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On This Day: August 17

Today is Sunday, August 17, 2008. This is the 230th day of the year, with 136 days remaining in 2008.

Fact of the Day: Davy Crockett

Davy (David) Crockett was an American frontiersman and politician who became a legendary figure. With no formal education whatsoever, Crockett helped backwoods farmers and made a name for himself. He was elected to the Tennessee legislature in 1821. Following a second term in the state legislature in 1823, Crockett ran for the U.S. House of Representatives. He lost in 1825, won in 1827 and 1829, lost in 1831, barely won in 1833, and suffered his final defeat in 1835, owing to the concentrated opposition of the party of Andrew Jackson. He then headed west to Texas, joined the American forces, and died with those who were slaughtered at the Alamo by a Mexican army under General Santa Anna on March 6, 1836. Crockett was famous for his stories and speechmaking.

Holidays

Feast day of St. Joan Delanoue, St. Mamas, St. Liberatus of Capua, St. Rock or Roch, St. Clare of Montefalco, St. Hyacinth, and St. Eusebius, pope.
Gabon Republic: National Day (independence from France, 1960).
Indonesia: Independence Day.
Argentina: Anniversary of San Martin's death.

Events:

1790 - The capital city of the U.S. moved to Philadelphia from New York City.

1807 - Robert Fulton's "North River Steam Boat" (known as the "Clermont") began heading up New York's Hudson River on its successful round-trip to Albany.

1815 - Napoleon began serving his exile when he arrived at the island of St. Helena.

1835 - Solyman Merrick patented the wrench.

1859 - A hot air balloon was used to carry mail for the first time. John Wise left Lafayette, IN for New York City with 100 letters. He had to land after only 27 miles.

1863 - Federal batteries and ships bombarded Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC, harbor during the Civil War.

1877 - F.P. Cahill became the first person to be killed by "Billy the Kid."

1894 - John Wadsworth of Louisville set a major league record when he gave up 28 base hits in a single game.

1896 - The Klondike gold rush was set off by George Carmack discovering gold on Rabbit Creek in Alaska.

1903 - Joseph Pulitzer donated a million dollars to Columbia University. This started the Pulitzer Prizes in his name.

1915 - Charles F. Kettering patented the electric, automobile self-starter.

1939 - The movie "Wizard of Oz" opened.

1943 - The Allied conquest of Sicily was completed as U.S. and British forces entered Messina.

1945 - The nationalists of Indonesia declared their independence from the Netherlands.

1962 - 18-year-old Peter Fechter was killed by East German border guards when he attempted to cross the Berlin Wall into the western sector

1969 - Hurricane Camille hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast killing 248 people.

1973 - Lee Trevino got the first hole in one of his career at the U.S.I. Golf Classic, in Sutton, MA.

1977 - Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD) reported that in one day the number of orders for flowers to be delivered to Graceland had surpassed the number for any other event in the company's history.

1978 - Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman became the first to land after a successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight. The voyage began in Presque Isle, ME and ended in Miserey, France.

1985 - A year-long strike began when 1,400 Geo. A. Hormel and Co. meat packers walked off the job.

1987 - Rudolph Hess died after apparently committing suicide. Hess was the last member of Adolf Hitler's inner circle.

1987 - Charles Glass, American journalist, escaped his kidnappers and was rescued after being held for 62 days in Lebanon.

1988 - Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel were killed in a plane crash.

1991 - At a shopping mall in Strathfield, Australia, a man killed seven people before killing himself. He had been armed with a rifle and a machete.

1992 - Woody Allen admitted to being romantically involved with Soon-Yi Previn. The girl was the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow, Allen's longtime companion.

1993 - Jack Kevorkian was charged in Wayne County, MI with assisting in the suicide of Thomas Hyde. Kevorkian was later acquitted.

1996 - A military cargo plane crashed in Wyoming killing eight crewmembers and a Secret Service employee. The plane was carrying gear for U.S. President Clinton.

1996 - Ross Perot was announced to be the Reform Party's presidential candidate. It was the party's first-ever candidate.

1998 - The FBI announced that it was questioning a suspect concerning the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya on August 7th, 1998.

1998 - U.S. President Clinton admitted to having an improper relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern.

1998 - NationsBank and BankAmerica merge to create the largest U.S. bank.

1998 - Russia devalued the ruble.

1999 - More than 15,000 people were killed in an earthquake in Turkey.

2002 - In Santa Rosa, CA, the Charles M. Schulz Museum opened to the public.

Lebanon related Events:

1999 - Aug 17, In southern Lebanon Hezbollah guerrillas killed 2 Israeli soldiers and wounded 4 others in a revenge clash that left 1 guerrilla dead.

2006 - Aug 17, Lebanese troops, tanks and armored vehicles deployed south of the Litani River, a key provision of the UN cease-fire plan that ended fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The deployment marks a first step toward extending government control in a region Lebanese troops have largely avoided for four decades. A Middle East Airlines passenger jet flew into Beirut airport from Jordan as officials partially lifted a 36-day Israeli air blockade.

2007- Aug 17, The UN announced that the Netherlands has agreed to host the tribunal that will prosecute suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri.

Births

1601 - Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician, lawyer, government official.

1786 - Davy Crockett, American frontiersman, soldier.

1882 - Samuel Goldwyn (Goldfish), American movie pioneer.

1893 - Mae West, American playwright, actress.

1921 - Maureen O'Hara (Fitzsimmons), American actress.

Deaths

1983 - Ira Gershwin, American lyricist.