Born on this day 17th August
1786 Davy Crocket
1874 Herbert Hoover
1893 Mae West
1943 Robert De Niro
1943 John Humphreys
1952 Nelsin Piquet
1953 Kevin Rowland
1958 Belinda Carlisle
1960 Sean Penn
1962 Gilbey Clarke
1977 Claire Richards

Music
1967 The radical musical ‘Hair’ pened in New York

1984 On the first night of his US Breaking Hearts Tour, Elton John announced he was retiring from touring.

1985 Madonna had the No.1 & 2 singles in the UK with ‘Into The Groove’ and ‘Holiday’ to become the first female singer to accomplish the feat

Sport
1992 It was announced tha 9 pigs were to take part in Britain’s first pig race in Bellingham. The favourites in the race were Lester Piglet and Miss Piggy

Showbiz
1973 The Kung Fu classic ‘Enter The Dragon’ starring Bruce Lee opened at several New York cinemas.

1991 Terminator 2: Judgement Day’ starring Arnold Schwarzennegger received its British premiere in London’s West End

Events
1836 Births, Deaths and Marriages registration were introduced into Britain

1990 The National Trust for Scotland admitted that the Glenfinnan monument, marking the spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his syandard in 1745 was almost certainly in the wrong place and was probably chosen for its scenic value.

1993 Coastguards who were investigating calls about flares in thesky near Swansea, South Wales, discovered they were shooting stars.