On Oct. 17, 1931, mobster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was released in 1939.
On Oct. 17, 1918, Rita Hayworth, the legendary Hollywood beauty, was born. Following her death on May 14, 1987, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On Oct. 17, 1989, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck northern California, killing 67 people and causing $7 billion worth of damage.
On This Date
| 1777 | British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American troops in Saratoga, N.Y., in a turning point of the Revolutionary War. |
|---|---|
| 1919 | The Radio Corporation of America was created. |
| 1931 | Mobster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison. |
| 1945 | Col. Juan Peron staged a coup, becoming absolute ruler of Argentina. |
| 1957 | French author Albert Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. |
| 1973 | Arab oil-producing nations announced they would cut back oil exports to Western nations and Japan; the result was a total embargo that lasted until March 1974. |
| 1979 | Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on behalf of the destitute in Calcutta. |
| 1987 | First lady Nancy Reagan underwent a modified radical mastectomy. |
| 2007 | President George W. Bush, raising Beijing's ire, presented the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal and urged Chinese leaders to welcome the monk to Beijing. |
Historic Birthdays
Rita Hayworth
10/17/1918 - 5/14/1987
American film actress.Go to obituary »
| 54 |
Johann Gerhard 10/17/1582 - 8/17/1637 German theologian |
|---|---|
| 75 |
Frederick Childe Hassam 10/17/1859 - 8/27/1935 American painter |
| 73 |
Ernest Goodpasture 10/17/1886 - 9/20/1960 American pathologist |
| 90 |
Jean Arthur 10/17/1900 - 6/19/1991 American actress |
| 37 |
Nathanael West 10/17/1903 - 12/22/1940 American author |
| 65 |
Pope John Paul I 10/17/1912 - 9/28/1978 Pope of the Roman Catholic Church (1978) |
| 81 |
Jerry Siegel 10/17/1914 - 1/28/1996 American cartoonist |
| 89 |
Arthur Miller 10/17/1915 - 2/10/2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright |
| 45 |
Montgomery Clift 10/17/1920 - 7/23/1966 American film actor |