February 17, Danica Patrick wins Daytona 500 pole
Today is Tuesday, February 17, the 48th day of the year 2026. There are 317 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On February 17, 2013, Danica Patrick won the pole for the Daytona 500, becoming the first woman to take first place in a Sprint Cup race.
Also on this date:
In 1801, the United States House of Representatives broke the electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, electing Jefferson to the presidency; Burr became vice president.
In 1863, five people appointed by the Geneva Social Welfare Society announced the creation of an “International Committee for the Relief of Wounded Combatants”, which would later be renamed the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In 1864, during the Civil War, the Union ship USS Housatonic was rammed and sunk in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, by the Confederate hand-cranked submarine HL Hunley, in the first such naval attack; The Hunley also sank.
In 1897, the National Congress of Mothers, the precursor to the National Parent Teacher Association, convened its first meeting in Washington with more than 2,000 participants.
In 1964, the United States Supreme Court, in Wesberry v. Sanders, ruled that congressional districts within each state must be approximately equal in population.
In 1992, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of 15 counts of first-degree murder.
In 1995, Colin Ferguson was convicted of six counts of murder in the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting; he was later sentenced to 315 years in prison.
In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia.
In 2014, Jimmy Fallon made his debut as host of NBC’s “Tonight Show,” succeeding Jay Leno.
Today’s birthdays:
- Actress Brenda Fricker is 81 years old.
- Actor René Russo is 72 years old.
- Actor Richard Karn is 70 years old.
- Rowdy Gaines, Olympic swimming gold medalist and television commentator, is 67 years old.
- Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 64 years old.
- Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is 63 years old.
- Director Michael Bay is 61 years old.
- Luc Robitaille, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, is 60 years old.
- Olympic skiing gold medalist Tommy Moe is 56 years old.
- Actress Denise Richards is 55 years old.
- Musician Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) is 54 years old.
- Actor Jerry O’Connell is 52 years old.
- Actor Jason Ritter is 46 years old.
- Media personality Paris Hilton is 45 years old.
- Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is 45 years old.
- Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is 35 years old.
- Actor Jeremy Allen White is 35 years old.
- Tennis player Madison Keys is 31 years old.
- Actor Sasha Pieterse is 30 years old.
