History of 17 October
1931 – Al Capone was convicted on income tax evasion and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was released in 1939.
1933 – “News-Week” appeared for the first time at newsstands. The name was later changed to “Newsweek.”
1933 – Dr. Albert Einstein moved to Princeton, NJ, after leaving Germany.
1939 – “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” premiered.
1945 – Ava Gardner and Artie Shaw were married.
1945 – Colonel Juan Peron became the dictator of Argentina after staging a coup in Buenos Aires.
1973 – The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) began an oil-embargo against several countries including the U.S. and Great Britain. The incident stemmed from Western support of Israel when Egypt and Syria attacked the nation on October 6, 1973. The embargo lasted until March of 1974.
1978 – U.S. President Carter signed a bill that restored full U.S. citizenship rights to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
1979 – Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1987 – U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan underwent a modified radical mastectomy at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.
1989 – An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter Scale hit the San Francisco Bay area in California. The quake caused about 67 deaths, 3,000 injuries, and damages up to $7 billion.
1994 – Israel and Jordan initialed a draft peace treaty.
1994 – The Angolan government and rebels agreed to a peace treaty that ended their 19 years of civil war.
1997 – The remains of revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara were laid to rest in his adopted Cuba, 30 years after his execution in Bolivia.
2000 – In New York City, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum opened to the public. The 42nd Street location joined Tussaud’s other exhibitions already in London, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, and Las Vegas.
2000 – Patrick Roy (Colorado Avalanche) achieved his 448th victory as a goalie in the NHL. Roy passed Terry Sawchuck to become the record holder for career victories.
2001 – Israel’s tourism minister was killed. A radical Palestinian faction claimed that it had carried out the assassination to avenge the killing of its leader by Israel 2 months earlier.
2001 – Pakistan placed its armed forces on high alert because of troop movements by India in the disputed territory of Kashmir. India said that the movements were part of a normal troop rotation.
2001 – Italian priest Giuseppe “Beppe” Pierantoni was kidnapped by the terrorist group the “Pentagon.” He was released on April 8, 2002.
2003 – In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration approved a drug, known as memantine, to help people with Alzheimer’s symptoms.
2003 – In Taipei, Taiwan, construction crews finished 1,676-foot-tall-building called Taipei 101. The building was planned to open for business in 2004.
2003 – In northwest England, the Carnforth railway station reopened as a heritage center.
2005 – The Colbert Report, an American satirical news television program and talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, premiered on Comedy Central.
2018 – The recreational use of cannabis is legalized in Canada.
2018 – Kerch Polytechnic College attack in Crimea.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Horacio Cervantes, Mexican footballer
- 1981 – Kurumi Enomoto, Japanese singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Tsubasa Imai, Japanese singer, actor, and dancer
- 1981 – Ben Rothwell, American mixed-martial artist
- 1982 – Rubén Ramírez, Argentine football striker
- 1982 – Nick Riewoldt, Australian footballer
- 1982 – Marion Rolland, alpine ski racer
- 1983 – Michelle Ang, New Zealander actress
- 1983 – Milica Brozovic, Serbian-Russian figure skater
- 1983 – Felicity Jones, English actress
- 1983 – Toshihiro Matsushita, Japanese footballer
- 1983 – Riki Miura, Japanese actor
- 1983 – Junichi Miyashita, Japanese swimmer
- 1983 – Ivan Saenko, Russian footballer
- 1983 – Mitch Talbot, American baseball player
- 1983 – Vitali Teleš, Estonian footballer
- 1984 – Chris Lowell, American actor
- 1984 – Giovanni Marchese, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Randall Munroe, American author, and illustrator
- 1984 – Luke Rockhold, American mixed martial artist
- 1984 – Anja Eline Skybakmoen, Norwegian singer-songwriter, and bandleader
- 1984 – Gottfrid Svartholm, Swedish computer specialist
- 1984 – Jared Tallent, Australian race walker
- 1985 – Carlos González, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1985 – Max Irons, English-Irish actor
- 1985 – Collins John, Dutch footballer
- 1985 – Tomokazu Nagara, Japanese footballer
- 1986 – Alexandre Bonnet, French football midfielder
- 1986 – Antoni Bou, Spanish motorcyclist
- 1986 – Aija Brumermane, Latvian basketball player
- 1986 – Constant Djakpa, Ivorian footballer
- 1986 – Yannick Ponsero, French figure skater
- 1986 – Nicolás Richotti, Argentine basketball player
- 1987 – Bea Alonzo, Filipino actress, and singer
- 1987 – Jarosław Fojut, Polish footballer
- 1987 – Elliot Grandin, French football winger
- 1987 – Hideto Takahashi, Japanese footballer
- 1988 – Sergiy Gladyr, Ukrainian basketball player
- 1988 – Tori Matsuzaka, Japanese actor, and model
- 1988 – Marina Salas, Spanish actress
- 1989 – Débora García, Spanish football midfielder
- 1989 – Oleksandr Isakov, Ukrainian swimmer
- 1989 – Sophie Luck, Australian actress
- 1989 – David Timor, Spanish footballer
- 1990 – Paolo Campinoti, Italian footballer
- 1990 – Maica García Godoy, Spanish water polo player
- 1990 – Ronald González Tabilo, Chilean footballer
- 1990 – Saki Kumagai, Japanese footballer
- 1990 – Patrick Lambie, South African rugby player
- 1991 – Brenda Asnicar, Argentine actress
- 1992 – Sam Concepcion, Filipino musician, and dancer
- 1992 – Keerthy Suresh, Indian actress
- 1993 – Kenneth Omeruo, Nigerian footballer
- 2001 – Thomas Strudwick, British motorcycle road racer