January 17 in History

• 1734

  January 17, 1734:

  The coronation of Augustus III as the king of Poland takes place.

• 1916

  January 17, 1916:

  The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) is established.

• 1917

  January 17, 1917:

  St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas of the Virgin Islands are bought by the United States from Denmark for $25 million.

• 1929

  January 17, 1929:

  Popeye the sailor, a fictional cartoon character, is seen for the first time in “Thimble Theatre”, a newspaper comic strip.

• 1977

  January 17, 1977:

  Gary Gilmore becomes the first person to be executed in the United States after the reinstatement of capital punishment by the Supreme Court in 1976.

• 1994

  January 17, 1994:

  Patrick Ewing crosses his 15,000th point as an NBA player, becoming the first New York Knicks player to achieve this feat.

• 1995

  January 17, 1995:

  An earthquake strikes Japan’s Osaka-Kobe metropolis, resulting in the deaths of approximately 6,400 people.

• 1997

  January 17, 1997:

  Divorce is legally granted for the first time in the Republic of Ireland.

• 2011

  January 17, 2011:

  American recording artist Miguel releases his single, “Sure Thing”, which he also wrote.

• 2012

  January 17, 2012:

  LeBron James sets a record as the NBA’s youngest player in history to earn 20,000 points.