January 17, 1706 - Benjamin Franklin, inventor and statesman, is born.

January 17, 1893 - Queen Liliuokalani, the Hawaiian monarch, is overthrown by a group of American sugar planters led by Sanford Ballard Dole, who was then appointed president of the provincial government they put in place.

January 17, 1899 - Al Capone, mobster, is born.

January 17, 1900 - The House of Representatives refuses to allow Mormon Brigham Roberts to take his seat due to his practice of polygamy.

January 17, 1938 - Carnegie Hall in New York City is treated to his first night of jazz. Benny Goodman and his orchestra performed.

January 17, 1942 - Muhammad Ali, champion boxer, is born.

January 17, 1949 - Car dealerships in the United States begin to carry the German Volkswagen.

 

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January 17, 1950 - The Brinks Armored Car depot in Boston, Massachusetts loses more than $2 million to thieves. They were eventually caught.

January 17, 1961 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his farewell address, calling for diplomacy, restraint and compassion in dealing with the Soviet Union.

January 17, 1966 - Colliding in mid air with a jet tanker over Spain's Mediterranean coast, a United States Air Force B-52 bomber drops three hydrogen bombs near the town of Palomares and one in the sea. Although the bombs were not armed, the resultant scattering of radioactive plutonium required decontamination.

January 17, 1977 - Gary Gilmore becomes the first criminal to be executed in the United States since the reinstitution of the death penalty in 1976. He was convicted of murder, executed by firing squad in Utah.

January 17, 1994 - Northridge, California experiences a 6.7 magnitude earthquake.

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" - Benjamin Franklin