Today in History for 17th April 2018:
Historical Events
1824 – Russia abandons all North American claims south of 54° 40’N
1935 – Provincial-National elections (Musserts NSB achieves 7.9%, 44 chairs)
1937 – Debut of cartoon characters Daffy Duck, Elmer J Fudd and Petunia Pig
1967 – Surveyor 3 launched; soft lands on Moon, April 20
1975 – Khmer Rouge captures Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Kampuchea National Day)
1999 – 1999 NFL Draft: Tim Couch from University of Kentucky first pick by Cleveland Browns
Famous Birthdays
1794 – Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist (d. 1868)
1866 – Ernest Starling, British physiologist (d. 1927)
1929 – Eileen Stamers-Smith, headmistress (Malvern Girls’ College)
1959 – Stephen Singleton, Sheffield, rocker (ABC)
1965 – William Mapother, American actor
1968 – Maurits, Prince of Netherlands
Famous Deaths
1272 – Zita/Cita, Italian maid/saint, dies at about 59
1873 – Semyon Stepanovich Gulak-Artemovsky, composer, dies at 60
1902 – Francis of Assisi of Bourbon, King Consort of Spain (b. 1822)
1974 – Frank McGee, American news anchor (NBC Evening News), dies of cancer at 52
1992 – Hank Penny, country music singer, dies at 73 of heart failure
2009 – Honoré Desmond Sharrer, American artist (Tribute to the American Working People) dies aged 88