Updated June 17, 2014, 6:13 pm
On June 17, 1994, the police charged O. J. Simpson with murdering his former wife and a friend of hers, and then pursued him for about 50 miles along Southern California highways before he finally surrendered outside his home.
On June 17, 1882, Igor Stravinsky, the Russian composer, was born. Following his death on April 6, 1971, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
| 1775 | The Battle of Bunker Hill took place near Boston during the Revolutionary War. |
|---|---|
| 1789 | The Third Estate in France declared itself a national assembly and undertook to frame a constitution. |
| 1856 | The Republican Party opened its first convention, in Philadelphia. |
| 1885 | The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City aboard the French ship Isere. |
| 1928 | Amelia Earhart embarked on the first trans-Atlantic flight by a woman. |
| 1940 | France asked Germany for terms of surrender in World War II. |
| 1961 | Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West while his troupe was in Paris. |
| 1963 | The Supreme Court struck down rules requiring the recitation of the Lord's Prayer or the reading of Biblical verses in public schools. |
| 1994 | After leading police on a chase through Southern California, O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with murder in the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole, and Ronald Goldman. |
| 2008 | Hundreds of same-sex couples got married across California on the first full day that gay marriage became legal by order of the state's highest court. (However, California voters banned gay marriage in November.) |
Historic Birthdays
Igor Stravinsky
6/17/1882 - 4/6/1971
Russian-born American composerGo to obituary »
| 87 |
John Wesley 6/17/1703 (O.S.) - 3/2/1791 English Anglican clergyman and evangelist |
|---|---|
| 75 |
Charles Gounod 6/17/1818 - 10/18/1893 French composer |
| 66 |
E. G. Squier 6/17/1821 - 4/17/1888 American newspaper editor, diplomat and archaeologist |
| 80 |
John Robert Greeg 6/17/1867 - 2/23/1948 Irish-born American inventor of short-hand |
| 67 |
James Weldon Johnson 6/17/1871 - 6/26/1938 American poet, diplomat and anthologist of black culture |
| 37 |
Aleksandr Friedmann 6/17/1888 - 9/16/1925 Russian mathematician and physical scientist |
| 73 |
M. C. Escher 6/17/1898 - 3/27/1972 Dutch graphic artist |
| 44 |
Martin Bormann 6/17/1900 - 5/2/1945 German Nazi party leader |
| 87 |
Sammy Fain 6/17/1902 - 12/6/1989 American composer of popular songs |
| 87 |
Ralph Bellamy 6/17/1904 - 11/29/1991 American motion-picture and stage actor |
| 71 |
Charles Eames 6/17/1907 - 8/21/1978 American designer and architect |
| 78 |
John Hersey 6/17/1914 - 3/24/1993 American novelist and journalist |
| 69 |
Kingman Brewster, Jr. 6/17/1919 - 11/8/1988 American educator, diplomat; president of Yale University (1963-77) |