Did you know
Although his name is still attached to the last two records, his exit altitude record was broken two years later, when on 24 October 2014, Alan Eustace jumped from 135,890 feet with a drogue.
Notable Deaths on July 17
2025 — Felix Baumgartner
Austrian daredevil (born 1969)
July 17 has 115 recorded notable deaths across history, from 521 to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
115 source records
521 – 2025
Today in history
Major events on July 17
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1975 Apollo–Soyuz Test Project: An American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock with each other in orbit marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations. Source
- 1936 Spanish Civil War: An Armed Forces rebellion against the recently elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain starts the civil war. Source
- 1867 Harvard School of Dental Medicine is established in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the first dental school in the U.S. that is affiliated with a university. Source
- 1998 A diplomatic conference adopts the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, establishing the permanent international court in The Hague, to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. Source
Did you know
Seen by many as the "father of economics", or the "father of capitalism", he is primarily known for two classic works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776).
Did you know
In 1936, Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes (98.
Did you know
David Kelly was appointed to the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) in 1991 as one of its chief weapons inspectors in Iraq and led ten of the organisation's missions between May 1991 and December 1998.
Did you know
John Talbot was the most renowned in England and most feared in France of the English captains in the last stages of the conflict.
More major people who died on July 17
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1790
Adam Smith
Scottish economist and philosopher (born 1723)
Adam Smith was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment.
1961
Ty Cobb
American baseball player and manager (born 1886)
Tyrus Raymond Cobb, nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American professional baseball center fielder. A native of rural Narrows, Georgia, Cobb played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB).
2003
David Kelly
Welsh weapons inspector (born 1944)
David Christopher Kelly was a Welsh scientist and authority on biological warfare (BW).
1453
John Talbot
1st Earl of Shrewsbury, English commander and politician (born 1387)
John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, 1st Earl of Waterford, 7th Baron Talbot, KG, known as "Old Talbot" and "Terror of the French" was an English nobleman and a noted military commander during the Hundred Years' War.
1588
Mimar Sinan
Ottoman architect and engineer, designed the Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque and Süleymaniye Mosque (born 1489)
Mimar Sinan also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, was the chief Ottoman architect, engineer and mathematician for sultans Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II and Murad III.
1928
Giovanni Giolitti
Italian politician, 13th Prime Minister of Italy (born 1842)
Giovanni Giolitti was an Italian statesman who was the prime minister of Italy five times between 1892 and 1921.
2024
Bernice Johnson Reagon
American singer, songwriter and scholar (born 1942)
Bernice Johnson Reagon was an American song leader, composer, professor of American history, curator at the Smithsonian, and social activist.
1946
Florence Fuller
South African-born Australian artist (born 1867)
Florence Ada Fuller was a South African-born Australian artist. Originally from Port Elizabeth, Fuller migrated as a child to Melbourne with her family.
1975
Konstantine Gamsakhurdia
Georgian author (born 1893)
Konstantine Gamsakhurdia was a Georgian writer and public figure.
1642
William
Count of Nassau-Siegen, German count, field marshal of the Dutch State Army (born 1592)
William, Count of Nassau-Siegen, German: Wilhelm Graf von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: Graf zu Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Herr zu Beilstein, was Count of Nassau-Siegen, a part of the County of Nassau…
1994
Paul Tiulana
Iñupiat artist and dancer (born 1921)
Paul Tiulana was an Iñupiaq artist and dancer from Alaska. Originally from King Island, Tiulana was drafted in World War II and injured; his leg was broken and eventually amputated.
1980
Don "Red" Barry
American actor and screenwriter (born 1912)
Don Barry, also known as Red Barry, was an American film and television actor.
2003
Rosalyn Tureck
American pianist and harpsichord player (born 1914)
Rosalyn Tureck was an American pianist and harpsichordist who was particularly associated with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.
2024
Cheng Pei-pei
Chinese actress (born 1946)
Cheng Pei-pei was a Hong Kong-American actress who was considered cinema's first female action hero.
1793
Charlotte Corday
French murderer (born 1768)
Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont, known as Charlotte Corday, was a reactionary figure of the French Revolution who assassinated revolutionary and Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat on 13 July 1793.
1912
Henri Poincaré
French mathematician, physicist, and engineer (born 1854)
Jules Henri Poincaré was a French mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer, and philosopher of science.
2009
Leszek Kołakowski
Polish historian and philosopher (born 1927)
Leszek Kołakowski was a Polish philosopher and historian of ideas.
855
Leo IV
pope of the Catholic Church (born 790)
Pope Leo IV was the bishop of Rome and leader of the Papal States from 10 April 847 to his death in 855.
1453
Dmitry Shemyaka
Grand Prince of Moscow
Dmitriy Yurievich Shemyaka was the second son of Yury of Zvenigorod by Anastasia of Smolensk and grandson of Dmitri Donskoi. His hereditary patrimony was the rich northern town Galich-Mersky.