Sat · 17 OctMoon 38%Field Kp 2.7 · quiet Quote · Will Durant, on Aristotle Riddle of the day Sky tonightHow today feels →

This day in history

This day in history: 17 December

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

Share

← Previous day16 Dec

Events64

Born on this day · Died on this day248 · 99

Next day →18 Dec

Key facts

411 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 17 December.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2014: The United States and Cuba re-establish diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961.

Holidays and observances

Accession Day (Bahrain)

Christian feast day: Daniel the Prophet

Christian feast day: December 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Josep Manyanet i Vives

Christian feast day: Lazarus of Bethany (local commemoration in Cuba)

Christian feast day: Olympias the Deaconess

Christian feast day: O Sapientia

Christian feast day: Sturm

Christian feast day: Wivina

International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

Kurdish Flag Day (Global Kurdish population)

National Day (Bhutan)

Events

2014The United States and Cuba re-establish diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961.

2010Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire. This act became the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring.

2009MV Danny F II sinks off the coast of Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of 44 people and over 28,000 animals.

2005Anti-World Trade Organization protesters riot in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

2005Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicates the throne as King of Bhutan.

2003Sex work rights activists establish December 17 (or "D17") as International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers to memorialize victims of a serial killer who targeted prostitutes, and highlight State violence against sex workers by poli

2003SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.

2003The Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend, Maxine Carr, is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

2002Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years.

1997Aerosvit Flight 241: A Yakovlev Yak-42 crashes into the Pierian Mountains near Thessaloniki Airport in Thessaloniki, Greece, killing all 70 people on board.

1997Peruvian internal conflict: Fourteen members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement provoke a hostage crisis by taking over the Japanese embassy in Lima.

1989Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.

1989Romanian Revolution: Protests continue in Timișoara, Romania, with rioters breaking into the Romanian Communist Party's District Committee building and attempting to set it on fire.

1989The Simpsons premieres on television with the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".

1983Provisional IRA members detonate a car bomb at Harrods Department Store in London. Three police officers and three civilians are killed.

1981American Brigadier General James L. Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigades in Verona, Italy.

1973Thirty passengers are killed in an attack by Palestinian terrorists on Rome's Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport.

1970Polish protests: In Gdynia, soldiers fire at workers emerging from trains, killing dozens.

1969Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.

1967Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia, disappears while swimming near Portsea, Victoria, and is presumed drowned.

1961Niterói circus fire: Fire breaks out during a performance by the Gran Circus Norte-Americano in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, killing more than 500.

1960Munich C-131 crash: Twenty passengers and crew on board as well as 32 people on the ground are killed.

1960Troops loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia crush the coup that began December 13, returning power to their leader upon his return from Brazil. Haile Selassie absolves his son of any guilt.

1957The United States successfully launches the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

1951The American Civil Rights Congress delivers "We Charge Genocide" to the United Nations.

1950The F-86 Sabre's first mission over Korea.

1948The Finnish Security Police is established to remove communist leadership from its predecessor, the State Police.

1947First flight of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic bomber.

1945Kurdistan flag day, the flag of Kurdistan is raised for the first time in Mahabad in eastern Kurdistan.

1944World War II: Battle of the Bulge: Malmedy massacre: American 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion POWs are shot by Waffen-SS Kampfgruppe Joachim Peiper.

1943All Chinese are again permitted to become citizens of the United States upon the repeal of the Act of 1882 and the introduction of the Magnuson Act.

1939World War II: Battle of the River Plate: The Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by Captain Hans Langsdorff outside Montevideo.

1938Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy.

1935Douglas DC-3: The twin-engine airliner makes its maiden flight from Santa Monica.

1933The first NFL Championship Game is played at Wrigley Field in Chicago between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears. The Bears win 23–21.

1928Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru assassinate British police officer James Saunders in Lahore, Punjab, to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police. The three were executed in 1931

1927Indian revolutionary Rajendra Lahiri is hanged in Gonda jail, Uttar Pradesh, India, two days before the scheduled date.

1926Antanas Smetona assumes power in Lithuania as the 1926 coup d'état is successful.

1918Darwin Rebellion: Up to 1,000 demonstrators march on Government House in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

1907Ugyen Wangchuck is crowned first King of Bhutan.

Born on this day

2002Castello Lukeba, French footballer

2000Wesley Fofana, French footballer

1999Holly Humberstone, English singer-songwriter

1999Mirei Sasaki, Japanese singer, model, and actress

1998Jasmine Armfield, English actress

1998Martin Ødegaard, Norwegian footballer

1997Naiktha Bains, British-Australian tennis player

1997Shoma Uno, Japanese figure skater

1996Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Russian figure skater

1995Guerschon Yabusele, French basketball player

1994Lloyd Perrett, New Zealand rugby league player

1994Nat Wolff, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player and actor

1993Kiersey Clemons, American actress

1993Patricia Kú Flores, Peruvian tennis player

1992Buddy Hield, Bahamian basketball player

1992Joshua Ingram, Canadian drummer and percussionist

1992Quinton de Kock, South African cricketer

1991Atsedu Tsegay, Ethiopian runner

1991Jordan Rankin, Australian rugby league player

1990Graham Rogers, American actor

1989André Ayew, Ghanaian footballer

1989Taylor York, American musician

1988Craig Sutherland, Scottish footballer

1988David Rudisha, Kenyan runner

1988Grethe Grünberg, Estonian ice dancer

1988Kris Joseph, Canadian basketball player

1988Liisa Ehrberg, Estonian cyclist

1988Yann Sommer, Swiss footballer

1987Bo Guagua, Chinese businessman

1987Chelsea Manning, American soldier and intelligence analyst

1987Donovan Solano, Colombian baseball player

1987Maryna Arzamasova, Belarusian middle-distance runner

1986Emma Bell, American actress

1986Frank Winterstein, Australian-Samoan rugby league player

1986Frei Gilson, Brazilian Catholic priest and singer

1986Vanessa Zima, American actress

1985Craig Reid, English footballer

1985Fernando Abad, Dominican baseball player

1985Łukasz Broź, Polish footballer

1984Andrew Davies, English footballer

Died on this day

2025William Rush, English actor (born 1994)

2024Igor Kirillov, Russian general (born 1970)

2024Marisa Paredes, Spanish film actress (born 1946)

2023James McCaffrey, American actor (born 1958)

2023Ronaldo Valdez, Filipino actor (born 1947)

2020Allen Dines, American politician (born 1921)

2020Jeremy Bulloch, English actor (born 1945)

2016Benjamin A. Gilman, American soldier and politician (born 1922)

2016Gordon Hunt, American voice director (born 1929)

2016Henry Heimlich, American doctor (born 1920)

2015Hal Brown, American baseball player and manager (born 1924)

2015Michael Wyschogrod, German-American philosopher and theologian (born 1928)

2015Osamu Hayaishi, American-Japanese biochemist and academic (born 1920)

2014Dieter Grau, German-American scientist and engineer (born 1913)

2014Ivan Vekić, Croatian colonel, lawyer, and politician, Croatian Minister of the Interior (born 1938)

2014Lowell Steward, American captain (born 1919)

2014Oleh Lysheha, Ukrainian poet and playwright (born 1949)

2014Richard C. Hottelet, American journalist (born 1917)

2013Conny van Rietschoten, Dutch sailor (born 1926)

2013Fred Bruemmer, Latvian-Canadian photographer (born 1929)

2013Janet Rowley, American geneticist and biologist (born 1925)

2013Ricardo María Carles Gordó, Spanish cardinal (born 1926)

2013Richard Heffner, American historian and television host (born 1925)

2013Tetsurō Kashibuchi, Japanese drummer, songwriter, and producer (born 1950)

2012Daniel Inouye, American captain and politician (born 1924)

2012Frank Pastore, American baseball player and radio host (born 1957)

2012James Gower, American priest and activist, co-founded the College of the Atlantic (born 1922)

2012Laurier LaPierre, Canadian historian, journalist, and politician (born 1929)

2012Richard Adams, Filipino-American activist (born 1947)

2011Eva Ekvall, Venezuelan journalist and author, Miss Venezuela 2000 (born 1983)

Quote of the day

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”

Marcus Aurelius

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.