Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 317 days remaining (318 in leap years). Table of contents 1 Events 2 Births 3 Deaths 4 Holidays and observances Events 197 - Battle of Lugdunum, Roman Emperor Septimius Severus defeats his rival Clodius Albinus, securing full control over the Roman Empire. 1621 - Miles Standish is appointed as first commander of Plymouth colony. 1753 - February 17 is followed by March 1 as Sweden moves to the Gregorian from the Julian calendar. 1772 - First partition of Poland, by Russia and Prussia, later including Austria. 1801 - An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President by the United States House of Representatives. 1819 - The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise. 1854 - The British recognize the independence of the Orange Free State. 1865 - American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina burns as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces. 1867 - The first ship passes through the Suez Canal. 1913 - The Armory Show opens in New York City. It displays works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century. 1924 - In Miami, Florida, Johnny Weissmuller sets a new world record in the 100-yard freestyle swimming competition with a time of 52-2/5 seconds. 1933 - The magazine Newsweek is published for the first time. 1933 - The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States. 1944 - World War II: Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins. The battle ended in an American victory on February 22. 1947 - Propaganda: The Voice of America begins to transmit radio broadcasts into the Soviet Union. 1955 - Christian Pineau becomes Prime Minister of France 1964 - In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population. 1968 - In Springfield, Massachusetts the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens. 1972 - Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle model exceed those of Ford Model-T ?(15 million). 1979 - China invades Vietnam. 1992 - A court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin sentences serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to life in prison. 1995 - Colin Ferguson is convicted of six counts of murder for the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shootings and later receives a 200+ year sentence. 1996 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the "Deep Blue" supercomputer in a chess match. Births 1653 - Arcangelo Corelli, composer (+ 1713) 1699 - Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, master builder (+ 1753) 1774 - Raphael Peale, painter 1821 - Lola Montez, dancer, actress, friend of monarchs (+ 1861) 1844 - Montgomery Ward, department store founder 1854 - Friedrich Alfred Krupp, industrialist (+ 1902) 1874 - Thomas Watson, computer pioneer, first president of IBM 1877 - Andre Maginot, politician, Maginot Line (+ 1932) 1888 - Otto Stern, physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics 1943 (+ 1969) 1908 - Red Barber, baseball announcer, sports journalist (+ 1992) 1924 - Margaret Truman, novelist, daughter of President Harry S Truman 1925 - Hal Holbrook, actor 1929 - Chaim Potok, author (+ 2002) 1929 - Patricia Routledge, actress 1930 - Ruth Barbara Rendell, writer 1934 - Alan Bates, actor 1934 - Barry Humphries (aka "Dame Edna Everage"), actor, comedian 1936 - Jim Brown, American football star 1937 - Rita Süssmuth, politician 1941 - Julia McKenzie, actress 1941 - Gene Pitney, singer 1945 - Brenda Fricker, actress 1953 - Norman Pace, actor, comic 1962 - Lou Diamond Phillips, actor 1963 - Michael Jordan, basketball 1972 - Denise Richards, actress 1972 - Philippe Candeloro, figure skater 1972 - Billie Joe Armstrong, musician ("Green Day") Deaths 197 - Clodius Albinus, aspirant to Emperor of Rome (killed in battle) 364 - Jovian, Roman Emperor 1600 - Giordano Bruno, religious reformer 1673 - Molière, writer 1856 - Heinrich Heine, writer 1919 - Wilfrid Laurier, seventh Prime Minister of Canada 1934 - King Albert I of Belgium 1962 - Bruno Walter, conductor 1982 - Thelonious Monk, jazz pianist 1982 - Lee Strasberg, acting teacher, actor 1994 - Randy Shilts, author, AIDS activist 1998 - Ernst Jünger, militaristic German author, dies at 102 Holidays and observances Roman Empire - Quirinalia in honor of Quirinus Ancient Latvia - Tanis Diena observed See Also: February 16 - February 18 - January 17 - March 17 -- listing of all days January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December\n This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.