What happened on August 17? There are more than 273 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 August 17
August 17 is the 230th day of the year 2024. There are 136 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday. This day falls under the 33rd week of the year 2024.
On this day in Heppner, Oregon 97836 sunrise occured at 06:01 AM and sunset occured at 08:02 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Leo. The modern birthstone for this month is Peridot while the mystical birthstone is Diamond.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 165 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
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Historical Events For August 17
- 986A Byzantine army is destroyed in the pass of Trajan’s Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Samuel and Aron. The Byzantine emperor Basil II narrowly escaped.
- 1807Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat leaves New York City for Albany, New York on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.
- 1862American Civil War: Major General J.E.B. Stuart is assigned command of all the cavalry of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
- 1862Indian Wars: The Dakota War of 1862 begins in Minnesota as Lakota warriors attack white settlements along the Minnesota River.
- 1863American Civil War: In Charleston, South Carolina, Union batteries and ships bombard Confederate-held Fort Sumter.
- 1864American Civil War: Battle of Gainesville – Confederate forces defeat Union troops near Gainesville, Florida.
- 1883The first public performance of the Dominican Republic’s national anthem, Himno Nacional.
- 1907Pike Place Market, a popular tourist destination and registered historic district in Seattle, opened.
- 1908Fantasmagorie, the first animated cartoon, created by Émile Cohl, is shown in Paris.
- 1914World War I: Battle of Stalluponen – The German army of General Hermann von François defeats the Russian force commanded by Pavel Rennenkampf near modern-day Nesterov, Russia.
- 1915A Category 4 hurricane hits Galveston, Texas with winds at 135 mph.
- 1915Jewish American Leo Frank is lynched for the alleged murder of a 13-year-old girl in Marietta, Georgia, United States.
- 1918Bolshevik revolutionary leader Moisei Uritsky is assassinated.
- 1942World War II: U.S. Marines raid the Japanese-held Pacific island of Makin (Butaritari).
- 1943World War II: First Québec Conference of Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and William Lyon Mackenzie King begins.
- 1943World War II: The Royal Air Force begins Operation Hydra, the first air raid of the Operation Crossbow strategic bombing campaign against Germany’s V-weapon programme.
- 1943World War II: The U.S. Eighth Air Force suffers the loss of 60 bombers on the Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission.
- 1943World War II: The U.S. Seventh Army under General George S. Patton arrives in Messina, Italy, followed several hours later by the British 8th Army under Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery, thus completing the Allied conquest of Sicily.
- 1945Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaim the independence of Indonesia, igniting the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch Empire.
- 1947The Radcliffe Line, the border between Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan is revealed.
- 1950Hill 303 massacre: American POWs were massacred by North Korean Army.
- 1953Addiction: First meeting of Narcotics Anonymous in Southern California.
- 1959Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, the much acclaimed and highly influential best selling jazz recording of all time, is released.
- 1959Quake Lake is formed by the magnitude 7.5 1959 Yellowstone earthquake near Hebgen Lake in Montana.
- 1960Decolonization: Gabon gains independence from France.
- 1962East German border guards kill 18-year-old Peter Fechter as he attempts to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin becoming one of the first victims of the wall.
- 1969Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the Mississippi coast, killing 248 people and causing $1.5 billion in damage.
- 1970Venera Program: Venera 7 launched. It will later become the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet (Venus).
- 1978Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Presque Isle, Maine.
- 1979Two Soviet Aeroflot jetliners collide in mid-air over Ukraine, killing 156.
- 1980Azaria Chamberlain disappears, probably taken by a dingo, leading to what was then the most publicised trial in Australian history.
- 1982The first Compact Discs (CDs) are released to the public in Germany.
- 1988Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel are killed in a plane crash.
- 1998Monica Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony that he had an “improper physical relationship” with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. On the same day he admits before the nation that he “misled people” about the relationship.
- 1999A 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes İzmit, Turkey, killing more than 17,000 and injuring 44,000.
- 2004The National Assembly of Serbia unanimously adopts new state symbols for Serbia: Boze Pravde becomes the new anthem and the coat of arms is adopted for the whole country.
- 2005Over 500 bombs are set off by terrorists at 300 locations in 63 out of the 64 districts of Bangladesh
- 2005The first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of the Israel unilateral disengagement plan, starts.
- 2008American swimmer Michael Phelps becomes the first person to win eight gold medals in one Olympic Games.
- 2009An accident at the Sayano–Shushenskaya Dam in Khakassia, Russia, kills 75 and shuts down the hydroelectric power station, leading to widespread power failure in the local area.
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Who Were Born On August 17?
- 1473Richard, Duke of York
- 1578Francesco Albani, Italian painter (d. 1660)
- 1601Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician (d. 1665)
- 1629King John III of Poland (d. 1696)
- 1686Nicola Porpora, Italian composer (d. 1768)
- 1753Josef Dobrovský, Czech linguist (d. 1828)
- 1768Louis Charles Antoine Desaix, French general (d. 1800)
- 1786Davy Crockett, American frontiersman and soldier (d. 1836)
- 1786Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, mother of Queen Victoria (d. 1861)
- 1794Prince Alexander of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst, German priest (d. 1849)
- 1828Jules Bernard Luys, French neurologist (d. 1897)
- 1840Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, English poet and writer (d. 1922)
- 1844Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia (d. 1913)
- 1863Gene Stratton-Porter, American author and naturalist (d. 1924)
- 1866Julia Marlowe, English actress (d. 1950)
- 1866Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, 6th Nizam of Hyderabad (d. 1911)
- 1873John A. Sampson, American gynecologist (d. 1946)
- 1878Reggie Duff, Australian cricketer (d. 1911)
- 1880Percy Sherwell, South African cricketer (d. 1948)
- 1887Charles I of Austria (d. 1922)
- 1887Marcus Garvey, Jamaican-born Black rights activist (d. 1940)
- 1888Monty Woolley, American actor (d. 1963)
- 1890Harry Hopkins, 8th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 1946)
- 1890Stefan Bastyr, Polish aviator (d. 1920)
- 1893Mae West, American actress (d. 1980)
- 1895Aris Maliagros, Greek actor (d. 1984)
- 1896Leslie Groves, American military engineer (d. 1970)
- 1904Leopold Nowak, Austrian musicologist (d. 1991)
- 1904Mary Cain, American newspaper editor and politician (d. 1984)
- 1909Larry Clinton, American trumpeter and bandleader (d. 1985)
- 1911Martin Sandberger, German military officer (d. 2010)
- 1911Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian chess player (d. 1995)
- 1913Óscar Alfredo Gálvez, Argentine racing driver (d. 1989)
- 1913Rudy York, American baseball player (d. 1970)
- 1913W. Mark Felt, American Watergate informant (d. 2008)
- 1914Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr., son of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (d. 1988)
- 1919Georgia Gibbs, American singer (d. 2006)
- 1920Maureen O'Hara, Irish actress
- 1921Geoffrey Rudolph Elton, British historian (d. 1994)
- 1922Roy Tattersall, England cricketer (d. 2011)
- 1926George Melly, British singer (d. 2007)
- 1926Jean Poiret, French actor, director and screenwriter (d. 1992)
- 1926Jiang Zemin, Chinese politician
- 1926Valerie Eliot, surviving widow and second wife of the Nobel prize-winning poet, T. S. Eliot.
- 1929Francis Gary Powers, American U-2 pilot (d. 1977)
- 1929Jimmy Donley, American singer (d. 1963)
- 1930Glenn Corbett, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1930Ted Hughes, English poet (d. 1998)
- 1932V. S. Naipaul, West Indian writer, Nobel Laureate
- 1933Eugene F. Kranz, American NASA executive
- 1933Mark Dinning, American singer (d. 1986)
- 1935Oleg Tabakov, Russian actor
- 1936Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Native American musician and actor (d. 2007)
- 1937Ronnie Butler, singer
- 1937Spiros Focás, Greek actor
- 1938Abu Bakar Bashir, Indonesian Muslim cleric
- 1938Theodoros Pangalos, Greek politician
- 1939Anthony Valentine, British actor
- 1939Luther Allison, American musician (d. 1997)
- 1940Eduardo Mignogna, Argentinian film director (d. 2006)
- 1941Boog Powell, American baseball player
- 1941Jean Pierre Lefebvre, French Canadian film director
- 1943Dave “Snaker” Ray, American musician (d. 2002)
- 1943John Humphrys Welsh broadcaster and journalist
- 1943Robert De Niro, American actor
- 1944Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corporation, billionaire
- 1946Martha Coolidge, American film director
- 1946Patrick Manning, 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago
- 1947Gary Talley, American musician (Box Tops)
- 1947Sylvia Nasar, German-born American economist and author
- 1948Rod MacDonald, American musician
- 1949Norm Coleman, American politician
- 1949Sib Hashian, American musician (Boston)
- 1951Alan Minter, British boxer
- 1951Robert Joy, Canadian actor
- 1951Wesley Eure, American actor
- 1952Dr. Mario Theissen, German F1 team principal of BMW Sauber
- 1952Guillermo Vilas, Argentinian tennis player
- 1952Nelson Piquet, Brazilian race car driver
- 1953Judith Regan, American book publisher
- 1953Kevin Rowland, English musician (Dexys Midnight Runners)
- 1953Michael Malthouse, Premiership winning Australian football coach
- 1954Eric Johnson, American guitarist
- 1955Colin Moulding, English bass player, singer and songwriter (XTC)
- 1955Richard Hilton, American heir
- 1956Álvaro Pino, Spanish cyclist
- 1956Gail Berman, American film executive
- 1957Laurence Overmire, American poet and actor
- 1957Robin Cousins, British figure skater
- 1958Belinda Carlisle, American singer
- 1958Fred Goodwin, British banker
- 1958Kirk Stevens, Canadian snooker player
- 1959Chika Sakamoto, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1959David Koresh, American cult leader (d. 1993)
- 1959Eric Schlosser, American author
- 1959Jonathan Franzen, American author
- 1960Sean Penn, American actor and director
- 1960Stephan Eicher, Swiss singer
- 1962Buddy Landel, American professional wrestler
- 1962Gilby Clarke, American musician (Guns N' Roses)
- 1962John Marshall Jones, American actor
- 1963Jon Gruden, American football coach
- 1963S. Shankar, Indian film director
- 1964Colin James, Canadian musician
- 1964Maria McKee, American singer
- 1966Don Sweeney, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966Maysa Leak, American jazz singer
- 1966Rodney Mullen, American skateboarder
- 1967David Conrad, American actor
- 1967Kevin Max, American singer (dc talk)
- 1967Spencer Rice, Canadian Actor
- 1968Ed McCaffrey, American football player
- 1968Helen McCrory, English actress
- 1969Christian Laettner, American basketball player
- 1969Donnie Wahlberg, American actor and singer (New Kids On The Block)
- 1969Kelvin Mercer, American rapper (De La Soul)
- 1970Øyvind Leonhardsen, Norwegian footballer
- 1970Jim Courier, American tennis player
- 1970Rupert Degas, English actor and voice artist
- 1971Jorge Posada, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1971Shaun Rehn, Australian Rules footballer
- 1971Uhm Jung-hwa, South Korean singer and actress
- 1972Habibul Bashar, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1972Ken Ryker, American pornographic actor
- 1974Nicola Kraus, American novelist
- 1974Tony Hajjar, Lebanese musician (At the Drive-In, Sparta)
- 1975Giuliana DePandi, Italian-born American television personality
- 1976Geertjan Lassche, Dutch reporter
- 1976Scott Halberstadt, American actor
- 1977Matthew Oakley, English footballer
- 1977Nathan Deakes, Australian race walker
- 1977Tarja Turunen, Finnish singer
- 1977Thierry Henry, French footballer
- 1977William Gallas, French footballer
- 1978Karena Lam, Hong Kong actress
- 1978Vibeke Stene, Norwegian singer (Tristania)
- 1979Antwaan Randle El, American football player
- 1979Marcus Patric, British actor
- 1980Jan Kromkamp, Dutch footballer
- 1980Keith Dabengwa, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1980Lene Marlin, Norwegian singer
- 1981Kristin Holt, American television personality
- 1982Cheerleader Melissa, American professional wrestler
- 1982Mark Salling, American actor
- 1982Phil Jagielka, English footballer
- 1983Dustin Pedroia, American baseball player
- 1984Dee Brown, American basketball player
- 1984Garrett Wolfe, American football player
- 1985Yū Aoi, Japanese actress
- 1986Bryton McClure, American actor & singer
- 1986Rudy Gay, American basketball player
- 1986Tyrus Thomas, American basketball player
- 1987Matthew Shultz, American musician, Cage the Elephant
- 1988Brady Corbet, American actor
- 1988Erika Toda, Japanese actress
- 1988Nichole Cordova, Performer (Girlicious)
- 1989Elena Hight, American snowboarder
- 1989Frederick Lau, German actor
- 1989Lil B, American rapper
- 1990Colin Bates, American actor
- 1990Rachel Hurd-Wood, British actress
- 1991Austin Butler, American actor
- 1991Qory Sandioriva, Indonesian beauty queen, Puteri Indonesia 2009
- 1996Ella Cruz, Filipina actress
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Who Died On August 17?
- 1153Eustace IV of Boulogne, son of Stephen of England (b. 1130)
- 1304Emperor Go-Fukakusa of Japan (b. 1243)
- 1510Edmund Dudley, English statesman (b. 1462)
- 1657Robert Blake, British admiral (b. 1599)
- 1673Regnier de Graaf, Dutch physician and anatomist (b. 1641)
- 1676Hans Jakob Christoph von Grimmelshausen, German novelist (b. 1621)
- 1720Anne Lefèvre, French scholar (b. 1654)
- 1723Joseph Bingham, English scholar (b. 1668)
- 1768Vasily Kirillovich Trediakovsky, Russian poet (b. 1703)
- 1785Jonathan Trumbull, Governor of Connecticut (b. 1710)
- 1786King Frederick II of Prussia (b. 1712)
- 1834Husein Gradaščević, Bosnian rebel leader (b. 1802)
- 1838Lorenzo Da Ponte, Italian librettist (b. 1749)
- 1850José de San Martín, Argentine general (b. 1778)
- 1861Alcée Louis la Branche, American Politician (b. 1806)
- 1870Pedro Figueredo, Cuban poet, musician, and freedom fighter of the 19th century (b. 1818)
- 1875Wilhelm Bleek, German linguist (b. 1827)
- 1880Ole Bull, Norwegian violinist (b. 1810)
- 1896Bridget Driscoll, British automobile fatality
- 1897Sir William Jervois, British colonial administrator, Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1821)
- 1901Edmond Audran, French composer (b. 1842)
- 1903Hans Gude, Norwegian landscape painter (b. 1825)
- 1909Madan Lal Dhingra, Indian Revolutionary (b. 1883)
- 1918Moisei Uritsky, Russian revolutionary (b. 1873)
- 1920Ray Chapman, American baseball player (b. 1891)
- 1924Tom Kendall, Australian cricketer (b. 1851)
- 1925Ioan Slavici, Transylvanian writer (b. 1848)
- 1935Charlotte Perkins Gilman, American feminist and writer (b. 1860)
- 1940Billy Fiske, American aviator (b. 1911)
- 1945Reidar Haaland, Norwegian Nazi collaborator (b. 1919)
- 1949Gregorio Perfecto, Filipino jurist and politician (b. 1891)
- 1954Billy Murray, American recording artist (b. 1877)
- 1962Peter Fechter, East German defector (b. 1944)
- 1964Happy Felsch, American baseball player best known for his involvement in the Black Sox Scandal
- 1969Otto Stern, German physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1888)
- 1970Rattana Pestonji, Thai filmmaker (b. 1908)
- 1971Maedayama Eigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 39th Yokozuna (b. 1914)
- 1971Wilhelm List, German field marshal (b. 1880)
- 1973Conrad Aiken, American author (b. 1889)
- 1973Jean Barraqué, French composer (b. 1928)
- 1973Paul Williams, American singer (The Temptations) (b. 1939)
- 1976William Redfield, American actor (b. 1927)
- 1979John C. Allen, American roller coaster designer (b. 1907)
- 1979Vivian Vance, American actress (b. 1909)
- 1983Ira Gershwin, American lyricist (b. 1896)
- 1987Gary Chester, Italian studio drummer (b. 1924)
- 1987Rudolf Hess, Nazi deputy (b. 1894)
- 1987Shaike Ophir, Israeli actor (b. 1929)
- 1988Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr., son of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (b. 1914)
- 1988Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistani politician, Former Martial Law Administrator and President of Pakistan (b. 1924)
- 1988Victoria Shaw, Australian-born American actress (b. 1935)
- 1990Pearl Bailey, American singer and actress (b. 1918)
- 1992Al Parker, American adult film actor (b. 1952)
- 1993Feng Kang, Chinese mathematician (b. 1920)
- 1994Jack Sharkey, American boxer (b. 1902)
- 1994Luigi Chinetti, Italian-American race car driver and team owner (b. 1901)
- 1995Howard Koch, American screenwriter (b. 1902)
- 1995Ted Whitten, Australian rules footballer (b. 1933)
- 1998Raquel Rastenni, Danish singer (b. 1915)
- 1998Tadeusz Slusarski, Polish track and field athlete (b. 1950)
- 1998Wladyslaw Komar, Polish track and field athlete (b. 1940)
- 2004Gérard Souzay, French baritone (b. 1918)
- 2004Thea Astley, Australian writer (b. 1925)
- 2005John Bahcall, American astrophysicist (b. 1934)
- 2006Shamsur Rahman, Bangladeshi poet, columnist and journalist (b. 1929)
- 2007Bill Deedes, British journalist and politician (b. 1913)
- 2007Eddie Griffin, American basketball player (b. 1982)
- 2008Franco Sensi, Italian businessman and football team owner (b. 1926)
- 2010Francesco Cossiga, Italian politician and eighth President of the Italian Republic (b. 1928)
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