June 17 in Pop Culture History

1462 – Vlad III the Impaler attempted to assassinate Mehmed II, forcing him to retreat from Wallachia, Romania.

1631 – Mumtaz Mahal died during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, spent the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.

1837 – Charles Goodyear obtained his first rubber-processing patent. The success of his company came after he died in 1860.

1852 – W.H. Fancher and C.M. French of Waterloo, N.Y. received a patent (#35,600) for a combined plow and gun. Yes, you read that correctly.

1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor.

1944 – Iceland declared independence from Denmark and became a republic.

1963 – The US Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 in Abington School District v. Schempp, against requiring the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord’s Prayer in public schools.

1969 – Oh! Calcutta! (Broadway Review) Opened on June 17, 1969, and closed on August 12, 1972

1971 – President Richard Nixon declared the US War on Drugs.

1983 – Superman II was released in theaters

1987 – Florida’s Dusky Seaside Sparrow became extinct when ‘Orange band’, the last known of the species, died.

1988 – Bull Durham, Red Heat, and The Great Outdoors debuted in theaters

#1 Hit June 17, 1989 – June 23, 1989: New Kids on the Block – I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)

1994 – All major networks provided live coverage of the O.J. Simpson low-speed car chase in the White Bronco. The chase concluded with Simpson’s surrender to authorities in front of his mansion in Brentwood, CA.

#1 Hit June 17, 2006 – June 30, 2006: Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean – Hips Don’t Lie

2011 – Mr. Popper’s Penguins and Green Lantern were released in theaters