On This Day: Turkish earthquake kills thousands

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1807, Robert Fulton began the first American steamboat trip between Albany, N.Y., and New York City.

In 1915, a hurricane struck Galveston, Texas, killing 275 people.

In 1946, George Orwell publishes Animal Farm.

In 1969, the Woodstock music festival ended after three days on a 600-acre farm in Bethel, N.Y.

File Photo by Mark Goff/Wikipedia

In 1978, Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman completed the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by balloon, landing their helium-filled Double Eagle II near Paris.

In 1987, Rudolf Hess, Hitler's former deputy, was found strangled in Berlin's Spandau Prison. He was 93.

In 1996, the Reform Party nominated Texas businessman Ross Perot for president. He would go on to lose the 1996 general election with 18.9 percent of the popular vote and zero electoral votes. President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, won with 43 percent of the popular vote and 370 electoral votes. Republican George H.W. Bush lost his re-election bid with 37.4 percent of the popular vote and 168 electoral votes.

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In 1998, addressing the American people, U.S. President Bill Clinton said he had a relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky that was "not appropriate."

In 1999, an earthquake in a densely populated region of northwestern Turkey killed at least 17,000 people and injured about 40,000.

In 2017, a man drove a van into a group of pedestrians in Barcelona, Spain, killing 14 people and injuring another 130 people. The driver killed a 15th person in a carjacking while fleeing the scene. In a related attack hours later, a group of terrorists drove into more civilians, killing a 16th person. All told, eight attackers were also killed.

In 2019, an explosion at a Kabul, Afghanistan, wedding hall killed at least 63 people. The Islamic State claimed responsibility.

File Photo by Jawad Jalali/EPA-EFE