This Day in History - April 17

I got distracted by the tragic events in Boston the other day, and did not actually do one of these yesterday. But, figured that it would be nice to continue. Given time, perhaps I'll try to post one for yesterday, April 16th.

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

858 - Benedict's reign as Pope ends.

1397 - The Canterbury Tales are told for the first time by Geoffrey Chaucer to the court of Richard II. Scholars of Chaucer also suggest that this was the date (ten years earlier, in 1387) when the pilgrimage that the story is about begins.

1492 - Christopher Columbus signs a contract with Spain to explore for a new, westward route to Asia and the Indies. We all know what happened next, right?

1521 - Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.

1524 -New York Harbor is discovered by Giovanni Verrazano, a navigator from Florence.

1704 - The first newspaper to enjoy real success in America was published by John Campbell. It was known as the  Boston "News-Letter."

1790 -  Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers and a signed of the Declaration of independence, dies in Philadelphia.

1793 - Battle of Warsaw

1808 - The "Bayonne Decree" is issued by Napoleon I, which orders the seizure of American ships

1824 - Russia abandons all claims in North America south of  54° 40'N

1839 - The Republic of Guatemala is formed.

1861 - Virginia becomes the eight state to secede from the Union.

1869 - The first baseball game is played, as the Cincinnati Reds defeat the Cincinnati Amateurs, 24-15.

1895 - The Sino-Japanese War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and goes a long way towards establishing Japan as a world power with colonial interests.

1939 - Stalin signs an anti-Nazi pact with France and Britain

1941 - Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany

1946 - Syria declares independence from France, last French troops leave.

1961 - The infamous Bay of Pigs fiasco, with roughly 1,400 U.S.-supported Cuban exiles attempted to invaded Cuba in an effort to overthrow Fidel Castro and rid Cuba of Communism. It was a failure, and caused Kennedy and the White House considerable embarrassment.

1969 - Sirhan Sirhan was convicted for the murder of Robert F. Kennedy a year earlier, following Kennedy's victory in the Democratic Primaries in California.

1970 - Paul McCartney releases his first ever solo album, titled simply "McCartney", shortly after announcing the break up of the Beatles.

1975 - The Khmer Rouge forces capture the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, ending the five-year war. This marks the beginning of the rule under the Khmer Rouge, where there is a brutal genocide. Estimates range from roughly 800,00 to up to two million dead.

1985 - The United.States Postal Service unveils its new 22-cent, "LOVE" stamp.

1989 - An important sign of changing times in Eastern Europe, as the Solidarity movement is given legal status in Poland.

1993 - In Los Angeles, a federal jury convicted two former police officers of violating the civil rights of beaten motorist Rodney King. Two other officers were acquitted.

1997 - New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, the winningest goalie in history, manages to become only the second goalie in NHL history to score a goal in a playoff game (against the Montreal Canadiens).


http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/apr17.htm

http://www.historyorb.com/day/april/17

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory