August 17
August 17 is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 136 days remaining.
Events
- 1807 - The Clermont, Robert Fulton's first American steamboat, leaves New York City for Albany, New York on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.
- 1862 - Indian Wars: Lakota (Sioux) uprising begins in Minnesota as desperate Lakota attack white settlements along the Minnesota River. They will be overwhelmed by the US military six weeks later.
- 1863 - American Civil War: In Charleston, South Carolina, Union batteries and ships bombard Confederate-held Fort Sumter. Bombardment will not end until December 31, 1863.
- 1877 - Arizona blacksmith F.P. Cahill is fatally wounded by Billy the Kid. Cahill will die the next day, becoming the first person killed by the 'Kid.
- 1914 - World War I: The German army of General Hermann von Francois defeats the Russian force commanded by Pavel Rennenkampf at the Battle of Stalluponen.
- 1915 - Jewish American Leo Frank is lynched for the alleged murder of a 13-year-old girl in Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1943 - World War II: The US 7th Army under General George S. Patton arrive in Messina followed several hours later by the British 8th Army under Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery, thus completing the Allied conquest of Sicily.
- 1945 - Indonesia proclaims itself independent from the Netherlands.
- 1960 - Gabon gains independence from France.
- 1962 - East German border guards kill 18-year-old Peter Fechter as he attempts to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin.
- 1969 - Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the Mississippi coast killing 248 people and causing US$1.5 billion in damage (1969 dollars).
- 1970 - Venera program: Venera 7 is launched. It will later becomes the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from another planet.
- 1978 - Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Preque Isle, Maine.
- 1979 - Two Soviet Aeroflot jetliners collide in mid-air over Ukraine killing 156
- 1988 - Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq and US Ambassador Arnold Raphel are killed in a plane crash.
- 1998 - Monica Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. On the same day he admits before the nation that he "misled people" about his relationship.
- 1999 - A 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes northwestern Turkey, killing more than 17,000 and injuring 44,000.
- 2002 - In Santa Rosa, California, the Charles M. Schulz Museum opens to the public.
Births
- 1601 - Pierre de Fermat, mathematician
- 1629 - John III of Poland (+ 1696)
- 1786 - Davy Crockett, frontiersman, soldier (+ 1836)
- 1882 - Samuel Goldwyn, Hollywood producer (+ 1974)
- 1887 - Marcus Garvey, American black leader (+ 1940)
- 1887 - Emperor Karl of Austria (+ 1922)
- 1893 - Mae West, actress, playwright (+ 1980)
- 1911 - Mikhail Botvinnik, world chess champion
- 1920 - Maureen O'Hara, actress
- 1929 - Jiang Zemin, President of the People's Republic of China
- 1929 - Francis Gary Powers, U-2 pilot (+ 1977)
- 1930 - Glenn Corbett, actor (+ 1933)
- 1932 - V. S. Naipaul, writer
- 1943 - Robert De Niro, actor
- 1958 - Belinda Carlisle, singer, guitarist
- 1959 - David Koresh, cult leader (+ 1993)
- 1960 - Sean Penn, actor, director
- 1964 - Colin James, blues musician
- 1969 - Donnie Wahlberg, actor, singer
- 1974 - Asad Makarevic, software engineer, chef, auto mechanic, epicurean
- 1977 - Thierry Henry, French football star
Deaths
Holidays and observances
See Also:
August 16 - August 18 - July 17 - September 17 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Referenced By
1424 | 1473 | 1560 | 1585 | 1629 | 16 August | 16th August | 17 September | 17th September | 1807 | 1862 | 1863 | 1871 in Canada | 1877 | 1887 | 18 August | 18th August | 1914 | 1914 Battle of Tannenberg | 1915 | 1920 in film | 1920 in music | 1923 in Canada | 1932 | 1935 in literature | 1939 in music | 1943 | 1945 | 1947 in music | 1949 in music | 1953 in music | 1954 in music | 1955 in music | 1958 in music | 1960 | 1962 | 1964 in Canada | 1964 in music | 1969 | 1969 in Music | 1970 | 1970 in Canada | 1973 | 1973 in music | 1974 | 1975 in sports | 1977 in music | 1977 in sports | 1978 | 1979 in film | 1979 in television | 1980 in music | 1981 in sports | 1982 in music | 1985 - 1988 Rugby League World Cup | 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing | 1987 | 1988 | 1994 | 1998 | 1999 | 1999 in science | 1st Special Service Force | 2002 | Acting Sheriff | Afghanistan timeline 1931-1940 | Afghanistan timeline 1976-1980 | Afghanistan timeline August 2003 | Alan Minter | Alan Shearer | Alek J. Hidell | Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani | Anne Lefèvre | Aozora Bunko: A | Aozora Bunko: J | Aozora Bunko: K | Aozora Bunko: N | Aozora Bunko: R | As of 1999 | As of 2002 | August | August 16 | August 16th | August 18 | August 18th | August 2002 | August 2003 | Automobile | Automotive | Baghdad Airport | Baghdad International Airport | Baron Owen | Battle of Ratan | Battle of Ratan and Sävar | Battle of Rolica | Battle of Stalluponen | Battle of Sävar | Battle of Tannenberg (1914) | Belinda Carlisle | Bernard de Jussieu ...
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