Once Upon A Time – March 17 – 1845 – Rubber Band Patented By Stephen Perry Of London

432 Saint Patrick, aged about 16 is captured by Irish pirates from his home in Great Britain and taken as a slave to Ireland (traditional date)

1521 Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines

1861 Italy is unified into a single kingdom under Victor Emmanuel II following the campaigns led by Giuseppe Garibaldi

1905 Albert Einstein finishes his scientific paper detailing his Quantum Theory of Light, one of the foundations of modern physics

1939 Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and the Japanese breaks out (Sino-Japanese War 1937-1945)

1942 Bełżec Concentration Camp opens with the transport of 30,000 Lublin Polish Jews

Historical Events Today
Today in Film & TV
1960 One of the first French New Wave films, “Breathless”, directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg is released in France

1968 Bee Gees make their US TV debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show” performing “To Love Somebody” and “Words”

Today in Sport
1897 British boxer Bob Fitzsimmons KOs American champion ‘Gentleman’ Jim Corbett in the 14th round to win World Heavyweight title in Carson City, Nevada

1908 Canadian champion Tommy Burns KOs Irish challenger Jem Roche in 1:28s of the 1st round at the Theatre Royal, Dublin; then quickest world heavyweight boxing title fight

Do you know this fact about today?
1898 John Philip Holland achieves successful test run for the first modern submarine off Staten Island, submerging for 1 hour 40 minutes

Would you believe this fact about today?
1845 Rubber band patented by Stephen Perry of London