February 17
1600 - Italian philosopher, alchemist and Copernican theory advocate Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for heresy by the Spanish Inquisition.
1801 - The Electoral College tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr was broken by the House of Representatives, who elected Jefferson the third president of the United States; Burr became vice president.
1815 - The United States and Britain exchanged the instruments of ratification for the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812.
1817 - Baltimore became the first U.S. city to be lit by gas.
1863 - The International Red Cross was founded in Geneva, Switzerland.
1864 - The Confederate submarine Hunley, equipped with an explosive at the end of a protruding spar, rammed and sank the Union ship Housatonic off the coat of Charleston, South Carolina.
1865 - Columbia, South Carolina burned as Confederate forces evacuated and Union forces moved in.
1933 - Newsweek magazine was first published.
1947 - "The Voice of America" began broadcasting to the Soviet Union.
1964 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Wesberry v. Sanders that congressional districts within each state had to be roughly equal in population.
1972 - President Richard Nixon departed for his historic trip to China.
1988 - Lt. Col. William Higgins, a Marine Corps officer serving with a United Nations truce monitoring group, was kidnapped in southern Lebanon by Iranian-backed terrorists (he was later slain by his captors).
1992 - Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced in Milwaukee to life in prison.
1995 - Colin Ferguson was convicted of six counts of murder in the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shootings that also wounded 19 people.
1996 - Chess champion Garry Kasparov beat the IBM computer Deep Blue, winning their six-game match.
2002 - The new Transportation Security Administration took over supervision of aviation security from the airline industry and the Federal Aviation Administration.
2005 - President George W. Bush named John Negroponte to be the first national intelligence director.
2008 - Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.
2009 - President Barack Obama signed a $757 billion economic stimulus package into law.
2011 - A group of Democratic Wisconsin lawmakers blocked passage of a sweeping anti-union bill, refusing to show up for a vote and then abruptly leaving the state in an effort to force Republicans to the negotiating table.
2015 - Vice President Joe Biden opened a White House summit on countering extremism and radicalization, saying the United States needed to ensure that immigrants were fully included in the fabric of American society to prevent violent ideologies from taking root at home.
2018 - President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, told a conference in Germany that there was now “incontrovertible” evidence of a Russian plot to disrupt the 2016 U.S. election; the statement stood in stark contrast to Trump’s claim that Russian interference in his election victory was a hoax.
2020 - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said he planned to spend $10 billion of his own fortune to help fight climate change.
Birthdays
22 - Erana James (actress)
25 - Sasha Pieterse (actress)
29 - Meaghan Martin (actress)
29 - Val Mercado (model)
30 - Ed Sheeran (singer)
30 - Bonnie Wright (actress)
32 - Chord Overstreet (actor)
35 - Daphne Oz (TV host)
39 - Becky Nicholson (reality star)
40 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt (actor)
40 - Paris Hilton (reality star)
41 - Jason Ritter (actor)
42 - Conrad Ricamora (actor)
43 - Ashton Holmes (actor)
45 - Kelly Carlson (actress)
47 - Bryan White (country singer)
47 - Jerry O'Connell (actor)
50 - Denise Richards (actress)
51 - Dominic Purcell (actor)
54 - Chante Moore (singer)
57 - Michael Bay (director)
58 - Larry the Cable Guy (comedian)
58 - Michael Jordan (basketball player)
59 - Lou Diamond Philips (actor)
65 - Richard Karn (actor)
67 - Rene Russo (actress)
68 - Becky Ann Baker (actress)
76 - Brenda Fricker (actress)
85 - Jim Brown (football player)
86 - Christina Pickles (actress)
87 - Barry Humphries (actor/comedian)
=============================================
Today in Sports History - February 17
1943 - Baseball star Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees joined the U.S. Army as a voluntary inductee.
1962 - Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scores 62 points in a game against the St. Louis Hawks.
1967 - Wilt Chamberlain scores the first of an NBA record 35 consecutive field goals without a miss.
1968 - The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1974 - Richard Petty becomes the first driver in NASCAR history to win back-to-back Daytona 500 titles.
1979 - The Chicago Bulls retired Jerry Sloan's #4.
2003 - Emmitt Smith (Dallas Cowboys) and owner Jerry Jones agreed that releasing Smith from the team was a "win-win situation." The formal announcement was made on February 27.
2008 - Ryan Newman wins a shootout going into the final turn to win the 50th running of the Daytona 500.
2016 - Nike ends its endorsement deal with boxer Manny Pacquiao after he made disparaging comments on television regarding homosexuals.
2020 - Denny Hamlin won the rain-delayed Daytona 500 for a third time, beating Ryan Blaney in the second-closest finish in race history; Ryan Newman suffered a head injury in a spectacular crash on the final lap.
1600 - Italian philosopher, alchemist and Copernican theory advocate Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for heresy by the Spanish Inquisition.
1801 - The Electoral College tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr was broken by the House of Representatives, who elected Jefferson the third president of the United States; Burr became vice president.
1815 - The United States and Britain exchanged the instruments of ratification for the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812.
1817 - Baltimore became the first U.S. city to be lit by gas.
1863 - The International Red Cross was founded in Geneva, Switzerland.
1864 - The Confederate submarine Hunley, equipped with an explosive at the end of a protruding spar, rammed and sank the Union ship Housatonic off the coat of Charleston, South Carolina.
1865 - Columbia, South Carolina burned as Confederate forces evacuated and Union forces moved in.
1933 - Newsweek magazine was first published.
1947 - "The Voice of America" began broadcasting to the Soviet Union.
1964 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Wesberry v. Sanders that congressional districts within each state had to be roughly equal in population.
1972 - President Richard Nixon departed for his historic trip to China.
1988 - Lt. Col. William Higgins, a Marine Corps officer serving with a United Nations truce monitoring group, was kidnapped in southern Lebanon by Iranian-backed terrorists (he was later slain by his captors).
1992 - Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced in Milwaukee to life in prison.
1995 - Colin Ferguson was convicted of six counts of murder in the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shootings that also wounded 19 people.
1996 - Chess champion Garry Kasparov beat the IBM computer Deep Blue, winning their six-game match.
2002 - The new Transportation Security Administration took over supervision of aviation security from the airline industry and the Federal Aviation Administration.
2005 - President George W. Bush named John Negroponte to be the first national intelligence director.
2008 - Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.
2009 - President Barack Obama signed a $757 billion economic stimulus package into law.
2011 - A group of Democratic Wisconsin lawmakers blocked passage of a sweeping anti-union bill, refusing to show up for a vote and then abruptly leaving the state in an effort to force Republicans to the negotiating table.
2015 - Vice President Joe Biden opened a White House summit on countering extremism and radicalization, saying the United States needed to ensure that immigrants were fully included in the fabric of American society to prevent violent ideologies from taking root at home.
2018 - President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, told a conference in Germany that there was now “incontrovertible” evidence of a Russian plot to disrupt the 2016 U.S. election; the statement stood in stark contrast to Trump’s claim that Russian interference in his election victory was a hoax.
2020 - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said he planned to spend $10 billion of his own fortune to help fight climate change.
Birthdays
22 - Erana James (actress)
25 - Sasha Pieterse (actress)
29 - Meaghan Martin (actress)
29 - Val Mercado (model)
30 - Ed Sheeran (singer)
30 - Bonnie Wright (actress)
32 - Chord Overstreet (actor)
35 - Daphne Oz (TV host)
39 - Becky Nicholson (reality star)
40 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt (actor)
40 - Paris Hilton (reality star)
41 - Jason Ritter (actor)
42 - Conrad Ricamora (actor)
43 - Ashton Holmes (actor)
45 - Kelly Carlson (actress)
47 - Bryan White (country singer)
47 - Jerry O'Connell (actor)
50 - Denise Richards (actress)
51 - Dominic Purcell (actor)
54 - Chante Moore (singer)
57 - Michael Bay (director)
58 - Larry the Cable Guy (comedian)
58 - Michael Jordan (basketball player)
59 - Lou Diamond Philips (actor)
65 - Richard Karn (actor)
67 - Rene Russo (actress)
68 - Becky Ann Baker (actress)
76 - Brenda Fricker (actress)
85 - Jim Brown (football player)
86 - Christina Pickles (actress)
87 - Barry Humphries (actor/comedian)
=============================================
Today in Sports History - February 17
1943 - Baseball star Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees joined the U.S. Army as a voluntary inductee.
1962 - Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scores 62 points in a game against the St. Louis Hawks.
1967 - Wilt Chamberlain scores the first of an NBA record 35 consecutive field goals without a miss.
1968 - The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1974 - Richard Petty becomes the first driver in NASCAR history to win back-to-back Daytona 500 titles.
1979 - The Chicago Bulls retired Jerry Sloan's #4.
2003 - Emmitt Smith (Dallas Cowboys) and owner Jerry Jones agreed that releasing Smith from the team was a "win-win situation." The formal announcement was made on February 27.
2008 - Ryan Newman wins a shootout going into the final turn to win the 50th running of the Daytona 500.
2016 - Nike ends its endorsement deal with boxer Manny Pacquiao after he made disparaging comments on television regarding homosexuals.
2020 - Denny Hamlin won the rain-delayed Daytona 500 for a third time, beating Ryan Blaney in the second-closest finish in race history; Ryan Newman suffered a head injury in a spectacular crash on the final lap.