On This Day in History - February 17th - Almanac

Today is Monday, Feb. 17, the 48th day of 2020 with 318 to follow.

This is President's Day in the United States.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Venus. Evening stars are Mercury, Neptune, Uranus and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include: mail-order retailer Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1844; Texas oil millionaire H.L. Hunt in 1889; author Margaret Truman Daniel, daughter of U.S. President Harry S. Truman, in 1924; actor Hal Holbrook in 1925 (age 95); actor/football Hall of Fame member Jim Brown in 1936 (age 84); singer Gene Pitney in 1940; political activist Huey P. Newton in 1942; actor Brenda Fricker in 1945 (age 75); actor Rene Russo in 1954 (age 66); actor Richard Karn in 1956 (age 64); actor Lou Diamond Phillips in 1962 (age 58); comedian Larry the Cable Guy, born Daniel Whitney, in 1963 (age 57); basketball superstar Michael Jordan in 1963 (age 57); film director Michael Bay in 1965 (age 55); actor Denise Richards in 1971 (age 49); musician Billie Joe Armstrong in 1972 (age 48); actor Jerry O'Connell in 1974 (age 46); actor Jason Ritter in 1980 (age 40); heiress Paris Hilton 1981 (age 39); actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 1981 (age 39); actor/singer Chord Overstreet in 1989 (age 31); actor Bonnie Wright in 1991 (age 29); singer Ed Sheeran in 1991 (age 29); actor Jeremy Allen White in 1991 (age 29); actor Sasha Pieterse in 1996 (age 24).

On this date in history:

In 1801, the U.S. House of Representatives chose Thomas Jefferson as the third president of the United States after he and Aaron Burr tied in the Electoral College. It took 35 House ballots before Jefferson won and Burr became vice president.

In 1904, Giacomo Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" premiered in Milan, Italy.

In 1909, Apache leader Geronimo died while under military confinement at Fort Sill, Okla. His grave remains there despite later efforts to move his remains to his native Arizona.

In 1933, Newsweek magazine published its first issue.

In 1968, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opened in Springfield, Mass.

In 1993, a ferry capsized during stormy weather off the western coast of Haiti, killing more than 500 people.

In 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush nominated John Negroponte to be the first director of national intelligence. Negroponte assumed office the following month.

In 2006, a landslide that covered a village in Leyte in the central Philippines killed more than 1,100 people, including scores of children in an elementary school that was buried by mud and boulders.

In 2008, the province of Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Thousands of ethnic Albanians celebrated in the streets but others resorted to violent protest. The United States and several other countries, including Britain, Germany, and France, recognized Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state.

In 2009, General Motors and Chrysler asked for an additional $14 billion from the government to keep from going bankrupt. That upped their total requests to $39 billion.

In 2011, the British government advised same-sex couples they could form civil partnerships in church if they wished.

In 2014, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon made its debut on NBC.

In 2019, Denny Hamlin held off Kyle Busch to win the 2019 Daytona 500 in Florida.

A thought for the day: "Let us do something beautiful for God." -- Mother Teresa