February 17
1600
Italian philosopher, alchemist, and Copernican theory advocate Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for heresy by the Inquisition.
1801
The electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr was broken by the House of Representatives who elected Jefferson president.
1817
Baltimore became the first U.S. city lit by gas.
1864
The Confederate submarine Hunley, equipped with an explosive at the end of a protruding spar, rammed and sank the Union’s ship Housatonic off the coast of Charleston, S.C.
1904
Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly premiered in Milan.
1972
President Richard Nixon left on his trip to China.
1996
Chess champion Garry Kasparov beat the IBM computer, Deep Blue, winning the six-game match.
2008
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.
Birthdays
Arcangelo Corelli
composer and violinist (1653)
Samuel Sidney McClure
editor and publisher (1857)
Thomas John Watson, Sr.
industrialist and philanthropist (1874)
Jim Brown
football player (1936)