Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

February 17

1986
Pres. Ferdinand Marcos is declared the winner of the Philippine presidential election. Later reports of widespread fraud caused him to flee the country ending his 20 year rule.

1959
Weather: Vanguard 2, the first weather satellite is launched.

1934
First color Merry Melodies cartoon: Honeymoon Hotel premiers.

1933
Prohibition: The Blaine Act is passed by the U.S. Senate, leading to the end of the prohibition of alcohol in the U.S.

1917
Jack Dempsey KO'd: Fireman Jim Flynn knocks him out in the first round, the only time he has ever been knocked out.

1897
National Congress of Mothers is founded, later named the PTA.

1895
The Yellow Kid: Richard Felton Outcault's famous cartoon character makes his debut.

1876
First canning of Sardines, in Eastport, Maine.

1865
Civil War: Gen. Sherman (Union) takes Columbia, S.C., claiming that the fires, which destroyed two-thirds of the city, were set by retreating Confederate soldiers.

1817
First U.S. street lit by gaslight: Baltimore, MD.

1801
U.S. Presidents: Thomas Jefferson is elected President by the House of Representatives after an electoral tie between Jefferson and Aaron Burr..

1790
The U.S. government takes out its first loan, for the amount of $191,608.81. It was paid off in June.

1981
Paris Hilton, American celebrity, Hilton hotel fortune heir.

1963
Michael Jordan, American basketball player and two-time Olympic gold-medal winner.

1963
Larry the Cable Guy (Daniel Lawrence Whitney), American comedian. TV: Blue Collar TV.

1945
Zina Bethune, American dancer, actress. TV: Love of Life (Barbara Sterling Latimer). She founded Dance Outreach (1982), which enrolls about 1,000 disabled children in dance-related activities.

1942     d. 1989
Huey Percy Newton, American political leader, co-founder of the Black Panthers (1966). His 1967 conviction for killing a police officer was overturned after a nationwide "Free Huey" campaign.

1939
Mary Ann Mobley, American actress, Miss America (1959). TV: Diff'rent Strokes (the second Maggie McKinney).

1934     d. 2003
Sir Alan Arthur Bates, British actor. Film: The Fixer (1968).

1925
Hal Holbrook (Harold Rowe HolBrook Jr.), actor, famous for his on-stage portrayal of Mark Twain. TV: Designing Women (Reese Watson).

1902     d. 1993
Marian Anderson, American opera singer, first black artist to entertain at the White House (1939) and the first black to perform at the New York Metropolitan Opera (1954).

1874     d. 1956
Thomas John Watson Sr., American businessman. He took control of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. (1914) and turned it into the international-giant IBM.

1857     d. 1949
Samuel Sidney McClure, American publisher, founder of McClure syndicate (1884) and McClure's Magazine (1893).

1844     d. 1913
Aaron Montgomery Ward, American businessman, creator of mail-order (1892).

1781     d. 1826
Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec, French physician, invented the stethoscope.

1989     b. 1908
Vernon "Lefty" Gomez, American Baseball Hall of Famer. He won 189 games with the N.Y. Yankees, and was the winning pitcher for the first All-Star game (1933).

1982     b. 1901
Lee Strasberg, acting teacher, the father of method acting in America. His disciples include Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

1979     b. 1905
William Gargan, American actor. TV: Martin Kane, Private Eye (title role). After losing his voice to cancer in 1960, he became an anti-smoking advocate.

1966     b. 1875
Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., American industrialist. As president (1923-37) and chairman (1937-56) of General Motors, he made it one of the greatest industrial enterprises in history.

1958     b. 1880
R.M. Brinkerhoff, American cartoonist, creator of Little Mary Mixup (1917).

1934     b. 1875
Albert I, King of Belgium (1909-34). He was killed while mountain climbing.

1919     b. 1841
Sir Wilfred Laurier, Canadian statesman, premier of Canada (1896-1911).

1909     b. 1829
Geronimo, Apache Indian chief. Opposed to the policy of placing Indians on reservations, he raided Arizona settlements until his capture in 1886.

1856     b. 1797
Heinrich Heine, German author, poet, lyricist. Among his writings are some of Germany's best-known lyrics.

Please send Corrections and Omissions to epicidiot.com