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, Saturday February 1844, Aaron Montgomery Ward, American department store founder, born (d. 1913)
On 17, Saturday February 1894, John Alexander MacPherson, died (born 1833), Premier of Victoria
On 17, Saturday February 1894, American outlaw John Wesley Hardin is released from prison.
On 17, Monday February 1919, Kathleen Freeman, American actress, born (d. 2001)
On 17, Monday February 1919, Wilfrid Laurier, 7th Prime Minister of Canada, died (b. 1841)
On 17, Thursday February 1944, Robert Dessaix, writer, born.
On 17, Thursday February 1944, WWII: Pacific War — The Battle of Eniwetok begins when U.S. forces invade the atoll in the Marshall Islands.
On 17, Thursday February 1944, Karl Jenkins, Welsh composer, born
On 17, Thursday February 1944, Bernie Grant, British Labour Party MP, born (d. 2000)
On 17, Tuesday February 1959, Vanguard 2, the first weather satellite, is launched to measure cloud cover for the United States Navy.
On 17, Tuesday February 1959, Luigi Emanueli, Italian engineer, died (b. 1883)
On 17, Monday February 1969, Aquanaut Berry L. Cannon dies of carbon dioxide poisoning while attempting to repair the SEALAB III habitat off San Clemente Island, California.
On 17, Monday February 1969, Paul Barbarin, American jazz musician, died (b. 1899)
On 17, Saturday February 1979, The People’s Republic of China invades northern Vietnam, launching the Sino-Vietnamese War.
On 17, Saturday February 1979, William Gargan, American actor, died (b. 1905)
On 17, Friday February 1989, The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) is formed.
On 17, Friday February 1989, South African police raid the home of Winnie Mandela and arrest four of her bodyguards.
On 17, Friday February 1989, Rebecca Adlington, British swimmer, born
On 17, Friday February 1989, Chord Overstreet, American actor, singer and musician, born
On 17, Friday February 1989, Lefty Gomez, Mexican-born American baseball player (New York Yankees) and member of the MLB Hall of Fame, died (b. 1908)
On 17, Friday February 1989, Joe Raposo, American musician, composer (Sesame Street, The Electric Company), died (b. 1937)
On 17, Thursday February 1994, Randy Shilts, American author and activist, died (b. 1951)
On 17, Wednesday February 1999, Oscar Krusnell, Swedish footballer, born
Other On This Day days in history
Neville Buch