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On this dayOctober 17

Through history63 events, 384 births and 119 deaths in Wikipedia's lists for the date

Today

A hundred years before

The front pages of October 17, 1926

What 10 American newspapers printed that day, as the Library of Congress keeps them.

MEDIA
The front page of Evening star, Washington, D.C., October 17, 1926Evening starWashington, D.C.Read it, zoom in, mark it →
1 more front page that day

All 10 front pages at the Library of Congress ↗From Chronicling America. Public domain: in the Library's words, newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety.

What happened

On October 17

The anniversaries Wikipedia's editors chose for the date, oldest first.

REFERENCE
  1. 1346680 years ago

    Hundred Years' War: Under the terms of Scotland's Auld Alliance with France, King David II of Scotland (pictured) was captured at the Battle of Neville's Cross following his invasion of England. · David II of Scotland

    Photo: author on the file pagePublic domain
  2. 1604422 years ago

    German astronomer Johannes Kepler began observations of an exceptionally bright object, now known as Kepler's Supernova, that had appeared in the constellation Ophiuchus.

    Photo: August Köhler [1]Public domain
  3. 1660366 years ago

    A series of executions of the commissioners who signed the death warrant of King Charles I of England concluded; six were hanged, drawn and quartered for treason. · List of regicides of Charles I of England · Charles I of England

    Photo: author on the file pagePublic domain
  4. 1771255 years ago

    Ascanio in Alba, an opera composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (pictured) at the age of 15, premiered in Milan.

    Photo: author on the file pagePublic domain
  5. 1777249 years ago

    American Revolutionary War: British general John Burgoyne's Saratoga campaign ended with his surrender to the Americans, later convincing France to enter the war in alliance with the United States. · France in the American Revolutionary War

    Photo: John TrumbullPublic domain
  6. 1814212 years ago

    A wooden beer-fermenting vat in London burst, destroying a second vat and causing a large flood of at least 128,000 imperial gallons (580,000 l; 154,000 US gal) of porter that killed eight people. · London Beer Flood

    Photo: author on the file pagePublic domain
  7. 1860166 years ago

    The Open Championship, the oldest of the four major championships in men's golf, was first played at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. · Men's major golf championships · 1860 Open Championship

  8. 1914112 years ago

    Off the coast of the Dutch island of Texel, a British naval squadron sank the German 7th Half Flotilla of torpedo boats in the Battle off Texel.

    Photo: Cycletours HolidaysCC BY-SA 2.0
  9. 193195 years ago

    American gangster Al Capone was convicted on five counts of income-tax evasion.

    Photo: Chicago Bureau (Federal Bureau of Investigation) - Wide World Photos.Public domain
  10. 195274 years ago

    Indonesian Army elements surrounded the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, demanding that President Sukarno disband the Provisional People's Representative Council. · 17 October affair

  11. 196462 years ago

    Prime Minister Robert Menzies inaugurated the artificial Lake Burley Griffin (pictured) in the centre of the Australian capital Canberra.

    Photo: National Library of AustraliaPublic domain
  12. 197353 years ago

    Yom Kippur War: Egyptian forces retreated from the Battle of the Chinese Farm, allowing Israeli forces to build their first bridge across the Suez Canal.

  13. 199234 years ago

    Having gone to the wrong house in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a Halloween party, Japanese exchange student Yoshihiro Hattori was shot and killed by the homeowner. · Killing of Yoshihiro Hattori

    Photo: SpatmsCC BY-SA 4.0
  14. 200026 years ago

    A fatal rail crash at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, led to the introduction of widespread speed limit reductions throughout the British rail network and eventually caused the collapse of the railway management group Railtrack. · Hatfield rail crash · Rail transport in Great Britain

    Photo: Michael PeadCC BY-SA 2.0 uk
  15. 200125 years ago

    Rehavam Ze'evi, the Israeli minister of tourism, was assassinated in revenge for the killing of PFLP leader Abu Ali Mustafa. · Assassination of Rehavam Ze'evi · Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

    Photo: Knesset photographerCC BY-SA 4.0
All 63 events Wikipedia lists for October 17, by year

Reading the list…

Born

On October 17

The best-known first, counted by the Wikipedia languages with an article on each.

REFERENCE
  1. 1972EminemAmerican rapper, producer, and actor175 languagesPhoto: Brendan_lindenCC0
  2. 1912Pope John Paul I (died 1978)127 languagesPhoto: AnefoCC0
  3. 1915Arthur MillerAmerican playwright and screenwriter (died 2005)114 languagesPhoto: Eric Koch for AnefoCC0
  1. 1918Rita Hayworth, American actress, singer and dancer (died 1987)105
  2. 1979Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish race car driver90
  3. 1760Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French economist and philosopher (died 1825)78
  4. 1813Georg Büchner, German-Swiss poet and playwright (died 1837)75
  5. 1920Montgomery Clift, American actor (died 1966)69
  6. 1956Mae Jemison, American physician, academic, and astronaut68
  7. 1983Felicity Jones, English actress67
  8. 1972Tarkan, German-Turkish singer66
  9. 1919Zhao Ziyang, Chinese politician (died 2005)64
  10. 1917Marsha Hunt, American actress and singer (died 2022)61
  11. 1948George Wendt, American actor and comedian (died 2025)59
  12. 1817Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian philosopher and scholar (died 1898)57
  13. 1948Margot Kidder, Canadian-American actress (died 2018)56
  14. 1780Richard Mentor Johnson, American politician, ninth Vice President of the United States (died 1850)55
  15. 1933William Anders, Hong Kong-American general and astronaut (died 2024)55
  16. 1900Jean Arthur, American actress (died 1991)52
  17. 1977André Villas-Boas, Portuguese footballer and manager51
  18. 1987Hideto Takahashi, Japanese footballer51
  19. 1959Norm Macdonald, Canadian actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter (died 2021)50
  20. 1990Saki Kumagai, Japanese footballer50
  21. 1969Wyclef Jean, Haitian-American rapper, producer, and actor46
Everyone else born on October 17: 360 more, by year

Reading the list…

Died

On October 17

The best-known first, counted by the Wikipedia languages with an article on each.

REFERENCE
  1. 1849Frédéric ChopinPolish pianist and composer (born 1810)200 languagesPhoto: Louis-Auguste BissonPublic domain
  2. 1887Gustav KirchhoffGerman physicist and chemist (born 1824)94 languagesPhoto: author on the file pagePublic domain
  3. 1967PuyiChinese emperor (born 1906)85 languagesPhoto: author on the file pagePublic domain
  1. 33Agrippina the Elder, Roman wife of Germanicus (born 14 BC)81
  2. 532Pope Boniface II79
  3. 1893Patrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta, French general and politician, 3rd President of France (born 1808)78
  4. 1889Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (born 1828)76
  5. 1938Karl Kautsky, Czech-German journalist, philosopher, and theoretician (born 1854)69
  6. 1983Raymond Aron, French sociologist, political scientist, and philosopher (born 1905)65
  7. 1586Philip Sidney, English courtier, poet, and general (born 1554)61
  8. 1806Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian commander and politician, Governor-General of Haiti (born 1758)60
  9. 1973Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (born 1926)59
  10. 1978Giovanni Gronchi, Italian educator, soldier, and politician, 3rd President of the Italian Republic (born 1887)55
  11. 2024Andrew Schally, Polish-American endocrinologist (born 1926)55
  12. 1963Jacques Hadamard, French mathematician and academic (born 1865)53
  13. 1837Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Austrian pianist and composer (born 1778)48
  14. 1962Natalia Goncharova, Russian painter, costume designer, and set designer (born 1882)48
  15. 1690Margaret Mary Alacoque, French mystic (born 1647)46
  16. 1757René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (born 1683)43
  17. 1587Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (born 1541)39
  18. 1981Albert Cohen, Greek-Swiss civil servant and author (born 1895)39
  19. 1529Krishnadevaraya, Emperor of Vijayanagara (born 1471)37
  20. 1910Julia Ward Howe, American poet and songwriter (born 1819)37
  21. 2024Mitzi Gaynor, American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1931)37
Everyone else died on October 17: 95 more, by year

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Observed

On October 17

Holidays, feast days and observances, as Wikipedia lists them for the date.

REFERENCE

Christian feast day

Events, births, deaths and observances are Wikipedia's On this day for October 17, in its editors' words (CC BY-SA 4.0); the counts of languages are Wikidata's (CC0). Dates are the UTC day, as Wikipedia keeps them. Discover brings one of these at a time.