What’s Happening Today?

World Hypertension Day. It is a day designated and initiated by The World Hypertension League (WHL), which is itself an umbrella to organizations of 85 national hypertension societies and leagues. The day was initiated to increase the awareness of hypertension. This was especially important because of the lack of appropriate knowledge among hypertensive patients. The WHL launched its first WHD on May 14, 2005. Since 2006, the WHL has been dedicating May 17 of every year as WHD.

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. This is an international day proclaimed in November 2006 by the International Telecommunication Union Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, to be celebrated annually on 17 May. The main objective of the day is to raise global awareness of social changes brought about by the Internet and new technologies. It also aims to help reduce the digital divide.

What Happened Today?

1.    In 1792, The Buttonwood Agreement, which was the founding document of what is now New York Stock Exchange was signed. It is one of the most important financial documents in U.S. history. The agreement organized securities trading in New York City and was signed on May 17, 1792 between 24 stockbrokers outside of 68 Wall Street.

2.    1954, the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. The ruling ended the five-year case of Oliver Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. 

3.    In 1997, the Republic of Zaire was renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after Ex-President and dictator Mobutu Sese Seko was ousted from power by Laurent-Désiré Kabila in the First Congo War.

Birthdays

1.    1925 – Idi Amin Dada, the third President of the Republic of Uganda.

2.    1982 – Tony Parker, French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. 

Sources: Wikipedia, bornglorious & face2faceafrica.com

Photo: ICR