April 17

April 17 in recent years

April 17 is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 258 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

69 – After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes Roman Emperor.
1080 – The King of Denmark Harald III dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized.
1397 – Geoffrey Chaucer tells the Canterbury Tales for the first time at the court of Richard II. Chaucer scholars have also identified this date (in 1387) as the start of the book's pilgrimage to Canterbury.
1492 – Spain and Christopher Columbus sign the Capitulations of Santa Fe for his voyage to Asia to acquire spices.
1521 – Trial of Martin Luther over his teachings begins during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. Initially intimidated, he asks for time to reflect before answering and is given a stay of one day.
1524 – Giovanni da Verrazzano reaches New York harbor.
1555 – After 18 months of siege, Siena surrenders to the Florentine-Imperial army. The Republic of Siena is incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
1797 – Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico, in what would be one of the largest invasions of the Spanish territories in America.
1797 – Citizens of Verona, Italy, begin an eight-day rebellion against the French occupying forces, which will end unsuccessfully.
1863 – American Civil War: Grierson's Raid begins – troops under Union Army Colonel Benjamin Grierson attack central Mississippi.
1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Plymouth begins – Confederate forces attack Plymouth, North Carolina.
1895 – The Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan is signed. This marks the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtien province, Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands to Japan.
1897 – The Aurora, Texas UFO incident
1905 – The Supreme Court of the United States decides Lochner v. New York which holds that the "right to free contract" is implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
1907 – The Ellis Island immigration center processes 11,747 people, more than on any other day.
1912 – Russian troops open fire on striking goldfield workers in northeast Siberia, killing at least 150.
1941 – World War II: The Kingdom of Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany.
1942 – French prisoner of war General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Festung Königstein.
1944 – Forces of the Communist-controlled Greek People's Liberation Army attack the smaller National and Social Liberation resistance group, which surrenders. Its leader Dimitrios Psarros is murdered.
1945 – Brazilian forces liberate the town of Montese, Italy, from German Nazi forces.
1946 – Syria obtains its Independence from the French occupation.
1949 – At midnight 26 Irish counties officially leave the British Commonwealth. A 21-gun salute on O'Connell Bridge, Dublin, ushers in the Republic of Ireland.
1951 – The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom's first National Park.
1961 – Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of Cuban exiles financed and trained by the CIA lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro.
1964 – Jerrie Mock becomes the first woman to circumnavigate the world by air.
1964 – Ford Mustang is introduced to the North American market.
1969 – Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.
1969 – Czechoslovakian Communist Party chairman Alexander Dubček is deposed.
1970 – Apollo program: The ill-fated Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely.
1971 – The People's Republic of Bangladesh forms, under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Mujibnagor.
1973 – George Lucas begins writing the treatment for The Star Wars.
1975 – The Cambodian Civil War ends. The Khmer Rouge captures the capital Phnom Penh and Cambodian government forces surrender.
1978 – Mir Akbar Khyber is assassinated, provoking a communist coup d'état in Afghanistan.
1982 – Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.
1984 – Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher is killed by gunfire from the Libyan People's Bureau (Embassy) in London during a small demonstration outside the embassy. Ten others are wounded. The events lead to an 11-day siege of the building.
1986 – The Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly ends.
1986 – Nezar Hindawi's attempt to detonate a bomb aboard an El Al flight from London to Tel Aviv is thwarted.
2006 – Sami Hammad, a Palestinian suicide bomber, detonates an explosive device in Tel Aviv, killing 11 people and injuring 70.
2013 – An explosion at a fertilizer plant in the city of West, Texas, kills 15 people and injures 160 others.

Births

1277 – Michael IX Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1320)
1573 – Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1651)
1586 – John Ford, English poet and playwright (d. 1639)
1598 – Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Italian priest and astronomer (d. 1671)
1620 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, French saint, founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal (d. 1700)
1622 – Henry Vaughan, Welsh physician, author, and poet (d. 1695)
1676 – Frederick I of Sweden (d. 1751)
1683 – Johann David Heinichen, German composer and theorist (d. 1729)
1710 – Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, Scottish politician (d. 1767)
1734 – Taksin, Thai king (d. 1782)
1741 – Samuel Chase, American jurist (d. 1811)
1750 – François de Neufchâteau, French politician (d. 1828)
1756 – Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian activist (d. 1805)
1766 – Collin McKinney, American surveyor, merchant, and politician (d. 1861)
1794 – Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist (d. 1868)
1798 – Étienne Bobillier, French mathematician (d. 1840)
1814 – Josif Pančić, Serbian botanist (d. 1888)
1816 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English architect (d. 1876)
1820 – Alexander Cartwright, American inventor of Baseball (d. 1892)
1833 – Jean-Baptiste Accolay, Belgian violinist, conductor, and composer (d. 1900)
1837 – J. P. Morgan, American banker and financier, founded J.P. Morgan & Co. (d. 1913)
1842 – Maurice Rouvier, French politician (d. 1911)
1849 – William R. Day, American jurist and politician, 36th United States Secretary of State (d. 1923)
1852 – Cap Anson, American baseball player and manager (d. 1922)
1863 – Augustus Edward Hough Love, English mathematician (d. 1940)
1865 – Ursula Ledóchowska, Polish-Austrian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (d. 1939)
1866 – Ernest Starling, English physiologist (d. 1927)
1877 – Matsudaira Tsuneo, Japanese diplomat (d. 1949)
1878 – Emil Fuchs, German-American businessman (d. 1961)
1882 – Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1951)
1884 – Leo Frank, American businessman (d. 1915)
1885 – Karen Blixen, Danish author (d. 1962)
1885 – Carl Goßler, German rower (d. 1914)
1890 – Art Acord, American actor and rodeo rider (d. 1931)
1891 – George Adamski, Polish-American ufologist and author (d. 1965)
1895 – Robert Dean Frisbie, American author (d. 1948)
1896 – Señor Wences, Spanish-American ventriloquist (d. 1999)
1897 – Nisargadatta Maharaj, Indian philosopher and educator (d. 1981)
1897 – Thornton Wilder, American author and playwright (d. 1975)
1897 – Edouard Wyss-Dunant, Swiss physician and mountaineer (d. 1983)
1902 – Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican politician (d. 1974)
1903 – Gregor Piatigorsky, Ukrainian-American cellist (d. 1976)
1903 – Nicolas Nabokov, Russian-American composer (d. 1978)
1903 – Morgan Taylor, American hurdler (d. 1975)
1905 – Louis Jean Heydt, American actor (d. 1960)
1905 – Arthur Lake, American actor (d. 1987)
1906 – Sidney Garfield, American physician (d. 1984)
1909 – Alain Poher, French politician, President of France (d. 1996)
1910 – Evangelos Averoff, Greek politician and author (d. 1990)
1910 – Ivan Goff, Australian screenwriter and producer (d. 1999)
1910 – Helenio Herrera, French footballer and manager (d. 1997)
1911 – Hervé Bazin, French author (d. 1996)
1911 – Lester Rodney, American journalist (d. 2009)
1912 – Marta Eggerth, Hungarian-American actress and singer
1914 – George W. Davis, American art director (d. 1984)
1914 – Mac Raboy, American illustrator (d. 1967)
1915 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Sri Lankan politician, 6th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (d. 2000)
1915 – Martin Clemens, Scottish soldier (d. 2009)
1915 – Joe Foss, American general and politician, 20th Governor of South Dakota (d. 2003)
1917 – Bill Clements, American politician, 42nd Governor of Texas (d. 2011)
1918 – William Holden, American actor (d. 1981)
1919 – Gilles Lamontagne, Canadian politician, 24th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
1919 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2012)
1920 – Edmonde Charles-Roux, French journalist and author
1923 – Lindsay Anderson, Indian-English director, screenwriter, and actor (d. 1994)
1923 – Solly Hemus, American baseball player, manager, and coach
1923 – Gianni Raimondi, Italian tenor (d. 2008)
1923 – Harry Reasoner, American journalist (d. 1991)
1924 – Donald Richie, American-Japanese author and critic (d. 2013)
1925 – Erich Göstl, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 1990)
1925 – René Moawad, Lebanese politician, 13th President of Lebanon (d. 1989)
1926 – Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
1927 – Chandra Shekhar, Indian politician, 8th Prime Minister of India (d.2007)
1928 – Cynthia Ozick, American author
1928 – Heinz Putzl, Austrian fencer
1928 – Fabien Roy, Canadian politician
1929 – Michael Forest, American actor
1929 – James Last, German bandleader and composer
1929 – Peggy McKercher, Canadian educator
1930 – Chris Barber, English trombonist
1931 – Malcolm Browne, American journalist and photographer (d. 2012)
1934 – Don Kirshner, American songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
1937 – Ronald Hamowy, Canadian historian and academic (d. 2012)
1937 – Ferdinand Piëch, Austrian-German engineer and businessman
1938 – Ben Barnes, American politician, 36th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
1938 – Doug Lewis, Canadian lawyer and politician
1938 – Kerry Wendell Thornley, American theorist, co-founder of Discordianism (d. 1988)
1939 – Robert Miller, American art dealer (d. 2011)
1940 – Billy Fury, English singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1983)
1940 – John McCririck, English journalist
1940 – Anja Silja, German soprano
1942 – David Bradley, English actor
1943 – Bobby Curtola, Canadian singer
1943 – Richard Allen Epstein, American lawyer and educator
1947 – Linda Martin, Irish singer-songwriter
1947 – Tsutomu Wakamatsu, Japanese baseball player, manager, and coach
1948 – Jan Hammer, Czech pianist, composer, and producer
1948 – Alice Harden, American politician (d. 2012)
1949 – Joe Alaskey, American voice actor
1950 – L. Scott Caldwell, American actress
1950 – Bruce McNall, American businessman
1951 – Olivia Hussey, Argentinian-English actress
1951 – Börje Salming, Swedish ice hockey player
1952 – Pierre Guité, Canadian ice hockey player
1952 – Željko Ražnatović, Serbian warlord (d. 2000)
1954 – Riccardo Patrese, Italian race car driver
1954 – Roddy Piper, Canadian wrestler and actor
1954 – Michael Sembello, American singer-songwriter
1954 – Lester Square, Canadian guitarist (The Monochrome Set and Adam and the Ants)
1955 – Todd Lickliter, American basketball player and coach
1955 – Pete Shelley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Buzzcocks)
1957 – Teri Austin, Canadian-American actress
1957 – Nick Hornby, English author and screenwriter
1957 – Susan Roman, Canadian voice actress
1959 – Sean Bean, English actor
1959 – Jimmy Mann, Canadian ice hockey player
1961 – Frank J. Christensen, American labor leader
1961 – Boomer Esiason, American football player and sportscaster
1963 – Joel Murray, American actor
1963 – Penny Vilagos, Canadian swimmer
1963 – Vicky Vilagos, Canadian swimmer
1964 – Ken Daneyko, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1964 – Maynard James Keenan, American singer-songwriter and producer (Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer, and Green Jellÿ)
1964 – Lela Rochon, American actress
1964 – Bart Van den Bossche, Flemish singer and actor (d. 2013)
1965 – William Mapother, American actor
1966 – Vikram, Indian actor, singer, and producer
1967 – Leslie Bega, American actress
1967 – Henry Ian Cusick, Peruvian-Scottish actor
1967 – Kimberly Elise, American actress
1967 – Timothy Gibbs, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1967 – Marquis Grissom, American baseball player and coach
1967 – Liz Phair, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1968 – Phil Henderson, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
1968 – Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven
1970 – Redman, American rapper, producer, and actor (Def Squad and Method Man & Redman)
1971 – Claire Sweeney, English actress
1972 – Ruffian, American race horse (d. 1975)
1972 – Gary Bennett, American baseball player
1972 – Tony Boselli, American football player and sportscaster
1972 – Jennifer Garner, American actress and producer
1972 – Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lankan cricketer
1972 – Yuichi Nishimura, Japan footballer and referee
1972 – Terran Sandwith, Canadian ice hockey player
1972 – Jarkko Wiss, Finnish footballer
1973 – Jeff Lewis, American football player (d. 2013)
1973 – Brett Maher, Australian basketball player
1973 – Theo Ratliff, American basketball player
1973 – Kaihō Ryōji, Japanese sumo wrestler
1974 – Mikael Åkerfeldt, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Opeth, Bloodbath, and Katatonia)
1974 – Victoria Beckham, English singer and actress (Spice Girls)
1975 – Gabriel Soto, Mexican actor
1975 – Travis Roy, American ice hockey player
1976 – Sizzla, Jamaican rapper
1976 – Anna Geislerová, Czech actress
1976 – Monet Mazur, American actress
1976 – Alex Nesic, American actor
1977 – Chad Hedrick, American speed skater
1977 – Phil Jamieson, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Grinspoon)
1977 – Frederik Magle, Danish pianist and composer
1978 – Lindsay Hartley, American actress and singer
1978 – Loukas Louka, Cypriot footballer
1978 – Jason White, Scottish rugby player
1979 – Siddharth, Indian actor, singer, and producer
1979 – Eric Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player
1979 – Sung Si-kyung, South Korean singer
1980 – Nicholas D'Agosto, American actor
1980 – Lee Hyun-il, South Korean badminton player
1980 – Curtis Woodhouse, English footballer and boxer
1980 – Fabián Andrés Vargas, Colombian footballer
1981 – Hanna Pakarinen, Finnish singer-songwriter
1981 – Ryan Raburn, American baseball player
1981 – Zhang Yaokun, Chinese footballer
1982 – Brad Boyes, Canadian ice hockey player
1982 – Lee Joon-gi, South Korean actor and singer
1982 – Martin Kampmann, Danish mixed martial artist
1982 – Chuck Kobasew, Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – Stanislav Chistov, Russian ice hockey player
1983 – Roberto Jimenez, Peruvian footballer
1983 – Andrea Marcato, Italian rugby player
1984 – Pablo Sebastián Álvarez, Argentinian footballer
1984 – Rosanna Davison, Irish model and actress, Miss World 2003
1984 – Jed Lowrie, American baseball player
1984 – Raffaele Palladino, Italian footballer
1985 – Rooney Mara, American actress
1985 – Luke Mitchell, Australian actor
1985 – William Snape, English actor
1985 – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, French tennis player
1986 – Romain Grosjean, French race car driver
1987 – Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, Canadian actress and singer
1987 – Eelco Sintnicolaas, Dutch decathlete
1989 – Sunaina, Indian actress
1989 – Paraskevi Papahristou, Greek triple jumper
1990 – Jonathan Brown, Welsh footballer
1990 – Gia Mantegna, American actress
1991 – Tessa James, Australian actress
1992 – Noni Răzvan Ene, Romanian singer
1993 – Race Imboden, American fencer
1996 – Dee Dee Davis, American actress

Deaths

485 – Proclus, Greek philosopher (b. 412)
617 – Donnán of Eigg, Irish priest and saint
1080 – Harald III of Denmark (b. 1041)
1427 – John IV, Duke of Brabant (b. 1403)
1539 – George, Duke of Saxony (b. 1471)
1574 – Joachim Camerarius, German scholar (b. 1500)
1669 – Antonio Bertali, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1605)
1680 – Kateri Tekakwitha, American saint (b. 1656)
1695 – Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican poet and scholar (b. 1651)
1696 – Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French author (b. 1626)
1711 – Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1678)
1713 – David Hollatz, Polish pastor (b. 1648)
1742 – Arvid Horn, Swedish general and politician (b. 1664)
1764 – Johann Mattheson, German lexicographer and composer (b. 1681)
1790 – Benjamin Franklin, American inventor, publisher, and politician, 6th President of Pennsylvania (b. 1706)
1799 – Richard Jupp, English architect (b. 1728)
1840 – Hannah Webster Foster, American author (b. 1758)
1843 – Samuel Morey, American engineer (b. 1762)
1882 – George Jennings, English engineer and plumber, invented the Flush toilet (b. 1810)
1888 – E. G. Squier, American archaeologist and journalist (b. 1821)
1892 – Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian soldier, journalist, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1822)
1902 – Francis, Duke of Cádiz (b. 1822)
1921 – Manwel Dimech, Maltese journalist, author, and philosopher (b. 1860)
1923 – Laurence Ginnell, Irish lawyer and politician (b. 1852)
1930 – Alexander Golovin, Russian painter (b. 1863)
1933 – Kote Marjanishvili, Georgian director and playwright (b. 1872)
1936 – Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1873)
1937 – Yi Sang, South Korean poet (b. 1910)
1941 – Al Bowlly, Mozambican-English singer-songwriter and bandleader (b. 1899)
1942 – Jean Baptiste Perrin, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
1944 – J. T. Hearne, English cricketer and coach (b. 1867)
1944 – Dimitrios Psarros, Greek lieutenant, founded the National and Social Liberation (b. 1893)
1948 – Suzuki Kantarō, Japanese admiral and politician, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1868)
1954 – Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, Romanian educator, author, and politician (b. 1900)
1960 – Eddie Cochran, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1938)
1962 – Henricus Tromp, Dutch rower (b. 1878)
1967 – Red Allen, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1908)
1975 – Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of India (b. 1888)
1976 – Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
1977 – William Conway, Irish cardinal (b. 1913)
1983 – Felix Pappalardi, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (Mountain) (b. 1939)
1984 – Dionysis Papagiannopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1912)
1984 – Claude Provost, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1933)
1985 – Takis Miliadis, Greek actor (b. 1922)
1985 – Evadne Price, Australian-English author and screenwriter (b. 1896)
1987 – Cecil Harmsworth King, English publisher (b. 1901)
1987 – Dick Shawn, American actor (b. 1923)
1988 – Louise Nevelson, American sculptor (b. 1900)
1990 – Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (b. 1936)
1993 – Turgut Ozal, Turkish politician, 8th president of Turkey (b. 1927)
1994 – Roger Wolcott Sperry, American neurobiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
1995 – Frank E. Resnik, American sergeant and businessman (b. 1928)
1996 – Piet Hein, Danish scientist and mathematician (b. 1905)
1997 – Chaim Herzog, Irish-Israeli soldier, lawyer, and politician, 6th President of Israel (b. 1918)
1998 – Linda McCartney, American American singer-songwriter, photographer, and activist (Wings) (b. 1941)
2003 – Robert Atkins, American physician and cardiologist, created the Atkins diet (b. 1930)
2003 – H. B. Bailey, American race car driver (b. 1936)
2003 – John Paul Getty, Jr., American-English philanthropist (b. 1932)
2003 – Earl King, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
2003 – Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova, Russian conjoined twins (b. 1950)
2003 – Yiannis Latsis, Greek businessman (b. 1910)
2004 – Soundarya, Indian actress (b. 1971)
2004 – Edmond Pidoux, Swiss author and poet (b. 1908)
2006 – Jean Bernard, French physician and haematologist (b. 1907)
2006 – Scott Brazil, American director and producer (b. 1955)
2007 – Kitty Carlisle, American actress and singer (b. 1910)
2007 – Gil Dobrică, Romanian singer (b. 1946)
2008 – Aimé Césaire, Caribbean-French poet and politician (b. 1913)
2008 – Danny Federici, American organist and accordion player (E-Street Band) (b. 1950)
2011 – Eric Gross, Austrian-Australian pianist and composer (b. 1926)
2011 – Nikos Papazoglou, Greek singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1948)
2011 – AJ Perez, Filipino actor (b. 1993)
2011 – Michael Sarrazin, Canadian actor (b. 1940)
2012 – Leila Berg, English author (b. 1917)
2012 – J. Quinn Brisben, American activist and politician (b. 1934)
2012 – Stan Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1937)
2012 – Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer (b. 1948)
2012 – Nityananda Mohapatra, Indian journalist, poet, and politician (b. 1912)
2012 – Jonathan V. Plaut, American rabbi and author (b. 1942)
2012 – Stanley Rogers Resor, American army officer and lawyer, 9th United States Secretary of the Army (b. 1917)
2013 – Sita Chan, Hong Kong singer and actress (b. 1987)
2013 – Carlos Graça, São Toméan politician, Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (b. 1931)
2013 – Kauko Kangasniemi, Finnish weightlifter (b. 1942)
2013 – Bi Kidude, Tanzanian singer (b. 1910)
2013 – Albert Messiah, French physicist (b. 1921)
2013 – Yngve Moe, Norwegian bass player and songwriter (Dance with a Stranger) (b. 1957)
2013 – Steuart Pringle, English general (b. 1928)
2013 – V. S. Ramadevi, Indian politician, 13th Governor of Karnataka (b. 1934)
2013 – T. K. Ramamoorthy, Indian composer (b. 1922)
2013 – Paul Ware, English footballer (b. 1970)

Holidays and observances

Christian Feast Day:
Evacuation Day, celebrates the recognition of the independence of Syria from France in 1946.
FAO Day (Iraq)
Flag Day (American Samoa)
World Hemophilia Day (International)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: April 17

April 17 Ultimate Study Guide