On this day

August 17, 1966

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

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Headlines from August 17, 1966

Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of August 17, 1966, covering August 17, 1966.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Yesterday And Today by The Beatles

    Yesterday And Today

    The Beatles

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    7
  2. 2
    Album cover for Aftermath by The Rolling Stones

    Aftermath

    The Rolling Stones

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    7
  3. 3
    Album cover for What Now My Love by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass

    What Now My Love

    Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    15
  4. 4
    Album cover for Strangers In Night by Frank Sinatra

    Strangers In Night

    Frank Sinatra

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    10
  5. 5
    Album cover for Doctor Zhivago by Soundtrack

    Doctor Zhivago

    Soundtrack

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    23

Notable Births

Jüri Luik

1966Jüri Luik, Estonian politician and diplomat, 18th Estonian Minister of Defense[†]

Jüri Luik is an Estonian diplomat and politician. He has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence, and he has acted as Estonia's ambassador to Benelux, NATO, North America, and Russia.

Rodney Mullen

1966Rodney Mullen, American skateboarder and stuntman[†]

John Rodney Mullen is an American professional skateboarder who practices freestyle skateboarding and street skateboarding. He is considered the most influential skateboarder of all time. Mullen is credited for inventing numerous tricks, including the flatground ollie, kickflip, heelflip, impossible, and 360-kickflip. As a result, he has been called the "Godfather of modern street skating."

Don Sweeney

1966Don Sweeney, Canadian ice hockey player and manager[†]

Donald Clarke Sweeney is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman who played over 1,100 games in the National Hockey League (NHL), mostly with the Boston Bruins. He ranks among the top ten in many Bruins team statistics, including fourth overall in total games played. After retiring from hockey following the 2003–04 season, he worked briefly as a broadcaster before rejoining the Bruins as a team executive in 2006. His name was engraved on the Stanley Cup when the Bruins won in 2011.

Notable Deaths

Ken Miles

1966Ken Miles, English race car driver and engineer (born 1918)[†]

Kenneth Henry Jarvis Miles was an English sports car racing engineer and driver best known for his motorsport career in the U.S. and with American teams on the international scene. He is an inductee to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. As an automotive engineer, he is known for developing, along with driver and designer Carroll Shelby, the Ford GT40, the car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969. Miles' and Shelby's efforts at Le Mans were dramatized in the 2019 Oscar-winning film Ford v Ferrari.

Historical Context for August 17, 1966

In 1966, the world population was approximately 3,404,041,125 people[†]