On This Day: March 17

Updated March 16, 2012, 2:28 pm

On March 17, 1942, Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Australia to become supreme commander of Allied forces in the southwest Pacific theater during World War II.
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On March 17, 1902, Bobby Jones, the American golfer who was the first winner of the Grand Slam, was born. Following his death on Dec. 18, 1971, his obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date

By The Associated Press

1776 British forces evacuated Boston during the Revolutionary War.

1905 Franklin D. Roosevelt married his distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt, in New York City. President Theodore Roosevelt, FDR’s fifth cousin, gave his niece away.

1910 The Camp Fire Girls organization was founded in Thetford, Vt.

1941 The National Gallery of Art opened in Washington, D.C.

1942 Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Australia to become supreme commander of Allied forces in the southwest Pacific theater during World War II.

1959 The Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India in the wake of a failed uprising by Tibetans against Chinese rule.

1969 Golda Meir became prime minister of Israel.

2005 Baseball players Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa testified before Congress that they hadn’t used steroids; Mark McGwire refused to say whether he had.

2009 U.S. journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were detained by North Korea while reporting on North Korean refugees living across the border in China. (They were freed in August.)

2009 The Seattle Post-Intelligencer published its final print edition.

2011 The U.N. Security Council voted to authorize military action to protect civilians and impose a no-fly zone over Libya.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Actor Rob Lowe turns 48 years old today.

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Actor Gary Sinnise (“CSI: NY”) turns 57 years old today.

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

1933 Myrlie Evers-Williams, Former NAACP chairwoman, turns 79

1941 Paul Kantner, Rock musician (Jefferson Airplane/Starship), turns 71

1944 John Sebastian, Rock musician (Lovin’ Spoonful), turns 68

1949 Patrick Duffy, Actor, turns 63

1951 Kurt Russell, Actor, turns 61

1954 Lesley-Anne Down, Actress, turns 58

1960 Vicki Lewis, Actress, turns 52

1967 Billy Corgan, Rock musician (Smashing Pumpkins), turns 45

1972 Mia Hamm, Soccer player, turns 40

1974 Marisa Coughlan, Actress, turns 38

Historic Birthdays

Bobby Jones 3/17/1902 – 12/18/1971 American golfer; first to win the Grand Slam.Go to obituary »

69 Jean-Baptiste Oudry 3/17/1686 – 4/30/1755
French Rococo painter, designer and illustrator

87 Roger Brooke Taney 3/17/1777 – 10/12/1864
5th chief justice of the United States; noted for the Dred Scott decision (1857)

55 Kate Greenaway 3/17/1846 – 11/6/1901
English artist and book illustrator

80 Charles Brush 3/17/1849 – 6/15/1929
American inventor and industrialist

92 Walter Rudolf Hess 3/17/1881 – 8/12/1973
Swiss Nobel Prize-winning physiologist

75 Bayard Rustin 3/17/1912 – 8/24/1987
American civil rights activist

45 Nat King Cole 3/17/1919 – 2/15/1965
American musician

54 Rudolf Nureyev 3/17/1938 – 1/6/1993
Russian ballet dancer

1776	British forces evacuated Boston during the Revolutionary War.
1905	Franklin D. Roosevelt married his distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt, in New York City. President Theodore Roosevelt, FDR’s fifth cousin, gave his niece away.
1910	The Camp Fire Girls organization was founded in Thetford, Vt.
1941	The National Gallery of Art opened in Washington, D.C.
1942	Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Australia to become supreme commander of Allied forces in the southwest Pacific theater during World War II.
1959	The Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India in the wake of a failed uprising by Tibetans against Chinese rule.
1969	Golda Meir became prime minister of Israel.
2005	Baseball players Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa testified before Congress that they hadn’t used steroids; Mark McGwire refused to say whether he had.
2009	U.S. journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were detained by North Korea while reporting on North Korean refugees living across the border in China. (They were freed in August.)
2009	The Seattle Post-Intelligencer published its final print edition.
2011	The U.N. Security Council voted to authorize military action to protect civilians and impose a no-fly zone over Libya.

1933	Myrlie Evers-Williams, Former NAACP chairwoman, turns 79
1941	Paul Kantner, Rock musician (Jefferson Airplane/Starship), turns 71
1944	John Sebastian, Rock musician (Lovin’ Spoonful), turns 68
1949	Patrick Duffy, Actor, turns 63
1951	Kurt Russell, Actor, turns 61
1954	Lesley-Anne Down, Actress, turns 58
1960	Vicki Lewis, Actress, turns 52
1967	Billy Corgan, Rock musician (Smashing Pumpkins), turns 45
1972	Mia Hamm, Soccer player, turns 40
1974	Marisa Coughlan, Actress, turns 38

69	Jean-Baptiste Oudry 3/17/1686 – 4/30/1755 French Rococo painter, designer and illustrator
87	Roger Brooke Taney 3/17/1777 – 10/12/1864 5th chief justice of the United States; noted for the Dred Scott decision (1857)
55	Kate Greenaway 3/17/1846 – 11/6/1901 English artist and book illustrator
80	Charles Brush 3/17/1849 – 6/15/1929 American inventor and industrialist
92	Walter Rudolf Hess 3/17/1881 – 8/12/1973 Swiss Nobel Prize-winning physiologist
75	Bayard Rustin 3/17/1912 – 8/24/1987 American civil rights activist
45	Nat King Cole 3/17/1919 – 2/15/1965 American musician
54	Rudolf Nureyev 3/17/1938 – 1/6/1993 Russian ballet dancer