Portal:United States/Anniversaries/February/February 17
- 1819 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise (illustration pictured).
- 1933 – The magazine Newsweek is published for the first time.
- 1933 – The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.
- 1963 – Michael Jordan, considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, is born.
- 1965 – The Ranger 8 probe, part of Project Ranger, launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the "Sea of Tranquility" would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
- 1992 – A court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin sentences serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to life in prison.
On this day for the United States
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Events
- 1801 – An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
- 1809 – Miami University is chartered by the State of Ohio.
- 1819 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The Error: {{Ship}} missing prefix (help) becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
- 1913 – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
- 1924 – In Miami, Florida, Johnny Weissmuller sets a new world record in the 100 meters freestyle swimming competition with a time of 57.4 seconds.
- 1933 – Newsweek magazine is published for the first time.
- 1933 – The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.
- 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
- 1944 – World War II: Operation Hailstone begins. U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk (Chuuk), Japan's main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
- 1959 – Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2 – The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
- 1964 – In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
- 1965 – Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the "Sea of Tranquility" would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
- 1968 – In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
- 1974 – Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
- 1996 – In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
- 1996 – NASA's Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.