July 17

© 1997, 1998 by Paul A. Schons

July 17, 1048

The third German pope, Damasus II, is enthroned in Rome. Originally named Poppo, he was born in Bavaria. He was the Bishop of Brixen in Tyrol when Heinrich III nominated him as pope. He was enthroned as pope on July 17, 1048 but soon after arival in Rome contracted malaria and died after 23 days as pope.

July 17, 1505

Birth of Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten in Berlin, Germany. Baumgarten was the philosopher who coined the term "aesthetics" and established it as a distinct field of philosophy.

July 17, 1763

Birth of John Jacob Astor in Waldorf, Germany. Astor came to the U. S. and entered the fur trading industry. Astor used the revenues he gained from a monopoly he built in the fur trading industry to invest in New York real estate and thus found the Astor family fortune.

July 17, 1787

Birth of Friedrich Krupp in Essen, Germany.

July 17, 1814

Birth of Amanz Gressly in Bärschwil, Switzerland. Gressly was the geologist who introduced the study of stratigraphic facies.

July 17, 1842

Birth of Georg Ritter von Schönerer in Vienna, Austria. He was an influential anti-Semite and proponent of merger with Germany.

July 17, 1917

The British royal family officially changes its name from Hanover to Windsor. The first of the line had been George I of Hanover (he couldn't even speak English when he took the throne). As a result of WWI the family wished to cover their German background.

July 17, 1931

Birth of Erwin Knoll in Vienna, Austria. Fleeing the Nazis, Knoll's family brought him to the U. S. at the age of nine. Knoll gained international recognition when in 1979 he refused a government request to refrain from publishing an article in his magazine.

July 17, 1944

Erwin Rommel's car was attacked by British planes. Rommel suffered severe head injuries.

July 17, 1945

Start of the Potsdam Conference (Truman, Stalin, Atlee).

July 17, 1945

Birth of Magic Christian (Christian Stelzel), a leading post-war Austrian magician.  Stelzel, a follower of the 19th century magician, Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser (1806-1875) did extensive research on his predecessor and published three books on his life and art.  Stelzel has been successful in presenting magic to business conferences, on stage and on television.  He is a frequent contributor to journals and magazines on the subject of the art of magic.  The president of Austria gave him the professional title of "professor".  The mayor of Vienna honored him with the designation of "Goldene Rathausmann" for his services to the art of magic in Vienna.