On This Very Day...

January 17th

  • 27

    The Roman Senate grants the honorific Augustus to Octavian, marking the Roman Empire's establishment.

  • 1706

    Benjamin Franklin, American polymath and founding father, is born.

  • 1773

    Captain Cook's ship Resolution becomes the first to cross the Antarctic Circle.

  • 1893

    Americans orchestrate the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.

  • 1896

    First five-player college basketball game played in Iowa City, Iowa.

  • 1899

    Al Capone, notorious American gangster, is born.

  • 1912

    Captain Robert Scott's expedition arrives at the South Pole, a month after Amundsen.

  • 1916

    The Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) is formed. Read Post →

  • 1917

    US acquires the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million.

  • 1929

    Popeye makes his first appearance in the comic strip 'Thimble Theater'.

  • 1942

    Muhammad Ali, iconic American boxer, is born.

  • 1950

    Thieves in Boston pull off the historic Brink’s robbery.

  • 1962

    Jim Carrey, Canadian/American actor and producer, is born.

  • 1994

    6.6 magnitude earthquake hits Los Angeles, killing 60 and causing $30 billion in damage.

  • 1995

    7.2 magnitude earthquake devastates Kobe, Japan, killing 5,372 people.

  • 1997

    NBA suspends Dennis Rodman indefinitely for kicking a cameraman.

  • 2002

    Mount Nyiragongo erupts in Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.

  • 2008

    Bobby Fischer, American chess grandmaster, passes away.

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