17 October
October 17 is the 290th (in leap years the 291st) day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. There are 75 days remaining.
Events
- 1346 - King David II of Scotland captured by Edward III of England at Calais
- 1469 - Ferdinand II of Aragon marries Isabella of Castile. Their marriage leads to the unification of Aragon and Castile in a single country, Spain
- 1662 - Charles II of England sold Dunkerque to France for 40 000 pounds.
- 1777 - American troops defeat the British in the Battle of Saratoga
- 1781 - General Charles Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, Virginia
- 1800 - England takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao
- 1860 - First British golf open
- 1888 - Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie)
- 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, fleeing Nazi Germany, moves to the US
- 1941 - For the first time in World War II, a German submarine attacks an American ship
- 1945 - After a coup, Juan Peron becomes dictator of Argentina
- 1961 - 200 Algerian protesters are massacred by the Paris police
- 1967 - Premiere of the musical Hair on Broadway
- 1970 - Anwar Sadat becomes president of Egypt
- 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
- 1979 - Mother Teresa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1979 - The Department of Education Organization Act is signed into law creating the United States Department of Education and United States Department of Health and Human Services. Both replace the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
- 1989 - Loma Prieta earthquake (7.1 on the Richter scale) hits the San Francisco Bay Area.
- 1994 - Draft peace treaty between Israel and Jordan
- 1994 - Peace treaty between the government of Angola and UNITA rebels
- 2003 - Carlos Mesa becomes President of Bolivia.
Births
- 1563 - Jodocus Hondius, cartographer
- 1711 - Jupiter Hammond, poet
- 1864 - Elinor Glyn, writer (d. 1943)
- 1898 - Simon Vestdijk, writer
- 1900 - Jean Arthur, actress (d. 1991)
- 1902 - Irene Ryan, actress (d. 1973)
- 1903 - Nathanael West, writer (d. 1940)
- 1912 - Pope John Paul I, religious leader (d. 1978)
- 1914 - Jerry Siegel, cartoonist (d. 1998)
- 1915 - Arthur Miller, playwright
- 1918 - Rita Hayworth, actress (d. 1987)
- 1920 - Montgomery Clift, actor (d. 1966)
- 1921 - Tom Poston, actor, comedian
- 1930 - Jimmy Breslin, writer
- 1936 - Hiroo Kanamori, seismologist
- 1938 - Evel Knievel, professional daredevil
- 1940 - James Seals, musician
- 1942 - Gary Puckett, musician
- 1946 - Sir Cameron Mackintosh, stage producer, director
- 1946 - Bob Seagren, American pole vaulter and actor
- 1947 - Michael McKean, actor, comedian
- 1948 - Margot Kidder, actress
- 1948 - George Wendt, actor
- 1950 - Howard Rollins, actor (d. 1996)
- 1956 - Mae Jemison, astronaut
- 1958 - Alan Jackson, country music performer
- 1962 - Mike Judge, cartoonist, writer
- 1968 - Ziggy Marley, reggae musician
- 1969 - Ernie Els, South African golfer
- 1971 - Chris Kirkpatrick, singer
- 1972 - Eminem, rap music performer
- 1972 - Wyclef Jean, singer
- 1974 - John Rocker, baseball player
- 1979 - Kimi Räikkönen, Finn Formula One racing driver
- 1982 - Jessica Zucha, actress
Deaths
- 532 - Pope Boniface II
- 1806 - Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian independence leader
- 1849 - Frederic Chopin, musician, composer
- 1887 - Gustav Kirchhoff, physicist
- 1910 - Julia Ward Howe, composer
- 1931 - Alfons Maria Jakob, neurologist
- 1967 - Henry Pu Yi, last emperor of China
- 1970 - Pierre Laporte, Vice-Premier of Quebec murdered by FLQ terrorists
- 1973 - Ingeborg Bachmann, lyricist, narrator and writer (b. 1926)
- 1991 - Tennessee Ernie Ford, singer, television performer
- 1979 - S. J. Perelman, writer
- 2001 - Rehavam Zeevi, Israeli politician
Holidays and observances
October 16 - October 18 - September 17 - November 17 -- listing of all days
