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This day in history

This day in history: 17 September

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

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Born on this day · Died on this day266 · 119

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Key facts

458 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 17 September.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2025: Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement.

Holidays and observances

Australian Citizenship Day

Christian feast day: Albert of Vercelli

Christian feast day: Ariadne of Phrygia

Christian feast day: Blessed Cecilia Eusepi

Christian feast day: Hildegard of Bingen

Christian feast day: Lambert

Christian feast day: Robert Bellarmine

Christian feast day: Satyrus of Milan

Christian feast day: September 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Socrates and Stephen

Christian feast day: Stanislaus Papczyński

Christian feast day: Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński

Events

2025Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement.

2018A Russian reconnaissance aircraft carrying 15 people on board is brought down by a Syrian surface-to-air missile over the Mediterranean Sea.

2016Two bombs explode in Seaside Park, New Jersey, and Manhattan. Thirty-one people are injured in the Manhattan bombing.

2013Grand Theft Auto V earns more than half a billion dollars on its first day of release.

2011Occupy Wall Street movement begins in Zuccotti Park, New York City.

2006An audio tape of a private speech by Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány is leaked to the public, in which he confessed that his Hungarian Socialist Party had lied to win the 2006 election, sparking widespread protests across the coun

2006Fourpeaked Mountain in Alaska erupts, marking the first eruption for the volcano in at least 10,000 years.

2001George W. Bush, president of the United States, delivers remarks at the Islamic Center of Washington praising Muslim Americans and condemning Islamophobia in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

2001The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11 attacks, the longest closure since the Great Depression.

1992An Iranian Kurdish leader and his two joiners are assassinated by political militants in Berlin.

1991Estonia, North Korea, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia join the United Nations.

1991The first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) is released to the Internet.

1983Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America.

1980After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, the nationwide independent trade union Solidarity is established.

1980Former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is killed in Asunción, Paraguay.

1978The Camp David Accords are signed by Israel and Egypt.

1976The Space Shuttle Enterprise is unveiled by NASA.

1974Bangladesh, Grenada and Guinea-Bissau join the United Nations.

1965The Battle of Chawinda is fought between Pakistan and India.

1961Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 crashes during takeoff from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, killing all 37 people on board.

1961The world's first retractable roof stadium, the Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1950The People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps (Then known as the PLAAF 1st Ground Forces Brigade) is founded.

1950The Republic of India formally recognised the State of Israel.

1949The Canadian steamship SS Noronic burns in Toronto Harbour with the loss of over 118 lives.

1948The Lehi (also known as the Stern gang) assassinates Count Folke Bernadotte, who was appointed by the United Nations to mediate between the Arab nations and Israel.

1948The Nizam of Hyderabad surrenders his sovereignty over the Hyderabad State and joins the Indian Union.

1944World War II: Allied airborne troops parachute into the Netherlands as the "Market" half of Operation Market Garden and British XXX Corps advances into the Netherlands as the "Garden" half of the Operation.

1944World War II: German forces are attacked by the Allies in the Battle of San Marino.

1944World War II: Soviet troops launch the Tallinn Offensive against Germany and pro-independence Estonian units.

1941World War II: A decree of the Soviet State Committee of Defense restores compulsory military training.

1941World War II: Soviet forces enter Tehran during the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.

1940World War II: Due to setbacks in the Battle of Britain and approaching autumn weather, Hitler postpones Operation Sea Lion.

1939World War II: German submarine U-29 sinks the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous.

1939World War II: The Soviet invasion of Poland begins.

1935The Niagara Gorge Railroad ceases operations after a rockslide.

1932A speech by Laureano Gómez leads to the escalation of the Leticia Incident.

1930The Kurdish Ararat rebellion is suppressed by the Turks.

1928The Okeechobee hurricane strikes southeastern Florida, killing more than 2,500 people.

1924The Border Protection Corps is established in the Second Polish Republic for the defence of the eastern border against armed Soviet raids and local bandits.

1920The National Football League is organized as the American Professional Football Association in Canton, Ohio.

Born on this day

2002Elina Avanesyan, Russian-Armenian tennis player

1999Daniel Huttlestone, English actor

1999Jaimee Fourlis, Australian tennis player

1998Kim Dong-hyun, South Korean singer

1997Auston Matthews, American ice hockey player

1996Choi Young-jae, South Korean singer and actor

1996Duje Ćaleta-Car, Croatian footballer

1996Esteban Ocon, French Formula One racing driver

1996Slayyyter, American singer and songwriter

1995Michael Bunting, Canadian ice hockey player

1995Patrick Mahomes, American football player

1995Yoo Si-ah, South Korean singer

1994Denyse Tontz, Salvadoran-American actress and singer

1994Na In-woo, South Korean actor

1993Sofiane Boufal, Moroccan footballer

1993Sophie Howard, Scottish footballer

1992Alfonzo McKinnie, American basketball player

1992Danny Ramirez, American actor

1992José Ramírez, Dominican baseball player

1991Egor Yakovlev, Russian ice hockey player

1991Mena Massoud, Egyptian-Canadian actor

1991Ryo Ishikawa, Japanese golfer

1990Marcus Semien, American baseball player

1990Pixie Geldof, English model and singer

1990Sean Scannell, English footballer

1989Danielle Brooks, American actress

1989Kate Deines, American soccer player

1987Paul Huntington, English footballer

1986Paolo De Ceglie, Italian footballer

1986Ravichandran Ashwin, Indian cricketer

1986Sophie, English music producer, disc jockey and singer (died 2021)

1985Alexander Ovechkin, Russian ice hockey player

1985Brendan Clarke, Irish footballer

1985José Gonçalves, Portuguese footballer

1985Mason Raymond, Canadian ice hockey player

1985Tomáš Berdych, Czech tennis player

1984John Kucera, Canadian skier

1984Mary DeScenza, American swimmer

1984Patrick van Luijk, Dutch sprinter

1983Ice Seguerra, Filipino singer, actor, director, and former chairman of the National Youth Commission of the Philippines (2016–18)

Died on this day

2026Duncan Sheik, American singer-songwriter and composer (born 1969)

2026Jon Kyl, American politician and lobbyist (born 1942)

2025Roger Climpson, English-Australian journalist and television host (born 1932)

2024JD Souther, American singer, songwriter, and actor (born 1945)

2024Neil King Jr., American journalist and author (born 1959)

2024Nelson DeMille, American lieutenant and author (born 1943)

2022Maarten Schmidt, Dutch astronomer (born 1929)

2021Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algerian politician, President of Algeria (born 1937)

2020Robert W. Gore, American engineer and businessman, co-inventor of Gore-Tex (born 1937)

2019Cokie Roberts, American journalist and bestselling author (born 1943)

2017Bobby Heenan, American professional wrestling manager (born 1944)

2016Bahman Golbarnezhad, Iranian racing cyclist (born 1968)

2016Sigge Parling, Swedish footballer (born 1936)

2015David Willcocks, English organist, composer, and conductor (born 1919)

2015Dettmar Cramer, German footballer and manager (born 1925)

2015Ingrīda Andriņa, Latvian actress (born 1944)

2015Vadim Kuzmin, Russian physicist and academic (born 1937)

2014Andriy Husin, Ukrainian footballer and manager (born 1972)

2014Charles Read, Australian air marshal (born 1918)

2014China Zorrilla, Uruguayan actress (born 1922)

2014George Hamilton IV, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1937)

2014Peter von Bagh, Finnish historian, director, and screenwriter (born 1943)

2014Wakachichibu Komei, Japanese sumo wrestler (born 1939)

2013Alex Naumik, Lithuanian-Norwegian singer-songwriter and producer (born 1949)

2013Bernie McGann, Australian saxophonist and composer (born 1937)

2013Eiji Toyoda, Japanese businessman (born 1913)

2013Kristian Gidlund, Swedish drummer and journalist (born 1983)

2013Larry Lake, American-Canadian trumpet player and composer (born 1943)

2013Marvin Rainwater, American singer-songwriter (born 1925)

2013Michael J. Noonan, Irish farmer and politician, 25th Irish Minister of Defence (born 1935)

Quote of the day

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

Lao Tzu

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.

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