This Day in History – February 17, 2011

1600 – Italian philosopher, alchemist, and Copernican theory advocate Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for heresy by the Inquisition.   1801 – The electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr was broken by the House of Representatives who elected Jefferson president.   1817 – Baltimore became the first U.S. city lit by gas.   1864 – The Confederate submarine Hunley, equipped with an explosive at the end of a protruding spar, rammed and sank the Union’s ship Housatonic off the coast of Charleston, S.C.   1904 – Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly premiered in Milan.   1972 – President Richard Nixon left on his trip to China.   1996 – Chess champion Garry Kasparov beat the IBM computer, Deep Blue, winning the six-game match.]]]]> ]]>