What happened on June 17? There are more than 271 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 June 17

June 17 In HistoryJune 17 is the 169th day of the year 2024. There are 197 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday. This day falls under the 25th week of the year 2024.

On this day in Okolona, Arkansas 71962 sunrise will occur at 06:00 AM and sunset will occur at 08:28 PM (local time).

The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Gemini. The modern birthstone for this month is Pearl while the mystical birthstone is Moonstone.

According to the Chinese calendar, there are 226 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 31 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)

Historical Events For June 17

  • 1462
    Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat from Wallachia.
  • 1497
    Battle of Deptford Bridge – forces under King Henry VII defeat troops led by Michael An Gof.
  • 1565
    Matsunaga Hisahide assassinates the 13th Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru.
  • 1579
    Sir Francis Drake claims a land he calls Nova Albion (modern California) for England.
  • 1631
    Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
  • 1673
    French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet reach the Mississippi River and become the first Europeans to make a detailed account of its course.
  • 1773
    Cúcuta, Colombia, is founded by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar.
  • 1775
    American Revolutionary War: Colonists inflict heavy casualties on British forces while losing the Battle of Bunker Hill.
  • 1789
    In France, the Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly.
  • 1839
    In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaii Catholic Church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace are established as a result.
  • 1861
    Battle of Vienna, Virginia in the American Civil War.
  • 1863
    Battle of Aldie in the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War.
  • 1876
    Indian Wars: Battle of the Rosebud – 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse beat back General George Crook’s forces at Rosebud Creek in Montana Territory.
  • 1877
    Indian Wars: Battle of White Bird Canyon – the Nez Perce defeat the U.S. Cavalry at White Bird Canyon in the Idaho Territory.
  • 1885
    The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.
  • 1898
    The United States Navy Hospital Corps is established.
  • 1901
    The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT.
  • 1910
    Aurel Vlaicu pilots a A. Vlaicu nr. 1 on its first flight.
  • 1930
    U.S. President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act into law.
  • 1932
    Bonus Army: around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits.
  • 1933
    Union Station Massacre: in Kansas City, Missouri, four FBI agents and captured fugitive Frank Nash are gunned down by gangsters attempting to free Nash.
  • 1939
    Last public guillotining in France: Eugen Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is guillotined in Versailles outside the Saint-Pierre prison
  • 1940
    The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union.
  • 1940
    World War II: sinking of the RMS Lancastria by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France.
  • 1940
    World War II: the British Army’s 11th Hussars assault and take Fort Capuzzo in Libya, Africa from Italian forces.
  • 1944
    Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic.
  • 1948
    A Douglas DC-6 carrying United Airlines Flight 624 crashes near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, killing all 43 people on board.
  • 1953
    East Germany Workers Uprising: in East Germany, the Soviet Union orders a division of troops into East Berlin to quell a rebellion.
  • 1958
    The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, in the process of being built to connect Vancouver and North Vancouver (Canada), collapses into the Burrard Inlet killing many of the ironworkers and injuring others.
  • 1958
    The wooden roller coaster at Playland, which is in the Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada opens. It is still open today.
  • 1960
    The Nez Perce tribe is awarded $4 million for 7 e6acre of land undervalued at 4 cents/acre in the 1863 treaty.
  • 1961
    The New Democratic Party of Canada is founded by the merger of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and the Canadian Labour Congress.
  • 1963
    A day after South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem announced the Joint Communique to end the Buddhist crisis, a riot involving around 2,000 people breaks out. One person is killed.
  • 1963
    The United States Supreme Court rules 8 to 1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against allowing the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord’s Prayer in public schools.
  • 1971
    President Richard Nixon declares the U.S. War on Drugs.
  • 1972
    Watergate scandal: five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee, in an attempt by some members of the Republican party to illegally wiretap the opposition.
  • 1981
    Hyatt Regency walkway collapse: In the Hyatt Regency Hotel the 2nd and 4th floor walkways collapse crushing 144 people to death, this was the worst structural failure in the United States.
  • 1987
    With the death of the last individual of the species, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct.
  • 1991
    Apartheid: the South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.
  • 1992
    A “joint understanding” agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II).
  • 1994
    Following a televised low-speed highway chase, O.J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

Who Were Born On June 17?

  • 1239
    King Edward I of England (Edward Longshanks) (d. 1307)
  • 1268
    Lord Borchard de Herle, English diplomat (d. 1305)
  • 1603
    Joseph of Cupertino, Italian saint (d. 1663)
  • 1682
    King Charles XII of Sweden (d. 1718)
  • 1691
    Giovanni Paolo Pannini, Italian painter and architect (d. 1765)
  • 1693
    Johann Georg Walch, German theologian (d. 1775)
  • 1704
    John Kay, English inventor (d. 1780)
  • 1714
    Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, German philosopher (d. 1762)
  • 1714
    César-François Cassini de Thury, French astronomer (d. 1784)
  • 1718
    George Howard, British field marshal (d. 1796)
  • 1742
    William Hooper, American signer of the United States Declaration of Independence (d. 1790)
  • 1808
    Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian poet, playwright and linguist (d. 1845)
  • 1810
    Ferdinand Freiligrath, German writer (d. 1876)
  • 1811
    Jón Sigurðsson, Icelandic independence fighter (d. 1879)
  • 1818
    Charles Gounod, French composer (d. 1893)
  • 1818
    Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of the Netherlands (d. 1877)
  • 1832
    Sir William Crookes, English physicist and chemist (d. 1919)
  • 1839
    Arthur Tooth, English Anglican clergyman (d. 1931)
  • 1858
    Ebenezer Sumner Draper, 44th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1914)
  • 1861
    Omar Bundy, American Army general (d. 1940)
  • 1861
    Pete Browning, American baseball player (d. 1905)
  • 1863
    Duke Charles Michael of Mecklenburg, Russian-born head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1934)
  • 1867
    Flora Finch, British-American silent-film comedienne (d. 1940)
  • 1867
    Henry Lawson, Australian poet (d. 1922)
  • 1867
    John Robert Gregg, American inventor (d. 1948)
  • 1880
    Carl Van Vechten, American writer and photographer (d. 1964)
  • 1881
    Tommy Burns, Canadian boxer (d. 1955)
  • 1882
    Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1918)
  • 1882
    Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer (d. 1971)
  • 1888
    Heinz Guderian, German general (d. 1954)
  • 1898
    Carl Hermann, German physicist (d. 1961)
  • 1898
    Harry Patch, British supercentenarian (d. 2009)
  • 1898
    M. C. Escher, Dutch artist (d. 1972)
  • 1900
    Martin Bormann, German Nazi official (d. 1945)
  • 1902
    Alec Hurwood, Australian cricketer (d. 1982)
  • 1902
    Sammy Fain, American popular music composer (d. 1989)
  • 1903
    Ruth Wakefield, American cook and hotelier (d. 1977)
  • 1904
    Ralph Bellamy, American actor (d. 1991)
  • 1907
    Charles Eames, American designer and architect (d. 1978)
  • 1907
    Maurice Cloche, French film director and screenwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1909
    Elmer Lee Andersen, Governor of Minnesota (d. 2004)
  • 1909
    Ralph E. Winters, Canadian film editor (d. 2004)
  • 1910
    George Hees, Canadian politician (d. 1996)
  • 1910
    Red Foley, American musician (d. 1968)
  • 1914
    John Hersey, American writer and journalist (d. 1993)
  • 1915
    David “Stringbean” Akeman, American actor and country music banjo player (d. 1973)
  • 1915
    Karl Targownik, Hungarian psychiatrist (d. 1996)
  • 1916
    Terry Gilkyson, American singer, lyricist and composer (d. 1999)
  • 1918
    Ajahn Chah, Thai meditation master (d. 1992)
  • 1919
    Beryl Reid, British actress (d. 1996)
  • 1920
    François Jacob, French biologist, Nobel laureate
  • 1920
    Jacob H. Gilbert, American politician (d. 1981)
  • 1920
    Setsuko Hara, Japanese actress
  • 1923
    Elroy Hirsch, American football player (d. 2004)
  • 1927
    Martin Böttcher, German conductor
  • 1929
    Tigran Petrosian, Armenian chess player (d. 1984)
  • 1930
    Brian Statham, English cricketer (d. 2000)
  • 1931
    John Baldessari, American conceptual artist
  • 1932
    John Murtha, American politician (d. 2010)
  • 1932
    Peter Lupus, American actor
  • 1933
    Christian Ferras, French violinist (d. 1982)
  • 1933
    Harry Browne, American writer and investment analyst (d. 2006)
  • 1933
    Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (d. 1970)
  • 1936
    Ken Loach, British film director
  • 1936
    Vern Harper, Canadian First Nations Cree Elder and veteran of the Korean War
  • 1940
    George Akerlof, American economist, Nobel laureate
  • 1942
    Mohamed ElBaradei, Egyptian IAEA director, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
  • 1943
    Barry Manilow, American musician
  • 1943
    Burt Rutan, American aerospace engineer
  • 1943
    Newt Gingrich, American politician
  • 1944
    Bill Rafferty, American comedian and impressionist
  • 1944
    Chris Spedding, British guitarist
  • 1944
    Randy Johnson, American football player (d. 2009)
  • 1945
    Art Bell, American radio broadcaster and author
  • 1945
    Eddy Merckx, Belgian cyclist
  • 1945
    Frank Ashmore, American actor
  • 1945
    Ken Livingstone, English politician
  • 1945
    Tommy Franks, American General
  • 1946
    Peter Rosei, Austrian writer
  • 1947
    Christopher Allport, American actor (d. 2008)
  • 1947
    George S. Clinton, American composer and musician
  • 1947
    Linda Chavez, American author
  • 1947
    Paul Young, English singer and percussionist (Sad Café, Mike + The Mechanics) (d. 2000)
  • 1948
    Aurelio López, Mexican baseball player (d. 1992)
  • 1948
    Dave Concepción, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1949
    Snakefinger, British-born guitarist, violinist, singer and songwriter (The Residents) (d. 1987)
  • 1950
    Lee Tamahori, New Zealand film director
  • 1951
    Joe Piscopo, American actor
  • 1951
    Starhawk, American author and activist
  • 1952
    Mike Milbury, American ice hockey player, coach and executive
  • 1954
    Len Davies, British pro wrestling promoter
  • 1955
    Gail Jones, Australian author
  • 1956
    Chi-chi Nwanoku, English double bassist
  • 1956
    Iain Milne, Scottish rugby union footballer
  • 1957
    Jack Wouterse, Dutch actor
  • 1957
    Jon Gries, American actor
  • 1957
    Martin Dillon, American opera singer (d. 2005)
  • 1957
    Phil Chevron, Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter (The Pogues, The Radiators From Space)
  • 1958
    Bobby Farrelly, American film director
  • 1958
    Daniel McVicar, American actor
  • 1958
    Derek Lee Ragin, American countertenor
  • 1958
    Jello Biafra, American singer (Dead Kennedys) and activist
  • 1958
    Jon Leibowitz, American government official
  • 1958
    Sam Hamad, Syrian-born Canadian politician
  • 1959
    Nikos Stavropoulos, Greek basketball player
  • 1960
    Adrián Campos, Spanish racing driver
  • 1960
    Thomas Haden Church, American actor
  • 1961
    Kōichi Yamadera, Japanese seiyū, actor and tarento
  • 1962
    Michael Monroe, Finnish singer (Hanoi Rocks)
  • 1963
    Greg Kinnear, American actor
  • 1964
    Erin Murphy, American actress
  • 1964
    Michael Groß, German swimmer
  • 1964
    Rinaldo Capello, Italian racing driver
  • 1965
    Dan Jansen, American speed skater
  • 1965
    Dara O'Kearney, Irish ultra runner and professional poker player
  • 1965
    Dermontti Dawson, American football player
  • 1966
    Christy Canyon, American pornographic actress
  • 1966
    Jason Patric, American actor
  • 1967
    Dorothea Röschmann, German operatic soprano
  • 1967
    Eric Stefani, American keyboardist, songwriter (No Doubt) and cartoon animator
  • 1968
    Julie Miller, Hawaiian triathlete
  • 1968
    Minoru Suzuki, Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist
  • 1969
    Paul Tergat, Kenyan long distance runner
  • 1970
    Jason Hanson, American football player
  • 1970
    Michael Showalter, American comedian
  • 1970
    Popeye Jones, American basketball player
  • 1970
    Sasha Sokol, Mexican singer and actress
  • 1970
    Stéphane Fiset, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1970
    Will Forte, American writer, actor and comedian
  • 1971
    Mildred Fox, Irish politician
  • 1971
    Paulina Rubio, Mexican singer
  • 1972
    Sebastian White, English drummer (Oasis)
  • 1973
    Christian Claudio, Puerto Rican business consultant
  • 1973
    Krayzie Bone, American rapper (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)
  • 1973
    Leander Paes, Indian tennis player
  • 1973
    Louis Leterrier, French film director
  • 1974
    Evangelia Psarra, Greek archer
  • 1975
    Chloe Jones, American pornographic actress (d. 2005)
  • 1975
    Jennifer Irwin, Canadian actress
  • 1975
    Joshua Leonard, American actor
  • 1976
    Scott Adkins, English actor
  • 1976
    Sven Nys, Belgian cyclo-cross rider
  • 1977
    Branko Tomovic, Serbian actor
  • 1977
    Mark Tauscher, American football player
  • 1978
    Isabelle Delobel, French ice dancer
  • 1978
    James Corden, English actor and comedian
  • 1978
    Kumiko Aso, Japanese actress
  • 1979
    Nick Rimando, American footballer
  • 1979
    Young Maylay, American Rapper
  • 1980
    Jeph Jacques, American webcomic writer
  • 1980
    Kimeru, Japanese singer
  • 1980
    Venus Williams, American tennis player
  • 1981
    Kyle Boller, American football player
  • 1981
    Shane Watson, Australian cricketer
  • 1982
    Arthur Darvill, English actor
  • 1982
    Marek Svatoš, Slovakian ice hockey player
  • 1983
    Connie Fisher, English stage actress
  • 1983
    Kazunari Ninomiya, Japanese singer and actor
  • 1983
    Lee Ryan, British singer (Blue)
  • 1983
    Vlasis Kazakis, Greek footballer
  • 1984
    John Gallagher, Jr., American actor
  • 1985
    Marcos Baghdatis, Cypriot tennis player
  • 1985
    Rafael Sóbis, Brazilian footballer
  • 1986
    Apoula Edel, Armenian footballer
  • 1987
    Kendrick Lamar, Rapper
  • 1988
    Andrew Ogilvy, Australian basketball player
  • 1988
    Stephanie Rice, Australian swimmer
  • 1989
    Giorgos Tofas, Cypriot footballer
  • 1990
    Jordan Henderson, English footballer

Who Died On June 17?

  • 900
    Fulk the Venerable, Archbishop of Rheims (birth year unknown)
  • 1025
    King Bolesław I the Brave of Poland (b. 967)
  • 1091
    Dirk V, Count of Holland (b. 1052)
  • 1463
    Princess Catherine of Portugal (b. 1436)
  • 1565
    Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Japanese shogun (b. 1536)
  • 1694
    Philip Howard, English Catholic Cardinal (b. 1629)
  • 1696
    King John III Sobieski of Poland (b. 1629)
  • 1719
    Joseph Addison, English politician and writer (b. 1672)
  • 1734
    Claude-Louis-Hector de Villars, Marshal of France (b. 1653)
  • 1740
    Sir William Wyndham, English politician (b. 1687)
  • 1762
    Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French writer (b. 1674)
  • 1771
    Daskalogiannis, Cretan rebel (birth year unknown)
  • 1775
    John Pitcairn, British military officier (b. 1722)
  • 1797
    Shah Agha Muhammad Khan of Persia (b. 1742)
  • 1813
    Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, English sailor and politician (b. 1726)
  • 1821
    Martín Miguel de Güemes, Argentine military leader (b. 1785)
  • 1839
    Lord William Bentinck, British soldier, Governor-General of India (b. 1774)
  • 1858
    Queen Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi (b. 1828)
  • 1898
    Edward Burne-Jones, English artist (b. 1833)
  • 1904
    Nikolai Ivanovich Bobrikov, Russian politician (b. 1839)
  • 1939
    Allen Sothoron, American baseball player (b. 1893)
  • 1940
    Arthur Harden, English chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1865)
  • 1941
    Johan Wagenaar, Dutch composer and organist (b. 1862)
  • 1942
    Charles Fitzpatrick, Canadian politician (b. 1853)
  • 1952
    Jack Parsons, American rocket propulsion researcher (b. 1914)
  • 1956
    Bob Sweikert, American racing driver (b. 1926)
  • 1956
    Paul Rostock, German doctor (b. 1892)
  • 1957
    Dorothy Richardson, English writer (b. 1873)
  • 1961
    Jeff Chandler, American actor (b. 1918)
  • 1963
    Aleksander Kesküla, Estonian politician and nationalist (b. 1882)
  • 1968
    José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1901)
  • 1969
    Rita Abatzi, Greek rebetiko singer (b. 1914)
  • 1974
    Pamela Britton, American actress (b. 1923)
  • 1979
    Duffy Lewis, American baseball player (b. 1888)
  • 1981
    Richard O'Connor, British general (b. 1889)
  • 1981
    Zerna Sharp, American writer and educator (b. 1889)
  • 1982
    Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (b. 1920)
  • 1983
    Peter Mennin, American composer and teacher (b. 1923)
  • 1984
    John Murray, American playwright (b. 1906)
  • 1984
    Milbourne Christopher, American illusionist (b. 1914)
  • 1985
    John Boulting, English filmmaker (b. 1913)
  • 1986
    Kate Smith, American singer (b. 1907)
  • 1987
    Dick Howser, American baseball player and manager (b. 1936)
  • 1996
    Thomas Kuhn, American philosopher of science (b. 1922)
  • 1999
    Basil Hume, English Roman Catholic Cardinal, Archbishop of Westminster (b. 1923)
  • 2000
    Ismail Mahomed, South African jurist (b. 1931)
  • 2001
    Donald J. Cram, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1919)
  • 2001
    Thomas Joseph Winning, Scottish Roman Catholic Cardinal, Archbishop of Glasgow (b. 1925)
  • 2002
    Fritz Walter, German footballer (b. 1920)
  • 2002
    Willie Davenport, American athlete (b. 1943)
  • 2004
    Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1926)
  • 2005
    Karl Mueller, American bassist (Soul Asylum) (b. 1962)
  • 2005
    Sam Loeb, American comic book writer (b. 1988)
  • 2006
    Arthur Franz, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 2006
    Bussunda, Brazilian comedian (b. 1962)
  • 2007
    Gianfranco Ferrè, Italian fashion designer (b. 1944)
  • 2007
    Serena Wilson, American belly dancer (b. 1933)
  • 2008
    Cyd Charisse, American dancer and actress (b. 1922)
  • 2008
    Tsutomu Miyazaki, Japanese serial killer (b. 1962)
  • 2009
    Darrell Powers, American World War II figure (b. 1923)
  • 2009
    Ralf Dahrendorf, German-born sociologist and politician (b. 1929)

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