Today in History

Today in History

Today is Monday, July 17, the 198th day of 2017. There are 167 days left in the year.

Today's Highlights in History:

On July 17, 1967, after seven dates, Jimi Hendrix quit as the opening act for the Monkees following a concert at Forest Hills Stadium in New York. (Although greatly admired by the Monkees, Hendrix had received a less than enthusiastic reception from their fans.) Jazz composer-musician John Coltrane died in Long Island, New York, at age 40.

On this date:

In 1717, George Frideric Handel's "Water Music" was first performed by an orchestra during a boating party on the River Thames, with the musicians on one barge, and King George I listening from another.

In 1821, Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

In 1917, during World War I, Britian's King George V issued a proclamation decreeing that the royal family adopt the name "Windsor" while relinquishing "the Use of All German Titles and Dignities." Comedian and actress Phyllis Diller was born in Lima, Ohio.

In 1918, Russia's Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks.

In 1936, the Spanish Civil War began as right-wing army generals launched a coup attempt against the Second Spanish Republic.

In 1944, during World War II, 320 men, two-thirds of them African-Americans, were killed when a pair of ammunition ships exploded at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California.

In 1955, Disneyland had its opening day in Anaheim, California.

In 1975, an Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit in the first superpower link-up of its kind.

In 1981, 114 people were killed when a pair of suspended walkways above the lobby of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed during a tea dance.

In 1996, TWA Flight 800, a Europe-bound Boeing 747, exploded and crashed off Long Island, New York, shortly after departing John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 230 people on board.

In 1997, Woolworth Corp. announced it was closing its 400 remaining five-and-dime stores across the country, ending 117 years in business.

In 2014, all 298 passengers and crew aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 were killed when the Boeing 777 was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine.

Ten years ago: Senate Democrats launched an all-night debate on the Iraq war. VA Secretary Jim Nicholson abruptly resigned in the wake of charges of shoddy health care for veterans injured in the Iraq war. A Brazilian passenger jet crashed while landing in Sao Paulo, Brazil, killing all 187 people aboard and 12 on the ground. Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury in Richmond, Virginia, on charges related to competitive dogfighting. (Vick later admitted bankrolling the dogfighting operation and helping to kill six to eight dogs; he served 23 months in federal custody, the last 60 days in home confinement.) The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 14,000 for the first time before ending the day at 13,971.55.

Five years ago: Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke painted a bleak picture of where the U.S. economy was headed if Congress failed to reach agreement soon to avert a budget crisis. Israel plunged toward a political crisis after the largest party in the government quit, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in charge of a hard-line coalition opposed to most Mideast peace moves. Basketball sensation Jeremy Lin returned to Houston after the New York Knicks decided they wouldn't match the Rockets' three-year, $25 million offer for the restricted free agent.

One year ago: Three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers investigating a report of a man with an assault rifle were killed, less than two weeks after a black man was shot and killed by police in the city in a confrontation that sparked nightly protests that reverberated nationwide. (The gunman was killed by tactical officers.) Henrik Stenson shot an 8-under 63 to beat Phil Mickelson by three strokes, becoming the first man from Sweden to win the British Open.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Donald Sutherland is 85. Actress-singer Diahann Carroll is 82. Rock musician Spencer Davis is 78. Sportscaster Verne Lundquist is 77. Comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor is 77. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is 70. Rock musician Terry "Geezer" Butler is 68. Actress Lucie Arnaz is 66. Actor David Hasselhoff is 65. Rock musician Fran Smith Jr. (The Hooters) is 65. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is 63. Television producer Mark Burnett is 57. Actress Nancy Giles is 57. Singer Regina Belle is 54. Rock musician Kim Shattuck is 54. Country singer Craig Morgan is 53. Rock musician Lou Barlow is 51. Contemporary Christian singer Susan Ashton is 50. Actor Andre Royo is 49. Actress Bitty Schram is 49. Actor Jason Clarke is 48. Movie director F. Gary Gray is 48. Singer JC (PM Dawn) is 46. Rapper Sole' is 44. Country singer Luke Bryan is 41. Actor Eric Winter is 41. Hockey player Marc Savard is 40. Actor Mike Vogel is 38. Actor Tom Cullen is 32. Actor Brando Eaton is 31. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jeremih is 30. Actress Summer Bishil is 29. Actress Billie Lourd is 25. Actor Leo Howard is 20.

Thought for Today: "Sometimes it's worse to win a fight than to lose." -- Billie Holiday, American jazz singer (born 1915, died this date in 1959).