Today in history...
Apr 17 1792
The Guillotine is tested at Bicetre Hospital in Paris, decapitating a sheep and a number of human cadavers.
Apr 17 1961
In an effort to overthrow Fidel Castro, 1,500 Cuban exiles make a series of amphibious landings at the Bay of Pigs. After it becomes painfully obvious in just a matter of hours that the forces were trained, equipped, and armed by the United States, President John F. Kennedy withholds necessary air cover. In three days of fighting, Cuba captures 1,197 of the rebels and kills approximately 200.
Apr 17 1965
The FBI Laboratory in Washington reports their inability to make out the vocals on the hit single "Louie Louie." Thus, the Bureau is unable to determine whether the record constitutes obscene matter.
Apr 17 1969
A Los Angeles jury convicts Sirhan Sirhan of assassinating Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Sirhan receives a death sentence, but it is later reduced to life in prison.
Apr 17 1974
Vinnie Taylor of Sha Na Na dies of a smack overdose.
Apr 17 1984
London police officer Yvonne Fletcher is shot dead and ten bystanders are wounded when a gunman in the Libyan Embassy opens fire on a crowd of protestors gathered outside. One week later, the British government cuts off all diplomatic relations and the Libyans are deported. The Libyan Government finally "accepts general responsibility for the behaviour of its diplomats inside its London Embassy at the time of the shooting" in July 1999, and pays an undisclosed sum to Fletcher's family.
Apr 17 1997
After a newspaper publishes photographs of Belgian paratroopers committing human rights violations during a 1993 UN peacekeeping mission in Somalia, Belgium's Defense Minister Jean-Pol Poncelet announces that the elite fighting unit may be disbanded. The photos depict one soldier urinating on a Somali corpse, and two men swinging a child over a campfire by the wrists and ankles.
Birthdays today...
1278 – Michael IX Palaeologus, co-ruling Eastern Roman Emperor (d. 1320)
1573 – Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1651)
1586 – John Ford, English dramatist
1598 – Giovanni Riccioli, Italian astronomer (d. 1671)
1620 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame (d. 1700)
1622 – Henry Vaughan, Welsh poet (d. 1695)
1710 – Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, British Freemason (d. 1767)
1734 – Taksin, King of Thailand (d. 1782)
1741 – Samuel Chase, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1811)
1750 – François de Neufchâteau, French statesman and intellectual figure (d. 1828)
1794 – Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist (d. 1868)
1798 – Étienne Bobillier, French mathematician (d. 1840)
1816 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English Methodist chapel builder (d. 1876)
1833 – Jean-Baptiste Accolay, Belgian composer (d. 1900)
1837 – J. P. Morgan, American financier (d. 1913)
1842 – Maurice Rouvier, French statesman (d. 1911)
1849 – William R. Day, American diplomat and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1923)
1863 – Augustus Edward Hough Love, English mathematician (d. 1940)
1865 – Ursula Julia Ledochowska, Polish-Austrian Catholic saint (d. 1939)
1866 – Ernest Starling, British physiologist (d. 1927)
1877 – Matsudaira Tsuneo, Japanese diplomat (d. 1949)
1882 – Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist (d. 1951)
1884 – Leo Frank, American convict (d. 1915)
1885 – Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), Danish author (d. 1962)
1890 – Art Acord, American actor and rodeo rider (d. 1931)
1894 – Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1971)
1896 – Señor Wences, Spanish ventriloquist (d. 1999)
1897 – Thornton Wilder, American dramatist (d. 1975)
1902 – Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican politician (d. 1974)
1903 – Gregor Piatigorsky, Russian cellist (d. 1976)
1903 – Morgan Taylor, American athlete (d. 1975)
1905 – Arthur Lake, American actor (d. 1987)
1906 – Sidney R. Garfield, American physician (d. 1984)
1909 – Alain Poher, French politician (d. 1996)
1910 – Ivan Goff, Australian screenwriter (d. 1999)
1914 – George W. Davis, American art director (d. 1984)
1915 – Joe Foss, United States Marine and politician (d. 2003)
1915 – Warren Frederick Martin Clemens, Scottish guerilla fighter for the Allies during the Guadalcanal Campaign.
1916 – Helenio Herrera, French footballer player and manager (d. 1997)
1917 – Bill Clements, American politician
1918 – William Holden, American actor (d. 1981)
1919 – Gilles Lamontagne, French Canadian politician
1919 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer
1923 – Lindsay Anderson, English film director (d. 1994)
1923 – Harry Reasoner, American journalist (d. 1991)
1923 – Solly Hemus, American baseball player
1926 – Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
1928 – Cynthia Ozick, American writer
1929 – James Last, German band leader
1929 – Peggy McKercher, 11th Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan)
1930 – Chris Barber, British jazz band leader
1934 – Don Kirshner, American composer
1935 – Theo Angelopoulos, Greek film director
1937 – Ferdinand Piëch, Austrian-German automotive engineer and executive
1938 – Ben Barnes, American politician
1938 – Kerry Wendell Thornley, co-founder of Discordianism
1940 – Billy Fury, British singer (d. 1983)
1940 – John McCririck, English television horse racing pundit
1940 – Anja Silja, German soprano
1942 – David Bradley, British actor
1942 – Kenas Aroi, Nauruan politician
1947 – Linda Martin, Irish singer
1947 – Tsutomu Wakamatsu, Japanese baseball player
1948 – Jan Hammer, Czech composer
1950 – L. Scott Caldwell, American actress
1950 – Bruce McNall, American former NHL team owner
1951 – Olivia Hussey, Argentine-born actress
1951 – Börje Salming, Swedish ice hockey player
1952 – Željko Ražnatović, Serbian warlord (d. 2000)
1952 – David Heavenor Scottish singer songwriter
1954 – Riccardo Patrese, Italian race car driver
1954 – Rowdy Roddy Piper, Canadian professional wrestler
1954 – Michael Sembello, American musician
1954 – Lester Square, Canadian musician
1955 – Pete Shelley, British musician
1957 – Nick Hornby, English author
1959 – Sean Bean, English actor
1961 – Boomer Esiason, American football player and commentator
1961 – Frank J. Christensen, American labor leader
1963 – Joel Murray, American actor
1964 – Maynard James Keenan, American singer (Tool and A Perfect Circle)
1964 – Ken Daneyko, Canadian ice hockey player
1964 – Lela Rochon, American actress
1965 – William Mapother, American actor
1965 – Yoshiki Kuroda, Japanese urban planner
1966 – Vikram, Indian actor
1967 – Marquis Grissom, American baseball player
1967 – Kimberly Elise, American actress
1967 – Henry Ian Cusick, Peruvian-born Scottish actor
1967 – Liz Phair, American musician/songwriter
1968 – Prince Maurits of the Netherlands
1970 – Redman, American rapper
1972 – Gary Bennett, American baseball player
1972 – Tony Boselli, American football player
1972 – Jennifer Garner, American actress
1972 – Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lankan cricketer
1972 – Jarkko Wiss, Finnish Footballer
1972 – Terran Sandwith, Canadian ice hockey player
1972 – Claire Sweeney, English actress
1973 – Brett Maher, Australian basketballer
1973 – Kaihō Ryōji, Japanese sumo wrestler
1974 – Victoria Beckham, English singer
1974 – Mikael Åkerfeldt, Swedish guitarist and singer (Opeth)
1975 – Gabriel Soto, Mexican actor
1975 – Travis Roy, American hockey player
1976 – Monet Mazur, American actress and musician
1976 – Alex Nesic, American actor
1976 – Aňa Geislerová, Czech actress
1977 – Chad Hedrick, American speed skater
1977 – Sizzla, Jamaican dancehall artist
1977 – Phil Jamieson, Australian singer (Grinspoon)
1978 – Lindsay Hartley, American actress
1978 – Jason White, Scottish rugby player
1979 – Eric Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player
1979 – Siddharth Narayan, Indian actor
1980 – Curtis Woodhouse, English footballer/boxer
1980 – Lee Hyun-il, South Korean badminton player
1981 – Hanna Pakarinen, Finnish singer
1981 – Ryan Raburn, American baseball player
1982 – Lee Jun Ki, South Korean actor and model
1982 – Brad Boyes, Canadian hockey player
1983 – Stanislav Chistov, Russian hockey player
1983 – Roberto Jimenez, Peruvian football player
1984 – Jed Lowrie, American baseball player
1985 – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, French tennis player
1990 – Jonathan Brown, Welsh footballer
1995 – Paulie Litt, American actor
1996 – Dee Dee Davis, American actress
Famous deaths...
326 – Alexander of Alexandria, Patriarch of Alexandria
485 – Proclus, Greek philosopher (b. 412)
617 – Donnán of Eigg, Celtic Christian martyr, patron saint of Eigg
1080 – King Harald III of Denmark (b. 1041)
1427 – John IV, Duke of Brabant (b. 1403)
1539 – George, Duke of Saxony (b. 1471)
1574 – Joachim Camerarius, German classical scholar (b. 1500)
1680 – Kateri Tekakwitha, first American Indian to receive beatification (b. 1656)
1695 – Sor Juana, Mexican writer
1696 – Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, French writer (b. 1626)
1711 – Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1678)
1713 – David Hollatz, Pomeranian dogmatician (b. 1648)
1742 – Arvid Horn, Swedish statesman (b. 1664)
1761 – Thomas Bayes, English mathematician
1764 – Johann Mattheson, German composer (b. 1681)
1790 – Benjamin Franklin, American inventor, diplomat, and printer (b. 1706)
1799 – Richard Jupp, English architect (b. 1728)
1843 – Samuel Morey, American inventor (b. 1762)
1849 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentine statesman and priest (b. 1777)
1873 – Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter (b. 1783)
1882 – George Jennings Sanitary engineer (b. 1810)
1892 – Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1822)
1902 – Francis of Assisi of Bourbon, King Consort of Spain (b. 1822)
1921 – Manuel Dimech, Maltese philosopher and social reformer (b. 1860)
1930 – Alexander Golovin, Russian painter (b. 1863)
1936 – Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, Dutch prime minister (b. 1873)
1937 – Yi Sang, Korean Poet (b. 1910)
1941 – Al Bowlly, British dance band vocalist (b. 1899)
1942 – Jean Perrin, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
1944 – J.T. Hearne, English cricketer (b. 1867)
1954 – Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu, Romanian communist activist (b. 1900)
1960 – Eddie Cochran, American musician (b. 1938)
1967 – Red Allen, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1908)
1975 – Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher (b. 1888)
1976 – Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1895)
1977 – William Cardinal Conway, Northern Irish clergyman (b. 1913)
1983 – Felix Pappalardi, American musician and recording producer (b. 1939) (Mountain)
1984 – Claude Provost, French Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1933)
1987 – Cecil Harmsworth King, owner of Mirror Group Newspapers (b. 1901)
1988 – Louise Nevelson, American sculptor (b. 1900)
1990 – Ralph Abernathy, American civil rights activist (b. 1936)
1993 – Turgut Ozal, 8th president of Turkey (b. 1927)
1994 – Roger Wolcott Sperry, American neurobiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1913)
1995 – Frank E. Resnik, American business executive (b. 1928)
1997 – Allan Francovich, American documentarian
1997 – Piet Hein, Danish scientist and poet (b. 1905)
1998 – Linda McCartney, American-born wife of Paul McCartney (b. 1941)
2003 – Robert Atkins, American dietician (b. 1930)
2003 – Paul Getty, American-born philanthropist (b. 1932)
2003 – Earl King, American musician and songwriter (b. 1934)
2003 – Yiannis Latsis, Greek shipping tycoon (b. 1910)
2004 – Edmond Pidoux, Swiss writer (b. 1908)
2004 – Soundarya, Indian actress (b. 1971)
2007 – Kitty Carlisle, American actress and television personality (b. 1910)
2007 – Gil Dobrică, Romanian singer. (b. 1946)
2008 – Aimé Césaire, French Martinican poet and politician (b. 1913)
2008 – Danny Federici, organ player for E-Street Band (b. 1950)
Holidays and observances...
Independence Day of Syria
Women's Day in Gabon
World Hemophilia Day
Flag Day in American Samoa
Have a great Friday!
~Brian
