page_title: August 1970
section_title: August 17, 1970 (Monday)
hierarchical_section_title: August 1970 / August 17, 1970 (Monday)
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Марка СССРEnglish: USSR stamp
context_page_description: The following events occurred in August 1970:
context_section_description: A partial lunar eclipse was visible in Americas, Europe, Africa and Mid East, 131 minutes long lapse, and was the 49th eclipse of Lunar Saros 118.
  By a margin of one vote, Suleiman Franjieh was elected as the new President of Lebanon by the Lebanese Parliament.  On the first ballot, no candidate received a 2/3rds majority of the 99 votes.  Under Lebanon's constitution, a simple majority was required on subsequent balloting, and on the third ballot, Franjieh won, 50 to 49.  At that point, the Speaker of the House, Sabri Hamadeh, ruled that 50—49 was non a majority and that a fourth ballot would be necessary.  When deputy speaker Michel Sassine declared Franjieh the winner, Hamadeh repeated his demand for a fourth ballot, and Franjieh and Hamadeh then got into a fistfight.  After conferring with other officials, Hamadeh then declared that Franjieh was now "the constitutional president of the republic".
  Venera 7 was launched toward Venus. On December 15, it would become the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet, sending a weak signal for 23 minutes.
  Born: Jim Courier, American professional tennis player ranked #1 in the world in 1992 and 1993; twice winner of the Australian Open and the French Open; in Orlando, Florida
caption: Venera 7 commemorative stamp
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