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February 17th
1370 - At the Battle at Rudau, Germany beat Lithuania. 1444 - Born this day, Rudolf Agricola [Roelof Huysman], Dutch humanist, organist. 1454 - At a grand feast, Philip the Good of Burgundy takes the 'vow of the pheasant', by which he swears to fight the Turks. 1490 - Born this day, Charles de Bourbon, officer, governor (Lombardy). 1519 - Born this day, François de Guise [Balafré], French general, strategist (Calais). 1568 - The Holy Roman Emperor agreed to pay annual tribute to the Sultan for peace. 1583 - Born this day, J. Henry Alting, Dutch theologist. 1598 - Boris Godunov, the boyar of Tarar origin, was chosen as tsar of Russia in succession to his brother-in-law Fydor. 1621 - Miles Standish was appointed the first commander of the Plymouth colony. 1634 - William Prynne was tried in the Star Chamber for publishing Histriomastix. 1653 - Born this day, Arcangelo Corelli, in Fusignano, Italy, violinist, composer (Concerto Grosso). 1667 - Born this day, Georg Bronner, composer. 1670 - France andvaria signed a military assistance treaty. 1673 - Died this day, Moliere (Jean Baptiste Poquelin) French dramatist and writer of comedies, died of a brain haemorrhage after a coughing fit on stage. 1675 - Born this day, Johann Melchior Conradi, composer. 1676 - Kings Charles II and Louis XIV signed a secret treaty. 1691 - Thomas Neale was granted a British patent for the American postal service. 1696 - Born this day, Baron Ernst Gottlieb, composer. 1697 - Born this day, Louis-Maurice de La Pierre, composer. 1699 - Born this day, Hans Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, German architect (Sanssouci). 1714 - The Parliament of Paris accepted Pope Clemens XI's Unigenitus decree. 1720 - Spain signed the Treaty of the Hague with the Quadruple Alliance ending a war that was begun in 1718. 1723 - Born this day, Tobias Mayer, 'method of lunars' for longitude determination. 1740 - Born this day, Horace B. de Saussure, Swiss physicist, geologist. 1741 - English revivalist George Whitefield advised in a letter: 'Be content with no degree of sanctification. Be always crying out, Lord, let me know more of myself and of thee.' 1747 - Born this day, Narciso Casanovas, composer. 1752 - Born this day, Friedrich M. Klinger, German playwright (Wirrwarr). 1754 - Born this day, Jan Jachym Kopriva, composer. 1758 - Born this day, John Pinkerton, Scottish historian. 1774 - Born this day, Raphaelle Peale, US painter (After the Rain-1823). 1781 - Born this day, René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laënnec, in France, inventor of stethoscope. 1796 - Born this day, Giovanni Pacini, composer. 1801 - The House of Representatives broke an electoral college tie and chose Thomas Jefferson as third president of the United States after he and Aaron Burr tied in the Electoral College. It took 35 indecisive House ballots before Jefferson finally won and Burr became vice president. 1804 - Born this day, Samuel Read Anderson, Brigadier General (Confederate Army). Died in 1883. 1815 - In deciding the legal case 'Terrett v. Taylor', the US Supreme Court declared unconstitutional an act of the Virginia Legislature which denied property rights to Protestant Episcopal churches in the state. The Court ruled that religious corporations, like other corporations, have rights to their property. 1816 - Born this day, Edward Hopper, American Presbyterian clergyman. He is remembered today as author of the hymn, Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Me. 1816 - Born this day, Friedrich Wilhelm Markull, composer. 1817 - Born this day, Frederick Douglass, famous African-American. 1817 - Baltimore became the first US city with gas-burning street lights. 1820 - Born this day, Henri Vieuxtemps, in Verviers, Belgium, composer, teacher (Brussels Cons). 1824 - Born this day, William Farrar 'Baldy' Smith, Major General (Union volunteers). Died in 1903. 1831 - Born this day, Francisco Salvador Daniel, composer. 1836 - Winnebago County, Illinois was founded. 1837 - Born this day, Francis Jay Herron, Major General (Union volunteers). Died in 1902. 1837 - Born this day, Sam [Samuel] van Houten, Dutch (Liberal) minister (child labor laws). 1843 - Born this day, Aaron Montgomery Ward, founded mail-order business (Montgomery Ward). 1849 - Born this day, Selwyn Image, in Bodiam, Sussex, painter. 1850 - Born this day, Anton Urspruch, composer. 1850 - Born this day, Ludwig Bonvin, composer. 1853 - Born this day, Jaroslav Vrchlicky [Emil Frída], Czechoslovakian poet (1 night on Karlstein). 1854 - Born this day, Friedrich A. Krupp, German arms manufacturer. 1855 - Born this day, Otto Liman von Sanders, German general in Turkey in World War I (WWI). 1856 - Born this day, Frederick Ives, engraver. 1857 - Born this day, Samuel Sidney McClure, Irish-American newspaper editor, publisher. 1858 - Born this day, Ernest Ford, composer. 1862 - Born this day, Edward German (Jones), in Whitchurch, Shropshire, British composer. 1862 - Born this day, Mori Ogai [Mori Rintarô), Japanese author (Maihime/Gan). 1864 - Born this day, Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, in New South Wales, Australia, poet, journalist (Waltzing Matilda). 1864 - The Confederate submarine Hunley sank the USS Housatonic in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. 1865 - The South Carolina capital city, Columbia, was destroyed by fire as Major General William Tecumseh Sherman marched through. 1867 - Born this day, William Cadbury, in England, chocolate manufacturer (Cadbury). 1867 - The first ship to pass through the newly opened Suez Canal did so on this day. The first ship to sail through the canal after the mid-1950's Suez crisis, did so on this day in 1957. 1870 - Born this day, Louis de Raet, Belgian economist, founder of Flemish People's Party. 1874 - Born this day, Thomas J. Watson Sr., US industrialist, representative, founder of IBM. 1877 - Born this day, Henri Vandeputte, Belgian author, poet (L'homme Jeune). 1879 - Born this day, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, US novelist (Book-of-the Month-Club). 1880 - Born this day, Alvaro Obregon, General/President of Mexico (1920-24). 1882 - Born this day, Kurt Schindler, composer. 1882 - Born this day, Noah Beery, in Smithville, Arizona, actor (Story of Esther, Mark of Zorro). 1884 - Born this day, Arthur Vanderpoorten, Flemish minister of Internal affairs (1940). 1887 - Born this day, Leevi Antti Madetoja, composer. 1888 - Born this day, Henrietta P. 'Hetty' Beck, actress (Bouwmeester Award). 1888 - Born this day, Otto Stern, German/US physicist (Stern-Gerlach-experiment, Nobel 1943). 1888 - Born this day, Ronald Aburthnott Knox, English priest, writer (Viaduct Murder). 1889 - Born this day, Haroldson L. Hunt, Texas oil multi-millionaire. 1889 - Billy Sunday, aged 27, baseball player-turned-preacher, made his first appearance as an evangelist in Chicago. A strong fundamentalist, Sunday preached temperance and opposed scientific evolution. Over 100 million are estimated to have heard Sunday preach before his death in 1935. 1902 - Born this day, Marian Anderson, American singer, contralto. 1905 - Born this day, Orwill Hoppy Jones, Inkspots, 1955 UK No.10 single Melody Of Love. 1908 - Born this day, Walter Lanier 'Red' Barber, baseball announcer for the Cincinnati Reds, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees. 1909 - Died this day, the great Apache leader Geronimo, of pneumonia at the age of 80, while still in captivity at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. His real name was Goyathlay. 1919 - Germany signed an armistice giving up territory in Poland. 1919 - Born this day, Kathleen Freeman, who appeared in several Jerry Lewis movies including The Nutty Professor (1963), was born in Chicago, Illinois. 1922 - Born this day, Tommy Edwards, singer, died on 22 October 1968 aged 47. 1958 US No.1 single It's All In The Game. 1923 - The inner chamber of the tomb of Tutankhamun was opened at Luxor by the team led by Lord Carnarvon. 1924 - Born this day, Margaret Truman Daniel, author, daughter of President Harry S. Truman. 1925 - The first issue of Harold Ross' magazine, The New Yorker, hit the news stands, selling for 15 cents a copy. 1925 - Born this day, Hal Holbrook, actor. 1929 - Born this day, Patricia Routledge, actress (Hyacinth Bucket-Keeping Up Appearances, Hetty Wainthrope Investigates). 1929 - Born this day, Chaim Potok, novelist (The Chosen, The Promise). 1930 - Born this day, Ruth Rendell, crime novelist. 1933 - The League of Nations censured Japan in a worldwide broadcast. 
1933 - Born this day, Bobby Lewis, 1961 US No.1 single Tossin' and Turnin'. 1934 - Born this day, Barry Humphries - alias Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson, was born in Melbourne, Australia. He studied law, philosophy and fine arts at University before embarking on an acting career. He once starred in a 1967 production of Oliver as Fagin that featured the young Phil Collins as the Artful Dodger. 1934 - Born this day, Alan Bates, actor. 1935 - Thirty-one prisoners escaped from an Oklahoma prison after murdering a guard. 1936 - In Paraguay, the army rebelled against President Eusebio Ayala. This resulted in the creation of South America’s first fascist regime. 1936 - Born this day, Jim Brown, pro football player-turned-actor. 1936 - Died this day, Hiram Percy Maxim, American Radio Relay League founder [ARRL], who died after a sudden illness. His call sign was W1AW. 1938 - The first colour television was demonstrated at the Dominion Theatre in London. 1939 - Born this day, John Leyton, 1961 UK No.1 single Johnny Remember Me. 1939 - Born this day, Mary Ann Mobley, in Biloxi, Mississippi. This dark-haired University of Mississippi student went on to win the Miss America title for the year 1959-1960 and then appeared in two Elvis movies. 1941 - Born this day, Gene Pitney, singer, 1962 US No.4 single Only Love Can Break A Heart. 1967 solo UK No.5 and a 1989 UK No.1 single with Marc Almond Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart. 1944 - US forces landed on Eniwetok atoll in the South Pacific. 1945 - Gen MacArthur's troops landed on Corregidor in the Philippines. 1945 - Born this day, Brenda Fricker, actress. 1951 - Packard introduced its '250' Chassis Convertible. 
1953 - Born this day, Norman Pace, actor, comedian (Hale and Pace). 1954 - Born this day, Renee Russo, actress. 1955 - Today saw the publication of a defense paper which confirmed that Britain was manufacturing hydrogen bombs as part of an Anglo-US deal which gave UK scientists access to more advanced know-how. 1955 - Britain announced its ability to make hydrogen bombs. 1959 - The United States launched its first weather station in space, Vanguard II. 1959 - Born this day, Richard Karn, actor (Home Improvement). 1960 - Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in the Alabama bus boycott. 1960 - Elvis Presley won his first Gold record for the album Elvis. 1960 - The Everly Brothers signed a $1 million contract with Warner Brothers records. 1962 - Gene Chandler started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Duke Of Earl. 1962 - James Hanratty was sentenced to death for the 'A6' murder. 1962 - Born this day, Lou Diamond Phillips, actor. 1963 - Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited the Berlin Wall. 1963 - Born this day, Michael Jordan, basketball player (Chicago Bulls). 1966 - Nancy Sinatra started a four week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with These Boots Are Made For Walking. 1966 - Born this day, Melissa Brooke-Bellard, Voice Of The Beehive, 1988 UK No.15 single Don't Call Me Baby. 1967 - The Beatles released one of their best singles ever, Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever. 1967 - Born this day, Michelle Forbes, actress (Homicide: Life in the Street). 1968 - Diana Ross And The Supremes Greatest Hits started a three week run at No.1 on the UK album chart. 1969 - Russian-born, Milwaukee-raised Golda Meir (nee Mabovitch [Myerson]), aged 70, was sworn in as Israel's first female prime minister. She would hold the office for five embattled years. 1969 - Russia and Peru signed their first trade accord. 1969 - The music world's greatest-ever collaboration between folk and country was Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash's album recorded on this day in 1969. It was never released. 1970 - Joni Mitchell announced she was retiring from live performances during a concert at London's Royal Albert Hall. She was on stage again by the end of the year. 1971 - Born this day, Jeremy Edwards, actor (Holby City). 1972 - Parliament voted in favour of Britain joining the European Common Market, as it was then. 1972 - Born this day, Denise Richards, actress. 1972 - Car company Volkswagen broke the record held by the Model T Ford by selling the 15,007,034th model of its classic Beetle. 1972 - Pink Floyd started a three night run at London's Rainbow Theatre, tickets were £1. 1972 - Born this day, Billie Joe Armstrong, guitar, vocals, Green day, 1995 UK No.7 single Basket Case. 1973 - War started a two week run at No.1 on the US album chart with The World Is A Ghetto. 1973 - President Richard Nixon named Patrick Gray director of the FBI. 1975 - Art by Cezanne, Gauguin, Renoir, and van Gough, valued at $5 million, was stolen from the Municipal Museum in Milan. 1975 - John Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll album was released in the US. 1977 - Born this day, Chris Gentry, Menswear, 1996 UK No.10 single Being Brave. 1979 - A Prairie Home Companion hosted by Garrison Keillor, made its national debut on National Public Radio. 1979 - China began a 'pedagogical' war against Vietnam, in response to the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. It would last until March. 1979 - Blondie scored their first UK No.1 album when Parallel Lines started a four week run at the top, featuring the singles Heart Of Glass, Hanging On The Telephone and Sunday Girl. 1979 - The Clash opened the US leg of their Pearl Harbour '79, North American tour at New York's Palladium. 1980 - Kenny Rogers started a two week run at No.1 in the UK with Coward Of The County. 1981 - Born this day, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, actor (3rd Rock from the Sun). > 1985 - Murray Haydon became the third person to receive an artificial heart. 1986 - Johnson and Johnson halted production of all non-prescription drugs in capsules following the death of a Peekskill, New York, woman from cyanide-laced Extra-Strength Tylenol. 1989 - Appearing on the first night of an 8 date tour, The Stone Roses at JB's in Dudley, West Midlands. 1991 - Iraq's foreign minister headed to Moscow to discuss a diplomatic end to the Persian Gulf War. 1993 - In an address to a joint session of US Congress, President Clinton called on Americans to 'summon the courage to seize the day' and implored America to adopt deep government cuts and tax hikes to renew the troubled economy. 1994 - A former US Treasurer, Catalina Vasques Villalpando, pleaded guilty to obstructing the investigation of influence pedding at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the 1980s. 1995 - Jamaican immigrant Colin Ferguson was convicted of killing six passengers on a New York commuter train in December 1993. 1996 - A Platinum American Express card once belonging to Bruce Springsteen was sold for $4,500 at a New York memorabilia sale. The singer had given the expired card to a waiter in a LA restaurant by mistake and let them keep it as a souvenir. 1997 - Pepperdine University announced that Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr would resign to become dean of its law and public policy schools. Four days later, Starr reversed his decision and said he'd stay on as special counsel. 1998 - President Clinton's lawyers asked a Little Rock, Arkansas, judge to dismiss Paula Jones' sexual harassment lawsuit against the president. Their request would later be granted. 1999 - Israeli guards killed four Kurdish protesters when they stormed the Israeli consulate in Berlin. The Kurds suspected Israel had helped Turkey capture Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan two days earlier in Kenya. 2000 - John Lennon's Steinway piano on which he composed Imagine, went on display at the Beatles Story Museum in Liverpool. The piano was set to be auctioned on the Internet later in the year and was expected to fetch more than £1 million. 2000 - Fulham boss Kevin Keegan was unveiled as the new England coach on a part time basis for four England games. 2001 - A British engineer was kidnapped on his first day in Bangladesh by suspected tribal guerillas. 2002 - It was disclosed that ministers had helped secure a £70m loan which helped Labour Party donor Lakshmi Mittal to buy a steelworks in Romania. 2002 - Westlife went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with World Of Our Own. 2002 - A series of raids by communist rebels left 137 dead in Nepal. |
Trivia
Trivia - petty details or considerations, matters or things that are very unimportant, inconsequential, or nonessential; trifles; trivialities.
Trivial - of very little importance or value; insignificant: "Don't bother me with trivial matters." Trivially - unimportant, nugatory, slight, immaterial, inconsequential, frivolous, trifling.