February 17
Events
* 1974 - Robert Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House with a stolen helicopter.
* 1992 - A court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin sentences serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to life in prison.
* 1995 - Colin Ferguson is convicted of six counts of murder for the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shootings and later receives a 200+ year sentence.
* 1996 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
Births
* 1934 - Barry Humphries (aka Dame Edna Everage, Sir Les Patterson), Australian actor, comedian
* 1942 - Huey P. Newton, founder of the Black Panther Party
* 1954 - Rene Russo, American actress
* 1963 - Michael Jordan, basketball star
* 1972 - Billie Joe Armstrong, musician (Green Day)
* 1972 - Denise Richards, actress
* 1974 - Jerry O'Connell, actor
* 1978 - Jacob Wetterling, kidnapping victim (missing since 1989)
* 1980 - Jason Ritter, American actor
* 1981 - Paris Hilton, actress and heiress to the Hilton Hotel chain
Deaths
* 1982 - Thelonious Monk, jazz pianist (b. 1917)
Hybrid Mode
