On this day

October 17, 1933

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from October 17, 1933

Notable Births

William Anders

1933William Anders, Hong Kong-American general and astronaut (died 2024)[†]

William Alison Anders was an American United States Air Force (USAF) major general, electrical engineer, nuclear engineer, NASA astronaut, and businessman. In December 1968, he was a member of the crew of Apollo 8, the first three people to leave low-Earth orbit and travel to the Moon. Along with fellow astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell, he circled the Moon ten times, and broadcast live images and commentary back to Earth, including the Christmas Eve Genesis reading. During one of the mission's lunar orbits, he took the iconic Earthrise photograph.

The Singing Nun

1933The Singing Nun, Belgian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and nun (died 1985)[†]

Jeanne-Paule Marie "Jeannine" Deckers, better known as Sœur Sourire and often called The Singing Nun in English-speaking countries, was a Belgian Catholic singer-songwriter and former member of the Dominican Order as Sister Luc Gabriel. In 1963, she acquired widespread fame with the release of the Belgian French song "Dominique", which topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and other charts, along with her debut album.

Historical Events

Albert Einstein

1933Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States.[†]

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum theory. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which arises from special relativity, has been called "the world's most famous equation". He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for "his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect".