Daily Calendar for Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Born
- Benjamin Franklin (U.S. statesman
) β
- James Madison Randolph (grandson of Thomas Jefferson; first baby born in the White House) β
- Anne BrontΓ« (novelist) β
- Al Capone (gangster) β
- Betty White (actress) β
- Eartha Kitt (American singer
) β
- James Earl Jones (actor) β
- Shari Lewis (actress and puppeteer, best know for Lamb Chop) β
- Maury Povich (talk show host) β
- Muhammad Ali (boxer) β
- Mick Taylor (musician) β
- Andy Kaufman (comedian & actor) β
- Steve Harvey (actor and television host) β
- Jim Carrey (actor) β
- Michelle Obama (U.S. First Lady) β
Died
- Thomas Lincoln (father of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln) β
- John Baker (Canada’s last ex-slave) β
- Chang and Eng Bunker (Siamese twins) β
- Rutherford B. Hayes (19th U.S. president) β
- Camilo Jose Cela (won the 1989 Nobel Prize in Literature for works such as The Family of Pascual Duarte) β
- Harvey Matusow (former aide to Sen. McCarthy who was imprisoned for lying before the House of Un-American Activities) β
- Norman Kay (dubbed the Babe Ruth of bridgeββ) β
- Gertrude Janeway (the last widow of a Union veteran from the Civil War) β
- Noble Willingham (actor) β
- Virginia Mayo (actress) β
- Art Buchwald (humorist) β
- Bobby Fischer (champion chess player) β
- Johnny Otis (musician; known as the godfather of R&B) β
Events
- Andrew S. Hallidie received a patent for a cable car systemβ
- Meeting held to form the Professional Golfers Associationβ
- The first Volkswagen Beetle arrived in the United States from Germanyβ
- President Dwight Eisenhower delivered his farewell address on televisionβ
- Simon and Garfunkel released their album, Sounds of Silenceβ
- Gary Gilmore was the first person legally executed in the U.S. after the death penalty was reinstatedβ
- British Telecom announced the retirement of Britain’s red telephone boxesβ
- 6.7 earthquake occurred in Northridge, Californiaβ
Weather
- St. Elmo’s fire occurred in the Connecticut River Valleyβ
- Seventeen degrees below zero F, Millsboro, Delawareβ
- Washington, D.C., had a temperature of -5 degrees Fβ
- Chicago, Illinois, had a temperature of -23 degrees Fβ
- Boulder, Colorado, had wind gusts up to 135 mphβ
- Snow and hail fell in Los Angeles and Malibu, Californiaβ
- St. John’s, Newfoundland, recorded new record for most snow in one day with 30 inches (76.2 centimeter)
β
Explore Other Dates on the Calendar