# What happened on October 17 in history?

**Date:** October 17  
**Events recorded:** 61  
**Years spanned:** 690 – 2023  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/october/17/

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## Featured Event

**2019** — The 17 October Revolution starts in Lebanon.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17_October_Revolution)

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## Events on this date

- **690** — Empress Wu Zetian establishes the Zhou Dynasty of China. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Zetian))
- **1091** — London tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_tornado_of_1091))
- **1346** — The English capture King David II of Scotland at Neville's Cross and imprison him for eleven years. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_II_of_Scotland))
- **1448** — An Ottoman army defeats a Hungarian army at the Second Battle of Kosovo. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kosovo_(1448)))
- **1456** — The University of Greifswald is established as the second oldest university in northern Europe. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Greifswald))
- **1534** — Anti-Catholic posters appear in Paris and other cities supporting Huldrych Zwingli's position on the Mass. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affair_of_the_Placards))
- **1558** — Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, is founded. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Post))
- **1604** — Kepler's Supernova is observed in the constellation of Ophiuchus. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler's_Supernova))
- **1610** — French king Louis XIII is crowned in Reims Cathedral. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIII))
- **1660** — The nine regicides who signed the death warrant of Charles I of England are hanged, drawn and quartered. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regicides_of_Charles_I_of_England))
- **1662** — Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to Louis XIV of France for 40,000 pounds. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England))
- **1713** — Great Northern War: Russia defeats Sweden in the Battle of Kostianvirta in Pälkäne. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Northern_War))
- **1771** — Premiere in Milan of the opera Ascanio in Alba, composed by Mozart at age 15. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascanio_in_Alba))
- **1777** — American Revolutionary War: British General John Burgoyne surrenders his army at Saratoga, New York. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War))
- **1781** — American Revolutionary War: British General Charles, Earl Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown))
- **1797** — Treaty of Campo Formio is signed between France and Austria, ending the War of the First Coalition. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Campo_Formio))
- **1800** — War of the Second Coalition: Britain takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Cura%C3%A7ao_(1800)))
- **1806** — Former leader of the Haitian Revolution, Emperor Jacques I, is assassinated after an oppressive rule. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Dessalines))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agua_Amarga))
- **1814** — Eight people die in the London Beer Flood. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Beer_Flood))
- **1850** — Riots start, which lead to a massacre in Aleppo. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Aleppo_(1850)))
- **1860** — First The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Open_Championship))
- **1861** — Aboriginal Australians kill nineteen Europeans in the Cullin-la-ringo massacre. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cullin-la-ringo_massacre))
- **1907** — Marconi begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marconi_Company))
- **1912** — Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Balkan_War))
- **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 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leeds_United_F.C.))
- **1931** — Al Capone is convicted of income tax evasion. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Capone))
- **1933** — Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein))
- **1940** — The body of Communist propagandist Willi Münzenberg is found in South France, starting a never-resolved mystery. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willi_M%C3%BCnzenberg))
- **1941** — World War II: The USS Kearny becomes the first U.S. Navy vessel to be torpedoed by a U-boat. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1943** — The Burma Railway (Burma–Thailand Railway) is completed. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma_Railway))
- **1943** — Nazi Holocaust in Poland: Sobibór extermination camp is closed. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobibor_extermination_camp))
- **1945** — A large demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, demands Juan Perón's release. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalty_Day_(Argentina)))
- **1952** — Indonesian Army elements surrounded the Merdeka Palace demanding President Sukarno disband the Provisional People's Representative Council. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17_October_affair))
- **1956** — The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield, England. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellafield))
- **1961** — Directed by their chief Maurice Papon, Paris police massacre scores of Algerian protesters. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Papon))
- **1961** — The first attempt of the apartheid analogy by Ahmad Shukeiri. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_apartheid))
- **1965** — The 1964–65 New York World's Fair closes after two years and more than 51 million attendees. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_New_York_World's_Fair))
- **1966** — The 23rd Street Fire in New York City kills 12 firefighters. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23rd_Street_Fire))
- **1969** — The Caravaggio painting Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence is stolen from the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravaggio))
- **1970** — FLQ terrorists murder Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Crisis))
- **1973** — OPEC imposes an oil embargo against countries they deem to have helped Israel in the Yom Kippur War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis))
- **1977** — The hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu. The remaining hostages are later rescued. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufthansa_Flight_181))
- **1979** — Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa))
- **1979** — The Department of Education Organization Act creates the U.S. Department of Education. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Education_Organization_Act))
- **1980** — As part of the Holy See–United Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_See%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations))
- **1988** — Uganda Airlines Flight 775 crashes at Rome–Fiumicino International Airport, in Rome, Italy, killing 33 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda_Airlines_Flight_775))
- **1989** — The 6.9 Mw Loma Prieta earthquake shakes the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast, killing 63. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seismic_magnitude_scales))
- **1989** — The East German Politburo votes to remove Erich Honecker from his role as General Secretary. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Honecker))
- **1991** — Rudrapur bombings by Sikh separatists, who explode two bombs, during a Ramlila Hindu celebration in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, killing 41 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Rudrapur_bombings))
- **1992** — Having gone to the wrong house, Japanese student Yoshihiro Hattori is killed by the homeowner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Yoshihiro_Hattori))
- **1994** — Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov is assassinated while investigating corruption in the armed forces. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Kholodov))
- **2000** — The Hatfield rail crash leads to the collapse of Railtrack. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatfield_rail_crash))
- **2001** — Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi is assassinated by Hamdi Quran, a member of the PFLP, thus becoming the highest-ranking Israeli to be killed by a Palestinian. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rehavam_Ze'evi))
- **2004** — A fire that lasted over 15 hours destroyed almost one third of the East Tower of the Parque Central Urban Complex in Caracas, Venezuela. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parque_Central_Complex_fire))
- **2017** — Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the last foothold of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Raqqa, marking the end of the Battle of Raqqa. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_civil_war))
- **2018** — The recreational use of cannabis is legalized in Canada. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_Act_(Canada)))
- **2018** — A mass shooting and bombing at Kerch Polytechnic College in Crimea kills 21 people including the attacker and injures 70 others. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerch_Polytechnic_College_massacre))
- **2019** — Drug dealers in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico force the government to back down on an arrest. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culiac%C3%A1n))
- **2019** — The 17 October Revolution starts in Lebanon. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17_October_Revolution))
- **2023** — An explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza kills hundreds of Palestinians during the Gaza war. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ahli_Arab_Hospital_explosion))

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## Notable births on October 17

- **2002** — **Matthew Knies** — American professional ice hockey player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Knies))
- **2002** — **Lily** — Australian-South Korean singer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_(singer%2C_born_2002)))
- **2001** — **Thomas Strudwick** — British motorcycle road racer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Strudwick))
- **1997** — **Robert Williams III** — American basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Williams_III))
- **1996** — **Jake DeBrusk** — Canadian ice hockey player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_DeBrusk))
- **1995** — **Jamal Adams** — American football player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Adams))
- **1995** — **Ha-seong Kim** — South Korean baseball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha-seong_Kim))
- **1993** — **Kenneth Omeruo** — Nigerian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Omeruo))
- **1993** — **Vincent Poirier** — French basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Poirier))
- **1992** — **Jacob Artist** — American actor, singer, and dancer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Artist))

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## Notable deaths on October 17

- **2024** — **Mitzi Gaynor** — American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1931) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitzi_Gaynor))
- **2024** — **Toshiyuki Nishida** — Japanese actor (born 1947) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshiyuki_Nishida))
- **2024** — **Andrew Schally** — Polish-American endocrinologist (born 1926) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Schally))
- **2019** — **Elijah Cummings** — American politician and civil rights advocate (born 1951) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Cummings))
- **2017** — **Gord Downie** — Canadian musician (born 1964) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gord_Downie))
- **2015** — **Danièle Delorme** — French actress and producer (born 1926) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dani%C3%A8le_Delorme))
- **2015** — **Howard Kendall** — English footballer and manager (born 1946) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Kendall))
- **2015** — **Anne-Marie Lizin** — Belgian lawyer and politician (born 1949) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne-Marie_Lizin))
- **2015** — **Tom Smith** — American businessman and politician (born 1947) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Smith_(Pennsylvania_politician)))
- **2014** — **Edwards Barham** — American farmer and politician (born 1937) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwards_Barham))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/october/17/](https://thisday.info/events/october/17/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.