Did you know
Kiichi Miyazawa was the 78th Prime Minister of Japan, serving from 1991 to 1993
January 17 in History
1992 — During a visit to South Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II
January 17 spans 60 recorded events across recorded history, from 38 BC to 2026. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
60 events
38 BC – 2026
Today in history
More major events on January 17
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1773 Captain James Cook leads the first expedition to sail south of the Antarctic Circle. Source
- 1649 The Second Ormonde Peace creates an alliance between the Irish Royalists and Confederates during the War of the Three Kingdoms. The coalition was then decisively defeated during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Source
- 1873 A group of Modoc warriors defeats the United States Army in the First Battle of the Stronghold, part of the Modoc War. Source
Did you know
The Cabinet of Japan is composed of the prime minister and up to 17 other ministers of state
Did you know
The Japan Self Defence Forces were established in 1954, with the prime minister as its commander-in-chief
Did you know
The prime minister of Japan is appointed by the Emperor and must have the confidence of the House of Representatives
Did you know
The first prime minister of Japan was Itō Hirobumi, who served from 1885 to 1888
-38
Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey.
Roman emperor from 27 BC to AD 14
1362
Saint Marcellus' flood kills at least 25,000 people on the shores of the North Sea.
Storm surge in the North Sea in 1362
1377
Pope Gregory XI reaches Rome, after deciding to move the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon.
Head of the Catholic Church from 1370 to 1378
1524
Giovanni da Verrazzano sets sail westward from Madeira to find a sea route to the Pacific Ocean.
Florentine explorer of North America for France (1485–1528)
1562
France grants religious toleration to the Huguenots in the Edict of Saint-Germain.
Historical religious group of French Protestants
1595
During the French Wars of Religion, Henry IV of France declares war on Spain.
1562–1598 Catholic-Protestant conflicts
1608
Emperor Susenyos I of Ethiopia surprises an Oromo army at Ebenat; his army reportedly kills 12,000 Oromo at the cost of 400 of his men.
Emperor of Ethiopia from 1606 to 1632
1648
England's Long Parliament passes the "Vote of No Addresses", breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War.
English Parliament from 1640 to 1660
1649
The Second Ormonde Peace creates an alliance between the Irish Royalists and Confederates during the War of the Three Kingdoms.
The coalition was then decisively defeated during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.
1773
Captain James Cook leads the first expedition to sail south of the Antarctic Circle.
British explorer and naval officer (1728–1779)
1781
American Revolutionary War: Battle of Cowpens: Continental troops under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeat British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the battle in South Carolina.
1775–1783 conflict in North America
1799
Maltese patriot Dun Mikiel Xerri, along with a number of other patriots, is executed.
Mediterranean island country
1811
Mexican War of Independence: In the Battle of Calderón Bridge, a heavily outnumbered Spanish force of 6,000 troops defeats nearly 100,000 Mexican revolutionaries.
Armed conflict which ended Spanish rule of New Spain
1852
The United Kingdom signs the Sand River Convention with the South African Republic.
1852 treaty between the United Kingdom and Boers
1873
A group of Modoc warriors defeats the United States Army in the First Battle of the Stronghold, part of the Modoc War.
Native American people originally from northern California and Oregon
1885
A British force defeats a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.
Someone on a Sufi Muslim ascetic path
1893
Lorrin A.
Thurston, along with the Citizens' Committee of Public Safety, led the Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the government of Queen Liliʻuokalani.
1899
The United States takes possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.
Pacific island administered by the United States
1903
El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico becomes part of the United States National Forest System as the Luquillo Forest Reserve.
Rainforest near Río Grande, Puerto Rico
1904
Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard receives its premiere performance at the Moscow Art Theatre.
Russian dramatist and author (1860–1904)
1912
British polar explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen.
British Antarctic explorer (1868–1912)
1915
Russia defeats Ottoman Turkey in the Battle of Sarikamish during the Caucasus Campaign of World War I.
Country in Eastern Europe and North Asia
1917
The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.
U.S. territory in the Caribbean
1918
Finnish Civil War: The first serious battles take place between the Red Guards and the White Guard.
1918 civil war in Finland
1920
Alcohol Prohibition begins in the United States as the Volstead Act goes into effect.
Ban on alcohol from 1920 to 1933
1941
Franco-Thai War: Vichy French forces inflict a decisive defeat over the Royal Thai Navy.
1940–41 conflict in French Indochina
1943
World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis captures the 200-ton sailing vessel Agios Stefanos and mans her with part of her crew.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1944
World War II: Allied forces launch the first of four assaults on Monte Cassino with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome, an effort that would ultimately take four months and cost 105,000 Allied casualties.
Military coalition of World War II
1945
World War II: The Vistula–Oder Offensive forces German troops out of Warsaw.
1945 invasion of Nazi-occupied territory by the Red Army during WWII
1945
The SS-Totenkopfverbände begin the evacuation of the Auschwitz concentration camp as the Red Army closes in.
Major branch of the SS (1936–1945)
1945
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg is taken into Soviet custody while in Hungary; he is never publicly seen again.
Swedish diplomat and humanitarian (1912–1945)
1946
The UN Security Council holds its first session.
United Nations members responsible for drafting
1948
The Renville Agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesia is ratified.
1948 UN-brokered Dutch–Indonesian ceasefire
1950
The Great Brink's Robbery: Eleven thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car company's offices in Boston.
1950 security company robbery
1950
United Nations Security Council Resolution 79 relating to arms control is adopted.
United Nations resolution adopted in 1950
1961
U.S.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the "military–industrial complex" as well as the dangers of massive spending, especially deficit spending.
1961
Former Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba is murdered together with former Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of the Congo Maurice Mpolo and former Senator from Kasai Province Joseph Okito in circumstances suggesting the support and complicity of the governments of Belgium and the United States.
1960–1971 state in Central Africa
1966
Palomares incident: A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, killing seven airmen, and dropping three 70-kiloton nuclear bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea.
Collision between a USAF B-52G and KC-135 over the Mediterranean Sea near Spain
1969
Black Panther Party members Bunchy Carter and John Huggins are killed during a meeting in Campbell Hall on the campus of UCLA.
American political organization (1966–1982)
1977
Capital punishment in the United States resumes after a ten-year hiatus, as convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by firing squad in Utah.
1981
President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos lifts martial law eight years and five months after declaring it.
Head of state and government
1989
Patrick Purdy opens fire at an elementary school in Stockton, California, killing five and wounding 31 others.
1989 mass shooting in Stockton, California, U.S.
1991
Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins early in the morning as aircraft strike positions across Iraq, it is also the first major combat sortie for the F-117.
LCDR Scott Speicher's F/A-18C Hornet from VFA-81 is shot down by a Mig-25 and is the first American casualty of the War. Iraq fires eight Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.
1991
Crown Prince Harald of Norway becomes King Harald V, following the death of his father, King Olav V.
King of Norway since 1991
1994
The 6.7 Mw Northridge earthquake shakes the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving 57 people dead and more than 8,700 injured.
Earthquake in Los Angeles, California
1995
The 6.9 Mw Great Hanshin earthquake shakes the southern Hyōgo Prefecture with a maximum Shindo of 7, leaving 5,502–6,434 people dead, and 251,301–310,000 displaced.
Earthquake in Japan on January 17, 1995
1996
The Czech Republic applies for membership in the European Union.
Country in Central Europe
1997
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station: A Delta II carrying the GPS IIR-1 satellite explodes 13 seconds after launch, dropping 250 tons of burning rocket remains around the launch pad.
Military rocket launch site in Florida
1998
Clinton–Lewinsky scandal: Matt Drudge breaks the story of the Bill Clinton–Monica Lewinsky affair on his Drudge Report website.
1998 American political sex scandal
2002
Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
Active volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
2007
The Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea's nuclear testing.
Symbol which represents the likelihood of a human-made global catastrophe
2008
British Airways Flight 38 crashes short of the runway at Heathrow Airport, injuring 47.
2008 aviation accident in England
2010
Rioting begins between Muslim and Christian groups in Jos, Nigeria, results in at least 200 deaths.
Ethno-religious conflict in central Nigeria
2013
Former cyclist Lance Armstrong confesses to his doping in an airing of Oprah's Next Chapter.
American cyclist (born 1971)
2013
Shahzad Luqman is murdered by members of Golden Dawn in Petralona, Athens, leading the creation of new measures to combat race-based attacks in Greece.
2013 murder in Greece
2016
President Barack Obama announces the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement intended to limit Iran's nuclear program.
President of the United States from 2009 to 2017
2017
The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is announced to be suspended.
Search for a missing Boeing 777 in the southern Indian Ocean
2023
An avalanche strikes Nyingchi, Tibet, killing 28 people.
Avalanche in Nyingchi, China
2026
Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42 crashed near Mount Bulusaraung in South Sulawesi, after losing contact en route to Makassar.
Aviation accident in Indonesia