What Happened on August 17

Historical Events

1796 – British defeat Batavian navy in Saldanha Bay, South Africa
1960 – Indonesia drops diplomatic relations with Netherlands
1987 – Muhammad Ali elected to “Ring” magazine’s Boxing Hall of Fame
1991 – Royals Warren Cromartie’s 1st major league HR since 1983
2008 – German swimmer Britta Steffen beats American Dara Torres by 0.01 in the 50m to wrap up the 50/100m double at the Beijing Olympics
2016 – German pair Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst upsets Brazilian hometown favourites Ágatha Bednarczuk and Bárbara Seixas 21–18, 21–14 to win the Olympic women’s beach volleyball gold in Rio de Janeiro

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Famous Birthdays

1753 – Josef Dobrovský, Czech linguist (d. 1828)
1888 – Monty Wooley, American actor (Pied Piper, The Man Who Came to Dinner), born in NYC, New York (d. 1963)
1906 – Marcello Caetano, last Portuguese prime minister of the Estado Novo regime (1968-1974), born in Graça, Lisbon, Portugal (d. 1980)
1952 – (Terry) “Topper” Price, American blues, jazz and rock vocalist and harmonica player (The Upsetters). born in Plateau, Alabama (d. 2007)
1963 – Jackie Walorski, American politician (Rep-R-Indiana 2013-22), born in South Bend, Indiana (d. 2022)
1986 – Tyrus Thomas, American basketball player, born in Batton, Rouge, Louisiana

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Famous Deaths

1153 – Eustace IV of Boulogne, son of Stephen of England (b. 1130)
1635 – Francisco de Moncada, Spanish earl of Osuna, dies at 48
1875 – Wilhelm Bleek, German linguist (Father of Bantu Philology), dies at 48
1972 – Alexander Vampilov, Russian playwright (Elder Son), drowns at 34
1995 – Marjorie Sykes, British educator, peace activist, and Indian independence campaigner, dies at 90
2013 – John Hollander, American poet and literary critic, dies at 83

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