Anniversaries and commemorations come and go daily. Most of us, even the best historians, miss most occasions. If we think of history as events then we are faced with a continually showering in the grains of sand. Nevertheless, we do pick out certain patterns in the remembrance of historical dates. The blog here reminds us of some dates where the local, state, national, and global perspectives entwine.
On 17, Friday May 1844, Julius Wellhausen, German biblical scholar, born (d. 1918)
On 17, Saturday May 1919, The Committee of One Thousand forms to oppose the Winnipeg general strike.
On 17, Saturday May 1919, Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer and actor, born (d. 2007)
On 17, Wednesday May 1944, Luís de Matos Monteiro da Fonseca, Cape Verdean diplomat and civil servant, born
On 17, Wednesday May 1944, Milena Jesenská, Czechoslovakian journalist, writer, editor and translator, died (b. 1896)
On 17, Sunday May 1959, Marcelo Loffreda, Argentine rugby player and coach, born
On 17, Sunday May 1959, Jim Nantz, American sports announcer, born
On 17, Sunday May 1959, George Albert Smith, English film pioneer, died (b. 1864)
On 17, Sunday May 1959, Judite Teixeira, Portuguese writer, died (b. 1880)
On 17, Saturday May 1969, Liesl Tesch, wheelchair basketball player, sailor and politician, born
On 17, Saturday May 1969, Venera program: Soviet probe Venera 6 begins to descend into Venus’s atmosphere, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.
On 17, Wednesday May 1989, More than 1,000,000 Chinese protestors march through Beijing demanding greater democracy.
On 17, Wednesday May 1989, Tessa Virtue, Canadian ice dancer, born
On 17, Wednesday May 1989, Olivia Luccardi, American actress and producer, born
On 17, Wednesday May 1989, Walter Gross, German actor, died (b. 1904)
On 17, Tuesday May 1994, Malawi holds its first multiparty elections.
On 17, Tuesday May 1994, Étienne Hirsch, French engineer and administrator, died (b. 1901)
On 17, Monday May 1999, Ehud Barak is elected prime minister of Israel.
On 17, Monday May 1999, Henry Jones, American actor, died (b. 1912)
On 17, Sunday May 2009, Dame Patricia Mackinnon, 97, President of the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, died
On 17, Sunday May 2009, Mario Benedetti, Uruguayan writer, died (b. 1920)
On 17, Saturday May 2014, Gerald Edelman, American Nobel biologist, died (b. 1929)
Other On This Day days in history
Neville Buch