On This Day October 17th
OTD
October 17th is the 290th day of the year in the Gregorian
calendar; 75 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
1091 – London tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of
strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London.
1558 – Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, is founded.
1604 – Kepler's Supernova is observed in the constellation
of Ophiuchus.
1781 – American Revolutionary War: British General Charles
Earl Cornwallis surrendered at the Yorktown Siege.
1814 – Eight people died in the London Beer Flood.
1860 – First The Open Championship (referred to in North
America as the British Open).
1907 – Marconi begins the first commercial transatlantic
wireless service.
1933 – Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the
United States.
1956 – Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the first
commercial nuclear power station in Sellafield, England.
2003 – Taipei 101, a 101-floor skyscraper in Taipei, becomes
the world's tallest high-rise.
Birthdays
1587 – Nathan Field, English dramatist and actor (d. 1620)
1720 – Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini, Italian harpsichord
player and composer (d. 1795)
1785 – Christen Smith, Norwegian scientist (d. 1816)
1821 – Alexander Gardner, Scottish photographer (d. 1882)
1860 – Henry Campbell Black, founder of Black's Law
Dictionary (d. 1927)
1902 – Irene Ryan, American actress, Granny Clampett (d.
1973)
1909 – Cozy Cole, American drummer (d. 1981)
1915 – Arthur Miller, American playwright and screenwriter
(d. 2005)
1918 – Ralph Wilson, American businessman, founded the
Buffalo Bills (d. 2014)
1938 – Evel Knievel, American motorcycle rider and stuntman
(d. 2007)
1948 – George Wendt, American actor and comedian
1962 – Mike Judge, American animator, director,
screenwriter, producer, and actor
1972 – Eminem, American rapper, producer, and actor
1974 – John Rocker, American baseball player
Holiday Spotlight
Black Poetry Day
In 1970, a folk musician, Stanley A. Ransom, proposed that
October 17 be set aside to celebrate black culture and literature. Black Poetry
Day was created in 1985 to honor the birth of the pioneer Black poet in the
United States, Jupiter Hammon, and to call attention to African-American
writers' literary works and accomplishments.
Hammon was born during slavery on October 17, 1711, at Lloyd
Manor in Long Island. His masters, The Lloyds, allowed him to receive some
education through the Anglican Church’s Society for The Propagation of the
Gospel in Foreign Parts. Hammon took advantage of this education and created
poetry supported by layered metaphors and symbols. In 1761, when he was nearly
50, Jupiter Hammon published his first poem, "An Evening Thought:
Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries.” As a respected preacher and clerk,
his poems about slavery received wide circulation. Eighteen years after his
first poem was published, Jupiter Hammon published a second one, “An Address to
Miss Phillis Wheatley.” Wheatley was the first published black female author,
and Jupiter Hammon admired her and encouraged her with a dedication poem.
Hammon recognized the need to support and encourage other
black writers like himself, especially when black writers rarely received the
support their white counterparts did. Today, thousands of talented black poets
worldwide write about the shared black experience and their unique experiences
through different forms, including written poetry, rap, and spoken-word poetry.
While Black Poetry Day is celebrated throughout the United States, Oregon is
the only state to designate it as a state holiday.
Day of Dignity (Bolivia)
Dessalines Day (Hati)
Information Overload Day
International Cassette Store Day
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
Mulligan Day
National Edge Day
National Face Your Fears Day
National Pharmacy Technician Day
National Playing Card Collectors Day
Pay Back a Friend Day
Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity
Spreadsheet Day
Wear Something Gaudy Day
World Trauma Day
Women in Military Service for America Memorial Anniversary
Comments
Post a Comment