March 17 in Pop Culture History

March 17 Fun Facts, Trivia and History

March 17 History Highlights

  • 1910 – The Camp Fire Girls organization was founded.
  • 1941 – The National Gallery of Art was officially opened in Washington, DC.
  • 1958 – The United States launches the first solar-powered satellite, Vanguard I.
  • If you were born on March 17th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… June 24th (prior year)

Saint Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated every year on March 17th. It is a national holiday in the Republic of Ireland as well as the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

St. Patrick’s Day was a religious holiday, dedicated to Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, until 1903 when it became public by the Bank Holiday Act of 1903. The Irish Member of Parliament, James O’Mara, later introduced a law that all pubs be, wait for it, closed on March 17th. Surprisingly this law stuck around until the 1970s, when people finally realized that St. Patrick’s Day is all about drinking, drinking, drinking.

Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick was born around the end of the fourth century A.D. in Britain. Although his father was a Christian deacon, their family was not a very religious one. At 16, Saint Patrick was taken into slavery by a group of Irish thieves who took over his home village. During his time in captivity, he spent a lot of time alone and in this time turned to God, becoming more religious. After six years, Saint Patrick escaped and went to Gaul where he studied in a monastery for 12-15 years. After being ordinated as a priest, Saint Patrick was sent to Ireland to be a minister as well as convert the non-Christian Irish. His mission lasted for 30 years.

The Parade
The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was actually held in New York City in 1962. It consisted of Irish soldiers serving in the English military Marching the streets of the city. “Each year, nearly three million people line the one-and-a-half mile parade route to watch the procession, which takes more than five hours. Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Savannah also celebrate the day with parades including between 10,000 to 20,000 participants.” – The History Channel

Traditions
The traditional meal of Saint Patrick’s Day is corned beef, boiled potatoes, and mashed cabbage, as well as Guinness Beer.
The shamrock is a special part of the holiday; in ancient Ireland, it symbolized the rebirth of spring. Since then, the shamrock has become a symbol of Irish nationalism and pride. It is also said that Saint Patrick used the three-leaved shamrock to demonstrate the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The color green is associated with the holiday for a few, obvious reasons. The first is because of the shamrock, which the Irish hold close to their culture. Also, green is on the national Irish flag, where is represents all the green pastures of the country.

Why is March the 17th Saint Patrick’s Day?
1. It was the day he died.
2. He was born on the 8th or 9th, and they compromised by adding them together to the 17th.

March 17 is…

Green Beer Day
St. Patrick’s Day
Submarine Day

March 17 Birthday Quotes

“I think a spiritual journey is not so much a journey of discovery. It’s a journey of recovery. It’s a journey of uncovering your own inner nature. It’s already there.”
– Billy Corgan

“When I miss class for one day, I know it. When I miss class for two days, my teacher knows it. When I miss class for three days, the audience knows it.”
– Rudolf Nureyev

“Art and music are the vehicles for the zeitgeist.”
– Hozier

“Critics don’t buy records. They get ’em free.”
– Nat King Cole

“Can someone explain the vitriol whenever Ayn Rand comes up? ‘Atlas’ is the greatest motivator for the individual that I can imagine.”
– Rob Lowe

March 17 Birthdays

1895 – Shemp Howard, Stooge #4 (died in 1955)
1902 – Bobby Jones, American golfer (died in 1971)
1906 – Brigitte Helm, German-Swiss actress (died in 1996)
1919 – Nat King Cole, American singer, pianist, and television host (died in 1965)
1935 – Adam Wade, American singer, drummer, and actor
1938 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-French dancer and choreographer (died in 1993)
1938 – Zola Taylor, American singer (died in 2007)
1942 – John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (died in 1994)
1944 – Pattie Boyd, English model
1944 – John Sebastian, American singer-songwriter 1949 – Patrick Duffy, American actor
1951 – Kurt Russell, American actor
1954 – Lesley-Anne Down, English actress
1955 – Gary Sinise, American actor
1964 – Rob Lowe, American actor
1967 – Billy Corgan, American singer-songwriter
1972 – Mia Hamm, American soccer player
1990 – Hozier, Irish singer-songwriter
1992 – John Boyega, English actor

March 17 History

461 – Saint Patrick died in Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland.

1762 – The first parade Saint Patrick (the patron saint of Ireland) was held by Irish soldiers serving in the British army in New York City.

1885 – The medical report of the deformities of Joseph Carey Merrick – The ‘Elephant Man’ – was presented to the Pathological Society of London by Dr. Frederick Treves.

1947 – First flight of the B-45 Tornado strategic bomber.

1958 – The United States launched the Vanguard 1 satellite.

1973 -After it was released, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon album stayed on the Billboard 200 chart for 736 weeks, the most consecutive number of weeks any album was ever on the chart.

1980 – The Supreme Court concerning whether a patent could be issued for a genetically-engineered bacterium in the case of Diamond vs. Chakrabarty. On June 16th, they decided yes, it could be patented.

1901 – 11 years after his suicide, 71 paintings by Vincent van Gogh were shown at the Bernheim-Jeune gallery in Paris.

1958 – The US launched the Vanguard I satellite, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

1985 – Serial killer Richard Ramirez, aka the “Night Stalker”, began his Los Angeles murder spree.

1992 – A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa was passed from 68.7% to 31.2%.

2005 – Broadway Show – Spamalot (Musical) March 17, 2005

2012 – #1 Hit March 17, 2012 – April 27, 2012: Fun featuring Janelle Monae – We Are Young

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

“American Gigolo” launched young fashion designer Giorgio Armani’s career.

It’s always darkest before dawn. So if you’re going to steal the neighbor’s newspaper, that’s the time to do it.

Dragons must have a hard time blowing on their soup to cool it down.

The phrase “The die is cast” is from a Julius Caeser quote and refers to gaming dice.

Alanis Morissette’s’ Jagged Little Pill has sold more copies than the Beatle’s Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Most ice cream is eaten between 9:00 and 11:00 PM.

J. Peterman clothing company that Elaine Benes worked for on Seinfeld is a real company. Their clothes really do come with whimsical stories.

“The more they tried to make it just like home, the more they made everybody miss it.” – Willard in Apocalypse Now #moviequotes

If you’re debating whether or not you should go to someone’s wake/funeral, the answer is yes.

“To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people!” – Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) #moviequotes

The FBI kept 2,403 pages of records on Frank Sinatra for his Mafia ties.

Karat and Carat measure two different things: a karat measures the purity of metals on a 1-24 scale, whereas a carat measures the weight of precious stones and pearls, one carat being 200 mg.

There are (13!) sequels to “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum

Redondo Beach, CA adopted the Goodyear Blimp as the city’s official bird in 1983.

“Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it.” – HAL 9000 #moviequotes

Recipe for homemade charcoal:
1. Put garlic bread in the oven.
2. Sit down to check one quick thing on the internet.

Holes don’t exist.

More Pop Culture History Resources