Historical Events - October 17

 1831 : Michael Faraday demonstrated the properties of electromagnetic induction.

1878 : John A. McDonald was elected Prime Minister of Canada once again after playing the role of opposition in government for five years.

1888 : Thomas Edison filed a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie).

1933 : Albert Einstein fled from Nazi Germany to the United States.

1943 : The Burma Railway (Burma–Thailand Railway) was completed.

1956 : The first commercial nuclear power plant was officially opened in England.

1966 : Botswana and Lesotho joined the United Nations.

1979 : Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1998 : Awarded United Nations Prize to Fatima B. for setting up a model social service project in Andhra Pradesh.

2003 : China succeeded in sending humans to space as Asia’s first in space and third country after Russia.

 

Famous Birthdays   – October 17  

1480: Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer in the service of Spain.

1817: Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, an Indian educator, social reformer and philosopher.

1892: R. K. Shanmukham Chetty, Indian businessman, and politician.

1930: Robert Atkins, creator of the Atkins.

1947: Simmi Garewal, Indian film actress, producer, director.

1955: Smita Patil, Indian actress.

1965: Arvind DeSilva, Sri Lankan cricketer.

1970: Anil Kumble, Indian cricketer.

1992: Keerthy Suresh, Indian actress.

 

Death Anniversaries   – October 17

1887: Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist.

1890: Lalon, Bengali philosopher, and mystic.

1906: Swami Ramtirtha, World-renowned Indian philosopher and poet.

1937: Joseph Bruce Ismay, an English businessman.

1967: Puyi, the last Emperor of China.

1981: Kannadasan, Indian writer, poet, and lyricist.

2008: Ben Weider, co-founder of the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness.