July 17

Catherine the Great becomes the new ruler of Russia after the murder of Peter III.

Free market economist Adam Smith passes away.

Napoleon surrenders at Rochefort to the British, making way for his exile to St. Helena in October.

Erle Stanley Gardner, author most famous for his Perry Mason detective stories, is born.
Oscar-winning actor James Cagney (Angels With Dirty Faces, Ragtime) is born.

Television personality Art Linkletter is born.

Self-deprecating comedienne Phyllis Diller is born.
Hall of fame Indians second baseman and manager Lou Boudreau is born.

After the Russian Revolution, the main members of the Romanov family are executed in a basement. Their bodies are hidden away so well that rumors that Anastasia, the youngest daughter, is still alive begin to spring up.

International Olympics Committee Chairman Juan Antonio Samaranch is born.

Jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, whose compositions for the Peanuts cartoons remain some of most loved songs of all time, is born.

Acting patriarch Donald Sutherland (The Dirty Dozen, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is born.

Jazz and soul singer Diahann Carroll is born.

A minor battle in eastern Spain marks the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.

Polish author Stanislaw Tym is born.

Disaster strikes in Port Chicago, California when two ammunitions ship collide and explode, killing 232 soldiers and workers.

Infamous mistress of Prince Charles, Camilla Parker-Bowles, is born.

The Stooges bassist and sometimes actor Ron Asheton is born.

German cultural icon and "Knight Rider" star David Hasselhoff is born.

Actress P.J. Soles (Carrie, Stripes) is born.

Disneyland opens to the public for the first time.

Smoky blues and jazz chanteuse Billie Holiday dies. She is 44.

"The Georgia Peach" Ty Cobb, baseball's all-time batting leader, dies.

Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh frontman Lou Barlow is born.

Legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane dies.

Activist and Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom author Cory Doctorow is born.

Baseball pitcher Dizzy Dean passes away.

A skywalk above the Hyatt Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri collapses, killing 114 people.

TWA Flight 800 explodes over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 230 passengers aboard. Terrorism is suspected, but the final ruling is plane malfunction.

The famous nickel and dime store company Woolworths closes after over 100 years in the retail business.

Outspoken editor in chief of the Washington Post Katharine Graham succumbs to injuries suffered in a fall one week earlier.