On This Day: Wednesday August 17, 2005 This is the 229th day of the year, with 136 days remaining in 2005. Fact of the Day: Davy Crockett Davy (David) Crockett was an American frontiersman and politician who became a legendary figure. With no formal education whatsoever, Crockett helped backwoods farmers and made a name for himself. He was elected to the Tennessee legislature in 1821. Following a second term in the state legislature in 1823, Crockett ran for the U.S. House of Representatives. He lost in 1825, won in 1827 and 1829, lost in 1831, barely won in 1833, and suffered his final defeat in 1835, owing to the concentrated opposition of the party of Andrew Jackson. He then headed west to Texas, joined the American forces, and died with those who were slaughtered at the Alamo by a Mexican army under General Santa Anna on March 6, 1836. Crockett was famous for his stories and speechmaking. Holidays Feast day of St. Joan Delanoue, St. Mamas, St. Liberatus of Capua, St. Rock or Roch, St. Clare of Montefalco, St. Hyacinth, and St. Eusebius, pope. Gabon Republic: National Day (independence from France, 1960). Indonesia: Independence Day. Argentina: Anniversary of San Martin's death. Events 1590 - John White, the leader of 117 colonists sent in 1587 to Roanoke Island (North Carolina) to establish a colony, returned from a trip to England to find the settlement deserted. No trace of the settlers was ever found. 1903 - The first Pulitzer Prize was awarded, as Joseph Pulitzer made a million-dollar donation to Columbia University. 1915 - Charles F. Kettering of Detroit, Michigan patented an electric self-starter for automobiles. 1945 - Indonesian nationalists declared their independence from the Netherlands. 1954 - The Newport Jazz Festival opened at the Newport Casino in Rhode Island. 1978 - The Double Eagle II completed the first transatlantic balloon flight when it landed in a barley field near Paris, 137 hours after lifting off from Presque Isle, Maine. 1999 - An earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck northwestern Turkey, killing more than 17,000 people. Births 1601 - Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician, lawyer, government official. 1786 - Davy Crockett, American frontiersman, soldier. 1882 - Samuel Goldwyn (Goldfish), American movie pioneer. 1893 - Mae West, American playwright, actress. 1921 - Maureen O'Hara (Fitzsimmons), American actress. Deaths 1983 - Ira Gershwin, American lyricist.