January 17 - What happened today?

Home What happened today in history? Blamepro's Almanac for January 17
In the headlines today:

2000	Drug makers Glaxo Wellcome PLC and SmithKline Beecham PLC announce merger plans to form the world's largest pharmaceutical company.
1995	More than 6,000 die as a magnitude 7.2 earthquake rocks Kobe, Japan.
1994	A magnitude 6.7 earthquake strikes Southern California, killing 61 people and causing $20 billion in damage.
1991	On the first day of Operation Desert Storm, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein promises that the "mother of all battles" has begun.
1991	A US Patriot missile shoots down an Iraqi scud missile for the first time.
1989	Five children are shot to death at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California, by a gunman who then kills himself.
1977	Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by firing squad at the Utah State Prison.
1946	The United Nations Security Council meets for the first time.
1945	Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved thousands of Jews during WWII, disappears in Hungary while in Soviet custody.
1945	Warsaw is liberated by Polish and Soviet forces during WWII.
1916	The Professional Golfers Association is formed in New York City.
1893	Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th US president, dies in Fremont, OH, at age 70.
1893	Hawaii's Queen Liliuokalani abdicates the throne, bowing to pressure from sugar planters and businessmen.
1806	James Madison Randolph, grandson of US president Thomas Jefferson, becomes the first child born in the White House.

Born today:

1982 Amanda Wilkinson - country singer (The Wilkinsons)

1981 Ray J - singer

1971 Kid Rock - rapper, rock singer

1969 Naveen Andrews - actor (Lost)

1966 Shabba Ranks - reggae/rap singer

1962 Jim Carrey - comedian, actor

1960 John Crawford - singer, bass guitarist (Berlin)

1957 Susanna Hoffs - singer (The Bangles)

1956 David Caruso - actor

1956 Paul Young - singer

1955 Steve Earle - root rock/new county singer

1948 Mick Taylor - guitarist (formerly with The Rolling Stones)

1945 William Hart - R&B singer (The Delfonics)

1944 Joe Frazier - former heavyweight champion (1968, 1970)

1942 Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) - heavyweight boxing champ (1964, 1974, 1978)

1939 Maury Povich - TV talk show host

1934 Shari Lewis - puppeteer, actress

1933 Sheree North - actress

1931 L. Douglas Wilder - first elected African-American governor in US (Virginia)

1931 James Earl Jones - actor (voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars trilogy)

1928 Vidal Sassoon - hair stylist

1927 Eartha Kitt, singer, actress

1926 Moira Shearer - ballerina, actress

1922 Betty White - actress

1920 George Handy - pianist, composer

1889 Al Capone - Chicago mobster

(photo credit: FBI)

1884 Mack Sennett - silent movie director

1883 Noah Beery - actor (Mark of Zorro)

1860 Anton Chekhov - author

1706 Ben Franklin - statesman, printer, postmaster, author

Born today? Your sign of the Zodiac is:

Capricorn

(The Sea-Goat)