Did you know
In 1797, Treaty of Campo Formio is signed between France and Austria, ending the War of the First Coalition. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
October 17 in History
1797 — Treaty of Campo Formio is signed between France and Austria, ending the War of the First Coalition
October 17 spans 61 recorded events across recorded history, from 690 to 2023. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
61 events
690 – 2023
Today in history
More major events on October 17
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 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
The Treaty of Campo Formio was signed on 17 October 1797 by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
The treaty followed the armistice of Leoben, which had been forced on the Habsburgs by Napoleon's victorious campaign in Italy. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
It ended the War of the First Coalition and left Great Britain fighting alone against revolutionary France. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.
Did you know
In 1797, Treaty of Campo Formio is signed between France and Austria, ending the War of the First Coalition had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
Empress Wu Zetian establishes the Zhou Dynasty of China.
Empress of China from 690 to 705
Empress Zetian, personal name Wu Zhao, was the only undisputed female sovereign in the history of China. She had previously held power as the empress consort of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang dynasty from 660 to 683 and as empress dowager during the reigns of her sons, Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong, between 683 and 690. She was the sole ruler of the self-styled Zhou dynasty from 690 to 705.
690
London tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London.
One of the strongest tornadoes in British Isles
The London Tornado of 1091 is the earliest reported tornado in England, occurring in London on Friday, 17 October 1091. It has been estimated by modern assessment as possibly a T8 on the TORRO scale, making it one of the strongest recorded tornadoes in the British Isles, alongside the 1666 Lincolnshire tornado, although this estimate is based on reports written 30 years later.
1091
The English capture King David II of Scotland at Neville's Cross and imprison him for eleven years.
King of Scotland from 1329 to 1371
David II was King of Scotland from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father, Robert the Bruce, David succeeded to the throne at the age of five and was crowned at Scone in November 1331, becoming the first Scottish monarch to be anointed at his coronation. During his childhood, David was governed by a series of guardians, and Edward III of England sought to take advantage of David's minority by supporting an invasion of Scotland by Edward Balliol, beginning the Second War of Scottish Independence. Following the English victory at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333, King David, Queen Joan and the rump of his government were evacuated to France, where he remained in exile until it was safe for him to return to Scotland in 1341.
1346
An Ottoman army defeats a Hungarian army at the Second Battle of Kosovo.
Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe and Ottoman-Hungarian Wars
The Second Battle of Kosovo was a land battle between a Hungarian-led Crusader army and the Ottoman Empire at Kosovo field that took place from 17–20 October 1448. It was the culmination of a Hungarian offensive to avenge the defeat at the Battle of Varna four years earlier. In the three-day battle the Ottoman army under the command of Sultan Murad II defeated the Crusader army of regent John Hunyadi.
1448
The University of Greifswald is established as the second oldest university in northern Europe.
Public university in Greifswald, Mecklenburg, Germany
The University of Greifswald, formerly known as Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
1456
Anti-Catholic posters appear in Paris and other cities supporting Huldrych Zwingli's position on the Mass.
1534 anti-Catholic protest in France
The Affair of the Placards was an incident in which anti-Catholic posters appeared in public places in Paris and in four major provincial cities, Blois, Rouen, Tours and Orléans, in the night of the 17 to 18 October 1534. One of the posters was posted on the bedchamber door of King Francis I at Amboise, an affront and a breach of security that left him shaken. The Affaire des Placards brought an end to the conciliatory policies of Francis, which had formerly attempted to protect the Protestants from the more extreme measures of the Parlement de Paris, and also of the public entreaties for moderation of Philip Melanchthon.
1534
Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, is founded.
National postal service of Poland
The Polish Post is the state postal administration of Poland, initially founded in 1558. The company is headquartered in Warsaw and employs over 67,000 people. It is the largest mail-handling company in the country, which additionally provides courier, banking, insurance and logistics services. The digital services, such as neo-stamps, neo-letters and neo-postcards, are available through the Internet-based platform Envelo.
1558
Kepler's Supernova is observed in the constellation of Ophiuchus.
Supernova visible from Earth in the 17th century
SN 1604, also known as Kepler's Supernova, Kepler's Nova or Kepler's Star, was a Type Ia supernova that occurred in the Milky Way, in the constellation Ophiuchus. Appearing in 1604, it is the most recent supernova in the Milky Way galaxy to have been unquestionably observed by the naked eye, occurring no farther than 6 kiloparsecs from Earth. Before the adoption of the current naming system for supernovae, it was named for Johannes Kepler, the German astronomer who described it in De Stella Nova.
1604
French king Louis XIII is crowned in Reims Cathedral.
King of France from 1610 to 1643
Louis XIII was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
1610
The nine regicides who signed the death warrant of Charles I of England are hanged, drawn and quartered.
The Regicides of Charles I were the men responsible for the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649. The term generally refers to the fifty-nine commissioners who signed the execution warrant. This followed his conviction for treason by the High Court of Justice.
1660
Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to Louis XIV of France for 40,000 pounds.
King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1660 to 1685
Charles II was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
1662
Great Northern War: Russia defeats Sweden in the Battle of Kostianvirta in Pälkäne.
Swedish-Russian conflict (1700–1721)
In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by Russia successfully contested the supremacy of Sweden in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I of Russia, Frederick IV of Denmark–Norway and Augustus II the Strong of Saxony-Poland-Lithuania. Frederick IV and Augustus II were defeated by Sweden, under Charles XII, and forced out of the alliance in 1700 and 1706, respectively, but rejoined it in 1709 after the defeat of Charles XII at the Battle of Poltava. George I of Great Britain and the Electorate of Hanover joined the coalition in 1714 for Hanover and in 1717 for Britain, and Frederick William I of Brandenburg-Prussia joined it in 1715.
1713
Premiere in Milan of the opera Ascanio in Alba, composed by Mozart at age 15.
1771 pastoral opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ascanio in Alba, K. 111, is a pastoral opera in two parts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Parini. It was commissioned by the Empress Maria Theresa for the wedding of her son, Archduke Ferdinand Karl, to Maria Beatrice d'Este on 15 October 1771.
1771
American Revolutionary War: British General John Burgoyne surrenders his army at Saratoga, New York.
1775–1783 conflict in North America
The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence or simply the American Revolution, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which American Patriot forces organized as the Continental Army and commanded by George Washington defeated the British Army. The conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The war's outcome seemed uncertain for most of the war, but Washington and the Continental Army's decisive victory in the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 led King George III and the Kingdom of Great Britain to negotiate an end to the war. In 1783, in the Treaty of Paris, the British monarchy acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, leading to the establishment of the United States as an independent and sovereign nation.
1777
American Revolutionary War: British General Charles, Earl Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown.
1781 siege of the American Revolutionary War
The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, took place in 1781 and was the final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Marquis de Lafayette and French Army troops, led by Comte de Rochambeau, and a French Navy force commanded by the Comte de Grasse, defeating the British Army commanded by British Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis.
1781
War of the Second Coalition: Britain takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao.
Military incursion as part of the French Revolutionary Wars
An invasion of Curaçao was launched by French forces against the Dutch colony in 1800 during the War of the Second Coalition. French forces landed on the island on 22 July, and on 5 September attacked and captured a fort protecting the town of Willemstad. The American consul there sent for help, and on 10 September the Dutch governor of the island surrendered to the British frigate HMS Nereide under the command of Frederick Watkins. On 22 September the American sloops USS Patapsco and USS Merrimack arrived, and on 23 September the Patapsco sailed into the harbor and landed troops to reinforce the garrison protecting the town.
1800
Former leader of the Haitian Revolution, Emperor Jacques I, is assassinated after an oppressive rule.
Haitian revolutionary and first ruler (1758–1806)
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. Initially regarded as governor-general, Dessalines was later named Emperor of Haiti as Jacques I (1804–1806) by generals of the Haitian Revolutionary army and ruled in that capacity until being assassinated in 1806. He spearheaded the resistance against French rule of Saint-Domingue, and eventually became the architect of the 1804 massacre of the remaining White French residents of newly independent Haiti. Alongside Toussaint Louverture, he has been referred to as one of the fathers of the nation of Haiti. Under the rule of Dessalines, Haiti became the first country in the Americas to permanently abolish slavery.
1806
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.
Defunct silver mining district in Chile's Atacama Region
Agua Amarga is a silver deposit and defunct mining district in Chile's Atacama Region. It is located 30 km south of Vallenar. Agua Amarga was discovered in 1811 and its silver was instrumental to finance the Chilean War of Independence. An enquiry by Ignacy Domeyko tells of 150 individual mines active in Agua Amarga in 1822. Calera, Colorada and Aris are mentioned as the most productive mines of Agua Amarga.
1811
Eight people die in the London Beer Flood.
1814 brewery disaster in London
The London Beer Flood was an accident at Meux & Co's Horse Shoe Brewery, London, on 17 October 1814. It took place when one of the 22-foot-tall (6.7 m) wooden vats of fermenting porter burst. The escaping liquid dislodged the valve of another vessel and destroyed several large barrels: between 128,000 and 323,000 imperial gallons of beer were released in total.
1814
Riots start, which lead to a massacre in Aleppo.
Anti-Christian riots in Syria
The Massacre of Aleppo , often referred to simply as The Events, was a riot perpetrated by Muslim residents of Aleppo, largely from the eastern quarters of the city, against Christian residents, largely located in the northern suburbs of Judayde (Jdeideh) and Salibeh. The riot began on the evening of October 17, 1850, and ended two days later on October 19, 1850. The riot resulted in numerous deaths, including that of Peter VII Jarweh, the Syriac Catholic Patriarch.
1850
First The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open).
Golf tournament held in the UK
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open outside of the UK, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later the venue rotated among a select group of coastal links golf courses in the United Kingdom. It is organised by The R&A.
1860
Aboriginal Australians kill nineteen Europeans in the Cullin-la-ringo massacre.
1861 massacre of white settlers by Aboriginal men in Queensland
The Cullin-la-ringo massacre, also known as the Wills tragedy, was a massacre of European settlers by Indigenous Australians that occurred on 17 October 1861, north of modern-day Springsure in Central Queensland, Australia. Nineteen men, women and children were killed in the attack, including Horatio Wills, the owner of Cullin-la-ringo station. It is the single largest massacre of European settlers by Aboriginal people in Australian history.
1861
Marconi begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service.
1897–2006 British telecommunications and engineering company
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 which was a pioneer of wireless long distance communication and mass media broadcasting, eventually becoming one of the UK's most successful manufacturing companies.
1907
Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War.
1912–1913 war between the Balkan League and the Ottoman Empire
The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The Balkan states' combined armies overcame the initially numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies, achieving rapid success.
1912
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
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.
1919
Al Capone is convicted of income tax evasion.
American gangster and businessman (1899–1947)
Alphonse Gabriel Capone, sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1925 to 1931. His seven-year reign as a crime boss ended when he was imprisoned at the age of 33.
1931
Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States.
German-born theoretical physicist (1879–1955)
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum theory. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which arises from special relativity, has been called "the world's most famous equation". He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for "his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect".
1933
The body of Communist propagandist Willi Münzenberg is found in South France, starting a never-resolved mystery.
German Communist politician and activist (1889–1940)
Wilhelm Münzenberg was a German Communist activist and publisher who served as the first head of the Young Communist International from 1919 to 1921 and as a member of the Reichstag from 1924 to 1933. He also founded the famine relief and propaganda organization Workers International Relief in 1921.
1940
World War II: The USS Kearny becomes the first U.S.
Navy vessel to be torpedoed by a U-boat.
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many engaging in total war on an unprecedented scale. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.
1941
The Burma Railway (Burma–Thailand Railway) is completed.
WWII Japanese Thai–Burma railway
The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a 415 km (258 mi) railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma. It was built from 1940 to 1943 by abducted Southeast Asian civilians and captured Allied soldiers forced to work by the Japanese, to supply troops and weapons in the Burma campaign of World War II. It completed the rail link between Bangkok, Thailand, and Rangoon, Burma. The name used by the Imperial Japanese Government was Tai–Men Rensetsu Tetsudō (泰緬連接鉄道), which means Thailand-Burma-Link-Railway.
1943
Nazi Holocaust in Poland: Sobibór extermination camp is closed.
Nazi extermination camp in Poland (1942–1943)
Sobibor was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of German-occupied Poland.
1943
A large demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, demands Juan Perón's release.
Holiday in Argentina commemorating the founding of Peronism (17 October 1945)
Loyalty Day is a commemoration day in Argentina. It remembers 17 October 1945, when a large labour demonstration at the Plaza de Mayo, in downtown Buenos Aires, demanded the liberation of Juan Domingo Perón, jailed on Isla Martín García. It is considered the foundational moment of the Peronist movement.
1945
Indonesian Army elements surrounded the Merdeka Palace demanding President Sukarno disband the Provisional People's Representative Council.
1952 political crisis in Indonesia
The 17 October affair was an event during which Indonesian soldiers pressured the president to disband the Provisional People's Representative Council, at the behest of the administration's chief of staff, along with the commander of the armed forces. The demand was made of President Sukarno while the Merdeka Palace was surrounded.
1952
The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield, England.
Nuclear site in Cumbria, England
Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nuclear power generation from 1956 to 2003, and nuclear fuel reprocessing from 1952 to 2022.
1956
Directed by their chief Maurice Papon, Paris police massacre scores of Algerian protesters.
French policeman, politician, and Axis collaborator (1910–2007)
Maurice Papon was a French civil servant, mass murderer and Nazi collaborator who was convicted of crimes against humanity committed during the occupation of France. Papon led the police in major prefectures from the 1930s to the 1960s, before he became a Gaullist politician. When he was secretary general for the police in Bordeaux during World War II, he participated in the deportation of more than 1,600 Jews. He is also known for his activities in the Algerian War (1954–1962), during which he tortured insurgent prisoners as prefect of the Constantinois department, and ordered, as prefect of the Paris police, the 1961 Paris massacre of pro-National Liberation Front (FLN) demonstrators for violating a curfew that he had "advised".
1961
The first attempt of the apartheid analogy by Ahmad Shukeiri.
Israeli system of racial segregation and discrimination
Israeli apartheid is a system of institutionalized segregation and discrimination in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and to a lesser extent in Israel proper. This system is characterized by near-total physical separation between the Palestinian and the Israeli settler populations of the West Bank, as well as the judicial separation that governs both communities, which discriminates against Palestinians in a wide range of ways. Israel also discriminates against Palestinian refugees in the diaspora and against its own Palestinian citizens.
1961
The 1964–65 New York World's Fair closes after two years and more than 51 million attendees.
World's fair held in New York City
The 1964 New York World's Fair was an international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activities, performances, films, art, and food presented by 80 nations, 24 U.S. states, and nearly 350 American companies. The five sections of the 646-acre (261 ha) fairground were the Federal and State, International, Transportation, Lake Amusement, and Industrial areas. The fair's theme was "Peace through Understanding", and its symbol was the Unisphere, a stainless-steel model of Earth. Initially, the fair had 139 pavilions, and 34 concessions and shows.
1965
The 23rd Street Fire in New York City kills 12 firefighters.
1966 major fire in New York City
The 23rd Street Fire was an incident that took place in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on October 17, 1966. A group of firefighters from the New York City Fire Department responding to a fire at 7 East 22nd Street entered a building at 6 East 23rd Street as part of an effort to fight the fire. Twelve firefighters were killed after the floor collapsed, the largest loss of life in the department's history until the collapse of the World Trade Center in the September 11 attacks of 2001.
1966
The Caravaggio painting Nativity with St.
Francis and St. Lawrence is stolen from the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for a significant portion of his artistic life. He began his apprenticeship in Milan in 1584, and during the final four years of his life, he moved between Naples, Malta, and Sicily. His paintings have been characterized by art critics as combining a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, which had a formative influence on Baroque painting.
1969
FLQ terrorists murder Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte.
1970 series of events in Quebec, Canada
The October Crisis was a chain of political events in Canada that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross from his Montreal residence. These events saw Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoking the War Measures Act for the first time in Canadian history during peacetime. Laporte was assassinated over the course of the crisis.
1970
OPEC imposes an oil embargo against countries they deem to have helped Israel in the Yom Kippur War.
OAPEC petroleum embargo
In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Egypt and Syria launched a large-scale surprise attack in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to recover the territories that they had lost to Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War.
1973
The hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu.
The remaining hostages are later rescued.
Lufthansa Flight 181, a Boeing 737-200 jet airliner named Landshut, was hijacked on 13 October 1977 by four militants of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine while en route from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, to Frankfurt am Main, West Germany. The hijacking aimed to secure the release of eleven notorious Red Army Faction leaders held in West German prisons and two Palestinians held in Turkey. This event was part of the so-called German Autumn, intended to increase pressure on the West German government. The hijackers diverted the flight to several locations before ending in Mogadishu, Somalia, where the crisis concluded in the early morning hours of 18 October 1977 under the cover of darkness. The West German counter-terrorism unit GSG 9, with ground support from the Somali Armed Forces, stormed the aircraft, rescuing all 87 passengers and four crew members. The captain of the flight was killed by the hijackers earlier in the ordeal.
1977
Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Albanian-Indian Catholic saint (1910–1997)
Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of Charity and a Catholic saint.
1979
The Department of Education Organization Act creates the U.S.
Department of Education.
The Department of Education Organization Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1979, which created the Department of Education. The new department was split off from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, which the Act also renamed the Department of Health and Human Services.
1979
As part of the Holy See–United Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican.
Bilateral relations
Holy See–United Kingdom relations are foreign relations between the Holy See and the United Kingdom.
1980
Uganda Airlines Flight 775 crashes at Rome–Fiumicino International Airport, in Rome, Italy, killing 33 people.
1988 aviation accident in Italy
Uganda Airlines Flight 775 was a Boeing 707, registration 5X-UBC, that crashed while attempting to land at Rome-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy on 17 October 1988. Out of the 52 occupants onboard, 33 were killed.
1988
The 6.9 Mw Loma Prieta earthquake shakes the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast, killing 63.
Scales to describe earthquake strength
Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or "size" of an earthquake. These are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of ground shaking (quaking) caused by an earthquake at a given location. Magnitudes are usually determined from measurements of an earthquake's seismic waves as recorded on a seismogram. Magnitude scales vary based on what aspect of the seismic waves are measured and how they are measured. Different magnitude scales are necessary because of differences in earthquakes, the information available, and the purposes for which the magnitudes are used.
1989
The East German Politburo votes to remove Erich Honecker from his role as General Secretary.
Leader of East Germany, 1971–1989
Erich Ernst Paul Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts of General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and Chairman of the National Defence Council; in 1976, he replaced Willi Stoph as Chairman of the State Council, the official head of state. As the leader of East Germany, Honecker was viewed as a dictator. During his leadership, the country had close ties to the Soviet Union, which maintained a large army in the country.
1989
Rudrapur bombings by Sikh separatists, who explode two bombs, during a Ramlila Hindu celebration in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, killing 41 people.
Terror attack in Uttarakhand, India
1991 Rudrapur bombings were bombings by Khalistani terrorists in 1991 in Rudrapur city in Indian state of Uttarakhand.
1991
Having gone to the wrong house, Japanese student Yoshihiro Hattori is killed by the homeowner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1992 shooting in Louisiana, US
Yoshihiro Hattori was a Japanese student on an exchange program to the United States who was shot to death in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The shooting happened when Hattori, on his way to a Halloween party, went to the wrong house by mistake. Property owner Rodney Peairs fatally shot Hattori, erroneously thinking that he was trespassing with criminal intent. The killing and Peairs's trials received worldwide attention, initiating discussion about race relations and attitudes toward Asians in the United States.
1992
Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov is assassinated while investigating corruption in the armed forces.
Russian investigative journalist assassinated in Moscow (1967–1994)
Dmitry Yuryevich Kholodov was a Russian journalist who investigated corruption in the military and was assassinated on 17 October 1994 in Moscow. His assassination was the first of many killings of journalists in Russia.
1994
The Hatfield rail crash leads to the collapse of Railtrack.
2000 rail accident in Hertfordshire, England
The Hatfield rail crash was a railway accident on 17 October 2000, at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. It was caused by a rolling contact fatigue-induced derailment, killing four people and injuring more than 70.
2000
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.
Israeli politician (1926–2001)
Rehavam Ze'evi was an Israeli general and politician who founded the far-right nationalist Moledet party. He mainly advocated for complete cleansing of the Palestinian population through population transfer.
2001
A fire that lasted over 15 hours destroyed almost one third of the East Tower of the Parque Central Urban Complex in Caracas, Venezuela.
Skyscraper fire in Caracas, Venezuela
The Parque Central Complex fire was a fire on 17 October 2004, that destroyed almost one-third of the East Tower of the Parque Central Urban Complex in Caracas, Venezuela. At least 20 floors were completely destroyed by the fire, although the building was able to withstand more than 15 hours of fire without collapsing due to its strong structure.
2004
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.
2011–2024 armed conflict in Syria
The Syrian civil war was an armed conflict that began with the Syrian revolution in March 2011, when popular discontent with the Ba'athist regime ruled by Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring. The Assad regime responded to the protests with lethal force, which led to a series of defections, the emergence of armed opposition groups, and the civilian uprising descending into a civil war. The war lasted almost 14 years and culminated in the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. Many sources regard this as the end of the civil war even though clashes have continued into 2026.
2017
The recreational use of cannabis is legalized in Canada.
2018 Canadian law legalizing recreational cannabis use
The Cannabis Act is a law which legalized recreational cannabis use in Canada in combination with its companion legislation Bill C-46, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code. The law is a milestone in the legal history of cannabis in Canada, alongside the 1923 prohibition.
2018
A mass shooting and bombing at Kerch Polytechnic College in Crimea kills 21 people including the attacker and injures 70 others.
2018 school shooting in Crimea
On 17 October 2018, a school shooting and bombing attack occurred in Kerch, Crimea. The perpetrator, Vladislav Roslyakov, who was an 18-year-old student at the college, killed 20 people and wounded 73 others before killing himself. It was the deadliest school shooting in Russia or Ukraine since the 2004 Beslan school siege.
2018
Drug dealers in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico force the government to back down on an arrest.
City in Sinaloa, Mexico
Culiacán, officially Culiacán Rosales, is the capital and largest city of Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico. It is located within the Culiacán Municipality. The city was founded on 29 September 1531 by the Spanish conquistadors Lázaro de Cebreros and Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán originally under the name "Villa de San Miguel", in honor of its patron saint Michael the Archangel.
2019
The 17 October Revolution starts in Lebanon.
2019–2021 protests in Lebanon
The 17 October Protests, commonly referred to as the 17 October Revolution or Hirak or Thawrah, were a series of civil protests in Lebanon that began after the Lebanese cabinet announced financial measures on 17 October 2019. These nationwide protests were triggered by planned taxes on gasoline, tobacco, and VoIP calls on applications such as WhatsApp, but quickly expanded into a country-wide condemnation of sectarian rule, the stagnation of the economy, unemployment, endemic corruption in the public sector, legislation that was perceived to shield the ruling class from accountability and failures of the government to provide basic services, such as electricity, water, and sanitation.
2019
An explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza kills hundreds of Palestinians during the Gaza war.
2023 deadly explosion in the Gaza Strip
On 17 October 2023, an explosion took place in a courtyard of al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City during the Gaza war, resulting in a large number of displaced Palestinians seeking shelter there being killed or injured.
2023