What happened on February 17? There are more than 289 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 February 17
February 17 is the 48th day of the year 2024. There are 318 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday. This day falls under the 7th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Keymar, Maryland 21757 sunrise occured at 06:57 AM and sunset occured at 05:48 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Aquarius. The modern birthstone for this month is Amethyst while the mystical birthstone is Bloodstone.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 347 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 22 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For February 17
- 364Emperor Jovian dies after a reign of eight months. He is found dead in his tent at Tyana (Asia Minor) en route back to Constantinople in suspicious circumstances.
- 1370Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
- 1500Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.
- 1600The philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori in Rome for heresy.
- 1621Myles Standish is appointed as first commander of Plymouth colony.
- 1753In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
- 1801An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
- 1809Miami University is chartered by the State of Ohio.
- 1814War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormans.
- 1819The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
- 1838Weenen massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
- 1854The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
- 1864American Civil War: The Ship becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
- 1865American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
- 1871The victorious Prussian Army parades though Paris, France after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
- 1904Madama Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan.
- 1913The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
- 1924In Miami, Florida, Johnny Weissmuller sets a new world record in the 100 meters freestyle swimming competition with a time of 57.4 seconds.
- 1933Newsweek magazine is published for the first time.
- 1933The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.
- 1944World War II: Operation Hailstone begins. U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk (Chuuk), Japan’s main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
- 1944World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
- 1959Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2 – The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
- 1964Gabonese president Leon M'ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
- 1964In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
- 1965Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the “Sea of Tranquility” would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
- 1968In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
- 1969New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Earth Rooster in Chinese astrology.
- 1972Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model-T.
- 1974Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
- 1978The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30.
- 1979The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
- 1995The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a cease-fire brokered by the UN.
- 1996In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
- 1996NASA’s Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.
- 1998Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops kill 70–90 Azerbaijani civilians in the village of Qaradağlı.
- 2003The London Congestion Charge scheme begins.
- 2006A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
- 2008Kosovo declares independence.
- 2011Libyan protests begin
Who Were Born On February 17?
- 1490Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, Constable of France (d. 1527)
- 1519Francis, Duke of Guise, French soldier and politician (d. 1563)
- 1524Charles of Guise, French cardinal (d. 1574)
- 1581Fausto Poli, Italian Catholic priest (d. 1653)
- 1646Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (d. 1714)
- 1653Arcangelo Corelli, Italian composer (d. 1713)
- 1718Matthew Tilghman, American Continental Congressman (d. 1790)
- 1723Tobias Mayer, German astronomer (d. 1762)
- 1740Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, Swiss physicist and founder of alpinism (d. 1799)
- 1752Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German writer (d. 1831)
- 1754Nicolas Baudin, French explorer (d. 1803)
- 1781René Laënnec, French physician (d. 1826)
- 1792Karl Ernst von Baer, German biologist (d. 1876)
- 1796Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician (d. 1866)
- 1816Haller Nutt, Southern Plantation owner (d. 1864)
- 1820Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Catholic cardinal (d. 1898)
- 1820Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian composer (d. 1881)
- 1821Lola Montez, Irish dancer (d. 1861)
- 1836Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish poet (d. 1870)
- 1844Aaron Montgomery Ward, American department store founder (d. 1913)
- 1848Albert Gustaf Dahlman, Swedish executioner, the last to carry out capital punishment in Sweden (d. 1920)
- 1848Louisa Lawson, Australian suffragist and writer (d. 1920)
- 1854Friedrich Alfred Krupp, German industrialist (d. 1902)
- 1861Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont (d. 1922)
- 1862Mori Ōgai, Japanese novelist and poet (d. 1922)
- 1863Fyodor Sologub, Russian symbolist novelist and poet (d. 1927)
- 1864Banjo Paterson, Australian poet (d. 1941)
- 1864Jozef Murgaš, Slovak inventor (d. 1929)
- 1874Thomas J. Watson, American computer manufacturer (d. 1956)
- 1877André Maginot, French politician (d. 1932)
- 1877Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and writer (d. 1904)
- 1877Isidora Sekulić, Serbian prose writer, novelist and essayist (d. 1958)
- 1885Steve Evans, American baseball player (d. 1943)
- 1887Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer (d. 1947)
- 1888Otto Stern, German physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1969)
- 1890Sir Ronald Fisher, Statistician and Geneticist (d. 1962)
- 1891Abraham Fraenkel, German-born Israeli mathematician and recipient of the Israel Prize (d. 1965)
- 1893Wally Pipp, American baseball player (d. 1965)
- 1903Sadegh Hedayat, Iranian writer (d. 1951)
- 1904Hans Morgenthau, German political philosopher (d. 1980)
- 1908Bo Yibo, Chinese politician (d. 2005)
- 1908Red Barber, American baseball announcer (d. 1992)
- 1910Arthur Hunnicutt, American actor (d. 1979)
- 1910Marc Lawrence, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1911Orrin Tucker, American bandleader and composer (d.2011)
- 1911Oskar Seidlin, Silesian-born American literary scholar (d. 1984)
- 1912Andre Norton, American author (d. 2005)
- 1914Arthur Kennedy, American actor (d. 1990)
- 1914Wayne Morris, American actor (d. 1959)
- 1916Alexander Obolensky, Russian prince and Rugby Union footballer (d. 1940)
- 1916Raf Vallone, Italian actor (d. 2002)
- 1917Abdur Rahman Badawi, Egyptian philosopher (d. 2002)
- 1917Guillermo González Camarena, Mexican inventor (d. 1965)
- 1919Kathleen Freeman, American actress (d. 2001)
- 1920Ivo Caprino, Norwegian animated film director (d. 2001)
- 1922Enrico Banducci, American nightclub owner (d. 2007)
- 1922Tommy Edwards, American singer (d. 1969)
- 1922Valentino Mazzia, American forensic anesthesiologist (d. 1999)
- 1923John Marco Allegro, English scholar (d. 1988)
- 1924Margaret Truman, American novelist (d. 2008)
- 1925Hal Holbrook, American actor
- 1925Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (d. 2003)
- 1928Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress & singer
- 1929Chaim Potok, American author (d. 2002)
- 1929Patricia Routledge, English actress
- 1929Paul Meger, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1930Roger Craig, American baseball player and manager
- 1930Ruth Rendell, English writer
- 1933Bobby Lewis, American singer
- 1933Craig L. Thomas, American politician (d. 2007)
- 1934Alan Bates, English actor (d. 2003)
- 1934Barry Humphries, Australian actor and comedian
- 1935Christina Pickles, UK-born American actress
- 1936Jim Brown, American football player
- 1938Buck Trent, American banjo player
- 1938Martha Henry, American/Canadian actress
- 1938Yvonne Romain, British film and television actress
- 1939John Leyton, British singer
- 1939Mary Ann Mobley, American actress and beauty queen
- 1940Gene Pitney, American singer (d. 2006)
- 1941Julia McKenzie, English actress and theatre director
- 1942Huey P. Newton, American political activist (d. 1989)
- 1943Costas Azariadis, Greek macroeconomist
- 1944Karl Jenkins, Welsh composer
- 1945Brenda Fricker, Irish actress
- 1945Zina Bethune, American actress
- 1946Dodie Stevens, American singer
- 1948Don Scardino, American television director and actor
- 1948José José, Mexican singer and actor
- 1948Rick Majerus, American basketball coach
- 1949Fred Frith, English musician and composer
- 1951Rashid Minhas, Pilot officer in Pakistan Air Force during Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (d. 1971)
- 1952Karin Janz, East German gymnast
- 1953Norman Pace, British actor and comic
- 1954Rene Russo, American actress
- 1955Mo Yan, Chinese novelist
- 1956Richard Karn, American actor
- 1957Loreena McKennitt, Canadian musician
- 1958Alan Wiggins, American baseball player d. 1991
- 1959Aryeh Deri, Israeli rabbi and politician
- 1959Neil Lomax, American football player
- 1959Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer
- 1962David McComb, Australian musician (The Triffids) (d. 1999)
- 1962Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor
- 1962Samuel Bayer, American music video director
- 1963Alison Hargreaves, British mountaineer (d. 1995)
- 1963Jen-Hsun Huang, American entrepreneur and businessman
- 1963Larry the Cable Guy, American comedian and actor
- 1963Michael Jordan, American basketball player
- 1963Rene Syler, American journalist
- 1964Buster Olney, American sports columnist
- 1965Michael Bay, American film director
- 1966Luc Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966Michael Lepond, American musician (Symphony X)
- 1966Quorthon, Swedish musician (Bathory) (d. 2004)
- 1967Chanté Moore, American singer
- 1968Bryan Cox, American football player
- 1969David Douillet, French judoka
- 1969Tuesday Knight, American actress
- 1969Willi Kronhardt, German footballer
- 1970Dominic Purcell, English/Australian actor
- 1970Tommy Moe, American skier
- 1971Denise Richards, American actress
- 1971Jeremy Edwards, British actor
- 1971Martyn Bennett, Canadian composer (d. 2005)
- 1971SaRenna Lee, American pornographic actress
- 1972Billie Joe Armstrong, American musician (Green Day)
- 1972LG Petrov, Swedish singer (Entombed)
- 1972Philippe Candeloro, French figure skater
- 1972Ralphie May, American comedian
- 1972Taylor Hawkins, American musician (Foo Fighters)
- 1972Valeria Mazza, Argentinian model
- 1972Yuki Isoya, Japanese singer (Judy and Mary)
- 1973Drew Barry, American basketball player
- 1973Raphaël Ibañez, French rugby player
- 1974Bryan White, American singer
- 1974Jerry O'Connell, American actor
- 1974Kaoru, Japanese musician
- 1975Harisu, South Korean singer, model and actress
- 1975Todd Harvey, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975Vaclav Prospal, Czech ice hockey player
- 1976Kelly Carlson, American actress
- 1976Scott Williamson, American baseball player
- 1976William Roussel, French musician (Mütiilation)
- 1977Wong Choong Hann, Malaysian badminton player
- 1978Jacob Wetterling, American kidnapping victim
- 1979Dee, Puerto Rican pornographic actress
- 1979Josh Willingham, American baseball player
- 1979Sarah Lee Guthrie, American musician
- 1980Al Harrington, American basketball player
- 1980Jason Ritter, American actor
- 1980Klemi Saban, Israeli footballer
- 1981Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor
- 1981Paris Hilton, American actress and heiress
- 1982Adriano, Brazilian footballer
- 1982Brian Bruney, American baseball player
- 1982Daniel Merriweather, Australian singer
- 1983Gérald Cid, French footballer
- 1983Kevin Rudolf, American singer-songwriter
- 1983Marios Kaperonis, Greek boxer
- 1983Nguyen Tien Minh, Vietnamese badminton player
- 1984AB de Villiers, South African cricketer
- 1984Drew Miller, American ice hockey player
- 1984Jimmy Jacobs, American professional wrestler
- 1984Kenta Kamakari, Japanese actor and voice actor
- 1984Sadha, Indian film actress
- 1985Anders Jacobsen, Norwegian ski jumper
- 1985Anne Curtis, Filipino actress and model
- 1986Joey O'Brien, Irish footballer
- 1986Ricardo Rodriguez, American wrestler and ring announcer
- 1988Natascha Kampusch, Austrian kidnapping victim
- 1989Chord Overstreet, American actor
- 1989Rebecca Adlington, English swimmer
- 1989Stacey McClean, British singer
- 1991Bonnie Wright, English actress
- 1991Ed Sheeran, English signer
- 1992Meaghan Jette Martin, American actress and singer
- 1993AJ Perez, Filipino actor and model (d. 2011)
- 1993Philip Wiegratz, German actor
- 1996Sasha Pieterse, South African/American actress
- 2000Theo Diconu,footballer
Who Died On February 17?
- 364Jovian, Roman Emperor (b. 331)
- 440Mesrop Mashtots, Armenian monk and linguist (b. 360)
- 1339Otto, Duke of Austria (b. 1301)
- 1371Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
- 1596Friedrich Sylburg, German classical scholar (b. 1536)
- 1600Giordano Bruno, Italian philosopher (burned at the stake) (b. 1548)
- 1609Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1549)
- 1624Juan de Mariana, Spanish historian (b. 1536)
- 1659Abel Servien, French diplomat (b. 1593)
- 1673Molière, French playwright (b. 1622)
- 1680Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English statesman and writer (b. 1599)
- 1680Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist (b. 1637)
- 1715Antoine Galland, French archaeologist (b. 1646)
- 1732Louis Marchand, French organist and harpsichordist (b. 1669)
- 1768Arthur Onslow, English politician (b. 1691)
- 1780Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (b. 1706)
- 1841Ferdinando Carulli, Italian guitarist (b. 1770)
- 1854John Martin, English painter (b. 1789)
- 1856Heinrich Heine, German writer (b. 1797)
- 1874Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet, Belgian mathematician (b. 1796)
- 1883Napoleon Coste, French guitarist and composer (b. 1806)
- 1883Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, Indian revolutionary (b. 1845)
- 1890Christopher Sholes, American inventor (b. 1819)
- 1905William Bickerton, Mormon prophet (b. 1815)
- 1909Geronimo, Apache leader (b. 1829)
- 1912Edgar Evans, Welsh naval officer (b. 1876)
- 1919Wilfrid Laurier, 7th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1841)
- 1934King Albert I of Belgium (b. 1875)
- 1934Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player (b. 1862)
- 1939Willy Hess, German violinist (b. 1859)
- 1943Armand J. Piron, American jazz violinist and composer (b. 1888)
- 1943Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (b. 1872)
- 1958Hugh McCrae, Australian writer (b. 1876)
- 1961Nita Naldi, American actress (b. 1897)
- 1962Bruno Walter, German conductor (b. 1876)
- 1962Joseph Kearns, American actor (b. 1907)
- 1970Alfred Newman, American film composer (b. 1900)
- 1970Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israeli writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1888)
- 1977Janani Luwum, Ugandan Archbishop (b. 1922)
- 1982Lee Strasberg, Austrian-born actor (b. 1901)
- 1982Nestor Chylak, American baseball umpire (b. 1922)
- 1982Thelonious Monk, American jazz pianist (b. 1917)
- 1986Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (b. 1895)
- 1988John Marco Allegro, English scholar (b. 1923)
- 1989Lefty Gomez, American baseball player (b. 1908)
- 1990Erik Rhodes, American actor (b. 1906)
- 1990Hap Day, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1901)
- 1994Randy Shilts, American author and activist (b. 1951)
- 1996Hervé Bazin, French writer (b. 1911)
- 1997Zein Isa, Palestinian militant
- 1998Bob Merrill, American composer and lyricist (b. 1921)
- 1998Ernst Jünger, German author (b. 1895)
- 2001Barry Burman, English artist (b. 1943)
- 2001Bob Geary, Canadian football player and manager (b. 1933)
- 2001Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman (b. 1948)
- 2003Steve Bechler, American baseball player (b. 1979)
- 2004José López Portillo, President of Mexico (b. 1920)
- 2005Dan O'Herlihy, Irish actor (b. 1919)
- 2005Omar Sivori, Argentine footballer (b. 1935)
- 2006Bill Cowsill, American singer (The Cowsills) (b. 1948)
- 2006Ray Barretto, Puerto Rican musician (b. 1929)
- 2007Dermot O'Reilly, Irish-born musician, producer and songwriter (b. 1943)
- 2007Jurga Ivanauskaitė, Lithuanian writer (b. 1961)
- 2007Maurice Papon, French Nazi collaborator (b. 1910)
- 2007Mike Awesome, American professional wrestler (b. 1965)
- 2008Brian Harris, English footballer (b. 1935)
- 2009Conchita Cintrón, Chilean bullfighter (b. 1922)
- 2009Gazanfer Özcan, Turkish actor (b. 1931)
- 2009Mike Whitmarsh, American volleyball player (b. 1962)
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