March 17 is Saint Patrick’s Day. The dates of Patrick’s life are not known but it is believed he died on March 17th, c.537. Legend says that St. Patrick taught the doctrine of the Holy Trinity by showing the shamrock. Legend also has it that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. There’s no evidence that Ireland ever had snakes. St. Patrick’s day is a major holiday in Ireland but is celebrated in New York City, too, with the “wearers of the green” of all nationalities joining in a spectacular Saint Patrick’s Day parade, a tradition that began in 1762.
National “Eat Like an Irishman” Day
American Revolution: George Washington granted the Continental Army a holiday on March 17, 1780, “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence”.
The Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was formed in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois. It is the women’s organization in the Mormon Church.
Camp Fire Girls Founders Day in 1910. The organization changed its name in 1975 to Camp Fire Boys and Girls when membership eligibility was expanded to include boys.
Anniversary of the opening of the National Gallery of Art in 1941. The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in 1937 for the American people by a joint resolution of the United States Congress.
It includes the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Americas, Ginevra de’ Benci
In 1942, the first Jews from the Lvov Ghetto were gassed at the Belzec death camp in what is today eastern Poland. Lvov was the third largest Jewish community in pre-war Poland, established after the Nazi invasion. It was home to over 220,000 Jews. Between March 17 and April 1, 1942, 15,000 Jews were deported to the Belzec extermination camp. Eventually between 430,000 and 500,000 Jews were murdered at Belzec. Only one or two Jews were known to survive Belzec.
1992 – A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa was passed 68.7% to 31.2%. Voting was limited to white voters.