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 October 1919, Charles Y. Glock, American sociologist, born (d. 2018)
On 17, Friday October 1919, Isaak Markovich Khalatnikov, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic
On 17, Friday October 1919, Violet Milstead, Canadian World War II aviator and bush pilot, born (d. 2014)
On 17, Friday October 1919, Zhao Ziyang, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, born (d. 2005)
On 17, Tuesday October 1944, Anton Hafner, German aviator, died (b. 1918)
On 17, Saturday October 1959, Richard Roeper, American film critic, born
On 17, Saturday October 1959, Francisco Flores Pérez, President of El Salvador, born (d. 2016)
On 17, Saturday October 1959, Norm Macdonald, Canadian comedian, born
On 17, Friday October 1969, Willard S. Boyle and George Smith invent the CCD at Bell Laboratories (30 years later, this technology is widely used in digital cameras).
On 17, Friday October 1969, Fourteen black athletes are kicked off the University of Wyoming football team for wearing black armbands into their coach’s office.
On 17, Friday October 1969, Ernie Els, South African golfer, born
On 17, Friday October 1969, Jesús Ángel García, Spanish race walker, born
On 17, Friday October 1969, Wood Harris, American actor, born
On 17, Friday October 1969, Wyclef Jean, Haitian rapper, born
On 17, Friday October 1969, Nancy Sullivan, American actress, born
On 17, Wednesday October 1979, Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish 2007 Formula 1 world champion, born
On 17, Wednesday October 1979, André Matsangaissa, Mozambican guerrilla rebel, leader of the RENAMO, died (b. 1950?)
On 17, Wednesday October 1979, S. J. Perelman, American humorist, died (b. 1904)
On 17, Tuesday October 1989, New South Wales Premier Nick Greiner announces a Royal Commission under Mr. Justice Lee to investigate the case of Police Chief Superintendent Harry Blackburn who had been arrested and charged with sexual offences allegedly committed over a 20-year period. After several months, it was found that he had no case to answer.
On 17, Tuesday October 1989, Sophie Luck, actress, born
On 17, Tuesday October 1989, The 6.9 Mw Loma Prieta earthquake shakes the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Sixty-three people were killed and the 1989 World Series is postponed for ten days as a result of the earthquake.
On 17, Tuesday October 1989, Sophie Luck, Australian actress, born
On 17, Sunday October 1999, Gabrielle Fa’amausili, New Zealand swimmer, born
On 17, Saturday October 2009, Carla Boni, Italian singer, died (b. 1925)
On 17, Friday October 2014, Masaru Emoto, Japanese author, died (b. 1943)

Other On This Day days in history

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Neville Buch

Professional Historian at Professional Historians Association (Queensland) Inc.

Neville Buch (Pronounced Book) Ph.D. is a certified member of the Professional Historians Association (Queensland). Since 2010 he has operated a sole trade business in history consultancy. He was a Q ANZAC 100 Fellow 2014-2015 at the State Library of Queensland. Dr Buch was the PHA (Qld) e-Bulletin, the monthly state association’s electronic publication, and was a member of its Management Committee. He is the Managing Director of the Brisbane Southside History Network.

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