Daily Calendar for Friday, January 17, 2025

Benjamin Franklin, born on January 17, 1706, not only was a world-renowned statesman, inventor, and scientist, but also was fascinated by agriculture. To demonstrate the value of gypsum as fertilizer, he applied it to a field in a pattern that spelled out, β€œThis land has been plastered.” Sure enough, clover in the fertilized area exhibited more vigorous growth.

Born

  • Benjamin Franklin (U.S. statesman ) –
  • James Madison Randolph (grandson of Thomas Jefferson; first baby born in the White House) –
  • Anne BrontΓ« (novelist) –
  • Al Capone (gangster) –
  • Betty White (actress) –
  • Eartha Kitt (American singer ) –
  • James Earl Jones (actor) –
  • Shari Lewis (actress and puppeteer, best know for Lamb Chop) –
  • Maury Povich (talk show host) –
  • Muhammad Ali (boxer) –
  • Mick Taylor (musician) –
  • Andy Kaufman (comedian & actor) –
  • Steve Harvey (actor and television host) –
  • Jim Carrey (actor) –
  • Michelle Obama (U.S. First Lady) –

Died

  • Thomas Lincoln (father of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln) –
  • John Baker (Canada’s last ex-slave) –
  • Chang and Eng Bunker (Siamese twins) –
  • Rutherford B. Hayes (19th U.S. president) –
  • Camilo Jose Cela (won the 1989 Nobel Prize in Literature for works such as The Family of Pascual Duarte) –
  • Harvey Matusow (former aide to Sen. McCarthy who was imprisoned for lying before the House of Un-American Activities) –
  • Norman Kay (dubbed the Babe Ruth of bridgeβ€β€œ) –
  • Gertrude Janeway (the last widow of a Union veteran from the Civil War) –
  • Noble Willingham (actor) –
  • Virginia Mayo (actress) –
  • Art Buchwald (humorist) –
  • Bobby Fischer (champion chess player) –
  • Johnny Otis (musician; known as the godfather of R&B) –

Events

  • Andrew S. Hallidie received a patent for a cable car system–
  • Meeting held to form the Professional Golfers Association–
  • The first Volkswagen Beetle arrived in the United States from Germany–
  • President Dwight Eisenhower delivered his farewell address on television–
  • Simon and Garfunkel released their album, Sounds of Silence–
  • Gary Gilmore was the first person legally executed in the U.S. after the death penalty was reinstated–
  • British Telecom announced the retirement of Britain’s red telephone boxes–
  • 6.7 earthquake occurred in Northridge, California–

Weather

  • St. Elmo’s fire occurred in the Connecticut River Valley–
  • Seventeen degrees below zero F, Millsboro, Delaware–
  • Washington, D.C., had a temperature of -5 degrees F–
  • Chicago, Illinois, had a temperature of -23 degrees F–
  • Boulder, Colorado, had wind gusts up to 135 mph–
  • Snow and hail fell in Los Angeles and Malibu, California–
  • St. John’s, Newfoundland, recorded new record for most snow in one day with 30 inches (76.2 centimeter) –

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