December 17 - Phan

Phan

(4/17/12)

This Day In History

1538

Pope Paul III excommunicates Henry VIII of England.

1577

Francis Drake sails from Plymouth, England, on a secret mission to explore the Pacific Coast of the Americas for English Queen Elizabeth I.

1791

New York City traffic regulation creates first one-way street.

1865

First performance of the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert.

1903

The Wright Brothers make their first powered and heavier-than-air flight in the Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

1935

First flight of the Douglas DC-3.

1969
The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs, Project Blue Book, stating that sightings are generated as a result of "A mild form of mass hysteria, Individuals who fabricate such reports to perpetrate a hoax or seek publicity, psychopathological persons, and misidentification of various conventional objects."

1989

The first episode of television series The Simpsons, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", airs in the United States.
1999
Premiere of "Fantasia 2000."

2003

SpaceShipOne makes its eighth independent flight, its first powered flight, and the first privately-funded manned flight to reach supersonic speeds.

Famous Birthdays

1619

Prince Rupert of the Rhine, English Civil War figure (d. 1682)

1770

(baptism date) Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer and pianist (d. 1827)

1873

Ford Madox Ford, English writer (d. 1939)

1894

Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (d. 1979)

1913

Burt Baskin, American entrepreneur (Baskin and Robbins) (d. 1967)

1929

William Safire, American columnist (d. 2009)

1944

Jack L. Chalker, American science fiction novelist (d. 2005)
Bernard Hill, English actor

1945

Ernie Hudson, American actor

1947

Wes Studi, American actor

1953

Bill Pullman, American actor

1974
Duff Goldman, American chef

Sarah Paulson, American actress

1975

Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-born actress
1978
Chase Utley, American baseball player