1885: The Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of America, arrives in New York Harbor after being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in 350 individual pieces packed in more than 200 cases. The copper and iron statue, which was reassembled and dedicated the following year in a ceremony presided over by U.S. President Grover Cleveland, became known around the world as an enduring symbol of freedom and democracy.
Intended to commemorate the American Revolution, the abolition of slavery following the U.S. Civil War, and a century of friendship between the U.S. and France, the statue was designed by French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi (who modeled it after his own mother), with assistance from engineer Gustave Eiffel, who later developed the iconic tower in Paris bearing his name.
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1928: Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the Atlantic
Wilmer Stultz piloted the Fokker F.VII aircraft, and Earhart kept the flight log. They arrived at Burry Port in Wales, the United Kingdom, 20 hours and 40 minutes later.
1940: The three Baltic states fall under Soviet occupation
While the world’s attention was focused on the recent German invasion of Paris, the Soviet Union annexed Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
1944: Iceland becomes a republic. The Nordic island country had previously been included in the Norwegian and Danish monarchies. The republic’s first President was Sveinn Björnsson.
1945: As usual when he opens parliament in Cairo, Egypt’s King Farouk I arrives in a magnificent horse-drawn carriage. Tradition is also once more observed when he is accompanied by barefoot royal runners for the event. In recent years, royal runners have been replaced by automobiles for delivering the king’s documents to government ministries and officials.
1958: The first edition is published of Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe’s debut novel Things Fall Apart, heralding the age of contemporary African authors telling African stories. The landmark novel will be translated into 80 languages.
1972: The arrest of five White House operatives sets off the Watergate scandal
The men were caught attempting to wiretap the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex. The scandal ultimately led to U.S. President Richard Nixon’s resignation.
1974: U.S. President Richard Nixon arrives for a State Visit to Egypt to meet with President Anwar Sadat, in Alexandria. Nixon is weeks away from being the first U.S. president to resign from office in disgrace, and he is buoyed by the tumultuous welcome Sadat has arranged for him.
1976: Protesting the shooting of hundreds of young black students during yesterday’s Soweto Uprising, 400 white university students march through Johannesburg, joined by black workers. They are beaten by the police. Riots break out in black townships nationwide.
1995: The government representative in Kano meets with “Islamic and community leaders” to discuss a tract distributed by the Jammatu Tajdidi Islamiya (Islamic Renewal Group), a previously unknown fundamentalist organization. This tract calls on non-Muslims to leave Kano State or face a calamity.
1994: “Trial of the century” Arrest of O.J. Simpson
On this day in 1994, American gridiron football hero O.J. Simpson was charged with the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman, though after a sensational trial, he was acquitted the following year.
2012: African American construction worker Rodney King—whose videotaped beating by white Los Angeles Police Department officers in March 1991 (and the officers’ subsequent treatment by the courts) sparked violent race riots—was found dead in his swimming pool in California.
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY: June 17
Ken Livingstone, age 79 years
Kenneth Robert Livingstone is an English retired politician, born on 17 June 1945 in Lambeth, London, United Kingdom. He served as the Leader of the Greater London Council from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office in 2000 until 2008. He also served as the Member of Parliament for Brent East from 1987 to 2001.
Venus Williams, 44 years
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who was born on 17 June 1980, in California, USA. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Ali Saibou, 1940- 31 October 2011
Ali Saibou was the third President of Niger (1987-1993) was born in 1940, in Ouallam, Niger, French West Africa. A competent military man, he was chosen to run the military government by the ruling military council and did so until political reforms in the early 1990s resulted in democratic elections. When he left office, it was the first time that Niger witnessed the peaceful transfer of power from an incumbent president to an opposition politician. He died at the age of 71.
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