What happened this day in history: January 17

1827 - The Duke of Wellington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Army.

1871 - The first cable car was patented.

1912 - English explorer Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole. Norwegian Roald Admundsen had beaten him there, by one month.

1929 - Popeye made his first appearance in a comic strip.

1939 - In Germany, Jews were banned from working as dentists, vets or pharmacists. They were also banned from driving and going to cinemas, theatres or concerts.

1977 - Capital punishment in the USA resumed after a ten-year hiatus, as convicted murderer Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in Utah

1983 - Breakfast TV began in Britain, with BBC’s ‘Breakfast Time’.

1991 - Operation Desert Storm began as Gulf War Allies sent hundreds of planes on bombing raids into Iraq.

2001 - The Scouts uniform was revamped and the motto ‘Be Prepared’ was brought back.