What Happened on October 17th in History
60 historical events on this date
The Burma Railway (BurmaâThailand Railway) is completed.
The Burma Railway, also known as the SiamâBurma Railway, ThaiâBurma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a 415Â km (258Â mi) railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat,...
The Burma Railway (BurmaâThailand Railway) is completed.
The Burma Railway, also known as the SiamâBurma Railway, ThaiâBurma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a 415Â km (258Â mi) railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat,...
A large demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, demands Juan PerĂłn's release.
Loyalty Day is a commemoration day in Argentina. It remembers 17 October 1945, when a large labour demonstration at the Plaza de Mayo, in downtown Buenos Aires, demanded the liberation of Juan...
A large demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, demands Juan PerĂłn's release.
Loyalty Day is a commemoration day in Argentina. It remembers 17 October 1945, when a large labour demonstration at the Plaza de Mayo, in downtown Buenos Aires, demanded the liberation of Juan...
Indonesian Army elements surrounded the Merdeka Palace demanding President Sukarno disband the Provisional People's Representative Council.
The 17 October affair was an event during which Indonesian soldiers pressured the president to disband the Provisional People's Representative Council, at the behest of the administration's chief of...
Indonesian Army elements surrounded the Merdeka Palace demanding President Sukarno disband the Provisional People's Representative Council.
The 17 October affair was an event during which Indonesian soldiers pressured the president to disband the Provisional People's Representative Council, at the behest of the administration's chief of...
The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield, England.
Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing...
The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield, England.
Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing...
Directed by their chief Maurice Papon, Paris police massacre scores of Algerian protesters.
Maurice Papon was a French civil servant, mass murderer and Nazi collaborator who was convicted of crimes against humanity committed during the occupation of France. Papon led the police in major...
The first attempt of the apartheid analogy by Ahmad Shukeiri.
Israeli apartheid is a system of institutionalized segregation and discrimination in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and to a lesser extent in Israel proper. This system is...
Directed by their chief Maurice Papon, Paris police massacre scores of Algerian protesters.
Maurice Papon was a French civil servant, mass murderer and Nazi collaborator who was convicted of crimes against humanity committed during the occupation of France. Papon led the police in major...
The first attempt of the apartheid analogy by Ahmad Shukeiri.
Israeli apartheid is a system of institutionalized segregation and discrimination in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and to a lesser extent in Israel proper. This system is...
The 1964â65 New York World's Fair closes after two years and more than 51Â million attendees.
The 1964 New York World's Fair was an international exposition at Flushing MeadowsâCorona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activities, performances,...
The 1964â65 New York World's Fair closes after two years and more than 51Â million attendees.
The 1964 New York World's Fair was an international exposition at Flushing MeadowsâCorona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activities, performances,...
The 23rd Street Fire in New York City kills 12 firefighters.
The 23rd Street Fire was an incident that took place in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on October 17, 1966. A group of firefighters from the New York City Fire...
The 23rd Street Fire in New York City kills 12 firefighters.
The 23rd Street Fire was an incident that took place in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on October 17, 1966. A group of firefighters from the New York City Fire...
The Caravaggio painting Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence is stolen from the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of his life, he moved between...
The Caravaggio painting Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence is stolen from the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of his life, he moved between...
FLQ terrorists murder Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte.
The October Crisis was a chain of political events in Canada that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre...
FLQ terrorists murder Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte.
The October Crisis was a chain of political events in Canada that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre...
OPEC imposes an oil embargo against countries they deem to have helped Israel in the Yom Kippur War.
In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during...
OPEC imposes an oil embargo against countries they deem to have helped Israel in the Yom Kippur War.
In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during...
The hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu. The remaining hostages are later rescued.
Lufthansa Flight 181, a Boeing 737-230C jet airliner named Landshut, was hijacked on 13 October 1977 by four militants of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine while en route from Palma...
The hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu. The remaining hostages are later rescued.
Lufthansa Flight 181, a Boeing 737-230C jet airliner named Landshut, was hijacked on 13 October 1977 by four militants of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine while en route from Palma...
Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of Charity and a Catholic saint.
The Department of Education Organization Act creates the U.S. Department of Education.
The Department of Education Organization Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1979, which created the Department of Education. The new department was split off from the Department of...
Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of Charity and a Catholic saint.
The Department of Education Organization Act creates the U.S. Department of Education.
The Department of Education Organization Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1979, which created the Department of Education. The new department was split off from the Department of...
As part of the Holy SeeâUnited Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican.
Holy SeeâUnited Kingdom relations are foreign relations between the Holy See and the United Kingdom.
As part of the Holy SeeâUnited Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican.
Holy SeeâUnited Kingdom relations are foreign relations between the Holy See and the United Kingdom.
Uganda Airlines Flight 775 crashes at RomeâFiumicino International Airport, in Rome, Italy, killing 33 people.
Uganda Airlines Flight 775 was a Boeing 707-338C, registration 5X-UBC, that crashed while attempting to land at Rome-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy on 17 October 1988. Out of the 52 occupants...
Uganda Airlines Flight 775 crashes at RomeâFiumicino International Airport, in Rome, Italy, killing 33 people.
Uganda Airlines Flight 775 was a Boeing 707-338C, registration 5X-UBC, that crashed while attempting to land at Rome-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy on 17 October 1988. Out of the 52 occupants...
The 6.9 Mw Loma Prieta earthquake shakes the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast, killing 63.
Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or "size" of an earthquake. These are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of...
The East German Politburo votes to remove Erich Honecker from his role as General Secretary.
Erich Ernst Paul Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts of...
The 6.9 Mw Loma Prieta earthquake shakes the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast, killing 63.
Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or "size" of an earthquake. These are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of...
The East German Politburo votes to remove Erich Honecker from his role as General Secretary.
Erich Ernst Paul Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts of...
Rudrapur bombings by Sikh separatists, who explode two bombs, during a Ramlila Hindu celebration in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, killing 41 people.
1991 Rudrapur bombings were bombings by Khalistani terrorists in 1991 in Rudrapur city in Indian state of Uttarakhand.
Rudrapur bombings by Sikh separatists, who explode two bombs, during a Ramlila Hindu celebration in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, killing 41 people.
1991 Rudrapur bombings were bombings by Khalistani terrorists in 1991 in Rudrapur city in Indian state of Uttarakhand.
Having gone to the wrong house, Japanese student Yoshihiro Hattori is killed by the homeowner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Yoshihiro Hattori was a Japanese student on an exchange program to the United States who was shot to death in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The shooting happened when Hattori, on his way to a Halloween...
Having gone to the wrong house, Japanese student Yoshihiro Hattori is killed by the homeowner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Yoshihiro Hattori was a Japanese student on an exchange program to the United States who was shot to death in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The shooting happened when Hattori, on his way to a Halloween...
Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov is assassinated while investigating corruption in the armed forces.
Dmitry Yuryevich Kholodov was a Russian journalist who investigated corruption in the military and was assassinated on 17 October 1994 in Moscow. His assassination was the first of many killings of...
Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov is assassinated while investigating corruption in the armed forces.
Dmitry Yuryevich Kholodov was a Russian journalist who investigated corruption in the military and was assassinated on 17 October 1994 in Moscow. His assassination was the first of many killings of...
The Hatfield rail crash leads to the collapse of Railtrack.
The Hatfield rail crash was a railway accident on 17 October 2000, at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. It was caused by a rolling contact fatigue-induced derailment, killing four people and...
The Hatfield rail crash leads to the collapse of Railtrack.
The Hatfield rail crash was a railway accident on 17 October 2000, at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. It was caused by a rolling contact fatigue-induced derailment, killing four people and...
Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi is assassinated by Hamdi Quran, a member of the PFLP, thus becoming the highest-ranking Israeli to be killed by a Palestinian.
Rehavam Ze'evi was an Israeli general and politician who founded the far-right nationalist Moledet party. He mainly advocated for complete cleansing of the Palestinian population through population...
Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi is assassinated by Hamdi Quran, a member of the PFLP, thus becoming the highest-ranking Israeli to be killed by a Palestinian.
Rehavam Ze'evi was an Israeli general and politician who founded the far-right nationalist Moledet party. He mainly advocated for complete cleansing of the Palestinian population through population...
A fire that lasted over 15 hours destroyed almost one third of the East Tower of the Parque Central Urban Complex in Caracas, Venezuela.
The Parque Central Complex fire was a fire on 17 October 2004, that destroyed almost one-third of the East Tower of the Parque Central Urban Complex in Caracas, Venezuela. At least 20 floors were...
A fire that lasted over 15 hours destroyed almost one third of the East Tower of the Parque Central Urban Complex in Caracas, Venezuela.
The Parque Central Complex fire was a fire on 17 October 2004, that destroyed almost one-third of the East Tower of the Parque Central Urban Complex in Caracas, Venezuela. At least 20 floors were...
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the last foothold of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Raqqa, marking the end of the Battle of Raqqa.
The Syrian civil war was an armed conflict that began with the Syrian revolution in March 2011, when popular discontent with the Ba'athist regime ruled by Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale...
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the last foothold of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Raqqa, marking the end of the Battle of Raqqa.
The Syrian civil war was an armed conflict that began with the Syrian revolution in March 2011, when popular discontent with the Ba'athist regime ruled by Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale...
The recreational use of cannabis is legalized in Canada.
The Cannabis Act is a law which legalized recreational cannabis use in Canada in combination with its companion legislation Bill C-46, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code. The law is a milestone in...
A mass shooting and bombing at Kerch Polytechnic College in Crimea kills 21 people including the attacker and injures 70 others.
On 17 October 2018, a school shooting and bombing attack occurred in Kerch, Crimea. The perpetrator, Vladislav Roslyakov, who was an 18-year-old student at the college, killed 20 people and wounded...
The recreational use of cannabis is legalized in Canada.
The Cannabis Act is a law which legalized recreational cannabis use in Canada in combination with its companion legislation Bill C-46, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code. The law is a milestone in...
A mass shooting and bombing at Kerch Polytechnic College in Crimea kills 21 people including the attacker and injures 70 others.
On 17 October 2018, a school shooting and bombing attack occurred in Kerch, Crimea. The perpetrator, Vladislav Roslyakov, who was an 18-year-old student at the college, killed 20 people and wounded...
Drug dealers in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico force the government to back down on an arrest.
CuliacĂĄn, officially CuliacĂĄn Rosales, is the capital and largest city of Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico. It is located within the CuliacĂĄn Municipality. The city was founded on 29 September 1531 by...
The 17 October Revolution starts in Lebanon.
The 17 October Protests, commonly referred to as the 17 October Revolution or Hirak or Thawrah, were a series of civil protests in Lebanon that began after the Lebanese cabinet announced financial...
Drug dealers in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico force the government to back down on an arrest.
CuliacĂĄn, officially CuliacĂĄn Rosales, is the capital and largest city of Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico. It is located within the CuliacĂĄn Municipality. The city was founded on 29 September 1531 by...
The 17 October Revolution starts in Lebanon.
The 17 October Protests, commonly referred to as the 17 October Revolution or Hirak or Thawrah, were a series of civil protests in Lebanon that began after the Lebanese cabinet announced financial...
An explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza kills hundreds of Palestinians during the Gaza war.
On 17 October 2023, an explosion took place in a courtyard of al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City during the Gaza war, resulting in a large number of displaced Palestinians seeking shelter there...
An explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza kills hundreds of Palestinians during the Gaza war.
On 17 October 2023, an explosion took place in a courtyard of al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City during the Gaza war, resulting in a large number of displaced Palestinians seeking shelter there...