January 4 » Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy's death.
April 19 » The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Palestine and the Western world.
June 16 » The Ford Motor Company is incorporated.
July 23 » The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
September 27 » The Wreck of the Old 97, an American rail disaster that became the subject of a popular ballad.
November 3 » With the encouragement of the United States, Panama separates from Colombia.
Day of death March 17, 1973
The temperature on March 17, 1973 was between 0.4 °C and 8.1 °C and averaged 5.2 °C. There was 0.8 mm of rain during 1.5 hours. The almost completely overcast was. The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the west-northwest. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from Thursday, July 20, 1972 to Friday, May 11, 1973 the cabinet Biesheuvel II, with Mr. B.W. Biesheuvel (ARP) as prime minister.
In The Netherlands , there was from Friday, May 11, 1973 to Monday, December 19, 1977 the cabinet Den Uyl, with Drs. J.M. den Uyl (PvdA) as prime minister.
January 22 » A chartered Boeing 707 explodes in flames upon landing at Kano Airport, Nigeria, killing 176.
April 2 » Launch of the LexisNexis computerized legal research service.
July 11 » Varig Flight 820 crashes near Paris, France on approach to Orly Airport, killing 123 of the 134 on board. In response, the FAA bans smoking in airplane lavatories.
August 5 » Mars 6 is launched from the USSR.
August 23 » A bank robbery gone wrong in Stockholm, Sweden, turns into a hostage crisis; over the next five days the hostages begin to sympathise with their captors, leading to the term "Stockholm syndrome".
October 31 » Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape. Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escape from Mountjoy Prison, Dublin aboard a hijacked helicopter that landed in the exercise yard.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Hendrik Dreyer, "Dreyer Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/dreyer-tree/I19988.php : accessed January 29, 2026), "Karel Petrus du Toit (1903-1973)".
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