Oct 17
1933
Albert Einstein arrives in the United States
Albert Einstein arrived in the United States on this day in 1933, never to return to his native Europe. The Nobel Prize-winning physicist had accepted a position at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, but the Nazi takeover of Germany and growing antisemitic threats made his move permanent. Einstein became a U.S. citizen in 1940 and remained in Princeton until his death in 1955.
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On this day in 1979, Mother Teresa, founder of a Roman Catholic order of women dedicated to the poor and particularly to the destitute of India, was named the recipient of that year’s Nobel Prize for Peace.
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American physician Mae Jemison, born this day in 1956, was the first African American woman to become an astronaut, and she spent more than a week orbiting Earth in the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
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2018
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2005
The Colbert Report—an ironic send-up of television news programs, hosted by Stephen Colbert—debuted on Comedy Central; it ran until 2014. [Test your knowledge of pop culture.]
USGS
1989
The magnitude 6.9 San Francisco earthquake struck California’s San Francisco Bay Area, killing 63 people, causing widespread destruction, and interrupting the World Series played between the two Bay Area baseball teams.
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1973
Members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) agreed to cut oil production during the Yom Kippur War, setting the stage for an embargo that sent global energy prices soaring and triggered an international economic crisis. [Learn more about the Arab oil embargo.]
© Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
1972
American rapper and actor Eminem, who was one of the most controversial and best-selling artists of the early 21st century, was born. [Take our hip-hop quiz.]
© Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
1968
The American action film Bullitt was released; it features Steve McQueen in what many consider his definitive role and is also known for its iconic car-chase sequence. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about A-list actors.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1967
Puyi, the last emperor of China, died in Beijing, having ascended the throne at age two in 1908 and abdicated in 1912, bringing more than 2,000 years of imperial rule in China to an end. [Learn more about the Qing Dynasty.]
Courtesy of the OAS (Columbus Memorial Library)
1945
Hundreds of thousands of workers demonstrated in Buenos Aires to demand the release of detained Argentine leader Colonel Juan Perón, a pivotal event in the rise of Peronism that became commemorated annually as Loyalty Day.
© 1939 Columbia Pictures Corporation; photograph from a private collection
1939
The American classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, starring James Stewart, had its world premiere; although it angered the political establishment, the drama won wide acclaim from the public and film industry. [Take our film buff quiz.]
© 1946 Columbia Pictures
1918
American actress Rita Hayworth, whose portrayal of seductresses helped earn her the nickname “The Love Goddess,” was born. [Test your knowledge of women in classic cinema.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital File Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-05697)
1854
British and French troops began the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. [Take our history of war quiz.]
Public Domain
1817
Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, an influential Indian Muslim educator and reformer who championed modern scientific education and founded the institution that became Aligarh Muslim University, was born.
Architect of the Capitol
1777
British General John Burgoyne surrendered his troops following his shocking defeat in the Second Battle of Saratoga. [How much do you know about the American Revolution?]
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1707
German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach at Dornheim. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about music composers.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1448
The last major effort by Crusaders to free the Balkans from Ottoman rule began with the second Battle of Kosovo in Serbia, in which a Hungarian-Walachian army suffered a crushing defeat. [Take our quiz about the Ottoman Empire.]
By permission of the British Library
1346
At the Battle of Neville’s Cross, the English defeated the Scots, who, as allies of the French, had invaded England in an attempt to distract Edward III from the siege of Calais, France. [Test your knowledge of English kings.]
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