What happened on October 17? There are more than 269 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 October 17

October 17 In HistoryOctober 17 is the 291st day of the year 2024. There are 75 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday. This day falls under the 42nd week of the year 2024.

On this day in New York, New York 10107 sunrise will occur at 07:08 AM and sunset will occur at 06:13 PM (local time).

The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Libra. The modern birthstone for this month is Opal while the mystical birthstone is Jasper.

According to the Chinese calendar, there are 104 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).

Birthday curiousity Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the March 30 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)

Historical Events For October 17

  • 539 BC
    Cyrus the Great marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost 70 years of exile. Cyrus allows the Jews to return to Yehud Medinata and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
  • 1091
    London Tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London.
  • 1346
    Battle of Neville’s Cross: King David II of Scotland is captured by Edward III of England near Durham, and imprisoned in the Tower of London for eleven years.
  • 1448
    Second Battle of Kosovo, where the mainly Hungarian army led by John Hunyadi is defeated by an Ottoman army led by Sultan Murad II.
  • 1456
    The University of Greifswald is established, making it the second oldest university in northern Europe (also for a period the oldest in Sweden, and Prussia)
  • 1604
    Kepler’s Star: German astronomer Johannes Kepler observes a supernova in the constellation Ophiuchus.
  • 1610
    French king Louis XIII is crowned in Rheims.
  • 1660
    Nine Regicides, the men who signed the death warrant of Charles I, are hanged, drawn and quartered.
  • 1662
    Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to France for 40,000 pounds.
  • 1771
    Premiere in Milan of the opera Ascanio in Alba, composed by Wolfgang Mozart, age 15.
  • 1777
    American Revolutionary War: British General John Burgoyne surrenders his army at Saratoga, New York.
  • 1781
    American Revolutionary War: British General Lord Charles Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown.
  • 1800
    Britain takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao.
  • 1806
    Former leader of the Haitian Revolution, Emperor Jacques I of Haiti is assassinated after an oppressive rule.
  • 1814
    London Beer Flood occurs in London, killing nine.
  • 1860
    First The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open).
  • 1888
    Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie).
  • 1905
    The October Manifesto issued by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
  • 1907
    Guglielmo Marconi’s company begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada and Clifden, Ireland.
  • 1912
    Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War.
  • 1917
    First British bombing of Germany in World War I.
  • 1931
    Al Capone convicted of income tax evasion.
  • 1933
    Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States.
  • 1941
    For the first time in World War II, a German submarine attacks an American ship.
  • 1941
    German troops execute the male population of the villages Kerdyllia in Serres, Greece.
  • 1943
    Burma Railway (Burma-Thailand Railway) is completed.
  • 1945
    A massive number of people, headed by CGT and Evita, gather in the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina to demand Juan Peron’s release. It calls “el día de la lealtad peronista” (peronista loyalty day)
  • 1945
    Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens becomes Prime Minister of Greece between the pull-out of the German occupation force in 1944 and the return of King Georgios II to Greece.
  • 1956
    The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield,in Cumbria, England.
  • 1961
    Scores of Algerian protesters (some claim up to 400) are massacred by the Paris police at the instigation of Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Prefecture of Police.
  • 1964
    Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies opens the artificial Lake Burley Griffin in the middle of the capital Canberra.
  • 1965
    The 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair closes after a two year run. More than 51 million people had attended the two-year event.
  • 1966
    A fire at a building in New York, New York kills 12 firefighters, the New York City Fire Department’s deadliest day until the September 11, 2001 attacks.
  • 1966
    Botswana and Lesotho join the United Nations.
  • 1970
    Montreal, Quebec: Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte murdered by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
  • 1973
    OPEC starts an oil embargo against a number of western countries, considered to have helped Israel in its war against Syria.
  • 1977
    German Autumn: Four days after it is hijacked, Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu, Somalia, where a team of German GSG 9 commandos later rescues all remaining hostages on board.
  • 1979
    Mother Teresa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
  • 1979
    The Department of Education Organization Act is signed into law creating the US Department of Education and US Department of Health and Human Services.
  • 1980
    As part of the Holy See – United Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican
  • 1989
    1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (7.1 on the Richter scale) hits the San Francisco Bay Area and causes 57 deaths directly (and 6 indirectly).
  • 1994
    Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov is assassinated while investigating corruption in the armed forces.
  • 1998
    At Jesse, in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, a petroleum pipeline explodes killing about 1200 villagers, some of whom are scavenging gasoline.
  • 2000
    Train crash at Hatfield, north of London, leading to collapse of Railtrack.
  • 2001
    Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi became the first Israeli minister to be assassinated in a terrorist attack.
  • 2003
    The pinnacle is fitted on the roof of Taipei 101, a 101-floor skyscraper in Taipei, allowing it to surpass the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur by 56 m and become the World’s tallest highrise.
  • 2010
    Mary MacKillop is canonized (in Rome) and becomes the first saint of Australia.

Who Were Born On October 17?

  • 1253
    Saint Ivo of Kermartin (d. 1303)
  • 1563
    Jodocus Hondius, Flemish cartographer (d. 1611)
  • 1577
    Cristofano Allori, Italian painter (d. 1621)
  • 1582
    Johann Gerhard, German Lutheran leader (d. 1637)
  • 1623
    Francis Turretin, Swiss theologian (d. 1687)
  • 1688
    Domenico Zipoli, Italian composer (d. 1726)
  • 1711
    Jupiter Hammon, American writer (d. 1806)
  • 1719
    Jacques Cazotte, French writer (d. 1792)
  • 1760
    Claude Henri de Rouvroy, French economist and philosopher (d. 1825)
  • 1811
    Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-born American religious figure (d. 1876)
  • 1813
    Georg Büchner, German playwright (d. 1837)
  • 1814
    Yakiv Holovatsky, Ukrainian writer and professor (d. 1888)
  • 1817
    Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Hindustani intellectual (d. 1898)
  • 1853
    Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (d. 1920)
  • 1864
    Elinor Glyn, British writer (d. 1943)
  • 1865
    James Rudolph Garfield, American politician (d. 1950)
  • 1886
    Spring Byington, American actress (d. 1971)
  • 1890
    Roy Kilner, English cricketer (d. 1928)
  • 1892
    Herbert Howells, English composer (d. 1983)
  • 1892
    Theodor Eicke, German Nazi official (d. 1943)
  • 1898
    Shinichi Suzuki, Japanese violin teacher (d. 1998)
  • 1898
    Simon Vestdijk, Dutch writer (d. 1971)
  • 1900
    Jean Arthur, American actress (d. 1991)
  • 1902
    Irene Ryan, American actress (d. 1973)
  • 1903
    Nathanael West, American writer (d. 1940)
  • 1906
    Paul Derringer, American baseball player (d. 1987)
  • 1908
    Red Rolfe, American baseball player (d. 1969)
  • 1909
    Cozy Cole, American jazz drummer (d. 1981)
  • 1912
    Jack Owens, American singer/songwriter (d. 1982)
  • 1912
    Pope John Paul I (d. 1978)
  • 1912
    Theodore Marier, KCSG, American composer, founder of the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (d. 2001)
  • 1914
    Jerry Siegel, American cartoonist (d. 1996)
  • 1915
    Arthur Miller, American playwright (d. 2005)
  • 1917
    Marsha Hunt, American actress
  • 1917
    Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-born American novelist (d. 1991)
  • 1918
    Ralph Wilson, American pro football team owner
  • 1918
    Rita Hayworth, American actress (d. 1987)
  • 1919
    Isaak Markovich Khalatnikov, Russian physicist
  • 1920
    Miguel Delibes, Spanish novelist (d. 2010)
  • 1920
    Montgomery Clift, American actor (d. 1966)
  • 1921
    George Mackay Brown, Scottish Poet (d.1996)
  • 1921
    Maria Gorokhovskaya, Soviet gymnast (d. 2001)
  • 1921
    Tom Poston, American actor and comedian (d. 2007)
  • 1922
    Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian composer (d. 2001)
  • 1922
    Pierre Juneau, Canadian film and broadcast executive
  • 1923
    Barney Kessel, American musician (d. 2004)
  • 1923
    Charles McClendon, American football coach (d. 2001)
  • 1924
    Don Coryell, American football head coach (d. 2010)
  • 1925
    Harry Carpenter, English sports commentator (d. 2010)
  • 1926
    Beverly Garland, American actress (d. 2008)
  • 1926
    Julie Adams, American film actress
  • 1930
    Jimmy Breslin, American newspaper columnist and author
  • 1930
    Robert Atkins, American nutritionist (d. 2003)
  • 1931
    Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian writer
  • 1933
    Bill Anders, American astronaut
  • 1933
    Jeanine Deckers, Belgian nun (d. 1985)
  • 1934
    Johnny Haynes, English footballer (d. 2005)
  • 1934
    Rico Rodriguez, ska and reggae trombonist
  • 1935
    Sydney Chapman, English politician and architect
  • 1936
    Hiroo Kanamori, Japanese seismologist
  • 1936
    Sathima Bea Benjamin, South African vocalist and composer
  • 1937
    Paxton Whitehead, English actor
  • 1938
    Evel Knievel, American motorcycle daredevil (d. 2007)
  • 1938
    Les Murray, Australian poet
  • 1940
    Jim Smith, English footballer and manager
  • 1940
    Peter Stringfellow, British nightclub owner
  • 1941
    Earl Thomas Conley, American singer
  • 1942
    Gary Puckett, American musician
  • 1942
    Steve Jones, American basketball player
  • 1946
    Adam Michnik, Polish activist
  • 1946
    Bob Seagren, American athlete
  • 1946
    Drusilla Modjeska, Australian writer and editor
  • 1946
    Michael Hossack, American musician (The Doobie Brothers)
  • 1946
    Ronni Chasen, American film publicist (d. 2010)
  • 1946
    Sir Cameron Mackintosh, British stage producer
  • 1947
    Gene Green, American politician
  • 1947
    Michael McKean, American actor
  • 1947
    Simi Garewal, Indian actress
  • 1948
    George Wendt, American actor
  • 1948
    Margot Kidder, Canadian actress
  • 1948
    Robert Jordan, American novelist (d. 2007)
  • 1950
    Howard Rollins, American actor (d. 1996)
  • 1950
    Philippe Barbarin, French cardinal
  • 1951
    Annie Borckink, Dutch ice-skater
  • 1951
    Roger Pontare, Swedish singer
  • 1951
    Shari Ulrich, Canadian musician-songwriter, member of Pied Pumkin and UHF
  • 1953
    Joseph Bowie, American trombonist, founder of the jazz fusion band Defunkt
  • 1954
    Carlos Buhler, American high altitude mountaineer
  • 1955
    Georgios Alogoskoufis, Greek politician
  • 1956
    Mae Jemison, American astronaut and physician
  • 1956
    Patrick McCrory, American politician
  • 1957
    Lawrence Bender, American film producer
  • 1957
    Steve McMichael, American football player
  • 1957
    Vincent Van Patten, American actor
  • 1958
    Alan Jackson, American singer and songwriter
  • 1959
    Mark Peel, Australian historian and academic
  • 1959
    Richard Roeper, American film critic
  • 1959
    Ron Drummond, American writer
  • 1959
    Russell Gilbert, Australian comedian
  • 1960
    Guy Henry, English actor
  • 1960
    Rob Marshall, American director
  • 1962
    Mike Judge, American cartoonist, filmmaker and voice actor
  • 1963
    Norm Macdonald, Canadian comedian and actor
  • 1963
    Sergio Goycochea, Argentine footballer
  • 1965
    Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1966
    Danny Ferry, American basketball player
  • 1966
    Mark Gatiss, English actor and writer
  • 1966
    Tommy Kendall, American race car driver and television personality
  • 1967
    René Dif, Danish musician (Aqua)
  • 1968
    Ziggy Marley, Jamaican musician
  • 1969
    Ernie Els, South African golfer
  • 1969
    Rick Mercer, Canadian comedian
  • 1969
    Wood Harris, American actor
  • 1969
    Wyclef Jean, Haitian singer
  • 1970
    Anil Kumble, Indian cricketer
  • 1970
    Blues Saraceno, American guitarist
  • 1970
    John Mabry, American baseball player
  • 1970
    Shauna O'Brien, American model and actress
  • 1971
    Chris Kirkpatrick, American singer ('N Sync)
  • 1972
    Eminem, American rapper
  • 1972
    Joe McEwing, American baseball player
  • 1972
    Sharon Leal, American actress
  • 1972
    Tarkan, Turkish singer
  • 1973
    Andrea Tarozzi, Italian footballer
  • 1974
    Ariel Levy, American feminist writer
  • 1974
    Janne Puurtinen, Finnish keyboardist (HIM)
  • 1974
    John Rocker, American baseball player
  • 1974
    Matthew Macfadyen, British actor
  • 1975
    Francis Bouillon, American hockey player
  • 1976
    Sebastián Abreu, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1977
    Alimi Ballard, American actor
  • 1977
    André Villas-Boas, Portuguese football manager
  • 1977
    Bryan Bertino, American film director and screenwriter
  • 1977
    Dudu Aouate, Israeli footballer
  • 1978
    Erin Karpluk, Canadian television actress
  • 1979
    Alexandros Nikolaidis, Greek taekwondo athlete
  • 1979
    Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish race car driver
  • 1979
    Kostas Tsartsaris, Greek basketball player
  • 1979
    Marcela Bovio, Mexican singer and violinist (Stream of Passion)
  • 1980
    Alessandro Piccolo, Italian racing driver
  • 1980
    Yekaterina Gamova, Russian volleyball player
  • 1982
    Nick Riewoldt, Australian rules footballer
  • 1983
    Daniel Booko, American actor
  • 1983
    Ivan Saenko, Russian football player
  • 1983
    Mitch Talbot, American baseball player
  • 1984
    Chris Lowell, American actor
  • 1984
    Jelle Klaasen, Dutch darts player
  • 1984
    Randall Munroe, American cartoonist
  • 1985
    Baran Kosari, Iranian actress
  • 1985
    Carlos González, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1985
    Collins John, Dutch footballer
  • 1987
    Bea Alonzo, Filipina actress
  • 1987
    Jarosław Fojut, Polish footballer
  • 1988
    Christina Crawford, American dancer and professional wrestler
  • 1990
    Paolo Campinoti, Italian footballer
  • 1992
    Sam Concepcion, Filipino performer and actor

Who Died On October 17?

  • 532
    Pope Boniface II
  • 1174
    Queen Petronila of Aragon (b. 1135)
  • 1586
    Philip Sidney, English courtier, soldier, and writer (killed in battle) (b. 1554)
  • 1616
    John Pitts, Catholic scholar and writer. (b. 1560)
  • 1660
    Adrian Scrope, English regicide (b. 1601)
  • 1673
    Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English statesman (b. 1630)
  • 1757
    René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French scientist (b. 1683)
  • 1776
    Pierre François le Courayer, French theologian (b. 1681)
  • 1780
    William Cookworthy, English chemist (b. 1705)
  • 1786
    Johann Ludwig Aberli, Swiss artist (b. 1723)
  • 1806
    Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian independence leader (b. 1758)
  • 1836
    Orest Kiprensky, Russian painter (b. 1782)
  • 1837
    Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Austrian virtuoso pianist and composer (b. 1778)
  • 1849
    Frédéric Chopin, Polish musician and composer (b. 1810)
  • 1868
    Laura Secord, Canadian heroine of the war of 1812 (b. 1775)
  • 1887
    Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist (b. 1824)
  • 1889
    Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher (b. 1828)
  • 1910
    Julia Ward Howe, American composer and abolitionist (b. 1819)
  • 1931
    Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist (b. 1884)
  • 1934
    Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish histologist and neuroscientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1852)
  • 1937
    Joseph Bruce Ismay, Titanic survivor and managing director of the White Star Line (b. 1862)
  • 1938
    Karl Kautsky, Czech-German Marxist theoretician (b. 1854)
  • 1943
    Stefan Starzyński, Polish politician (b. 1893)
  • 1956
    Anne Crawford, British film actor (b. 1920)
  • 1958
    Charlie Townsend, English cricketer (b. 1876)
  • 1958
    Paul Outerbridge, American photographer (b. 1896)
  • 1962
    Natalia Goncharova, Russian painter (b. 1882)
  • 1963
    Jacques Hadamard, French mathematician (b. 1865)
  • 1965
    John Barton King, Philadelphian cricketer (b. 1873)
  • 1966
    Wieland Wagner, German stage director (b. 1917)
  • 1967
    Henry Pu Yi, last Emperor of China (b. 1906)
  • 1970
    Pierre Laporte, Vice-Premier of Quebec (assassinated) (b. 1921)
  • 1970
    Vola Vale, American actress (b. 1897)
  • 1972
    Billy Williams, American singer (b. 1910)
  • 1972
    George, Crown Prince of Serbia (b. 1887)
  • 1972
    Turk Broda, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1914)
  • 1973
    Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian writer (b. 1926)
  • 1978
    Giovanni Gronchi, 3rd President of the Italian Republic (b. 1887)
  • 1979
    John Stuart, Scottish actor (b. 1898)
  • 1979
    S. J. Perelman, American writer (b. 1904)
  • 1981
    Albert Cohen, Swiss author (b. 1895)
  • 1981
    Lina Tsaldari, Greek politician (b. 1887)
  • 1983
    Raymond Aron, French philosopher (b. 1905)
  • 1987
    Abdul Malek Ukil, Bangladeshi politician (b. 1925)
  • 1991
    Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and television performer (b. 1919)
  • 1992
    Herman Johannes, Indonesian professor, scientist and politician (b. 1912)
  • 1992
    Orestis Laskos, Greek film director, screenwriter and actor (b. 1908)
  • 1993
    Criss Oliva, American musician (Savatage) (b. 1963)
  • 1996
    Chris Acland, English drummer (Lush) (b. 1966)
  • 1998
    Hakim Mohammed Said, Pakistani scholar and philanthropist (b. 1920)
  • 1998
    Joan Hickson, British actress (b. 1906)
  • 1999
    Nicholas Metropolis, Greek-American mathematician, physicist and computer scientist (b. 1915)
  • 2000
    Joachim Nielsen, Norwegian rock musician and poet (b. 1964)
  • 2000
    Leo Nomellini, football player and wrestler (b. 1924)
  • 2001
    Jay Livingston, American songwriter (b. 1915)
  • 2001
    Rehavam Zeevi, Israeli politician (b. 1926)
  • 2002
    Aileen Riggin, American swimmer (b. 1906)
  • 2002
    Derek Bell, Irish harpist (The Chieftains) (b. 1935)
  • 2004
    Uzi Hitman, Israeli singer (b. 1952)
  • 2005
    Ba Jin, Chinese writer (b. 1904)
  • 2006
    Christopher Glenn, American newscaster (b. 1938)
  • 2006
    Daniel Emilfork, French actor (b. 1924)
  • 2007
    Joey Bishop, American entertainer, member of the Rat Pack (b. 1918)
  • 2007
    Teresa Brewer, American pop and jazz singer (b. 1931)
  • 2008
    Levi Stubbs, American baritone singer (Four Tops) (b. 1936)
  • 2009
    Vic Mizzy, American composer (themes to Green Acres and ''The Addams Family) (b. 1916)
  • 2011
    Carl Lindner, Jr., Cincinnati businessman and one of the world’s richest people (b. 1919)

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