October 17:

1711 Jupiter Hammon 1st American black to publish poetry (Complete Works)
1817 Samuel Ringgold Ward Maryland, minister/abolitionist/author
1835 Alexandrine-Pieternella-Fran‡oise Tinn‚ explored the White Nile
1848 William "Candy" Cummings created the curve ball
1859 William "Buck" Ewing hall of fame catcher (NY Giants, Cin Reds)
1864 Elinor Glyn British novelist (3 Weeks)
1886 Spring Byington Colo Springs, actress (Lily Ruskin-December Bride)
19-- Zulu [Gilbert Kauhi], Hilo Hawaii, actor (Det Kono-Hawaii 5-0)
1903 Irene Ryan El Paso Texas, actress (Granny-Beverly Hillbillies)
1903 Jerry Colonna Boston Mass, comedian (Jerry Colonna Show)
1903 Nathanael West American novelist (Day of the Locusts)
1905 Jean Arthur NYC, actress (Shane, Mr Smith Goes to Washington)
1912 John Paul I 263rd Roman Catholic pope (1978)
1915 Arthur Miller playwright (Death of a Salesman, The Crucible)
1917 Marsha Hunt Chicago Ill, actress (Jennifer-Peck's Bad Girl, Jigsaw)
1919 Rita Hayworth NY (Alzheimer victim), actress (Gilda, Pal Joey)
1920 Montgomery Clift actor (From Here to Eternity)
1921 Maria Gorokhovskaya USSR, gymnast (Olympic-gold-1952)
1921 Tom Poston Columbus Ohio, actor (Steve Allen Show, Newhart)
1926 Beverly Garland Santa Cruz Calif, actress (My 3 Sons)
1926 Julie Adams Waterloo Iowa, actress (Yancy Derringer, Code Red)
1926 Karl G Henize Cincinnati Ohio, astronaut (STS 51F)
1928 James "Junior" Gilliam Dodgers (NL rookie of year 1953)
1928 Julie Adams Iowa, actress (Away All Boats, Black Rose)
1930 Jimmy Breslin Queens NYC, columnist (NY Post, News, Newsday)
1932 Paul Anderson US, light super heavyweight lifter (Olympic-gold-1956)
1933 William A Anders Hong Kong, Maj Gen, USAF/astronaut (Apollo 8)
1938 Robert "Evel" Knievel motorcycle daredevil
1941 James Seals Sidney Tx, singer (Seals & Crofts-Summer Breeze)
1942 Gary Puckett vocalist (& the Union Gap-Woman Woman, Young Girl)
1943 Susan Davenny Wyner New Haven Ct, soprano (Walter Naumberg Prize)
1944 Carol Cole West Medford Mass, actress (Ellie-Grady)
1945 Dave Cutler CFL place kicker (Edmonton Eskimos)
1946 Bob Seagren Pomona Calif, actor (Soap)/pole vaulter (Olympic-gold-68)
1947 Charles A Ingene macromarketing researcher
1947 Michael McKean NYC, actor (Lenny-Laverne & Shirley, Grand)
1948 George Wendt Chicago Ill, actor (Norm-Cheers)
1948 Margot Kidder Yellowknife, actress (Lois Lane, Amityville Horror)
1949 Bill Hudson Portland Ore, comedians (Bonkers, Hudson Brothers Show)
1949 Timothy Bottoms Santa Barbara Calif, actor (Adam-East of Eden)
1952 Howard E Rollins Jr Balt Md, actor (Bannister-Wildside)
1955 Sam Bottoms actor (Prime Risk, Savages)
1956 Mae C Jemison Decatur Alabama, MD/astronaut (Sked:STS 47)
1957 Vincent Van Patten Belrose NY, actor (Apple's Way, 3 for the Road)
1958 Alan Jackson rocker (Don't Rock the Jukebox, Here in the Real World)
1959 Dolph Lundgren actor (Rocky 4, Masters of the Universe)
1965 Connie Ann Hearn Anchorage Alaska, actress (New Kind of Family)

Deaths which occurred on October 17:

1806 Jean Jacques Dessalines Emperor of Haiti, dies
1887 Gustav Kirchoff discoverer of the laws of spectroscopy, dies
1910 Julia Ward Howe composer (Battle Hymn of the Republic), dies at 91
1990 Ralph Abernathy civil rights leader, dies
1991 Tennessee Ernie Ford country singer (16 Tons), dies at 72

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

( Expanded with full Bios, history, & MIA report )
 
 1965    GAITHER          RALPH E.          MIAMI                 FL     02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV     ALIVE AND WELL 98
 1965    HALYBURTON       PORTER A.         DAVIDSON              NC     02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV      ALIVE AND WELL 98
 1965    KNUTSON          RODNEY A.         BILLINGS              MT     02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV INJURED       ALIVE AND WELL 98
 1965    MAYER            RODERICK L.       LEWISTON              ID     PROB DEAD  
 1965    OLMSTEAD         STANLEY E.        MARSHALL              OK     PROB DEAD IN A/C WRECKAGE  
 1965    WHEAT            DAVID R.          DULUTH                MN     02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV      ALIVE AND WELL 98
 1967    ANDREWS          ANTHONY C.        CHICO                 CA     03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV         ALIVE IN 98
 1967    CADWELL          ANTHONY B.        MISSOULA              MT       
 1967    FITZGERALD       PAUL L. JR.       FORT VALLEY           GA       
 1967    FORTNER          FREDERICK J.      POMONA                CA     REMAINS RETURNED 03/23/89  
 1967    HARGROVE         OLIN JR.          BIRMINGHAM            AL       
 1967    ODELL            DONALD E.         MT. CLEMENS           MI     03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV    ALIVE AND WELL 98
 1967    SULLIVAN         DWIGHT E.         CORYDON               IA     03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV   ALIVE AND WELL 98
 1968    MASON            JAMES P.          DE KALB               IL       
 1972    WANGCHOM         NOPHADON          THAILAND?                      RELEASED 09/01/74
 1972    GRAHAM           ALAN U.           MOBILE                AL     09/30/77 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV  
 1972    HOCKRIDGE        JAMES A.          ROCHESTER             NY     09/30/77 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV

NEW !!     POW-MIA    Search Engine   (Search by Name, DOB, Loss-Date, or Country-State )

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.
Information on how to RETURN a bracelet.


On this day...

532 Boniface II ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1492 Columbus sights isle of San Salvador (Watling Island, Bahamas)
1691 New royal charter for Massachusetts, now including Maine, Plymouth
1777 British General John Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga, NY
1781 Cornwallis defeated at Yorktown
1787 Boston blacks, petition legislature for equal school facilities
1829 Delaware River & Chesapeake Bay Canal formally opened
1850 Knickerbocker Engine Co Number 5 organized
1855 Bessemer steelmaking process patented
1860 1st pro golf tournament held (Scotland) (Willie Park wins)
1868 Constitution of Grand Duchy of Luxembourg comes into effect
1871 President Grant suspends writ of habeas corpus
1894 Ohio national guard kills 3 lynchers while rescuing a black man
1899 Sutro railroad sold to Robert F Morrow for $215,000
1904 Bank of Italy (Bank of America) opens its doors
1918 Yugoslavia proclaims itself a republic
1919 Radio Corporation of America (RCA) created
1920 Chicago Bears (as Decatur Staleys) play 1st NFL game, win 7-0
1931 Al Capone convicted of tax evasion, sentenced to 11 years in prison
1933 Albert Einstein arrives in the US, a refugee from Nazi Germany
1934 "The Aldrich Family" premieres on radio
1935 Pacific Assoc of AAU votes not to participate in Berlin Olympics
1941 1st US destroyer (Kearney) torpedoed in WW II, off Iceland
1945 Juan Per˘n becomes dictator of Argentina
1954 Phila Eagle Adrian Burk passes for 7 touchdowns vs Wash (49-21)
1955 Lee Merriwether joins the Today Show panel
1956 England's 1st large scale nuclear power station opens
1957 Britain's Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip visit White House
1957 French author Albert Camus awarded Nobel Prize in Literature
1959 Queen Elizabeth is fined $140 for withdrawing her race horse
1961 NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 33,100 m
1961 NY Museum of Modern Art hung Henri Matisse's "Le Bateau" upside-down, It wasn't corrected until December 3rd
1962 Yanks beat Giants for 20th world championship
1964 Yanks fire Manager Yogi Berra
1967 Barbra Streisand stars on "Belle of 14th Street" special on CBS
1967 Memorial service for Brian Epstein at New London Synagogue
1967 Pete Knight in X-15 reaches 85 km
1967 The play "Hair" is 1st performed
1969 NY Nets move from Comack to Island Garden, Hempstead NY
1969 Plastic Ono Band's "Cold Turkey" is released in UK
1969 Soyuz 7 returns to Earth
1971 Pitts Pirates beat Balt Orioles, 4 games to 3 in 68th World Series
1972 1st time Islanders shut-out-5-0 vs Penguins
1973 5-mo oil embargo by Arab states against US & Netherlands begins
1974 NBA New Orleans Jazz begin a 28 game road losing streak
1974 Washington Capitals 1st NHL home victory, beating Chicago 4-3
1974 Oakland A's beat LA Dodgers, 4 games to 1 in 71st World Series, makes A's the only team other than Yanks to win 3 straight series
1975 1st Space Shuttle main engine test at Natl Space Tech Labs, Miss
1977 Canada begins regular live TV coverage of Parliament
1977 West German commandos storm hijacked Lufthansa in Mogadishu, Somalia freeing all 86 hostages & killing 3 of the 4 hijackers
1978 NY Islanders start a streak of 23 undefeated games at home (15-0-8)
1978 NY Yankees beat Dodgers, 4 games to 2 in 75th World Series
1978 Pres Carter signs bill restoring Jefferson Davis citizenship
1978 Yanks win 22nd World Championship capping their great comeback year
1979 D Bautista of Mexico completes 20,000 m walk in record 1:20:06.8
1979 Mother Teresa of India, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
1979 Pitts Pirates beat Balt Orioles, 4 games to 3 in 76th World Series
1983 STS-9 vehicle moves to Vandenberg AFB due to SRB nozzle problem
1985 Lou Pinella named Yankee manager
1986 US Senate approved immigration bill prohibiting hiring of illegal aliens & offered amnesty to illegals who entered prior to 1982
1987 1st lady Nancy Reagan undergoes a modified radical mastectomy
1987 1st World Series game in a covered stadium (Minnesota Metrodome) (World Series #84)
1988 31 reported dead as Ugandan jetliner crashes in fog near Rome
1988 Dallas Green replaces Lou Pinella as manager of the NY Yankees
1988 Lyndon LaRouche pleads innocent to fraud, conspiracy indictment
1988 Phillip Morris announces $11 Billion tender offer for Kraft
1988 Rockin Robin beats "Sensational" Sherri Martel for WWF women's title
1988 Traveling Wilbury's 1st release "Handle With Care"
1989 Earthquake in SF (6.9) cancels 3rd game of 86th World Series - kills 67
1991 News anchor Bree Walker Lampley files an FCC complaint that LA radio KFI-AM personally attacked her by discuss her having a disformed baby




Holidays

Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Haiti : Dessalines Day (1806)
Malawi : Mother's Day
Alaska : Alaska Day (1867) - - - - - ( Monday )

Religious Observances

Anglican : St Ethelred's Day
RC : St Hedwig
Ang, RC, Luth : Memorial of Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, martyr
Old Catholic : Feast of St Margaret Mary Alacoque (now 10/16)

Religious History

1483 Pope Sixtus IV launched the Spanish Inquisition, placing it under joint direction of the Church and state. Tomas de Torquemada, 63, was appointed Grand Inquisitor in charge of removing Jews and Muslims from Spain.
1582 Birth of German scholar Johann Gerhard, most influential of the 17th century Lutheran theologians. His writings attained a European circulation second only to the Bible and Thomas a Kempis' "Imitation of Christ."
1651 French scientist Blaise Pascal wrote in a letter: 'Jesus Christ suffered and died to sanctify death and suffering; he has been all that was great, and all that was abject, in order to sanctify in himself all things except sin, and to be the model of every condition.'
1792 Birth of John Bowring, English statesman, linguist, merchant, theologian and author of the hymn, "In the Cross of Christ I Glory."
1812 In Washington Co., PA, the first of seven eventual conferences convened, leading ultimately to the founding in 1836 of the Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.
Additional information supplied by the author. Contact via E-mail: William D. Blake. (pilgrimwb@aol.com)