Updated October 16, 2012, 2:28 pm
On Oct. 17, 1931, mobster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was released in 1939.
On Oct. 17, 1918, Rita Hayworth, the legendary Hollywood beauty, was born. Following her death on May 14, 1987, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1777 British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American troops in Saratoga, N.Y., in a turning point of the Revolutionary War. 1919 The Radio Corporation of America was created. 1931 Mobster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison. 1945 Col. Juan Peron staged a coup, becoming absolute ruler of Argentina. 1957 French author Albert Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. 1973 Arab oil-producing nations announced they would cut back oil exports to Western nations and Japan; the result was a total embargo that lasted until March 1974. 1979 Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on behalf of the destitute in Calcutta. 1987 First lady Nancy Reagan underwent a modified radical mastectomy. 2007 President George W. Bush, raising Beijing’s ire, presented the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal and urged Chinese leaders to welcome the monk to Beijing. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Golfer Ernie Els turns 43 years old today.
AP Photo/Eric Risberg
Singer Wyclef Jean turns 40 years old today.
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
1930 Jimmy Breslin, Newspaper columnist, turns 82 1942 Jim Seals, Singer (Seals & Crofts), turns 70 1947 Michael McKean, Actor (“This is Spinal Tap,” “Laverne and Shirley”), turns 65 1948 Margot Kidder, Actress, turns 64 1948 George Wendt, Actor (“Cheers”), turns 64 1958 Alan Jackson, Country singer, turns 54 1960 Rob Marshall, Director, turns 52 1962 Mike Judge, Animator, director (“Beavis and Butthead”), turns 50 1963 Norm Macdonald, Actor, comedian (“Saturday Night Live”), turns 49 1968 Ziggy Marley, Reggae musician, turns 44 1972 Eminem, Rapper, turns 40 Historic Birthdays
Rita Hayworth 10/17/1918 – 5/14/1987 American film actress.Go to obituary »
54 Johann Gerhard 10/17/1582 – 8/17/1637
German theologian75 Frederick Childe Hassam 10/17/1859 – 8/27/1935
American painter73 Ernest Goodpasture 10/17/1886 – 9/20/1960
American pathologist90 Jean Arthur 10/17/1900 – 6/19/1991
American actress37 Nathanael West 10/17/1903 – 12/22/1940
American author65 Pope John Paul I 10/17/1912 – 9/28/1978
Pope of the Roman Catholic Church (1978)81 Jerry Siegel 10/17/1914 – 1/28/1996
American cartoonist89 Arthur Miller 10/17/1915 – 2/10/2005
Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright45 Montgomery Clift 10/17/1920 – 7/23/1966
American film actor
