Updated
October 17, 2013,
2:28 pm
Go to Index »
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.
Go to article »
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 Oct. 17, 1989, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck northern California, killing 67 people and causing $7 billion worth of damage.
| 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.
|
Historic Birthdays
| 54
|
Johann Gerhard 10/17/1582 - 8/17/1637
German theologian
|
| 75
|
Frederick Childe Hassam 10/17/1859 - 8/27/1935
American painter
|
| 73
|
Ernest Goodpasture 10/17/1886 - 9/20/1960
American pathologist
|
| 90
|
Jean Arthur 10/17/1900 - 6/19/1991
American actress
|
| 37
|
Nathanael West 10/17/1903 - 12/22/1940
American author
|
| 65
|
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 cartoonist
|
| 89
|
Arthur Miller 10/17/1915 - 2/10/2005
Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright
|
| 45
|
Montgomery Clift 10/17/1920 - 7/23/1966
American film actor
|