1649Oliver Cromwell abolished the position of King of England and the House of Lords and declared England a Commonwealth
1861: The Kingdom of Italy is founded when King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia is proclaimed King of Italy. The state would last until after World War II in 1946 when the Italians opted for a republican constitution.
1891SS Utopia collided with HMS Anson (a pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy) in the Bay of Gibraltar and sank in less than 20 minutes, killing 562 of the 880 passengers on board.
1899The first-ever radio distress call was sent, summoning assistance to a merchant ship aground on the Goodwin Sands, Kent.
1951The comic strip character Dennis the Menace appeared in the Beano for the first time. His red and black striped jumper did not feature until a few weeks later and his pet dog Gnasher did not make an appearance until 31st August 1968.
The Iconic film 'Grand Slam' was first aired by the BBC on this day in 1978.
1984The 130th Boat Race was postponed (for 24 hours) an hour before the start, after the Cambridge boat was in collision with a barge and sank.
.. . On this day in 2012 Wales won their eleventh Grand Slam.🏉🏴 FEBRUARY 5th Ireland 21 - 23 Wales FEBRUARY 12th Wales 27 - 13 Scotland FEBRUARY 25th England 12 - 19 Wales MARCH 10th Wales 24 - 3 Italy MARCH 17th Wales 16 - 9 France ...
1967 March 17 The Beatles begin recording "She's Leaving Home" for their "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" LP. The beautiful harp solo in the song was played by 38-year-old British harpist Sheila Bromberg, whose first take of the piece was used in the final mix.
1968 - ClassicBands.com
March 17 The Bee Gees make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing "Words" (US #15, UK #8) and "To Love Somebody" (US #17, UK #41).
