On Feb. 17, 1897, the forerunner of the National PTA, the National Congress of Mothers, convened its first meeting, in Washington.
On this date:
In 1801, the U.S. House of Representatives broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, electing Jefferson president; Burr became vice president. It took 35 House ballots.
In 1817, a street in Baltimore became the first to be lighted with gas from America's first gas company.
In 1864, the Union ship USS Housatonic was rammed and sunk in Charleston Harbor, S.C., by the Confederate hand-cranked submarine H.L. Hunley, which also sank.
In 1865, Columbia, S.C., burned as the Confederates evacuated and Union forces moved in. (It's not clear which side set the blaze.)
In 1867, the first ship passed through the Suez Canal.
In 1904, the original two-act version of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly" was poorly received at its premiere at La Scala in Milan, Italy.
In 1909, Chiricahua Apache leader Geronimo (also known as Goyathlay, "One Who Yawns") died at Fort Sill, Okla., at age 79.
In 1933, Newsweek magazine was first published.
In 1947, the Voice of America began broadcasting to the Soviet Union.
In 1959, the United States launched Vanguard 2, a satellite which carried meteorological equipment on board.
In 1964, the Supreme Court, in Wesberry v. Sanders, ruled that congressional districts within each state had to be roughly equal in population.
In 1968, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opened in Springfield, Mass.
In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon departed on his historic trip to China.
In 1986, Johnson and Johnson halted production of all non-prescription drugs in capsules following the death of a Peekskill, N.Y., woman from cyanide-laced Extra-Strength Tylenol.
In 1992, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced in Milwaukee to life in prison.
In 1995, Colin Ferguson was convicted of six counts of murder in the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shootings that also wounded 19 people.
In 1996, world chess champion Garry Kasparov beat IBM supercomputer "Deep Blue," winning a six-game match in Philadelphia.
In 1999, in a satellite-linked address to college campuses across the country, President Bill Clinton made his case for shoring up Social Security and Medicare. Israeli security guards shot and killed three Kurds who had forced their way into the Israeli consulate in Berlin; the protesters were enraged by reports that Israel had aided in the arrest of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.
In 2000, a House panel said in a report that the program to inoculate all 2.4 million American military personnel against anthrax was based on "a paucity of science" and should be suspended; the Pentagon defended the program and vowed to continue the inoculations.
In 2002, the new Transportation Security Administration took over supervision of aviation security from the airline industry and the Federal Aviation Administration. A series of raids by communist rebels left 137 dead in Nepal.
In 2003, when security guards used pepper spray to break up a fight at a packed Chicago nightclub the ensuing panic by patrons resulted in 21 deaths as the crowd stampeded for the exits.
In 2004, Cingular Wireless agreed to pay nearly $41 billion in cash to buy AT&T Wireless Services. Gay marriages continued in San Francisco in defiance of state law after two judges declined to rule on efforts to halt the practice. John Kerry won the Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary, with John Edwards placing second and Howard Dean coming in a distant third. Former Mexican president Jose Lopez Portillo died in Mexico City at age 83.
In 2005, President George W. Bush named John Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, as the government's first national intelligence director. Iraq's electoral commission certified the results of the Jan. 30 elections and allocated 140 of 275 National Assembly seats to the United Iraqi Alliance, giving the Shiite-dominated party a majority in the new parliament.
In 2006, more than 1,000 people were believed killed in a mudslide that covered a village on Leyte in the central Philippines.
In 2007, a bomb exploded in a judge's chamber in southwestern Pakistan, killing the judge and 13 others. Also in 2007, 22-year-old Prince Harry of England was ordered to the front lines in Iraq along with his British army unit. He didn't go, however, since publicity about his presence was deemed a potential danger to his unit.
In 2008, Kosovo declared itself a nation in defiance of Serbia and Russia. Thousands of ethnic Albanians celebrated in the streets but some others resorted to violent protest. The United States and several other nations, including Britain, Germany, and France, recognized Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state. Also in 2008, a suicide bomber attacked a crowded dogfight near Kandahar in Afghanistan, killing about 80 people, including a local police chief, and injuring nearly 100. President George W. Bush rejected proposed Democratic changes to his prized international AIDS relief program, issuing a challenge to Congress from Tanzania to "stop the squabbling" and renew it as is. Ryan Newman snapped an 81-race winless streak, giving car owner Roger Penske his first Daytona 500 victory. The East beat the Western Conference 134-128 in the NBA All-Star Game.
In 2009, President Barack Obama signed a mammoth, $787 billion economic stimulus package into law in Denver; he also approved adding some 17,000 U.S. troops for the war in Afghanistan. Most Republican lawmakers argued it contained too much "pork-barrel" spending and not enough tax cuts.
Today's Birthdays: Bandleader Orrin Tucker is 99. Actor Hal Holbrook is 85. Mystery writer Ruth Rendell is 80. Singer Bobby Lewis is 77. Comedian Dame Edna (AKA Barry Humphries) is 76. Country singer-songwriter Johnny Bush is 75. Football Hall-of-Famer Jim Brown is 74. Actress Mary Ann Mobley is 71. Actress Brenda Fricker is 65. Actress Rene Russo is 56. Actor Richard Karn is 54. Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 48. Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is 47. Actor-comedian Larry, the Cable Guy is 47. TV personality Rene Syler is 47. Movie director Michael Bay is 45. Singer Chante Moore is 43. Rock musician Timothy J. Mahoney (311) is 40. Actor Dominic Purcell is 40. Olympic gold medal skier Tommy Moe is 40. Actress Denise Richards is 39. Rock singer-musician Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) is 38. Actor Jerry O'Connell is 36. Country singer Bryan White is 36. Actress Kelly Carlson is 34. Actor Jason Ritter is 30. TV personality Paris Hilton is 29. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is 29.
Those Now Dead But Born On This Date Anyway Include: Mail order retailer Aaron Montgomery Ward (1843); engraver Frederick Ives (1856); Texas oil millionaire H.L. Hunt (1889); sportscaster Red Barber (1908); author Margaret Truman Daniel, daughter of U.S. President Harry Truman (1924); actor Alan Bates (1934); singer Gene Pitney (1940); political activist Huey P. Newton (1942);
Today In Entertainment February 17
In February 17th, 1960, Elvis Presley received his first gold album, for the album called "Elvis." It included the songs "Rip It Up," "Old Shep" and "Ready Teddy."
In 1970, singer Joni Mitchell announced her retirement from live performances. She was back to doing shows within the year.
In 1971, James Taylor made his prime-time TV debut on "The Johnny Cash Show." Taylor sang "Fire and Rain" and "Carolina on My Mind."
In 1972, Pink Floyd premiered "Dark Side of the Moon" in concert at London's Rainbow Theater. The album was released the next year.
In 1976, The Eagles' album "Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)" was released.
In 1979, The Clash kicked off its first US tour in New York. "A Prairie Home Companion," hosted by Garrison Keillor, made its debut on National Public Radio.
In 1982, jazz pianist Thelonius Monk died after a long illness at the age of 64.
In 1988, in Hollywood, Florida, a 12-year-old fan of Motley Crue set his legs on fire while trying to imitate a stunt in the group's "Live Wire" video. He suffered burns over ten percent of his body. Motley Crue said the band's stunts should not be tried at home.
In 2005, actor Dan O'Herlihy died in Malibu, Calif. at age 85.
Thought for Today: "Life resembles a novel more often than novels resemble life." — George Sand, French author (1804-1876).
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