17th August Historic events and Glories

7 US Soldiers and 4 Afghan people died after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the Kandahar province in Afghanistan.

Pierre de Fermat was a French lawyer at the Parliament of Toulouse, France, and a mathematician who is given credit for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus

Reuter’s cameraman Mazen Dana was shot dead by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison when his camera was mistaken for a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

Davy Crockett, American frontiersman and politician who died in the defence of the Alamo was born.

Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Michigan killing 156 people.

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt was an English poet and writer. He and his wife, Lady Anne Blunt travelled in the Middle East and was instrumental in preserving the Arabian horse

The holiday village of Lynmouth in North Devon was devastated by flooding caused by the local rivers overflowing due to the torrential rain causing 30 people missing presumed dead.

Frederick Fuller Russell was a U.S. Army physician who perfected a typhoid vaccine in 1909.

Gold was first discovered in Klondike which was found at Bonanza Creek, Alaska by George Carmack.

Samuel Goldwyn, also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-American film producer.

In India, anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare arrested for planning a public hunger strike, began his fast behind bars as his supporters held protests across the country.

Shankar Shanmugam, credited as S. Shankar or his mononym Shankar, is an Indian filmmaker who predominantly works in Tamil cinema

In India, police arrested the alleged leader of the July Ahmadabad bombings, Mufti Abu Bashir in Lucknow.

Nidhhi Agarwal is an Indian actress and dancer who appeared in Hindi and Telugu-language films.

In northeast India, a grenade exploded in a Hindu temple, killing at least 4 people and leaving 40 others injured.

Indian film and stage actor and director were born. Famous for his role in Marathi cinemas.

A top Indian official announced Indian and Chinese oil firms signed agreements aiming at bidding jointly for foreign oil and gas projects and reducing cut-throat competition.

Indian Tv actress, famous for her role in the comedy series “Taarak Mehta ka Ulta Chashma released on SAB tv.

Kamala Markandaya, the Indian novelist and journalist, died. Her books focused on the clash between urban and rural societies.

Indian playback singer was born.  She worked in numerous film, concerts, television and music.