Also on this day
Lead Story
1969
On this day in 1969, the grooviest event in music history–the Woodstock Music Festival–draws to a close after three days of peace, love and rock ‘n’ roll in upstate New York.
Conceived as “Three Days of Peace and Music,” Woodstock was a product of a partnership between John Roberts, Joel Rosenman,...
American Revolution
1785
On this day in 1785, Jonathan Trumbull, governor of both the colony and state of Connecticut, dies in Lebanon, Connecticut, where he is buried.
Trumbull was born in 1710 in Watertown, Connecticut, and studied for the ministry at Harvard College, gaining his B.A. in 1727. After studying with Reverend Solomon Williams...
Automotive
1915
Charles F. Kettering, co-founder of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO) in Dayton, Ohio, is issued U.S. Patent No. 1,150,523 for his “engine-starting device”–the first electric ignition device for automobiles–on August 17, 1915.
In the early years of the automobile, drivers used iron hand cranks to start the internal combustion process...
Civil War
1862
Minnesota erupts in violence as desperate Dakota Indians attack white settlements along the Minnesota River. The Dakota were eventually overwhelmed by the U.S. military six weeks later.
The Dakota Indians were more commonly referred to as the Sioux, a derogatory name derived from part of a French word meaning “little snake.”...
Cold War
1962
East German guards gun down a young man trying to escape across the Berlin Wall into West Berlin and leave him to bleed to death. It was one of the ugliest incidents to take place at one of the ugliest symbols of the Cold War. The 1962 incident occurred almost...
Crime
1984
The serial burglar and rapist known as “the Fox” breaks into a house and physically assaults a girl, her boyfriend and the girl’s brothernear the village of Brampton, England. After raping the woman, the attacker proceeded to remove any traces of evidence from both his victim’s body and the surrounding...
Disaster
1999
On this day in 1999, an earthquake in northwestern Turkey kills more than 17,000 people and leaves more than 250,000 homeless. The immense disaster exposed serious problems with government and building contractors in Turkey.
The Northern Anatolian fault runs parallel to the south shore of the Black Sea in northern Turkey....
General Interest
1943
U.S. General George S. Patton and his 7th Army arrive in Messina several hours before British Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery and his 8th Army, winning the unofficial “Race to Messina” and completing the Allied conquest of Sicily.Born in San Gabriel, California, in 1885, Patton’s family had a long history...
1978
The Double Eagle II completes the first transatlantic balloon flight when it lands in a barley field near Paris, 137 hours after lifting off from Preque Isle, Maine. The helium-filled balloon was piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman and flew 3,233 miles in the six-day odyssey.
Human flight...
1987
Rudolf Hess, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s former deputy, is found strangled to death in Spandau Prison in Berlin at the age of 93, apparently the victim of suicide. Hess was the last surviving member of Hitler’s inner circle and the sole prisoner at Spandau since 1966.Hess, an early and devoted...
1999
Just after 3 a.m., an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale strikes northwestern Turkey, home to one-third of the country’s population and half its industry. The epicenter of the earthquake was Izmit, located 65 miles from Istanbul and on the North Anatolian fault line. The quake came at the...
Hollywood
1943
On this day in 1943, Robert De Niro, considered one of the greatest actors in modern movie history, is born in New York City. De Niro’s many memorable performances include the creepy loner Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (whose signature line was “You talkin’ to me?”), the boxer Jake LaMotta...
Literary
1993
Random house agrees to pay Gen. Colin Powell an advance of about $6 million for the rights to his autobiography, My American Journey.
The deal followed fierce bidding wars between several major publishers. Powell was born to Jamaican immigrants, grew up in New York City, distinguished himself in the military, and...
Music
1974
In America, it is a fairly well-known historical fact that the legendary mob boss Al Capone was brought to justice not by uniformed officers of the Chicago Police Department, but by the punctilious accountants of the FBI. However, in England there were at least a few young men that didn’t...
Presidential
1998
On this day in 1998, President Bill Clinton becomes the first sitting president to testify before the Office of Independent Council as the subject of a grand-jury investigation.
The testimony came after a four-year investigation into Clinton and his wife Hillary’s alleged involvement in several scandals, including accusations of sexual harassment,...
Sports
1933
On August 17, 1933, New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig plays in his 1,308th consecutive game, breaking former Yankee Everett Scott’s record for consecutive games played. Gehrig would go on to play in 2,130 games in a row, setting a record that would stand for over half a century.
Henry...
Vietnam War
1968
Defense Department figures put the number of combat missions flown over North Vietnam since February 1965 to 117,000, dropping over 2.5 million tons of bombs and rockets.
1973
The United States and Thailand agree to begin negotiations on the reduction of the 49,000-man American presence in Thailand.
Thailand had been a close ally of the United States and had provided both military bases and combat troops to assist the United States and South Vietnam in the war against the...
World War I
1914
On this day in 1914, the Russian 1st and 2nd Armies begin their advance into East Prussia, fulfilling Russia’s promise to its ally, France, to attack Germany from the east as soon as possible so as to divert German resources and relieve pressure on France during the opening weeks of...
World War II
1942
On this day in 1942, Lt. Col. Evans F. Carlson and a force of Marine raiders come ashore Makin Island, in the west Pacific Ocean, occupied by the Japanese. What began as a diversionary tactic almost ended in disaster for the Americans.
Two American submarines, the Argonaut and the Nautilus, approached...