On This Day: January 17

Updated January 16, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Jan. 17, 1893, Hawaii’s monarchy was overthrown as a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate.

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On Jan. 17, 1899, Al Capone, the American gangster and prohibition era crime leader , was born. Following his death on Jan. 25, 1947, his obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date

By The Associated Press

1562 French Protestants were recognized under the Edict of St. Germain.

1706 Statesman and inventor Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston.

1806 Thomas Jefferson’s daughter, Martha, gave birth to James Madison Randolph, the first child born in the White House.

1893 Hawaii’s monarchy was overthrown.

1893 Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States, died in Fremont, Ohio, at age 70.

1899 Gangster Al Capone was born in Brooklyn, N.Y.

1945 Soviet and Polish forces liberated Warsaw during World War II.

1945 Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, was taken into Soviet custody in Budapest, Hungary. (His fate has never been determined.)

1946 The United Nations Security Council held its first meeting.

1977 Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore was shot by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade.

1994 A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Southern California, killing at least 61 people and causing $20 billion worth of damage.

1995 A magnitude 7.2 earthquake devastated the city of Kobe, Japan; more than 6,000 people were killed.

1997 A court in Ireland granted the first divorce in the Roman Catholic country’s history.

1998 President Bill Clinton became the first U.S. president to testify as a defendant in a criminal or civil suit when he answered questions from lawyers for Paula Jones, who had accused Clinton of sexual harassment.

2001 Faced with an electricity crisis, California used rolling blackouts to cut off power to hundreds of thousands of people.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Actress Zooey Deschanel (“New Girl”) turns 32 years old today.

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

First lady Michelle Obama turns 48 years old today.

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

1922 Betty White, Actress (“The Golden Girls”), turns 90

1931 James Earl Jones, Actor, turns 81

1931 Don Zimmer, Baseball coach, turns 81

1939 Maury Povich, Talk show host, turns 73

1942 Muhammad Ali, Boxing Hall of Famer, turns 70

1948 Mick Taylor, Rock musician (Rolling Stones), turns 64

1954 Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Lawyer, environmental activist, turns 58

1955 Steve Earle, Rock singer, turns 57

1956 Paul Young, Rock singer, turns 56

1957 Steve Harvey, Actor, comedian, turns 55

1959 Susanna Hoffs, Rock musician, singer (The Bangles), turns 53

1962 Jim Carrey, Actor, turns 50

1966 Joshua Malina, Actor (“The West Wing,” “Sports Night”), turns 46

1969 Naveen Andrews, Actor (“Lost”), turns 43

1971 Kid Rock, Rapper, turns 41

Historic Birthdays

Al Capone 1/17/1899 – 1/25/1947 American gangster.Go to obituary »

62 Philip II of Burgandy 1/17/1342 – 4/27/1404
French Duke

59 Guarino Guarini 1/17/1624 – 3/6/1683
Italian architect

69 Jacques-Francois Blondel 1/17/1705 – 1/9/1774
French architect

29 Anne Bronte 1/17/1820 – 5/28/1849
English novelist

82 David Lloyd George 1/17/1863 – 3/26/1945
English Prime Minister

80 Mack Sennett 1/17/1880 – 11/5/1960
American director/producer

69 Glenn Martin 1/17/1886 – 12/4/1955
American airplane inventor

61 Nevil Shute 1/17/1899 – 1/12/1960
English/Australian writer

78 Robert M. Hutchins 1/17/1899 – 5/14/1977
American educator

67 Nora Kaye 1/17/1920 – 2/28/1987
American ballerina

34 Thomas Dooley 1/17/1927 – 1/18/1961
American physician/author

1562	French Protestants were recognized under the Edict of St. Germain.
1706	Statesman and inventor Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston.
1806	Thomas Jefferson’s daughter, Martha, gave birth to James Madison Randolph, the first child born in the White House.
1893	Hawaii’s monarchy was overthrown.
1893	Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States, died in Fremont, Ohio, at age 70.
1899	Gangster Al Capone was born in Brooklyn, N.Y.
1945	Soviet and Polish forces liberated Warsaw during World War II.
1945	Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, was taken into Soviet custody in Budapest, Hungary. (His fate has never been determined.)
1946	The United Nations Security Council held its first meeting.
1977	Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore was shot by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade.
1994	A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Southern California, killing at least 61 people and causing $20 billion worth of damage.
1995	A magnitude 7.2 earthquake devastated the city of Kobe, Japan; more than 6,000 people were killed.
1997	A court in Ireland granted the first divorce in the Roman Catholic country’s history.
1998	President Bill Clinton became the first U.S. president to testify as a defendant in a criminal or civil suit when he answered questions from lawyers for Paula Jones, who had accused Clinton of sexual harassment.
2001	Faced with an electricity crisis, California used rolling blackouts to cut off power to hundreds of thousands of people.

1922	Betty White, Actress (“The Golden Girls”), turns 90
1931	James Earl Jones, Actor, turns 81
1931	Don Zimmer, Baseball coach, turns 81
1939	Maury Povich, Talk show host, turns 73
1942	Muhammad Ali, Boxing Hall of Famer, turns 70
1948	Mick Taylor, Rock musician (Rolling Stones), turns 64
1954	Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Lawyer, environmental activist, turns 58
1955	Steve Earle, Rock singer, turns 57
1956	Paul Young, Rock singer, turns 56
1957	Steve Harvey, Actor, comedian, turns 55
1959	Susanna Hoffs, Rock musician, singer (The Bangles), turns 53
1962	Jim Carrey, Actor, turns 50
1966	Joshua Malina, Actor (“The West Wing,” “Sports Night”), turns 46
1969	Naveen Andrews, Actor (“Lost”), turns 43
1971	Kid Rock, Rapper, turns 41

62	Philip II of Burgandy 1/17/1342 – 4/27/1404 French Duke
59	Guarino Guarini 1/17/1624 – 3/6/1683 Italian architect
69	Jacques-Francois Blondel 1/17/1705 – 1/9/1774 French architect
29	Anne Bronte 1/17/1820 – 5/28/1849 English novelist
82	David Lloyd George 1/17/1863 – 3/26/1945 English Prime Minister
80	Mack Sennett 1/17/1880 – 11/5/1960 American director/producer
69	Glenn Martin 1/17/1886 – 12/4/1955 American airplane inventor
61	Nevil Shute 1/17/1899 – 1/12/1960 English/Australian writer
78	Robert M. Hutchins 1/17/1899 – 5/14/1977 American educator
67	Nora Kaye 1/17/1920 – 2/28/1987 American ballerina
34	Thomas Dooley 1/17/1927 – 1/18/1961 American physician/author