February 17: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

$10 billion was pledged to help fight climate change by Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos.

A potential new continent was discovered in the South Pacific.

Zealandia is 94% underwater but is close to being recognized as its own continent that would include New Zealand.

US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to college students in Jakarta, Indonesia, about the looming threat of Climate Change.

He talked of the urgency needed to address the issue and the dangers of interest groups who willfully deny the dangers it poses.

Thieves stole up to 68 Olympic artifacts from a museum in Greece.

Casey Neistat uploaded his first-ever YouTube video.

However, he didn't make his first vlog until March 25, 2013.

The Republic of Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia.

Serbia disputed the separation of Kosovo and has repeatedly sought out international support to invalidate Kosovo's independence.

The Pioneer 10 spacecraft passed NASA’s Voyager 1 to become the farthest artificial object in space.

Polish mountaineers Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy became the first to ascend Mt. Everest in winter.

The expedition consisted of twenty people, including sherpas, who had no idea whether the attempt was even possible during winter. As a result, they had to completely make up the route as they went along.

A stampede at a soccer match killed forty-nine people in Cairo, Egypt.

The incident happened after the venue for the match was switched to a smaller stadium. Eighty thousand fans rushed in to get their seats at a stadium that could only accommodate 40,000 fans. The stadium's supports crumbled and 49 died, and more were injured.

Friends Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan recorded “Girl From The North” at CBS Studios.

The Phantom, the world’s first superhero, appeared in the self-titled comic strip by Lee Falk.

Oregon became the first US state to pass a minimum wage law.

It limited work to 50 hours per week, 9-hour days, and required at least one 45-minute break. The minimum wage was fixed to $8.64 per week.

Julius Wolff supplied the first canned sardines from Maine, USA.

Sweden changed their calendar to the Gregorian calendar, making the next day March 1 instead of February 18.