Melford Stevenson (17 October 1902 – 26 December 1987) was an English High Court judge. He was Judge Advocate at the 1945 war crimes trial of submariners from the U-852 for the Peleus affair. In 1954 Stevenson represented the UK Government during Jomo Kenyatta's unsuccessful appeal against his conviction for his part in the Mau Mau Uprising. He represented the litigants in the Crichel Down affair, which led to changes in the law on compulsory purchase. In 1955 he defended Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the UK, and in 1957 took part in the unsuccessful prosecution of suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams. As a High Court judge he gave life sentences in 1969 to the Kray twins for murder, and in 1971 gave Jake Prescott of the Angry Brigade fifteen years for conspiracy to cause explosions. When another judge, Sir Robin Dunn, described him as "the worst judge since the war", Lord Roskill pointed out that Stevenson could be merciful to those he saw as victims. He retired in 1979, and died in 1987. ( Full article...)

• ... that George Frederic Watts's Mammon (pictured) depicts the Biblical embodiment of greed, which crushes "whatever is weak and gentle and timid and lovely"?
• ... that Helen Richardson-Walsh and her wife Kate were both members of the team that won Great Britain's first Olympic gold in women's hockey?
• ... that the Grand Theatre was reportedly the first in Australia to be lit entirely by neon lights?
• ... that in a case in which an ex-husband wanted to keep seven frozen embryos created while he was married, Judge Lee B. Laskin decided in favor of the ex-wife and ordered them destroyed?
• ... that plans are underway to convert the Akıncı Air Base, bombed during the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, into a "democracy park"?
• ... that the contralto Dorothy Gill was so popular during the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's visit to New York in 1934 that American fans petitioned for her return?
• ... that a 2014 attack on the radio station Calentana Mexiquense resulted in the death of the owner's 12-year-old son?
• ... that politician Sara Skyttedal participated in Miss Sweden in 2006?

• Former Prime Minister of Portugal António Guterres (pictured) is elected Secretary-General of the United Nations.
• King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-serving head of state, dies at the age of 88.
• Bob Dylan is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".
• Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the Colombian conflict.
• Hurricane Matthew kills more than 1,000 people, mainly in Haiti.

October 17: Dessalines Day in Haiti ( 1806)

• 1558 – Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, was founded by order of King Sigismund II Augustus.
• 1604 – German astronomer Johannes Kepler observed an exceptionally bright star, now known as Kepler's Supernova ( remnant nebula pictured), which had suddenly appeared in the constellation Ophiuchus.
• 1943 – The Empire of Japan completed the Burma Railway to support its forces in the Burma Campaign of World War II at the cost of approximately 100,000 lives of forced labourers.
• 1989 – The 6.9 M_w Loma Prieta earthquake struck California's San Francisco Bay Area, killing 63 people, injuring 3,757, and leaving at least 8,000 homeless.
• 2001 – Israeli Minister of Tourism Rehavam Ze'evi became the first Israeli minister to be assassinated in a terrorist attack.

English singer-songwriter Adele has recorded numerous songs. After signing a contract with record label XL Recordings in September 2006, Adele began to work on her debut studio album, 19, which was ultimately released in 2008. The first single released from 19 was " Chasing Pavements", which Adele wrote in collaboration with Eg White. They co-wrote two other songs for the album: " Melt My Heart to Stone" and "Tired". Adele released her second studio album, 21, in 2011. In addition to reuniting with writers with whom she had previously worked, the singer collaborated with several new writers and producers. The album's lead single, " Rolling in the Deep", was co-written by Adele and Paul Epworth. Adele collaborated with Dan Wilson on the album's second single, " Someone Like You". Adele released " Skyfall" in October 2012, a song co-written with Epworth for the James Bond film of the same name. Her third album, 25, was released in 2015. Adele co-wrote its songs "I Miss You" and " Sweetest Devotion" with Epworth and co-wrote " Hello", " Million Years Ago", and " Water Under the Bridge" with Greg Kurstin. ( Full list...)

A video from the trial mode for Fez, an indie puzzle-platform video game developed by Polytron Corporation and published by Trapdoor in 2012. In this game, the player-character Gomez receives a fez that reveals his two-dimensional world to be one of four sides of a three-dimensional world. The player must rotate between these four 2D views to realign platforms and solve the game's puzzles. Video: Polytron Corporation Recently featured: Still Life – Apples and Jar by Samuel Peploe Chehel Sotoun C. Everett Koop Archive More featured pictures...