May 17

Scott Winters May 17, 2024 1 Comment

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1792 – The New York Stock Exchange was founded at 70 Wall Street by 24 brokers.

1846 – The saxophone was patented by Adolphe Sax.

1875 – The first Kentucky Derby took place in Louisville, KY. A horse named Aristides was the winner.

1877 – The first telephone switchboard burglar alarm was installed by Edwin T. Holmes.

1881 – Gold was discovered near Ishpeming, MI, by a Marquette chemist and geologist named Julius Ropes.

1932 – Congress changed the name “Porto Rico” to “Puerto Rico.”

1946 – President Harry Truman seized control of the nation’s railroads, delaying a threatened strike by engineers and trainmen.

1954 – The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled for school integration in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. The ruling declared that racially segregated schools were inherently unequal.

1961 – Cuban leader Fidel Castro offered to free Bay of Pigs Invasion prisoners in exchange for 500 bulldozers.

1973 – The Senate Watergate Committee began their televised hearings.

1975 – NBC TV bought the rights to show the movie “Gone With the Wind”. The one time rights cost NBC $5 million

1977 – Nolan Bushnell opened the first Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in San Jose, CA.

1985 – Bobby Ewing died on the season finale of TV’s “Dallas” on CBS. He returned the following season.

1990 – Kelsey Grammer was sentenced to 30 days in jail for DWI.

1996 – President Bill Clinton signed a measure requiring neighborhood notification when sex offenders move in. Megan’s Law was named for 7-year-old Megan Kanka, who was raped and killed in 1994.

1999 – Alex Trebek received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2000 – After 10 seasons, the final episode of TV’s “Beverly Hills, 90210” aired.

2000 – The Eagles filed suit against the “Hotel California” restaurant in Dallas, TX, alleging trademark violations.

2001 – The U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp based on Charles M. Schulz’s “Peanuts” comic strip.

2005 – Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson on TV’s “The Simpsons”, was elected mayor of Northridge, CA.

2006 – The U.S. aircraft carrier Oriskany was sunk about 24 miles off Pensacola Beach. It was the first vessel sunk under a Navy program to dispose of old warships by turning them into diving attractions. It was the largest man-made reef at the time of the sinking.

2011 – The final episode of “The Oprah Winfrey” show was recorded in Chicago, IL.

BIRTHDAYS:

Taj Mahal – 82 years old (1942) – Singer

Bill Bruford – 75 years old (1949) – Drummer (Yes, King Crimson)

Kathleen Sullivan – 71 years old (1953) – Television journalist

Sugar Ray Leonard – 68 years old (1956) – Boxer

Audie Desbrow – 67 years old (1957) – Drummer (Great White)

Paul Di’Anno – 66 years old (1958) – Vocalist (Iron Maiden)

Jim Nantz – 65 years old (1959) – Sports announcer (CBS)

Enya – 63 years old (1961) – Singer

Craig Ferguson – 62 years old (1962) – Television host (“The Late Late Show”, “The Drew Carey Show”)

Page McConnell – 61 years old (1963) – Keyboardist (Phish)

Trent Reznor – 59 years old (1965) – Lead vocalist (Nine Inch Nails)

Paige Turco – 59 years old (1965) – Actress (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze”, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III”, TV’s “All My Children”, “The Agency”, “The 100”)

Hill Harper – 58 years old (1966) – Actor (“CSI: NY”, “Limitless”)

Thom Filicia – 55 years old (1969) – Television personality (TV’s “Queer Eye For the Straight Guy”)

Jordan Knight – 54 years old (1970) – Singer (New Kids on the Block)

Sasha Alexander – 51 years old (1973) – Actress (TV’s “Rizzoli and Isles”, “NCIS”, “Dawson’s Creek”)

Stefanie Ridel – 51 years old (1973) – Singer, TV host (TV’s “Great Pretenders”)

Sendhil Ramamurthy – 50 years old (1974) – Actor (TV’s “Heroes”, “Covert Affairs”)

Kandi Burruss – 48 years old (1976) – Musician (Xscape, TV’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta”, “The Kandi Factory”)

Derek Hough – 39 years old (1985) – Dancer, judge (TV’s “Dancing With the Stars”, “World of Dance”)

Tahj Mowry – 38 years old (1986) – Actor (TV’s “Smart Guy”, “Full House”)

Erin Richards – 38 years old (1986) – Actress (TV’s “Gotham”. “Breaking In”)

Nikki Reed – 36 years old (1988) – Actress (“The Twilight Saga” movies, “Thirteen”, “Lords of Dogtown”)