January 17

   


 

January 17

Time Vol. 165 No. 3, January 17, 2005.
On the cover: The Smiley in lieu of sub-atomic particles
as the symbol of “The Science of Happiness”
NOTE: Harvey Ross Ball (1921-2001), the creator of the Smiley face figure in 1963,
was a veteran National Guard based on Asia and the Pacific and retired as a brigadier general in 1973.
Ball never applied for a trademark or copyright of the Smiley and earned just 45 dollars for his work,
which if computed up to the present could have made him a multi-billionaire.

January 17 in Philippine History

1981 – President Ferdinand E. Marcos lifted Martial Law by virtue of Proclamation 2045.

2001- The impeachment trial of then President Joseph E. Estrada was abrubtly stopped even though nothing has yet been proven. It eventually led to the start of the second successful EDSA Revolt that ousted him from power and installed Vice-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the presidency. This would later be considered as one among many monumental mistakes in the annals of Philippine history, as many, including former President Corazon C. Aquino (1933-2009), who joined the clamor for Estrada's ouster, later on, admitted the mistake and apologized publicly to Estrada.

He (Joseph Estrada)’s Out; She (Gloria Magapagal-Arroyo)’s In”
on the cover of Time (January 29, 2001)



Pinoy personalities and celebrities born on January 17:

1880 – Antonio Villa-Real, lawyer, interpreter and jurist – in Arayat, Pampanga. (d. February 12, 1945)

1898 – Sulpicio Osorio, leading novelist in Cebuano – in Dalaguete, Cebu. (d. March 26, 1970)

1957 – Hilda Koronel (real name Susan Reid), actress – in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Hilda Koronel
on the cover of Expressweek (February 2, 1978)



A portrait of Ronald Reagan on the cover of

TV Guide (January 17-21, 1981)

Picture Trivia
          Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) was sixty nine years old when he was sworn into office for his first term on January 20, 1981. Reagan wrote his own inaugural address for which he spoke about America’s economic malaise, arguing: “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem.”
          Barely two months in office, on March 30, 1981, Reagan, his press secretary James Brady, Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy were struck by gunfire from would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr. outside the Washington Hilton hotel. Although “close to death” upon arrival at George Washington University Hospital, Reagan was stabilized in the emergency room, then underwent emergency exploratory surgery. He recovered and was released from the hospital on April 11, becoming the first serving U.S. president to survive being shot in an assassination attempt. The attempt had great influence on Reagan’s popularity; polls indicated his approval rose to 73 percent. Reagan believed that “God had spared his life so that he might go on to fulfill a greater purpose.”
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