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June 17th Major News Events

  1. 1885 France gifted the Statue of Liberty to the United States.
  2. 1930 President Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Bill into law.
  3. 1940 France surrendered to Germany during World War II.
  4. 1967 China successfully launched its first hydrogen bomb.
  5. 1974 The IRA bombed the British Houses of Parliament.

Find More Details for What happened 17th June This Day in History on your birthday

1885 U.S.A. Statue of Liberty

1885 : The French gift to the United States to mark the Centennial of the American Declaration of Independence From Great Britain "The Statue of Liberty" arrives in New York City aboard the French ship Isere.


1930 U.S.A. Smoot Hawley Tariff Bill

1930 : Following the stock market crash in 1929, President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff bill which raised duties on imports to preserve the domestic market for American-made goods making it difficult if not nearly impossible for other countries to export goods into the U.S.A. . In retaliation large numbers of foreign nations retaliated by enacting their own hefty tariffs, as well as quotas on imports. Many economists at the time and today believe this made the problems for America even worse than they already were. More about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff


1934 Cuba ABC Society Members

1934 : Twelve people die and another fifty one are injured during an attack on a parade. 30,000 ABC society members marched through the streets of Havana and as they reached Prado boulevard the radical guerrillas attacked. The guerrillas carefully planned their attack and opened fire on the paraders. The ABC marchers returned fire but casualties were still inflicted.


1940 France Surrenders To Germany

1940 : France surrenders to Germany but many thousands flee to England to continue the fight or join the the French Underground Resistance.


1947 U.S.A. Universal Military Training

1947 : President Truman declares that universal military training is necessary in the fight against totalitarian nations.


Born This Day In History 17th June

Celebrating Birthday Today

James Brown

Born: June 17th, 1928, Pulaski, Tennassee

Known For : The dates and locations of James Brown's birth vary from source to source, but the Godfather of Soul was sent to the Alto Reform School in Taccoa, Georgia in 1949 (from which he was paroled after three years). He joined the Gospel Starlighters (which was renamed the Famous Flames) and released Please, Please, Please in 1956. The influence of gospel singing meant that Brown would not produce any more hits until 1958 by when he was able to concentrate on his more emotionally driven songs. He was one of the earliest soul singers, and became something of a spokesman for the black community. He had numerous hits throughout the Sixties and had started to release his own tracks. He released 114 singles in his career, with the notable I Got You (I Feel Good), Try Me, Papa's Got A Brand New Bag and Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud being released in the Sixties.

1948 U.S.A. DC-6 Plane Crash

1948 : A United Airlines DC-6, flying from San Diego to New York, crashed in Pennsylvania as it attempted an emergency landing.


1951 Korea Casualties

1951 : James A. Van Fleet, an American Lieutenant General, reports that his Army troops inflicted 215,989 casualties on Chinese and North Korean communists since the Spring.


1953 East Germany Riots

1953 : Following riots in East Berlin which began among construction workers, who took to the streets on June 16, 1953 , to protest against the communist government of East Germany which grew to over 50,000 workers from many jobs. The Soviet Union sent an entire armored division of its troops into East Berlin to crush the rebellion.


1958 Canada Second Narrows Bridge Collapses

1958 : The Second Narrows Bridge being built to connect eastern and northern Vancouver in western Canada collapses, killing 59 workers.


1967 China Hydrogen Bomb

1967 : Chinese scientists successfully launched the country's first hydrogen bomb.


1972 U.S.A. Start Of Watergate

1972 : Five men are arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office, hotel, and apartment complex in Washington, D.C., when they are arrested they have burglary tools, cameras and film, they were later identified as part of Nixon's re-election team.


1974 Australia French Atom Bomb

1974 : The Australian government reports that France detonated atom bomb over the Pacific Ocean. This explosion was one in a series of nuclear tests that France was supposed to conduct in 1974. The Australian government voiced protests over the nuclear testing while expressing fears that Australian territory would experience the radioactive fallout from the tests. The French government made no response to Australia's claims.


1974 UK Houses of Parliament Bombed

1974 : The IRA has planted A bomb in the British Houses of Parliament, injuring 11 people.


1980 UK Cruise Missiles

1980 : Secretary of State for Defence Francis Pym has announced 160 US nuclear cruise missiles will be located at RAF Greenham Common, Berkshire, and the disused RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire. In 1991 following the 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States the weapons were removed. In 1981 following the decision a women's peace camp was set up at Greenham Common which remained there to protest the basing of American nuclear weapons in the UK.


1986 South Africa Censorship Media

1986 : The South African government censors reporters and the news media due to recent outbreaks of unrest throughout the nation. The country was in a state of emergency, but leaders still claimed that there was not mass unrest in the country.


1994 U.S.A. O.J. Simpson

1994 : O.J. Simpson wanted on questioning for the June 12th double-murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald L. Goldmans surrenders outside his Rockingham estate to Los Angeles police.


1999 Europe Coca-Cola

1999 : Following 100 Belgian schoolchildren falling ill due to drinking Coca-Cola which triggered a blood disorder that caused the destruction of red blood cells. Many Coca-Cola products has been taken off the shelves in four European countries. Belgium have removed all beverages made by the company from the shelves. Luxembourg have removed all beverages made by the company from the shelves. France has withdrawn drinks bottled at Coca-Cola plant at Dunkirk near the Belgian border. Netherlands, the Coca-Cola company has withdrawn all Belgian-produced beverages.


2002 U.S.A. Saddam Hussein

2002 : A leak from the Central Intelligence Agency / CIA tells of President George Bush's determination to succeed where his father failed and considers the removal of his adversary Saddam Hussein as a major goal of his first term of office telling the CIA to overthrow or capture Saddam Hussein. In March 2003 the United States led an invasion of Iraq code-named "Operation Iraqi Freedom."


2005 Church of England Names First Black Archbishop

2005 : The Church of England named John Sentamu, a Ugandan-born cleric, as the Archbishop of York, making him the first black person to be appointed as an archbishop in the Church of England.


2007 Italy Fashion Icon Ferre Dies

2007 : Fashion designer Gianfranco Ferre died of a brain hemorrhage in the San Raffaele hospital. Ferre was a designer under Christian Dior from 1989 until 1997, and created his own label called Baila.


2008 Canada Fifth Foot Found on Beach

2008 : A fifth severed foot is found on Vancouver beaches by police. The first two feet washed up on the beach in August of 2007, with the third and fourth arriving in February and May of 2008. Most of the feet that were found had running shoes on, and as of 2010, at least ten feet were found between Vancouver in Canada and Washington State in the United States. There were no obvious explanations found for the feet, but many different theories prevailed, including that the feet belonged to mafia victims, 2004 Asian tsunami victims, or people missing from a 2005 plane crash.


2012 LA Riots Figure Rodney King Dies

2012 : Rodney King, known as the face of the LA Riots in 1991 after being the subject of police brutality, was found dead at the age of forty-seven. King's body was found by his fiance at the bottom of a pool, foul play was not suspected.


2013 China Supercomputer Named Fastest

2013 : China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer has reclaimed its title as the world's most powerful and fastest computer. The Tianhe-2 was developed by the University of Defense Technology in China and was not expected to be ready until 2015. The computer's performance power is almost double the next computer on the list.


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