January 17
1492: Mathematician Adam Ries born (uncertain). He will write textbooks for practical mathematics, promoting the advantages of Arabic/Indian numerals over Roman numerals.
1551: Writer, humanist, and historian Pedro Mexía dies. He wrote Silva de varia lección ("A Miscellany of Several Lessons"), which became an early best seller across Europe.
1574: Astrologer, mathematician, cosmologist, Qabalist and Rosicrucian apologist Robert Fludd born.
1647: Astronomer Elisabeth Hevelius born. One of the first female astronomers, Hevelius will be called "the mother of moon charts".
1706: Inventor, publisher, and statesman Benjamin Franklin born.
1834: Physicist and academic Giovanni Aldini dies. Aldini contributed to galvanism, anatomy and its medical applications, the construction and illumination of lighthouses, and the mitigation of the destructive effects of fire.
1903: The short film Electrocuting an Elephant is released. It documents the deliberate execution of an elephant named Topsy.
1911: Statistician, progressive, polymath, sociologist, psychologist, anthropologist, eugenicist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto-geneticist, and psychometrician Francis Galton dies.
1949: Computer scientist Anita Borg born. She will found the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.
1961: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the "military–industrial complex."
1966: Palomares incident: A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, killing seven airmen, and dropping three 70-kiloton nuclear bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea.
1997: Astronomer and academic Clyde Tombaugh dies. He discovered Pluto, as well as many asteroids.
2001: Mathematician and computer scientist Tom Kilburn dies. Over the course of a productive 30-year career, he was involved in the development of five computers of great historical significance.