June 17 Birthday
On June 17, 1972, police arrested five men inside the Watergate office complex in Washington. They were caught in the Democratic National Committee offices, carrying cameras, wiretapping equipment, and burglary tools. In their pockets were cash linked to Nixon's re-election committee. The break-in was not the first — the team had bugged the DNC phones in May, but the recordings were faulty, and they returned to fix them. A security guard noticed tape on a door lock and called police. The arrests were reported on page 30 of the next day's Washington Post. Two young reporters — Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein — began asking questions. The answers led to the president. The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor on June 17, 1885, aboard the French ship Isère. The statue was a gift from France to commemorate the American Revolution and Franco-American friendship. It was designed by Frédéric Bartholdi, with an internal framework by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was shipped in 350 pieces in 214 crates. It took fifteen months to reassemble. The base was funded by American donations, mostly small contributions — Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper campaign raised $100,000 from 120,000 donors. The statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886. People born on June 17 fall under the zodiac sign of Gemini. The birthstone is Pearl and the birth flower is Rose. Historical events on June 17 include 1885: Statue of Liberty arrives in New York aboard French ship Isère, 1972: Five men arrested breaking into Democratic National Committee offices at Watergate, 1994: O.J. Simpson arrested after low-speed chase on LA freeways. Famous people born on June 17 include Igor Stravinsky (1882), Barry Manilow (1943), Venus Williams (1980).