Updated December 16, 2011, 1:28 pm
On Dec. 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful man-powered airplane flight, near Kitty Hawk, N.C.
On Dec. 17, 1894, Arthur Fiedler, the American conductor who conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra , was born. Following his death on July 10, 1979, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1933 In the first NFL championship game, the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants 23-21 at Wrigley Field. 1944 The U.S. Army announced the end of its policy of excluding Japanese-Americans from the West Coast. 1957 The United States successfully test-fired the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time. 1969 The U.S. Air Force closed its Project “Blue Book” by concluding there was no evidence of extraterrestrial spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings. 1969 An estimated 50 million viewers watched singer Tiny Tim marry Miss Vicky on NBC’s “Tonight Show.” 1975 Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme was sentenced to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Gerald R. Ford. (She was paroled in 2009.) 1989 The animated TV series “The Simpsons” premiered on Fox. 1992 President George H.W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in separate ceremonies. 1996 Kofi Annan of Ghana became United Nations secretary-general. 2004 President George W. Bush signed into law the largest overhaul of U.S. intelligence-gathering in 50 years. 2005 President George W. Bush acknowledged he’d personally authorized a secret eavesdropping program in the U.S. following Sept. 11. 2010 Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old fruit vendor frustrated with harassment by local officials, set himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. His act of defiance set off nationwide protests that brought down longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and soon spread to the rest of the Arab world. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actor Bill Pullman turns 58 years old today.
AP Photo/Dan Steinberg
Actress Milla Jovovich turns 36 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
1937 Art Neville, Rock musician, singer (The Neville Brothers), turns 74 1945 Chris Matthews, Broadcast journalist, turns 66 1946 Eugene Levy, Actor (“American Pie” movies, “SCTV”), turns 65 1949 Paul Rodgers, Rock singer (Bad Company), turns 62 1953 Barry Livingston, Actor (“My Three Sons”), turns 58 1956 Peter Farrelly, Director, producer, turns 55 1958 Mike Mills, Rock musician (R.E.M.), turns 53 1974 Sarah Paulson, Actress, turns 37 1974 Giovanni Ribisi, Actor, turns 37 1975 Bree Sharp, Rock singer, turns 36 1978 Chase Utley, Baseball player, turns 33 Historic Birthdays
Arthur Fiedler 12/17/1894 – 7/10/1979 American conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. Go to obituary »
87 Sir Roger L’Estrange 12/17/1616 – 12/11/1704
English journalist and pamphleteer51 Domenico Cimarosa 12/17/1749 – 1/11/1801
Italian composer80 Joseph Henry 12/17/1797 – 5/13/1878
American scientist84 John Greenleaf Whittier 12/17/1807 – 9/7/1892
American poet and abolitionist65 Ford Madox Ford 12/17/1873 – 6/26/1939
English novelist and editor75 Mackenzie King 12/17/1874 – 7/22/1950
Canadian prime minister (1921-26, 1926-30, 1935-48)60 Edwin Cohn 12/17/1892 – 10/1/1953
American biochemist83 Erskine Caldwell 12/17/1903 – 4/11/1987
American author
