What Happened on September 17th in History
30 historical events on this date
World War II: A decree of the Soviet State Committee of Defense restores compulsory military training.
Vsevobuch, a portmanteau for "Universal Military Training", was a system of compulsory military training for men practiced in the Russian SFSR governed by the Chief Administration of Universal...
World 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.
Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the German-occupied Netherlands from 17 to 25 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient...
World War II: Soviet troops launch the Tallinn Offensive against Germany and pro-independence Estonian units.
The Tallinn offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army's 2nd Shock Army and 8th Army and the Baltic Fleet against the German Army Detachment Narwa and Estonian units in mainland Estonia on...
World War II: German forces are attacked by the Allies in the Battle of San Marino.
The Battle of San Marino was an engagement on 17â20 September 1944 during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War, in which German Army forces occupied the neutral Republic of San Marino and...
The 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.
Lehi, officially the Fighters for the Freedom of Israel and often known pejoratively as the Stern Gang, was a Zionist paramilitary militant organization founded by Avraham ("Yair") Stern in...
The Nizam of Hyderabad surrenders his sovereignty over the Hyderabad State and joins the Indian Union.
Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State. Nizam is a shortened form of NiáșÄm ul-Mulk, and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I when he was appointed Viceroy of the Deccan...
The Canadian steamship SSÂ Noronic burns in Toronto Harbour with the loss of over 118 lives.
SS Noronic was a Canadian passenger ship that was destroyed by fire in Toronto Harbour in September 1949 with the loss of at least 118 lives.
The People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps (Then known as the PLAAF 1st Ground Forces Brigade) is founded.
The People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps is a corps grade airborne and air assault force subordinated to People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) headquarters. Before April 2017, the...
The Republic of India formally recognised the State of Israel.
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country in the world and, since its independence in 1947, the...
The world's first retractable roof stadium, the Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Civic Arena, formerly the Civic Auditorium and later Mellon Arena, was an arena located in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Civic Arena primarily served as the home to the Pittsburgh...
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 crashes during takeoff from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, killing all 37 people on board.
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 was a Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft, registration N137US, which crashed on take-off from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport September 17, 1961. All 37 on...
The Battle of Chawinda is fought between Pakistan and India.
The Battle of Chawinda was a major engagement between Pakistan and India during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 as part of the Sialkot campaign. It is well known as being one of the largest tank...
Bangladesh, Grenada and Guinea-Bissau join the United Nations.
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world and among the most densely populated with a population of...
The Space Shuttle Enterprise is unveiled by NASA.
Space Shuttle Enterprise is the first orbiter of the Space Shuttle system. Rolled out on September 17, 1976, it was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform atmospheric test...
The Camp David Accords are signed by Israel and Egypt.
The Camp David Accords were a pair of political agreements signed by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin on 17 September 1978, following twelve days of secret...
After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in GdaĆsk, Poland, the nationwide independent trade union Solidarity is established.
The GdaĆsk Shipyard is a large Polish shipyard, located in the city of GdaĆsk, northern Poland. The yard gained international fame when Polish trade union Solidarity was founded there in September...
Former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is killed in AsunciĂłn, Paraguay.
Anastasio "Tachito" Somoza Debayle was a Nicaraguan politician, military officer, hydraulic engineer, and dictator who served as the 53rd President of Nicaragua from 1967 to 1972 and again from 1974...
Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America.
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American singer, actress, model, producer and dancer. She gained recognition as the first black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America...
Estonia, North Korea, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia join the United Nations.
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic...
The first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) is released to the Internet.
Linux is a family of free and open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, which was first released on 17 September 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Some members of the family are...
An Iranian Kurdish leader and his two joiners are assassinated by political militants in Berlin.
In the Mykonos restaurant assassinations, Iranian-Kurdish opposition leaders Sadegh Sharafkandi, Fattah Abdoli, Homayoun Ardalan and their translator Nouri Dehkordi, were assassinated at the Mykonos...
The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11 attacks, the longest closure since the Great Depression.
The New York Stock Exchange is an American stock exchange headquartered at the New York Stock Exchange Building in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the largest stock...
George 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.
George Walker Bush is an American politician, businessman, and former United States Air Force officer who was the 43rd president of the United States, serving from 2001 to 2009. The eldest son of...
Fourpeaked Mountain in Alaska erupts, marking the first eruption for the volcano in at least 10,000 years.
Fourpeaked Mountain, also known as Fourpeaked Volcano, is an active stratovolcano located in the U.S. state of Alaska within Katmai National Park and Preserve. The volcano is nearly completely...
An audio tape of a private speech by Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc GyurcsĂĄny 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 country.
The Ćszöd speech was a speech Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc GyurcsĂĄny delivered to the 2006 Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) congress in BalatonĆszöd. Though the May congress was confidential,...
Occupy Wall Street movement begins in Zuccotti Park, New York City.
Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a left-wing populist and progressive movement against economic inequality, capitalism, corporate greed, big finance, and the influence of money in politics. It began in...
Grand Theft Auto V earns more than half a billion dollars on its first day of release.
Grand Theft Auto V is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2008's Grand...
Two bombs explode in Seaside Park, New Jersey, and Manhattan. Thirty-one people are injured in the Manhattan bombing.
On September 17â19, 2016, a series of three constructed bombs exploded, and several unexploded devices were discovered in the New York metropolitan area followed by a subsequent shooting in Linden,...
A Russian reconnaissance aircraft carrying 15 people on board is brought down by a Syrian surface-to-air missile over the Mediterranean Sea.
On 17 September 2018, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) conducted missile strikes against multiple targets in government-controlled western Syria. Syrian air defences responded to the Israeli fighter...
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement.
The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) is a security and defence pact between the countries of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Under this agreement, both countries have committed to treating any...