1790: Adam Smith, a Scottish economist and philosopher who pioneered the thinking of political economy and a key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment dies at the age of 67.
1917: On July 17, 1917, during the third year of World War I, Britain’s King George V orders the British royal family to dispense with the use of German titles and surnames, changing the surname of his own family, the decidedly Germanic Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, to Windsor.
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1955: Disneyland opens
Disneyland, Walt Disney’s metropolis of nostalgia, fantasy, and futurism, opens on July 17, 1955. The $17 million theme park was built on 160 acres of former orange groves in Anaheim, California, and soon brought in staggering profits. Today, Disneyland hosts more than 18 million visitors a year, who spend close to $3 billion.
Walt Disney, born in Chicago in 1901, worked as a commercial artist before setting up a small studio in Los Angeles to produce animated cartoons. In 1928, his short film Steamboat Willy, starring the character “Mickey Mouse,” was a national sensation. It was the first animated film to use sound, and Disney provided the voice for Mickey.
1959: Billie Holiday, an American jazz and swing music singer dies at the age of 44. Nicknamed “Lady Day” by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made a significant contribution to jazz music and pop singing. Holiday dies at 3:10 am on July 17, 1959, of pulmonary edema and heart failure caused by cirrhosis of the liver linked to alcohol abuse.
1976: The 21st modern Olympic Games opens in Montreal: 25 African teams (later rising to 33 nations) boycott the games due to New Zealand playing rugby in apartheid South Africa.
1976: Indonesia annexes East Timor and declares it its 27th province. This was the culmination of an 8-month long Indonesian invasion and occupation of the Southeast Asian country that began just after East Timor declared its independence from Portugal in November 1975.
1984: Jesse Jackson delivers “Rainbow Coalition” speech at DNC. On July 17, 1984, the Reverend Jesse Jackson delivers his famous “Rainbow Coalition” speech in San Francisco at the Democratic National Convention, which presents the upcoming election as a stark choice between a future of justice for all or advantages for some under another term for President Ronald Reagan. He is the first African American to stand at the podium of a major party convention as a presidential candidate.
1987: Former Guinness director Thomas Ward was ordered to repay £5.2m to the brewing giants after being found guilty of illegal practices during the takeover of drinks company Distillers Group the previous year.
1989: The Stealth Bomber makes its debut. The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit made its first public flight from Palmdale, California.
1995: Bill Gates became the richest man in the world with a net worth of $12.9 billion.
1998: The Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC) is adopted. The ICC is the first international judicial body that has the power to try individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
2003: Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, chairman of the African Union, flew to Nigeria to discuss with President Olusegun Obasanjo possible military action to restore the de Menezes’ democratic (São Tomé) government. In response, revolting São Tomé military forces surrounded the Nigerian embassy.
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY: July 17
Angela Merkel, 70 years
Angela Dorothea Merkel is a retired German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021 and was the first woman to hold that office. She previously served as Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union from 2000 to 2018.
Major-General Joseph Nanven Garba, (17 July 1943 – 1 June 2002)
Major General Joseph Nanven Garba was born in Langtang, Plateau State, North-Central Nigeria on this day in 1943. Fondly called Joe Garba, he and several other middle-ranking army officers, led by Brig. Murtala Ramat Muhammad overthrew the Nigerian military government of Gen. Yakubu Gowon in a bloodless coup and set a four-year timetable for restoring democracy. As foreign minister, General Garba served as president of the Organization of African Unity meeting of foreign ministers on economic issues, and then as leader of the Non-aligned Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1976; and as chairman of the organization’s Good Offices Committee on the Arbitration of Disputes from 1975 to 1978. He died at the age of 58.
