October 17

October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in Leap years). There are 75 days remaining.

Events

• 1346 - King David II of Scotland captured by Edward III of England at Calais
• 1469 - Ferdinand II of Aragon marries Isabella of Castile. Their marriage leads to the unification of Aragon and Castile in a single country, Spain
• 1777 - American troops defeat the British in the Battle of Saratoga
• 1781 - General Charles Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, Virginia
• 1800 - England takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao
• 1815 - Napoleon arrives at Saint Helena
• 1860 - First British golf open
• 1888 - Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph[?] (the first movie)
• 1912 - Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War
• 1917 - First British bombing of Germany in World War I
• 1918 - Yugoslavia declared a republic
• 1931 - Al Capone convicted of income tax evasion[?]
• 1933 - Albert Einstein, fleeing Nazi Germany, moves to the US
• 1941 - For the first time in World War II, a German submarine attacks an American ship
• 1945 - After a coup, Juan Peron becomes dictator of Argentina
• 1961 - 200 Algerian protesters are massacred by the Paris police
• 1967 - Premiere of the musical Hair on Broadway
• 1970 - Anwar Sadat becomes president of Egypt
• 1970 - Montreal, Quebec: Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte murdered by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
• 1973 - OPEC starts an oil embargo against a number of western countries, considered to have helped Israel in its war against Syria
• 1979 - Mother Teresa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
• 1979 - The Department of Education Organization Act[?] is signed into law creating the United States Department of Education and United States Department of Health and Human Services. Both replace the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
• 1989 - Loma Prieta earthquake (7.1 on the Richter scale[?]) hits the San Francisco Bay Area
• 1994 - Draft peace treaty between Israel and Jordan
• 1994 - Peace treaty between the government of Angola and UNITA rebels

Births

• 1563 - Jodocus Hondius[?], cartographer
• 1711 - Jupiter Hammond[?], poet
• 1864 - Elinor Glyn[?], writer (+ 1943)
• 1898 - Simon Vestdijk[?], writer
• 1900 - Jean Arthur, actress (+ 1991)
• 1902 - Irene Ryan[?], actress (+ 1973)
• 1903 - Nathanael West[?], writer (+ 1940)
• 1912 - Pope John Paul I, religious leader (+ 1978)
• 1914 - Jerry Siegel[?], cartoonist (+ 1998)
• 1915 - Arthur Miller, playwright
• 1918 - Rita Hayworth[?], actress (+ 1987)
• 1920 - Montgomery Clift, actor (+ 1966)
• 1921 - Tom Poston[?], actor, comedian
• 1930 - Jimmy Breslin[?], writer
• 1938 - Evel Knievel, professional daredevil
• 1940 - James Seals[?], musician
• 1942 - Gary Puckett[?], musician
• 1946 - Bob Seagren[?], pole vaulter, actor
• 1946 - Sir Cameron Mackintosh[?], stage producer, director
• 1947 - Michael McKean, actor, comedian
• 1948 - Margot Kidder, actress
• 1948 - George Wendt[?], actor
• 1950 - Howard Rollins[?], actor (+ 1996)
• 1956 - Mae Jemison, astronaut
• 1958 - Alan Jackson, country music performer
• 1962 - Mike Judge[?], cartoonist, writer
• 1968 - Ziggy Marley, reggae musician
• 1971 - Chris Kirkpatrick[?], singer
• 1972 - Eminem, rap music performer
• 1972 - Wyclef Jean[?], singer

Deaths

• 532 - Pope Boniface II
• 1849 - Frederic Chopin, musician, composer
• 1887 - Gustav Kirchhoff, physicist
• 1910 - Julia Ward Howe, composer
• 1970 - Pierre Laporte, Vice-Premier of Quebec murdered by FLQ terrorists
• 1991 - Tennessee Ernie Ford[?], singer, television performer
• 1979 - S.J. Perelman[?], writer
• 2001 - Rehavam Zeevi, Israeli politician

Holidays and observances

• United States: Black Poetry Day

October 16 - October 18 - September 17 - November 17 -- listing of all days

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