17 January 1648
The Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Address, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and announcing its intention to force through a peace settlement on its own terms.
17 January 1781
British and loyalist forces serving under Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton were defeated by Daniel Morgan’s Americans at the battle of Cowpens.
17 January 1863
David Lloyd George was born in Manchester. His schoolmaster father died when he was young and his mother took him to Wales to be raised. in 1890 Lloyd George was elected Liberal MP for Caernarvon, a seat he held until 1945. In 1908, he was named chancellor of the exchequer in the government of Herbert Asquith and in December 1916 he replaced Asquith as prime minister.
17 January 1929
Popeye the Sailor makes his first appearance as a minor character in Elzie Crisler Segar’s long-running Thimble Theater comic strip.