Actor Don McKellar

Events in 1963 and 17-8

Events in the world in the birth year of Don McKellar

• France and West Germany sign treaty of cooperation ending four centuries of conflict (Jan. 22).
• Pope John XXIII dies (June 3), and is succeeded June 21 by Cardinal Montini, who becomes Paul VI.
• British Secretary of War John Profumo resigns in the wake of an affair with Christine Keeler, a teenage showgirl who was also involved with the Soviet naval attaché (June).
• Washington-to-Moscow "hot line" communications link opens, designed to reduce risk of accidental war (Aug. 30). Background: cold war
• Kenya achieves independence.
• There are 15,000 US military advisers in South Vietnam. Background: Vietnam War
• 32 independent African nations establish the Organization for African Unity.

Birthday Don McKellar (17-8) in history

• Day 17-8 year 1807: Robert Fulton's steamboat, the Clermont, began its trip up the Hudson River to Albany.
• Day 17-8 year 1863: Fort Sumter, S.C. was bombarded by Union ships during the Civil War.
• Day 17-8 year 1896: Prospectors found gold in Alaska, a discovery that set off the Klondike gold rush.
• Day 17-8 year 1945: Indonesian nationalists proclaimed independence from the Netherlands.
• Day 17-8 year 1962: 18-year-old Peter Fechter was shot and killed by guards at the Berlin Wall, spurring riots.
• Day 17-8 year 1969: Hurricane Camille devastated the Gulf Coast, killing 248 people.
• Day 17-8 year 1978: The first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight landed outside of Paris.
• Day 17-8 year 1987: Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's second in command, committed suicide.
• Day 17-8 year 2008: U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal, breaking the record set by Mark Spitz in the 1972 Games. Phelps also set the record for the most golds in a single Olympics.