History of 17 June
1912 – The German Zeppelin SZ 111 burned in its hanger in Friedrichshafen.
1913 – U.S. Marines set sail from San Diego to protect American interests in Mexico.
1917 – The Russian Duma met in a secret session in Petrograd and voted for an immediate Russian offensive against the German Army. (World War I)
1924 – The Fascist militia marched into Rome.
1926 – Spain threatened to quit the League of Nations if Germany was allowed to join.
1928 – Amelia Earhart began the flight that made her the first woman to successfully fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
1930 – The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Bill became law. It placed the highest tariff on imports to the U.S.
1931 – British authorities in China arrested Indochinese Communist leader Ho Chi Minh.
1932 – The U.S. Senate defeated the bonus bill as 10,000 veterans massed around the Capitol.
1940 – The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
1940 – France asked Germany for terms of surrender in World War II.
1941 – WNBT-TV in New York City, NY, was granted the first construction permit to operate a commercial TV station in the U.S.
1942 – Yank, a weekly magazine for the U.S. armed services, began publication. The term “G.I. Joe” was first used in a comic strip by Dave Breger.
1942 – “Suspense” debuted on CBS Radio.
1944 – French troops landed on the island of Elba in the Mediterranean.
1944 – The Republic of Iceland was established.
1950 – Dr. Richard H. Lawler performed the first kidney transplant in a 45-minute operation in Chicago, IL.
1953 – Soviet tanks fought thousands of Berlin workers that were rioting against the East German government.
1963 – The U.S. Supreme Court banned the required reading of the Lord’s prayer and Bible in public schools.
1965 – Twenty-seven B-52’s hit Viet Cong outposts but lost two planes in South Vietnam.
1969 – Boris Spassky became chess champion of the world after checkmating former champion Tigran Petrosian in Moscow.
1970 – North Vietnamese troops cut the last operating rail line in Cambodia.
1982 – Former U.S. President Richard M. Nixon was interviewed by Diane Sawyer on “The CBS Morning News.”
1985 – Judy Norton-Taylor was photographed for “Playboy” magazine.
1991 – The Parliament of South Africa repealed the Population Registration Act. The act had required that all South Africans for classified by race at birth.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Kyle Boller, American football player
- 1981 – Shane Watson, Australian cricketer
- 1982 – Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Marek Svatos, Slovak ice hockey player (d. 2016)
- 1982 – Stanislava Hrozenská, a Slovak tennis player
- 1982 – Stefan Hodgetts, English race car driver
- 1982 – Arthur Darvill, English actor
- 1983 – Lee Ryan, English singer/actor
- 1983 – Vlasis Kazakis, Greek footballer
- 1984 – Michael Mathieu, Bahamian sprinter
- 1984 – Si Tianfeng, Chinese race walker
- 1985 – Özge Akın, Turkish sprinter
- 1985 – Marcos Baghdatis, a Cypriot tennis player
- 1985 – Rafael Sóbis, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Apoula Edel, Armenian footballer
- 1986 – Helen Glover, English rower
- 1987 – Kendrick Lamar, American rapper
- 1987 – Nozomi Tsuji, Japanese singer, and actress
- 1988 – Andrew Ogilvy, Australian basketball player
- 1988 – Shaun MacDonald, Welsh footballer
- 1988 – Stephanie Rice, Australian swimmer
- 1989 – Georgios Tofas, Cypriot footballer
- 1989 – Simone Battle, American singer, and actress (d. 2014)
- 1990 – Jordan Henderson, English footballer
- 1990 – Josh Mansour, Australian rugby league player
- 1991 – Daniel Tupou, Australian-Tongan rugby league player
- 1992 – Ryan Allsop, English footballer
- 1994 – Amari Cooper, American football player