January 17
1706
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston.
1806
James Madison Randolph, the grandson of Thomas Jefferson, became the first child born in the White House.
1893
Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani was forced to abdicate by a group of planters and businessmen.
1945
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg disappeared in Hungary while in Soviet custody.
1977
Gary Gilmore became the first person executed in the U.S. since the death penalty was reintroduced.
1991
Operation Desert Storm was launched against Iraq.
1998
President Clinton became the first sitting U.S. president to testify as a defendant in a criminal or civil suit.
2001
Gov. Gray Davis declared a state of emergency concerning California’s electricity crisis.
Birthdays
Benjamin Franklin
1706–1790, American Statesman.
David Lloyd George
statesman (1863)
Robert Maynard Hutchins
educator (1899)
Nora Kaye
ballerina (1920)
James Earl Jones
actor (1931)
Muhammad Ali
boxer (1942)
Jim Carrey
actor, comedian (1962)
Naveen Andrews
actor (1969)
Kid Rock
rock musician (1971)
Zooey Deschanel
actor (1980)
Dwyane Wade
basketball player (1982)