Today in History: October 17, 2026

• 2018: Canada legalizes recreational marijuana nationwide.
  The federal Cannabis Act, backed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, took effect that day. Canada became the second country after Uruguay, and the first G7 nation, to allow legal sales of cannabis for adult recreational use.
• 2005: The Colbert Report debuts on Comedy Central.
  Stephen Colbert, spun off from The Daily Show, played a blustering, self-important cable news pundit in a satire of TV news shows. The program ran until 2014, after which Colbert went on to host The Late Show on CBS.
• 1989: A magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes the San Francisco Bay Area.
  The Loma Prieta quake killed 63 people and caused widespread damage, including the collapse of a double-deck freeway in Oakland and part of the Bay Bridge. It hit just before Game 3 of the World Series between the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants, halting the series for ten days.
• 1979: Mother Teresa is named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
  The Roman Catholic nun founded the Missionaries of Charity, an order of women devoted to serving the poorest of the poor, especially the destitute and dying in Calcutta, India. She was declared a saint by the Catholic Church in 2016.
• 1973: Arab oil producers agree to cut production during the Yom Kippur War.
  Members of OAPEC acted in response to Western support for Israel and set up an embargo against the United States and others. Oil prices soared, Americans faced long gas lines, and the move set off an international economic crisis.
• 1968: Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen, is released.
  McQueen played a San Francisco police detective in what many consider his defining role. The film is best remembered for its car chase through the hilly city streets in a Ford Mustang, and it won the Academy Award for film editing.
• 1967: Puyi, the last emperor of China, dies in Beijing at 61.
  He took the throne in 1908 at age 2 and was forced to abdicate in 1912, ending more than 2,000 years of imperial rule. He later served as a Japanese puppet ruler in Manchuria, and his life inspired the 1987 film The Last Emperor.
• 1945: Hundreds of thousands of workers rally in Buenos Aires for Juan Perón's release.
  The colonel had been forced from his government posts and detained by rival military leaders. The mass demonstration won his freedom, launched the Peronist movement, and helped carry him to Argentina's presidency in 1946; the date is still marked as Loyalty Day.
• 1939: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington premieres.
  Directed by Frank Capra, it starred James Stewart as an idealistic young senator who fights corruption with a marathon filibuster. Its portrayal of Congress angered many politicians, but audiences and critics loved it and it earned 11 Academy Award nominations.
• 1933: Albert Einstein arrives in the United States to escape Nazi Germany.
  The Nobel Prize winning physicist left Europe as the Nazis took power and antisemitic threats grew, and he never returned. He joined the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, became a U.S. citizen in 1940, and died in Princeton in 1955.
• 1854: British and French troops begin the Siege of Sevastopol.
  The allies targeted Russia's main Black Sea naval base on the Crimean Peninsula during the Crimean War. The siege dragged on for nearly a year before the Russians abandoned the city in September 1855.
• 1777: British General John Burgoyne surrenders after the Battles of Saratoga.
  Following his defeat at the Second Battle of Saratoga in New York, Burgoyne gave up nearly 6,000 troops to American General Horatio Gates. The victory was a turning point in the American Revolution and helped persuade France to join the war as an American ally.
• 1707: Composer Johann Sebastian Bach marries his cousin Maria Barbara Bach.
  The wedding took place in the village of Dornheim in Germany. The couple had seven children, including the composers Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, before Maria Barbara died in 1720.
• 1448: The Second Battle of Kosovo begins.
  A Hungarian and Wallachian army led by John Hunyadi clashed with Ottoman forces under Sultan Murad II in what was the last major Crusader attempt to free the Balkans from Ottoman rule. After several days of fighting, the Christian army suffered a crushing defeat.
• 1346: The English defeat an invading Scottish army at the Battle of Neville's Cross.
  Scotland's King David II had invaded northern England as an ally of France, hoping to draw King Edward III away from his siege of Calais. The Scots were routed near Durham, and David was captured and held prisoner for 11 years.

Born on This Day

• 1983: Felicity Jones, English actress
  Turns 43. Oscar nominee for The Theory of Everything and star of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
• 1974: Matthew Macfadyen, English actor
  Turns 52. Played Tom Wambsgans on Succession and Mr. Darcy in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice.
• 1972: Eminem, American rapper and actor
  Turns 54. Best-selling rapper behind “Lose Yourself” and “Without Me” and star of 8 Mile.
• 1971: Chris Kirkpatrick, American singer
  Turns 55. Founding member of the boy band NSYNC.
• 1969: Wyclef Jean, Haitian-American rapper and producer
  Turns 57. Co-founder of the Fugees, known for The Score and “Killing Me Softly.”
• 1968: Ziggy Marley, Jamaican reggae singer
  Turns 58. Eldest son of Bob Marley and multiple Grammy winner with the Melody Makers and on his own.
• 1962: Mike Judge, American animator and filmmaker
  Turns 64. Creator of Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill and director of Office Space.
• 1959: Norm Macdonald, Canadian comedian
  Deadpan Saturday Night Live star best known for anchoring Weekend Update.
• 1958: Alan Jackson, American country singer
  Turns 68. Country Music Hall of Famer behind “Chattahoochee” and “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).”
• 1957: Steve McMichael, American football player
  Defensive tackle on the Super Bowl champion 1985 Chicago Bears who later wrestled in WCW.
• 1956: Mae Jemison, American astronaut and physician
  Became the first African American woman in space aboard the shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
• 1948: George Wendt, American actor
  Played barstool regular Norm Peterson on Cheers.
• 1948: Margot Kidder, Canadian-American actress
  Played Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve in the Superman films.
• 1947: Michael McKean, American actor and comedian
  Turns 79. Lenny on Laverne & Shirley, David St. Hubbins in This Is Spinal Tap, and Chuck McGill on Better Call Saul.
• 1942: Gary Puckett, American pop singer
  Lead voice of Gary Puckett & the Union Gap on hits like “Woman, Woman” and “Young Girl.”
• 1941: Jim Seals, American singer-songwriter
  Half of the soft-rock duo Seals and Crofts, known for “Summer Breeze.”
• 1938: Evel Knievel, American motorcycle stuntman
  Daredevil famous for his televised jumps over buses, cars, and canyons.
• 1920: Montgomery Clift, American actor
  Four-time Oscar nominee who starred in A Place in the Sun and From Here to Eternity.
• 1918: Rita Hayworth, American actress
  Hollywood's “Love Goddess,” best known for Gilda.
• 1915: Arthur Miller, American playwright
  Wrote Death of a Salesman and The Crucible.