What happened on April 17? There are more than 255 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About April 17
April 17 is the 108th day of the year 2024. There are 258 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday. This day falls under the 16th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Bainville, Montana 59212 sunrise will occur at 05:59 AM and sunset will occur at 07:52 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Aries. The modern birthstone for this month is Diamond while the mystical birthstone is Opal.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 287 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 18 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For April 17
- 69After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes Roman Emperor.
- 1080King of Denmark Harald III dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized.
- 1397Geoffrey Chaucer tells the Canterbury Tales for the first time at the court of Richard II. Chaucer scholars have also identified this date (in 1387) the start of the book’s pilgrimage to Canterbury.
- 1492Spain and Christopher Columbus sign the Capitulations of Santa Fe for his voyage to Asia to acquire spices.
- 1521Martin Luther speaks to the assembly at the Diet of Worms, refusing to recant his teachings.
- 1524Giovanni da Verrazzano reaches New York harbor.
- 1555After 18 months of siege, Siena surrenders to the Florentine-Imperial army. The Republic of Siena is incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
- 1797Citizens of Verona, Italy, begin an eight-day rebellion against the French occupying forces, which will end unsuccessfully.
- 1797Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico in what would be one of the largest invasions of the Spanish territories in America.
- 1864American Civil War: The Battle of Plymouth begins – Confederate forces attack Plymouth, North Carolina.
- 1895The Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan is signed. This marks the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtien province, Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands to Japan.
- 1897The Aurora, Texas UFO incident
- 1905The Supreme Court of the United States decides Lochner v. New York which holds that the “right to free contract” is implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
- 1907The Ellis Island immigration center processes 11,747 people, more than on any other day.
- 1912Russian troops open fire on striking goldfield workers in northeast Siberia, killing at least 150.
- 1941World War II: The Kingdom of Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany.
- 1942French prisoner of war General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Festung Königstein.
- 1944Forces of the Communist-controlled Greek People’s Liberation Army attack the smaller National and Social Liberation resistance group, which surrenders. Its leader Dimitrios Psarros is murdered.
- 1945Brazilian forces liberate the town of Montese, Italy, from German Nazi forces.
- 1946Syria obtains its Independence from the French occupation.
- 1949At midnight 26 Irish counties officially leave the British Commonwealth. A 21-gun salute on O'Connell Bridge, Dublin, ushers in the Republic of Ireland.
- 1951The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom’s first National Park.
- 1961Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of CIA financed and trained Cuban exiles lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro.
- 1964Jerrie Mock becomes the first woman to circumnavigate the world by air.
- 1969Czechoslovakian Communist Party chairman Alexander Dubček is deposed.
- 1969Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.
- 1970Apollo program: The ill-fated Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely.
- 1971The People’s Republic of Bangladesh forms, under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Mujibnagor.
- 1975The Cambodian Civil War ends. The Khmer Rouge captures the capital Phnom Penh and Cambodian government forces surrender.
- 1982Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.
- 1984Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher is killed by gunfire from the Libyan People’s Bureau in London during a small demonstration outside the embassy. Ten others are wounded. The events lead to an 11-day siege of the building.
- 1986The Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years’ War between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly ends.
- 2006Sami Hammad, a Palestinian suicide bomber, detonates an explosive device in Tel Aviv, killing 11 people and injuring 70.
Who Were Born On April 17?
- 1278Michael IX Palaeologus, co-ruling Eastern Roman Emperor (d. 1320)
- 1573Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1651)
- 1586John Ford, English dramatist
- 1598Giovanni Riccioli, Italian astronomer (d. 1671)
- 1620Marguerite Bourgeoys, founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame (d. 1700)
- 1622Henry Vaughan, Welsh poet (d. 1695)
- 1710Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, British Freemason (d. 1767)
- 1734Taksin, King of Thailand (d. 1782)
- 1741Samuel Chase, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1811)
- 1750François de Neufchâteau, French statesman and intellectual figure (d. 1828)
- 1756Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian Freedom Fighter, Tamil Revolutionist (d. 1805)
- 1794Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist (d. 1868)
- 1798Étienne Bobillier, French mathematician (d. 1840)
- 1814Josif Pančić, Serbian botanist (d. 1888)
- 1816Thomas Hazlehurst, English Methodist chapel builder (d. 1876)
- 1820Alexander Joy Cartwright, Inventor of the Modern Game of Baseball (d. 1892)
- 1833Jean-Baptiste Accolay, Belgian composer (d. 1900)
- 1837J. P. Morgan, American financier (d. 1913)
- 1842Maurice Rouvier, French statesman (d. 1911)
- 1849William R. Day, American diplomat and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1923)
- 1852Cap Anson, American Baseball Hall of Famer
- 1863Augustus Edward Hough Love, English mathematician (d. 1940)
- 1865Ursula Julia Ledochowska, Polish-Austrian Catholic saint (d. 1939)
- 1866Ernest Starling, British physiologist (d. 1927)
- 1877Matsudaira Tsuneo, Japanese diplomat (d. 1949)
- 1878Emil Fuchs, German-born American attorney and baseball owner (d. 1961)
- 1882Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist (d. 1951)
- 1884Leo Frank, American victim of lynching (d. 1915)
- 1885Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), Danish author (d. 1962)
- 1890Art Acord, American actor and rodeo rider (d. 1931)
- 1891George Adamski, Polish-American author and ufologist (d. 1965)
- 1896Señor Wences, Spanish ventriloquist (d. 1999)
- 1897Thornton Wilder, American dramatist (d. 1975)
- 1902Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican politician (d. 1974)
- 1903Gregor Piatigorsky, Russian cellist (d. 1976)
- 1903Morgan Taylor, American athlete (d. 1975)
- 1905Arthur Lake, American actor (d. 1987)
- 1905Louis Jean Heydt, American actor d. 1960
- 1906Sidney R. Garfield, American physician (d. 1984)
- 1909Alain Poher, French politician (d. 1996)
- 1910Evangelos Averoff, Greek politician (d. 1990)
- 1910Ivan Goff, Australian screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1911Lester Rodney, American journalist (d. 2009)
- 1912Marta Eggerth, Hungarian-born actress and singer, naturalized citizen of the United States
- 1914George W. Davis, American art director (d. 1984)
- 1915Joe Foss, United States Marine and politician (d. 2003)
- 1915Martin Clemens, Scottish guerilla fighter (d. 2009)
- 1915Sirimavo Bandaranaike, A Sri Lankan politician and the world’s first female head of government (d. 2000)
- 1916Helenio Herrera, French footballer player and manager (d. 1997)
- 1917Bill Clements, American politician
- 1918William Holden, American actor (d. 1981)
- 1919Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer
- 1919Gilles Lamontagne, French Canadian politician
- 1923Harry Reasoner, American journalist (d. 1991)
- 1923Lindsay Anderson, English film director (d. 1994)
- 1923Solly Hemus, American baseball player
- 1925Erich Göstl, German War Hero (d. 1990)
- 1926Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
- 1928Cynthia Ozick, American writer
- 1929James Last, German band leader
- 1929Michael Forest, American actor
- 1929Peggy McKercher, 11th Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan)
- 1930Chris Barber, British jazz band leader
- 1934Don Kirshner, American composer (d. 2011)
- 1937Ferdinand Piëch, Austrian-German automotive engineer and executive
- 1938Ben Barnes, American politician
- 1938Kerry Wendell Thornley, co-founder of Discordianism
- 1939Robert Miller, American art dealer (d. 2011)
- 1940Anja Silja, German soprano
- 1940Billy Fury, British singer (d. 1983)
- 1940John McCririck, English television horse racing pundit
- 1942David Bradley, British actor
- 1942Kenas Aroi, Nauruan politician
- 1947Linda Martin, Irish singer
- 1947Tsutomu Wakamatsu, Japanese baseball player
- 1948Jan Hammer, Czech composer
- 1950Bruce McNall, American former NHL team owner
- 1950L. Scott Caldwell, American actress
- 1951Börje Salming, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1951Olivia Hussey, Argentine-born actress
- 1952Željko Ražnatović, Serbian warlord (d. 2000)
- 1954Lester Square, Canadian musician
- 1954Michael Sembello, American musician
- 1954Riccardo Patrese, Italian race car driver
- 1954Rowdy Roddy Piper, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1955Pete Shelley, British musician
- 1955Todd Lickliter, American basketball coach
- 1957Nick Hornby, English author
- 1957Susan Roman, Canadian voice actress
- 1959Sean Bean, English actor
- 1961Boomer Esiason, American football player and commentator
- 1961Frank J. Christensen, American labor leader
- 1963Joel Murray, American actor
- 1964Ken Daneyko, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1964Lela Rochon, American actress
- 1964Maynard James Keenan, American singer (Tool and A Perfect Circle)
- 1965William Mapother, American actor
- 1965Yoshiki Kuroda, Japanese urban planner
- 1966Vikram, Indian actor
- 1967Henry Ian Cusick, Peruvian-born Scottish actor
- 1967Kimberly Elise, American actress
- 1967Leslie Bega, American actress
- 1967Liz Phair, American musician/songwriter
- 1967Marquis Grissom, American baseball player
- 1967Timothy Gibbs, American actor
- 1968Prince Maurits of the Netherlands
- 1970Redman, American rapper
- 1972Claire Sweeney, English actress
- 1972Gary Bennett, American baseball player
- 1972Jarkko Wiss, Finnish Footballer
- 1972Jennifer Garner, American actress
- 1972Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1972Terran Sandwith, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972Tony Boselli, American football player
- 1972Yuichi Nishimura, Japan referee football player
- 1973Brett Maher, Australian basketballer
- 1973Kaihō Ryōji, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1973Theo Ratliff, American basketball player
- 1974Mikael Åkerfeldt, Swedish guitarist and singer (Opeth)
- 1974Victoria Beckham, English singer (Spice Girls)
- 1975Gabriel Soto, Mexican actor
- 1975Travis Roy, American hockey player
- 1976Aňa Geislerová, Czech actress
- 1976Alex Nesic, American actor
- 1976Monet Mazur, American actress and musician
- 1977Chad Hedrick, American speed skater
- 1977Frederik Magle, Danish composer, organist and pianist
- 1977Phil Jamieson, Australian singer (Grinspoon)
- 1977Sizzla, Jamaican dancehall artist
- 1978Jason White, Scottish rugby player
- 1978Lindsay Hartley, American actress
- 1978Loukas Louka, Greek-Cypriot footballer
- 1979Eric Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979Siddharth Narayan, Indian actor
- 1979Sung Si Kyung, Korean singer
- 1980Curtis Woodhouse, English footballer/boxer
- 1980Fabián Andrés Vargas, Colombian football player
- 1980Lee Hyun-il, South Korean badminton player
- 1980Nicholas D'Agosto, American television and film actor
- 1981Hanna Pakarinen, Finnish singer
- 1981Ryan Raburn, American baseball player
- 1981Zhang Yaokun, Chinese football player
- 1982Brad Boyes, Canadian hockey player
- 1982Lee Jun Ki, South Korean actor and model
- 1983Andrea Marcato, Italian rugby player
- 1983Roberto Jimenez, Peruvian football player
- 1983Stanislav Chistov, Russian hockey player
- 1984Jed Lowrie, American baseball player
- 1985Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, French tennis player
- 1989Paraskevi Papahristou, Greek triple jumper
- 1990Jonathan Brown, Welsh footballer
- 1990Nari Yang Kim, South Korean diplomat
- 1995Paulie Litt, American actor
- 1996Dee Dee Davis, American actress
Who Died On April 17?
- 326Alexander of Alexandria, Patriarch of Alexandria
- 485Proclus, Greek philosopher (b. 412)
- 617Donnán of Eigg, Celtic Christian martyr, patron saint of Eigg
- 1080King Harald III of Denmark (b. 1041)
- 1427John IV, Duke of Brabant (b. 1403)
- 1539George, Duke of Saxony (b. 1471)
- 1574Joachim Camerarius, German classical scholar (b. 1500)
- 1680Kateri Tekakwitha, first American Indian to receive beatification (b. 1656)
- 1695Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican writer
- 1696Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, French writer (b. 1626)
- 1711Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1678)
- 1713David Hollatz, Pomeranian dogmatician (b. 1648)
- 1742Arvid Horn, Swedish statesman (b. 1664)
- 1761Thomas Bayes, English mathematician
- 1764Johann Mattheson, German composer (b. 1681)
- 1790Benjamin Franklin, American inventor, diplomat, and printer (b. 1706)
- 1799Richard Jupp, English architect (b. 1728)
- 1843Samuel Morey, American inventor (b. 1762)
- 1849Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentine statesman and priest (b. 1777)
- 1873Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter (b. 1783)
- 1882George Jennings Sanitary engineer (b. 1810)
- 1892Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1822)
- 1902Francis of Assisi of Bourbon, King Consort of Spain (b. 1822)
- 1921Manwel Dimech, Maltese philosopher and social reformer (b. 1860)
- 1930Alexander Golovin, Russian painter (b. 1863)
- 1933Konstantine Marjanishvili, Georgian theatre director (b. 1872)
- 1936Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, Dutch Prime Minister (b. 1873)
- 1937Yi Sang, Korean poet (b. 1910)
- 1941Al Bowlly, British dance band vocalist (b. 1899)
- 1942Jean Perrin, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
- 1944Dimitrios Psarros, Greek army officer and resistance fighter (b. 1893)
- 1944J.T. Hearne, English cricketer (b. 1867)
- 1954Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu, Romanian communist activist (b. 1900)
- 1960Eddie Cochran, American musician (b. 1938)
- 1967Red Allen, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1908)
- 1975Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher (b. 1888)
- 1976Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1895)
- 1977William Conway, Irish cardinal (b. 1913)
- 1983Felix Pappalardi, American musician and recording producer (b. 1939) (Mountain)
- 1984Claude Provost, French Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1933)
- 1985Evadne Price (aka Helen Zenna Smith), British writer (b. 1896)
- 1985Takis Miliadis, Greek actor (b. 1922)
- 1987Cecil Harmsworth King, owner of Mirror Group Newspapers (b. 1901)
- 1987Dick Shawn, Actor and Comedian (b. 1923)
- 1988Louise Nevelson, American sculptor (b. 1900)
- 1990Reverend Ralph Abernathy, American civil rights activist (b. 1936)
- 1993Turgut Ozal, 8th president of Turkey (b. 1927)
- 1994Roger Wolcott Sperry, American neurobiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1913)
- 1995Frank E. Resnik, American business executive (b. 1928)
- 1996Piet Hein, Danish scientist and poet (b. 1905)
- 1997Allan Francovich, American documentarian (b. 1941)
- 1997Chaim Herzog, President of Israel (1983–1993) (b. 1918)
- 1998Linda McCartney, American designer and photographer (b. 1941)
- 2003Earl King, American musician and songwriter (b. 1934)
- 2003H. B. Bailey, American racing driver (b. 1936)
- 2003John Paul Getty Jr., American-born philanthropist (b. 1932)
- 2003Robert Atkins, American dietician (b. 1930)
- 2003Yiannis Latsis, Greek shipping tycoon (b. 1910)
- 2004Edmond Pidoux, Swiss writer (b. 1908)
- 2004Soundarya, Indian actress (b. 1971)
- 2006Scott Brazil, American television producer and director. (b. 1955)
- 2007Gil Dobrică, Romanian singer (b. 1946)
- 2007Kitty Carlisle, American actress and television personality (b. 1910)
- 2008Aimé Césaire, French Martinican poet and politician (b. 1913)
- 2008Danny Federici, American organ player (E-Street Band) (b. 1950)
- 2011AJ Perez, Filipino teen actor (b. 1993)
- 2011Eric Gross, Austrian-Australian composer (b. 1926)
- 2011Nikos Papazoglou, Greek singer and songwriter (b. 1948)
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