January 17

is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 348 days remaining (349 in leap years).

Events

1562 - France recognizes the Huguenots under the Edict of Saint-Germain.
1648 - England's Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Address, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War.
1746 - Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie", defeats a Hanoverian army at Falkirk in his ultimately unsuccessful campaign to recover the throne for the Jacobite dynasty.
1772 - Johann Friedrich Struensee and Queen Caroline Matilda are arrested, leading to his execution and her banishment from Denmark.
1773 - Captain James Cook becomes the first explorer to cross the Antarctic Circle.
1781 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Cowpens - Continental troops under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeat British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the battle in South Carolina.
1806 - James Madison Randolph, the grandson of Thomas Jefferson, became the first child born in the White House.
1819 - Simón Bolívar proclaims the Republic of Colombia.
1852 - United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Boer colonies of the Transvaal.
1873 - First Battle of the Stronghold in the US Modoc War.
1885 - A British force defeats a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.
1893 - The Citizen's Committee of Public Safety, led by Lorrin A. Thurston overthrew the government of Queen Liliuokalani of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
1899 - The United States takes possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.
1912 - Sir Robert Falcon Scott (Scott of the Antarctic) reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen.
1916 - The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) is formed.
1917 - The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.
1929 - Popeye the Sailor Man, a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, first appeared in the Comic Strip Thimble Theatre.
1941 - Kuomintang forces under the order of Chiang Kai-Shek opened fire at communist force, Chinese Civil War resumes after WWII.(This event is known as 皖南事变).
1945 - Soviet forces capture the almost completely destroyed Polish city of Warsaw.
1945 - The Nazis begin the evacuation of the Auschwitz concentration camp as Soviet forces close in.
1945 - Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg disappears in Hungary while in Soviet custody.
1946 - The UN Security Council holds its first session.
1949 - The Goldbergs, the first sitcom on American television, first airs.
1950 - The Great Brinks Robbery - 11 thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car Company's offices in Boston, Massachusetts.
1961 - U.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."
1966 - Simon and Garfunkel release their second album, Sounds of Silence, on Columbia Records.
1966 - A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, dropping three 70-kiloton hydrogen bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea.
1966 - Carl Brashear, the first African American United States Navy diver, loses his leg in an accident on a routine mission.
1973 - Ferdinand Marcos becomes "President for Life" of the Philippines.
1974 - Joni Mitchell releases Court and Spark, arguably her most mainstream album.
1975 - Bob Dylan releases Blood on the Tracks, often considered one of his best albums.
1977 - Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by a firing squad in Utah, ending a ten-year moratorium on the death penalty in the United States.
1982 - "Cold Sunday" in the United States sees temperatures fall to their lowest levels in over 100 years in numerous cities.
1983 - Launch of breakfast television in the United Kingdom with the BBC's Breakfast programme presented by Frank Bough and Selina Scott
1985 - British Telecom announces the retirement of the United Kingdom's famous red telephone boxes.
1991 - Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm began early in the morning. Iraq fires 8 Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.
1991 - Harald V becomes King of Norway on the death of his father, Olav V.
1994 - A magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits Northridge, California; see 1994 Northridge Earthquake.
1995 - A magnitude 7.3 earthquake (known as "the Great Hanshin earthquake" hits near Kobe, Japan, causing extensive property damage and killing 6,433 people.
1996 - The Czech Republic applies for membership of the European Union.
1998 - Paula Jones accuses President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment.
2002 - Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
2006 - Clarence Ray Allen becomes the oldest condemned inmate executed in California and the 2nd oldest in the United States.

Births

1463 - Friedrich III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1525)
1484 - George Spalatin, German reformer (d. 1545)
1501 - Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (d. 1566)
1504 - Pope Pius V (d. 1572)
1560 - Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist (d. 1624)
1600 - Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Spanish playwright (d. 1681)
1612 - Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, English Civil War general (d. 1671)
1686 - Archibald Bower, Scottish historian (d. 1766)
1706 - Benjamin Franklin American writer, inventor, publisher, and ambassador (d. 1790)
1712 - John Stanley, English composer (d. 1786)
1719 - William Vernon, American merchant (d. 1806)
1761 - James Hall, Scottish geologist (d. 1832)
1763 - John Jacob Astor, American entrepreneur (d. 1848)
1789 - August Neander, German theologian (d. 1850)
1820 - Anne Brontë, British author (d. 1849)
1828 - Lewis A. Grant, American Civil War General (d. 1918)
1832 - Henry Martyn Baird, American historian and educationalist (d. 1906)
1851 - A. B. Frost, American illustrator (d. 1928)
1860 - Douglas Hyde, President of Ireland (d. 1949)
1863 - David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1945)
1867 - Carl Laemmle, German-born film executive (d. 1939)
1871 - David Earl Beatty British admiral (d. 1936)
1871 - Nicolae Iorga, Romanian writer (d. 1940)
1880 - Mack Sennett, Canadian film director and producer (d. 1960)
1881 - Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician (d. 1941)
1882 - Noah Beery, American actor (d. 1946)
1886 - Glenn L. Martin, American aviation pioneer (d. 1955)
1899 - Al Capone, American gangster (d. 1947)
1899 - Nevil Shute, English author (d. 1960)
1905 - Guillermo Stábile, Argentine footballer (d. 1966)
1911 - George Joseph Stigler, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
1914 - William Stafford, American poet and essayist (d. 1993)
1921 - Antonio Prohias, Cuban cartoonist (d. 1998)
1922 - Luis Echeverría Álvarez, President of Mexico
1922 - Nicholas Katzenbach, American politician
1922 - Betty White, American actress
1925 - Robert Cormier, American author (d. 2000)
1925 - Abdul Kardar, Pakistani cricketer
1926 - Newton N. Minow, American telecommunications lawyer and statesman
1926 - Moira Shearer, Scottish actress and dancer (d. 2006)
1927 - Eartha Kitt, American actress and singer
1928 - Jean Barraqué, French composer (d. 1973)
1928 - Vidal Sassoon, English cosmetologist
1929 - Jacques Plante, Canadian hockey player (d. 1986)
1930 - Eddie LeBaron, American football quarterback
1931 - James Earl Jones, American actor
1931 - L. Douglas Wilder, 66th Governor of Virginia
1931 - Don Zimmer, baseball coach
1933 - Dalida, French singer (d. 1987)
1933 - Ray Dolby, American inventor
1933 - Prince Sadruddhin Aga Khan, French UN High Commissioner for Refugees (d. 2003)
1933 - Shari Lewis, American puppeteer (d. 1998)
1933 - Sheree North, American actress
1935 - Ruth Ann Minner, Governor of Delaware
1937 - Troy Donahue, American actor
1939 - Maury Povich, American talk show host
1940 - Kipchoge Keino, Kenyan runner
1942 - Muhammad Ali, American boxer
1942 - Cus D'Amato, boxing manager (d. 1985)
1942 - Ulf Hoelscher, German violinist
1942 - Nancy Parsons, American actress (d. 2001)
1943 - René Préval, President of Haiti
1944 - Françoise Hardy, French singer
1948 - Davíð Oddsson, former Prime Minister of Iceland
1948 - Mick Taylor, British musician (The Rolling Stones)
1948 - Jim Ladd, American freeform (radio format) Disc Jockey (KLOS)
1949 - Andy Kaufman, American comedian (d. 1984)
1952 - Darrell Porter, American baseball player (d. 2002)
1952 - Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese musician, composer, producer, actor
1955 - Steve Earle, American musician
1956 - Paul Young, English musician
1957 - John Crawford, American musician (Berlin (band))
1959 - Susanna Hoffs, American musician (The Bangles)
1959 - Momoe Yamaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
1962 - Jim Carrey, Canadian actor and comedian
1962 - Sebastian Junger, American journalist and author
1963 - Kai Hansen, German musician/singer (Gamma Ray)
1964 - Andy Rourke, bass guitarist, The Smiths
1966 - Shabba Ranks, Jamaican singer
1968 - Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Dutch writer
1968 - Svetlana Masterkova, Russian athlete
1969 - Lukas Moodysson, Swedish film director
1969 - Naveen Andrews, British actor
1970 - Jeremy Roenick, American hockey player
1970 - Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-born animator
1970 - James Wattana, Thai snooker player
1971 - Kid Rock, American singer
1971 - Youki Kudoh, Japanese actress
1972 - Ken Hirai, Japanese singer and songwriter
1974 - Yang Chen, Chinese footballer
1977 - Kevin Fertig, Wrestler
1979 - Brad Miller, American actor, filmmaker, and musician
1980 - Zooey Deschanel, American actress
1981 - Warren Feeney, Northern Irish footballer
1981 - Scott Mechlowicz, American actor
1981 - William Raymond Norwood, Jr. (a.k.a. Ray J), American R&B singer
1982 - Alex Varkatzas, American singer (Atreyu)
1982 - Dwyane Wade, American basketball player
1985 - Simone Simons, Dutch singer (Epica)
1986 - Chloe Rose Lattanzi, Australian actress and singer
1988 - Nikki Reed, American actress
2001 - Sophie Delezio, Australian burn victim

Deaths

395 - Theodosius I, Roman Emperor
1229 - Albert of Buxhoeveden, German soldier
1369 - King Peter I of Cyprus (murdered) (b. 1328)
1468 - Skanderbeg, Albanian leader (b. 1405)
1617 - Faust Vrancic, Croatian inventor (b. 1551)
1654 - Paulus Potter, Dutch painter (b. 1625)
1705 - John Ray, English naturalist (b. 1627)
1718 - Captain Benjamin Church, Plymouth Colony settler
1737 - Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, German architect (b. 1662)
1751 - Tomaso Albinoni, Italian composer (b. 1671)
1826 - Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer (b. 1806)
1834 - Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist (b. 1762)
1861 - Lola Montez, Irish-born adventurer (b. 1821)
1863 - Horace Vernet, French painter (b. 1789)
1884 - Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist (b. 1804)
1886 - Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer (b. 1834)
1893 - Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President of the United States (b. 1822)
1942 - Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (b. 1884)
1947 - Pyotr Krasnov, Russian counter-revolutionary (d. 1947)
1961 - Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1925)
1964 - T.H. White, English author (b. 1906)
1967 - Evelyn Nesbit, American actress (b. 1884)
1972 - Betty Smith, American writer and singer (b. 1896)
1977 - Gary Gilmore, American murderer (executed) (b. 1940)
1983 - Doodles Weaver, American actor (b. 1911)
1987 - Hugo Fregonese, Argentine film director (b. 1908)
1991 - Olav V of Norway (b. 1903)
1993 - Albert Hourani, English historian (b. 1915)
1994 - Helen Stephens, American runner (b. 1918)
1996 - Barbara Jordan, American politician (b. 1936)
1997 - Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer (b. 1906)
2001 - Gregory Corso, American poet (b. 1930)
2001 - Laurent-Desire Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1939)
2002 - Bishop Karas, First Coptic Bishop of St. Antony Monastery
2002 - Camilo Jose Cela, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
2003 - Richard Crenna, American actor (b. 1926)
2004 - Czeslaw Niemen, Polish musician (b. 1939)
2004 - Ray Stark, American stage and film producer (b. 1915)
2004 - Noble Willingham, American actor (b. 1931)
2005 - Charlie Bell, American fast food executive (b. 1960)
2005 - Virginia Mayo, American actress (b. 1920)
2005 - Albert Schatz, American microbiologist (b. 1920)
2005 - Zhao Ziyang, Premier of the People's Republic of China (b. 1919)
2006 - Clarence Ray Allen, American murderer (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances

Ancient Latvia - Zirgu Diena observed
Catholicism - Feast day of the following saints: St. Anthony and Amelbert.

External links

January 16 - January 18 - December 17 - February 17 —listing of all days

Days

Gourt Home::Gourt :: January 17

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links