Did you know
Fernando Collor de Mello served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992.
December 17 in History
1989 — Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years
December 17 spans 64 recorded events across recorded history, from 497 BC to 2014. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
64 events
497 BC – 2014
Today in history
More major events on December 17
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1951 The American Civil Rights Congress delivers "We Charge Genocide" to the United Nations. Source
- 2002 Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years. Source
- 1892 First issue of Vogue is published. Source
Did you know
He was the youngest president in Brazilian history, taking office at the age of 40.
Did you know
Collor was found guilty by the Senate and disqualified from holding elected office for eight years, from 1992 to 2000.
Did you know
The Brazilian Senate conducted the impeachment trial against Collor on charges of corruption.
Did you know
Collor was later acquitted of ordinary criminal charges in his judicial trial before Brazil's Supreme Federal Court due to lack of valid evidence.
-497
The first Saturnalia festival is celebrated in ancient Rome.
Ancient Roman festival in December
546
Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoths under king Totila plunder the city, by bribing the Eastern Roman garrison.
Siege of Rome during the Gothic War
920
Romanos I Lekapenos is crowned co-emperor of the underage Constantine VII.
Byzantine emperor from 920 to 944
942
Assassination of William Longsword, Count of Normandy.
Count of Normandy from 927 to 942
1297
King Kyawswa of Pagan is overthrown by the three Myinsaing brothers, marking the de facto end of the Pagan Kingdom.
King of Pagan (r. 1289 to 1297)
1354
Margaret II, Countess of Hainaut and Holy Roman Empress and her son William I, Duke of Bavaria, sign a peace treaty ending the Hook and Cod wars.
Holy Roman Empress (1328–1347) and Countess of Hainaut (r. 1345–1356)
1398
Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud's armies in Delhi are defeated by Timur.
Dynasty in South Asia from 1320 to 1413
1538
Pope Paul III excommunicates Henry VIII of England.
Head of the Catholic Church from 1534 to 1549
1583
Cologne War: Forces under Ernest of Bavaria defeat troops under Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg at the Siege of Godesberg.
1583–1588 religious war in Germany
1665
The first account of a blood transfusion is published, in the form of a letter from physician Richard Lower to chemist Robert Boyle, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
Intravenous transference of blood products
1718
War of the Quadruple Alliance: Great Britain declares war on Spain.
1718–20 war between Spain and a European alliance
1777
American Revolution: France formally recognizes the United States.
Founding of the United States
1790
The Aztec calendar stone is discovered at El Zócalo, Mexico City.
16th-century Mexica sculpture
1807
Napoleonic Wars: France issues the Milan Decree, which confirms the Continental System.
1803–1815 series of wars led by Napoleon
1812
War of 1812: U.S.
forces attack a Lenape village in the Battle of the Mississinewa.
1819
Simón Bolívar declares the independence of Gran Colombia in Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar in Venezuela).
Venezuelan statesman and military officer (1783–1830)
1835
The second Great Fire of New York destroys 53,000 square metres (13 acres) of New York City's Financial District.
1835 highly destructive fire in New York City
1837
A fire in the Winter Palace of Saint Petersburg kills 30 guards.
1837 fire in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
1862
American Civil War: General Ulysses S.
Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
1865
First performance of the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert.
1822 incomplete symphony by Franz Schubert
1896
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Schenley Park Casino, which was the first multi-purpose arena with the technology to create an artificial ice surface in North America, is destroyed in a fire.
Second-most populous city in Pennsylvania, U.S.
1903
The Wright brothers make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
American aviation pioneers, inventors of the airplane
1907
1918
Darwin Rebellion: Up to 1,000 demonstrators march on Government House in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
1918 Australian labour unrest
1926
Antanas Smetona assumes power in Lithuania as the 1926 coup d'état is successful.
1st President of Lithuania (1919–1920, 1926–1940)
1927
Indian revolutionary Rajendra Lahiri is hanged in Gonda jail, Uttar Pradesh, India, two days before the scheduled date.
Indian revolutionary (1901–1927)
1928
Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru assassinate British police officer James Saunders in Lahore, Punjab, to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police.
The three were executed in 1931.
1933
The first NFL Championship Game is played at Wrigley Field in Chicago between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears.
The Bears win 23–21.
1935
Douglas DC-3: The twin-engine airliner makes its maiden flight from Santa Monica.
Airliner and military transport aircraft family
1938
Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy.
German nuclear chemist and Nobel laureate (1879–1968)
1939
World War II: Battle of the River Plate: The Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by Captain Hans Langsdorff outside Montevideo.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1943
All Chinese are again permitted to become citizens of the United States upon the repeal of the Act of 1882 and the introduction of the Magnuson Act.
American federal law enacted in 1882
1944
World War II: Battle of the Bulge: Malmedy massacre: American 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion POWs are shot by Waffen-SS Kampfgruppe Joachim Peiper.
World War II battle, 1944–1945
1945
Kurdistan flag day, the flag of Kurdistan is raised for the first time in Mahabad in eastern Kurdistan.
Region of West Asia with a historical Kurdish presence
1947
First flight of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic bomber.
Cold War-era American jet bomber
1948
The Finnish Security Police is established to remove communist leadership from its predecessor, the State Police.
National security and intelligence agency of Finland
1951
The American Civil Rights Congress delivers "We Charge Genocide" to the United Nations.
United States civil rights organization for African-Americans (1946–56)
1957
The United States successfully launches the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
First operational American intercontinental ballistic missile
1960
Troops loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia crush the coup that began December 13, returning power to their leader upon his return from Brazil.
Haile Selassie absolves his son of any guilt.
1960
Munich C-131 crash: Twenty passengers and crew on board as well as 32 people on the ground are killed.
1960 aviation disaster in Munich, West Germany
1961
Niterói circus fire: Fire breaks out during a performance by the Gran Circus Norte-Americano in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, killing more than 500.
1961 fire disaster in Brazil
1967
Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia, disappears while swimming near Portsea, Victoria, and is presumed drowned.
Prime Minister of Australia from 1966 to 1967
1969
Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.
U.S. Air Force study of UFOs (1952–1969)
1970
Polish protests: In Gdynia, soldiers fire at workers emerging from trains, killing dozens.
Unrest in Poland
1973
Thirty passengers are killed in an attack by Palestinian terrorists on Rome's Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport.
Terrorist attacks
1981
American Brigadier General James L.
Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigades in Verona, Italy.
1983
Provisional IRA members detonate a car bomb at Harrods Department Store in London.
Three police officers and three civilians are killed.
1989
Romanian Revolution: Protests continue in Timișoara, Romania, with rioters breaking into the Romanian Communist Party's District Committee building and attempting to set it on fire.
1989 popular uprising in Romania
1989
The Simpsons premieres on television with the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".
American animated sitcom
1997
Peruvian internal conflict: Fourteen members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement provoke a hostage crisis by taking over the Japanese embassy in Lima.
Internal armed conflict in Peru in the late 20th century against Maoist groups
1997
Aerosvit Flight 241: A Yakovlev Yak-42 crashes into the Pierian Mountains near Thessaloniki Airport in Thessaloniki, Greece, killing all 70 people on board.
1997 aviation accident
2002
Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years.
1998–2003 war in central Africa
2003
The Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder.
His girlfriend, Maxine Carr, is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
2003
SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.
American experimental spaceplane
2003
Sex work rights activists establish December 17 (or "D17") as International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers to memorialize victims of a serial killer who targeted prostitutes, and highlight State violence against sex workers by police and others.
Annual awareness day
2005
Anti-World Trade Organization protesters riot in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.
Intergovernmental trade organization
2005
Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicates the throne as King of Bhutan.
King of Bhutan from 1972 to 2006
2009
MV Danny F II sinks off the coast of Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of 44 people and over 28,000 animals.
20th-century cargo ship
2010
Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire.
This act became the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring.
2014
The United States and Cuba re-establish diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961.