Sun · 27 SepMoon 99%Field Kp 4 · active Quote · Marcus Aurelius Riddle of the day Card of the dayHow today feels →

This day in history

This day in history: 17 January

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

Share

← Previous day16 Jan

Events60

Born on this day · Died on this day260 · 131

Next day →18 Jan

Key facts

451 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 17 January.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2026: Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42 crashed near Mount Bulusaraung in South Sulawesi, after losing contact en route to Makassar.

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day: Anthony the Great

Christian feast day: Blessed Angelo Paoli

Christian feast day: Blessed Gamelbert of Michaelsbuch

Christian feast day: Charles Gore (Church of England)

Christian feast day: January 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Jenaro Sánchez Delgadillo (one of Saints of the Cristero War)

Christian feast day: Mildgyth

Christian feast day: Our Lady of Pontmain

Christian feast day: Sulpitius the Pious

National Day (Menorca, Spain)

The opening ceremony of Patras Carnival, celebrated until Clean Monday. (Patras, Greece)

Events

2026Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42 crashed near Mount Bulusaraung in South Sulawesi, after losing contact en route to Makassar.

2023An avalanche strikes Nyingchi, Tibet, killing 28 people.

2017The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is announced to be suspended.

2016President Barack Obama announces the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement intended to limit Iran's nuclear program.

2013Former cyclist Lance Armstrong confesses to his doping in an airing of Oprah's Next Chapter.

2013Shahzad Luqman is murdered by members of Golden Dawn in Petralona, Athens, leading the creation of new measures to combat race-based attacks in Greece.

2010Rioting begins between Muslim and Christian groups in Jos, Nigeria, results in at least 200 deaths.

2008British Airways Flight 38 crashes short of the runway at Heathrow Airport, injuring 47.

2007The Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea's nuclear testing.

2002Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.

1998Clinton–Lewinsky scandal: Matt Drudge breaks the story of the Bill Clinton–Monica Lewinsky affair on his Drudge Report website.

1997Cape 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.

1996The Czech Republic applies for membership in the European Union.

1995The 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.

1994The 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.

1992During a visit to South Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.

1991Crown Prince Harald of Norway becomes King Harald V, following the death of his father, King Olav V.

1991Gulf 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

1989Patrick Purdy opens fire at an elementary school in Stockton, California, killing five and wounding 31 others.

1981President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos lifts martial law eight years and five months after declaring it.

1977Capital punishment in the United States resumes after a ten-year hiatus, as convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by firing squad in Utah.

1969Black Panther Party members Bunchy Carter and John Huggins are killed during a meeting in Campbell Hall on the campus of UCLA.

1966Palomares 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.

1961Former 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 sup

1961U.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 mas

1950The Great Brink's Robbery: Eleven thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car company's offices in Boston.

1950United Nations Security Council Resolution 79 relating to arms control is adopted.

1948The Renville Agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesia is ratified.

1946The UN Security Council holds its first session.

1945Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg is taken into Soviet custody while in Hungary; he is never publicly seen again.

1945The SS-Totenkopfverbände begin the evacuation of the Auschwitz concentration camp as the Red Army closes in.

1945World War II: The Vistula–Oder Offensive forces German troops out of Warsaw.

1944World 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.

1943World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis captures the 200-ton sailing vessel Agios Stefanos and mans her with part of her crew.

1941Franco-Thai War: Vichy French forces inflict a decisive defeat over the Royal Thai Navy.

1920Alcohol Prohibition begins in the United States as the Volstead Act goes into effect.

1918Finnish Civil War: The first serious battles take place between the Red Guards and the White Guard.

1917The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.

1915Russia defeats Ottoman Turkey in the Battle of Sarikamish during the Caucasus Campaign of World War I.

1912British polar explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen.

Born on this day

2005Peio Canales, Spanish footballer

2003Robin Roefs, Dutch footballer

2002Samuel, American singer based in South Korea.

2001Enzo Fernández, Argentinian footballer

2000Ayo Dosunmu, American basketball player

2000Devlin DeFrancesco, Canadian race car driver

2000Kang Chan-hee, South Korean singer and actor

1999Isa Briones, American actor and singer

1998Jeff Reine-Adélaïde, French footballer

1998Sophie Molineux, Australian cricketer

1997Jake Paul, American boxer, actor, rapper, and social media personality

1997Kyle Tucker, American baseball player

1996Allonzo Trier, American basketball player

1995Indya Moore, American actor and model

1994Lucy Boynton, American-English actress

1994Mark Steketee, Australian cricketer

1992Stanislav Galiev, Russian ice hockey player

1991Alise Post, American BMX rider

1991Esapekka Lappi, Finnish rally driver

1991Trevor Bauer, American baseball player

1991Willa Fitzgerald, American actress

1990Santiago Tréllez, Colombian footballer

1990Tyler Zeller, American basketball player

1989Kelly Marie Tran, American actress

1989Taylor Jordan, American baseball player

1988Andrea Antonelli, Italian motorcycle racer (died 2013)

1988Earl Clark, American basketball player

1988Héctor Moreno, Mexican footballer

1988Jonathan Keltz, American actor

1988Will Genia, Australian rugby player

1987Cody Decker, American baseball player

1987Oleksandr Usyk, Ukrainian boxer

1986Viktor Stålberg, Swedish ice hockey player

1985Pablo Barrientos, Argentinian footballer

1985Simone Simons, Dutch singer-songwriter

1984Calvin Harris, Scottish singer-songwriter, DJ, and producer

1984Dexter Lumis, American wrestler

1983Álvaro Arbeloa, Spanish footballer

1983Johannes Herber, German basketball player

1983Marcelo Garcia, Brazilian martial artist

Died on this day

2025Denis Law, Scottish footballer (born 1940)

2025Didier Guillaume, French politician, 25th Minister of State of Monaco (born 1959)

2025Jules Feiffer, American cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter, and educator (born 1929)

2025Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, Mongolian politician, 1st President of Mongolia (born 1942)

2023Lucile Randon, French supercentenarian (born 1904)

2022Birju Maharaj, Indian dancer (born 1937)

2021Rasheed Naz, Pakistani film and television actor (born 1948)

2020Derek Fowlds, British actor (born1937)

2019S. Balakrishnan, Malayalam movie composer (born 1948)

2017Colo, American western lowland gorilla, first gorilla born in captivity and oldest recorded (born 1956)

2017Tirrel Burton, American football player and coach (born 1929)

2016Blowfly, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1939)

2016Melvin Day, New Zealand painter and historian (born 1923)

2016Sudhindra Thirtha, Indian religious leader (born 1926)

2016V. Rama Rao, Indian lawyer and politician, 12th Governor of Sikkim (born 1935)

2015Don Harron, Canadian actor and screenwriter (born 1924)

2015Faten Hamama, Egyptian actress and producer (born 1931)

2015Ken Furphy, English footballer and manager (born 1931)

2014Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green, English businessman and politician (born 1942)

2014Francine Lalonde, Canadian educator and politician (born 1940)

2014John J. McGinty III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1940)

2014Suchitra Sen, Indian film actress (born 1931)

2014Sunanda Pushkar, Indian-Canadian businesswoman (born 1962)

2014Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, Indian spiritual leader, 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq (born 1915)

2013Jakob Arjouni, German author (born 1964)

2013John Nkomo, Zimbabwean politician, Vice President of Zimbabwe (born 1934)

2013Lizbeth Webb, English soprano and actress (born 1926)

2013Mehmet Ali Birand, Turkish journalist and author (born 1941)

2013Yves Debay, Belgian journalist (born 1954)

2012Johnny Otis, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1921)

Quote of the day

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

attributed to the Buddha

Questions people ask

Where do the entries come from?

From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

This day in history

Every question has its own page

Journal

What you should know, before others do

Weekly insights. One article. One practice. No noise.

Cookies

We use essential cookies to run the platform. Analytics and marketing cookies are only turned on once you consent — you can change your choice at any time.