Once Upon A Time – June 17 – 1958 – “Things Fall Apart” By Nigerian Writer Chinua Achebe Published By Heinemann – Considered Most Widely Read Book In African Literature

656 Ali ibn Abu Talib elected the 4th Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate

1579 English navigator Francis Drake lands on the coast of California at Drakes Bay, names it “New Albion”

1631 Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, then spends more than 20 years building her tomb, the Taj Mahal

1789 French Revolution: During the meeting of the Estates-General, the Third Estate proclaims itself the ‘National Assembly’

1837 Charles Goodyear obtains his 1st rubber patent

1856 Republican Party opens its 1st national convention in Philadelphia

HISTORICAL EVENTS TODAY

TODAY IN FILM & TV

2018 “The Incredibles 2” sets a box office record for an animated release, earning $180 million its opening weekend

TODAY IN MUSIC

1971 Carole King’s album “Tapestry” goes to #1 on US album charts and stays there for 15 weeks

TODAY IN SPORT

1962 US Open Men’s Golf, Oakmont CC: Jack Nicklaus wins his first major title by 3 strokes in an 18-hole playoff with Arnold Palmer

MORE FACTS…

1958 “Things Fall Apart” by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe published by Heinemann – considered most widely read book in African literature

1939 Last public guillotining in France. Eugen Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is guillotined in Versailles outside the prison Saint-Pierre

FAMOUS WEDDINGS

1835 Soldier and politician Jefferson Davis (27) weds Sarah Knox Taylor (21) in Louisville, Kentucky

1853 Prime Minister of Canada Alexander Mackenzie (31) weds second wife Jane Sym

1872 Jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr (31) weds childhood friend Fanny Bowditch Dixwell