Did you know
Jean-Jacques Dessalines was the first Haitian Emperor, leader of the Haitian Revolution, and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution.
Notable Deaths on October 17
1806 — Jean-Jacques Dessalines
Haitian commander and politician, Governor-General of Haiti (born 1758)
October 17 has 117 recorded notable deaths across history, from 33 to 2024. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
117 source records
33 – 2024
Today in history
Major events on October 17
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1797 Treaty of Campo Formio is signed between France and Austria, ending the War of the First Coalition. Source
- 1919 Leeds United F.C. founded at Salem Chapel, Holbeck after the winding up of Leeds City F.C. for making illegal payments to players during World War I Source
- 1811 The silver deposits of Agua Amarga are discovered in Chile becoming in the following years instrumental for the Patriots to finance the Chilean War of Independence. Source
- 1941 World War II: The USS Kearny becomes the first U.S. Navy vessel to be torpedoed by a U-boat. Source
Did you know
Joey Bishop is listed as the 96th entry on Comedy Central's list of 100 greatest comedians.
Did you know
One of the most authoritative promulgators of orthodox Marxism after the death of Friedrich Engels in 1895, he was for decades the leading theorist of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Second International.
Did you know
including novels, epics, plays, essays, his most popular being the 10-part religious book on Hinduism, Arthamulla Indhu Matham.
Did you know
The district he represented included over half of the city of Baltimore, including most of the majority-black precincts of Baltimore County, and most of Howard County, Maryland.
More major people who died on October 17
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
2007
Joey Bishop
American actor and talk show host (born 1918)
Joseph Abraham Gottlieb, known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a talk/variety show…
1938
Karl Kautsky
Czech-German journalist, philosopher, and theoretician (born 1854)
Karl Johann Kautsky was an Austrian-born Marxist theorist. One of the most authoritative promulgators of orthodox Marxism after the death of Friedrich Engels in 1895, he was for decades the leading theorist of the…
1981
Kannadasan Indian author
poet, and songwriter (born 1927)
Muthiah Sathappan Chettiar, better known as Kannadasan, was a poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important lyricists in…
2019
Elijah Cummings
American politician and civil rights advocate (born 1951)
Elijah Eugene Cummings was an American politician and lawyer who served in the United States House of Representatives for Maryland's 7th congressional district from 1996 until his death in 2019, when he was succeeded by…
1868
Laura Secord
Canadian war heroine (born 1775)
Laura Secord was a Canadian woman involved in the War of 1812. She is known for having walked 20 miles (32 km) out of American-occupied territory in 1813 to warn British forces of an impending American attack.
1962
Natalia Goncharova
Russian painter, costume designer, and set designer (born 1882)
Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova was a Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designer, writer, illustrator, and set designer. Goncharova's lifelong partner was fellow Russian avant-garde artist Mikhail Larionov.
1972
Turk Broda
Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1914)
Walter Edward "Turk" Broda was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach.
1920
Michael Fitzgerald (Irish republican) died on Hunger Strike (born 1881)
Michael Fitzgerald also known as Mick Fitzgerald, was an Irish militant and Republican activist who was among the first members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and played a significant role in organising it.
1958
Charlie Townsend
English cricketer and lawyer (born 1876)
Charles Lucas Townsend was a Gloucestershire cricketer. An all-round cricketer, Townsend was classically stylish, left-handed batsman, who was able to hit well despite his slender build.
2012
Stanford R. Ovshinsky
American scientist and businessman, co-founded Energy Conversion Devices (born 1922)
Stanford Robert Ovshinsky was an American engineer, scientist and inventor who over a span of fifty years was granted well over 400 patents, mostly in the areas of energy and information.
1965
Bart King
American cricketer (born 1873)
John Barton "Bart" King was an American cricketer, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. King was part of the Philadelphia team that played from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I.
1978
Giovanni Gronchi
Italian educator, soldier, and politician, 3rd President of the Italian Republic (born 1887)
Giovanni Gronchi was an Italian politician from Christian Democracy who served as the president of Italy from 1955 to 1962 and was marked by a controversial and failed attempt to bring about an "opening to the left" in…
2014
Masaru Emoto
Japanese author and activist (born 1943)
Masaru Emoto was a Japanese businessman, author and pseudoscientist who claimed that human consciousness could affect the molecular structure of water.
1889
Nikolay Chernyshevsky
Russian philosopher and critic (born 1828)
Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky was a Russian literary and social critic, journalist, novelist, democrat, and socialist philosopher, often identified as a utopian socialist and leading theoretician of Russian nihilism…
1967
Puyi
Chinese emperor (born 1906)
Puyi was the last emperor of China, having reigned as the Xuantong Emperor of the Qing dynasty and later as the Kangde Emperor of Manchukuo, a Japanese puppet state during World War II.
2000
Leo Nomellini
Italian-American football player and wrestler (born 1924)
Leo Joseph Nomellini was an Italian-American professional football player and professional wrestler.
2024
Mitzi Gaynor
American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1931)
Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber, known professionally as Mitzi Gaynor, was an American actress, dancer and singer. Her notable films included We're Not Married!
1992
Herman Johannes
Indonesian scientist, academic, and politician (born 1912)
Herman Johannes was an Indonesian professor, scientist, politician and National Hero.
1781
Edward Hawke
1st Baron Hawke, English admiral (born 1705)
Admiral of the Fleet Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, was a Royal Navy officer and politician.