On This Day, Feb. 17: Kosovo declares independence

The Kosovo Olympic team arrives during the opening ceremony for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics at the Olympic Stadium in Daegwalnyeong, South Korea, on February 9. It was the first time the country participated in a Winter Games since declaring independence February 17, 2008. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon (R) and Detroit Lions and former Chicago Bears defensive lineman Israel Idonije (C) emerge from Lake Michigan after doing the polar plunge on March 2, 2014, in Chicago. On February 17, 2014, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" made its debut on NBC. File Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI A statue of President Thomas Jefferson is shown with a wall of bricks to denote each of his slaves at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on September 14, 2016, in Washington, D.C. On February 17, 1801, the U.S. House of Representatives chose Jefferson as the third president of the United States after he and Aaron Burr tied in the Electoral College. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI Newsweek announced on Thursday that it would cease print publication at the end of the year on October 18, 2012, in New York City. On February 17, 1933, Newsweek magazine published its first issue. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

Feb. 17 (UPI) -- 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.

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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.

In 1933, Newsweek magazine published its first issue.

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

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (2nd-L) takes a tour of the National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. File Photo by Altman/UPI

In 1979, "A Prairie Home Companion," hosted by Garrison Keillor, made its debut on National Public Radio.

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.

File Photo by Greg Mathieson/UPI

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 2017, scientists reveal that the islands of New Zealand are what's left of a sunken eighth continent, the majority of which is underwater. The geologists, who published the finding in the journal Nature, dubbed the continent Zealandia.

Photo by Jeff Schmaltz/NASA/MODIS Rapid Response

On This Day: Kosovo declares independence