Postal stamp issued by India to commemorate the announcement of Nobel Peace Prize to Mother Teresa on 17 October 1979. Image: Wikimedia Commons
On 17 October 1979, Mother Teresa, who founded Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic order committed to the underprivileged, especially the destitute of India, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that year. She declined the Nobel honours banquet, nevertheless, and asked that the $192,00 USD prize be utilised to aid the underprivileged in India. She also advocated against abortion, contraception, and divorce in her later years. Mother Teresa’s organisation included hundreds of centres in more than 90 countries, 4,000 nuns, and thousands of lay workers at the time of her death.
On the same day in 1972, Eminem, an American rapper and actor, who remains one of the most divisive and successful musicians of the early twenty-first century, was born. He is hailed as one of the best rappers of all time and is credited with introducing hip-hop to middle America. The acceptability of white rappers in mainstream music is often attributed to Eminem’s widespread success and renowned works, which broke down racial barriers. He became notorious for most of his transgressive work in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Despite this, he continues to be cited as an influence by numerous musicians across a wide range of genres and came to represent the popular misery of the American underclass.
Cannabis was legalised in Canada on 17 October according to the Cannabis Act of June 2018. It is one of the few countries in the world that allows the sale of cannabis for recreational use.
Here are some other significant events that happened on 17 October:
In 1918, Rita Hayworth, an American actress who earned the moniker of “The Love Goddess” for her portrayals of seductive characters, was born.
In 1939, the James Stewart-starring American classic ‘Mr Smith Goes to Washington’ made its debut. The drama received widespread praise from the general public and the film industry, despite upsetting the political establishment.
In 2005, Comedy Central introduced Stephen Colbert’s sarcastic parody of the television news programme, ‘The Colbert Report’. The show ran till 2014.
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