the New York World's Fair .
1964 - Jerrie Mock becomes the first woman to circumnavigate the world by air.
1969 - Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy .
1969 - Czechoslovak Communist Party chairman Alexander Dubček is deposed.
1970 - Apollo program : The ill-fated Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely.
1975 - Cambodian Civil War ends: The Khmer Rouge captures the capital Phnom Penh and Cambodian government forces surrender.
1982 - Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II , Queen of Canada .
1984 - Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher is killed by automatic gunfire coming from the Libyan People's Bureau in central London . She had been policing a small demonstration outside the embassy. Ten other people are wounded. The events lead to an 11-day siege of the building.
1991 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for the first time ever (3,004.46).
2002 - Four Canadian Forces soldiers are killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire from two U.S. Air Force F-16s , the first deaths in a combat zone for Canada since the Korean War.
Births
1573 - Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1651
1598 - Giovanni Riccioli , Italian astronomer (d. 1671 )
1837 - J.P. Morgan , American financier, art collector, philanthropist (d. 1913 )
1852 - Cap Anson , Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1922 )
1863 - Augustus Edward Hough Love , mathematician (d. 1940 )
1882 - Artur Schnabel , Polish pianist (d. 1951 )
1885 - Isak Dinesen , Danish author (d. 1962 )
1893 - Irene Castle , dancer (d. 1969 )
1894 - Nikita Khrushchev , Soviet politician and Premier 1958 -1964 (d. 1971 )
1897 - Thornton Wilder , American dramatist (d. 1975 )
1903 - Gregor Piatigorsky , Russian cellist (d. 1976 )
1903 - Morgan Taylor , American athlete (d. 1975 )
1915 - Joe Foss , soldier, politician (d. 2003 )
1917 - Bill Clements , governor of Texas
1918 - William Holden , actor (d. 1981 )
1923 - Lindsay Anderson , director (d. 1994 )
1923 - Harry Reasoner , journalist (d. 1991 )
1926 - Gerry McNeil , Stanley Cup -winning NHL goalie (d. 2004 )
1929 - James Last , band leader
1934 - Don Kirshner , television producer, composer
1940 - Anja Silja , soprano
1948 - Jan Hammer , composer
1951 - Olivia Hussey , actress
1954 - Blackbyrd McKnight , musician (P Funk )
1954 - Riccardo Patrese , racing driver
1957 - Nick Hornby , author
1959 - Sean Bean , actor
1961 - Boomer Esiason , American football player
1964 - Maynard James Keenan , Frontman of the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle
1967 - Marquis Grissom , baseball player
1967 - Liz Phair , musician
1967 - Tommy White , golfer
1969 - Henry Ian Cusick , actor
1972 - Tony Boselli , American football player
1972 - Jennifer Garner , actress (Alias 13 Going on 30 1973 - Stephen Donahoe , comedian, socialite
1974 - Victoria Adams , singer
1978 - Jordan Hill , singer
1983 - Miguel Cabrera , Major League Baseball All-Star
Deaths
487 - Proclus , Neoplatonic philosopher (b. 412 )
1790 - Benjamin Franklin , politician, inventor, diplomat, printer (b. 1706 )
1799 - Richard Jupp , English architect (b. 1728 )
1843 - Samuel Morey , American inventor (b. 1762 )
1891 - Alexander Mackenzie , second Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1822 )
1942 - Jean Perrin physicist (b. 1870 )
1944 - J.T. Hearne Middlesex medium-fast bowler and fourth highest first-class wicket-taker (b. 1867 )
1960 - Eddie Cochran , musician (b. 1938 )
1967 - Red Allen , jazz musician (b. 1908 )
1975 - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan , philosopher (b. 1888 )
1990 - Reverend Ralph Abernathy , civil rights activist (b. 1936 )
1998 - Linda McCartney , activist, musician (b. 1941 )
2003 - Dr. Robert Atkins , developed the Atkins Nutritional Approach
2003 - Paul Getty , philanthropist
2003 - Earl King , R&B musician/songwriter
Holidays and observances
External links
April 16 - April 18 - March 17 - May 17 -- listing of all days
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