On August 17, 1862, Minnesota erupts in violence as desperate Dakota Indians attack white settlements along the Minnesota River. The Dakota were eventually overwhelmed by the U.S. military six weeks later.
In 1969. the final day of the 3 day Woodstock Festival took place at Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York. Acts who appeared included Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Sha Na Na, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, The Band, Ten Years After, Johnny Winter and Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Over 186,000 tickets had been sold but on the first day the flimsy fences and ticket barriers had come down. Organisers announced the concert would be a free event, prompting thousands more to head for the concert.
In 1978, the first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight ended as Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman landed their Double Eagle II outside Paris.
In 1982, the first commercially produced compact discs, a recording of ABBA’s “The Visitors,” were pressed.
In 1983, lyricist Ira Gershwin died in Beverly Hills at age 86.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave testimony concerning his relationship with Monica Lewinsky; he then delivered a TV address in which he denied committing perjury, admitted his relationship with Lewinsky was “wrong,” and criticized Kenneth Starr’s investigation.
In 2016, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced a shake-up of his campaign leadership, naming Steve Bannon of the conservative Breitbart News website as chief executive officer.