On This Day in History

February 17

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​Historical Events​

​1568 Treaty of Adrianople: Representatives of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II and Ottoman Sultan Selim II agree to a peace plan ending the war between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire; Maximilian agrees to provide a cash "present" and ruling authority is granted to the Ottomans in Transylvania, Moldavia, and Wallachia

Columbia, South Carolina burns after being captured at the end of the American Civil War

​1865 Union forces led by William T. Sherman capture the state capital of Columbia, South Carolina. The city is ablaze by nightfall, fanned by high winds devastating much of the city. It is not known which side started the fires.

​1876 Sardines first canned by Julius Wolff in Eastport, Maine

Margaret Thatcher campaigning to stay in Europe during the 1975 referendum

​1972 British Parliament votes to join the European Economic Community​

​2017 Discovery of a new mostly underwater continent, Zealandia, in the South Pacific is announced in the research journal "GSA Today"

More Historical Events

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​Famous Birthdays​

​Thomas J. Watson​ ​1874 - 1956

​Huey P. Newton​ ​1942 - 1989

​Michael Jordan​ ​62nd Birthday

​Ed Sheeran​ ​34th Birthday

Also Khun Sa and Billie Joe Armstrong (53)

More Famous Birthdays

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​Famous Deaths​

​Christopher Latham Sholes​ ​1819 - 1890

​Geronimo​ ​1829 - 1909

More Famous Deaths

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​The General, The Schoolgirl, And The Famous One-Word Despatch​

A magazine hailed General Charles Napier’s battlefield despatch as the finest since Roman times, but it was in fact the work of a clever schoolgirl.

The Bravest Soldier of the British Empire?