Deaths on October 17

Giovanni Gronchi

Died on October 17, 1978

Giovanni Gronchi, Italian educator, soldier, and politician, 3rd President of the Italian Republic (b. 1887)

Giovanni Gronchi, (Italian pronunciation: [dʒoˈvanni ˈɡroŋki]; 10 September 1887 – 17 October 1978) was an Italian politician from Christian Democracy who served as the president of Italy from 1955 to 1962 and was marked by a controversial and failed attempt to bring about an "opening to the left" in Italian politics.

He was reputed the real holder of the executive power in Italy from 1955 to 1962, behind the various Prime Ministers of this time.

References

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Events on 1978

11 Feb

Aristotle
Censorship: China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.
27 Apr

Watergate scandal
Former United States President Nixon aide John D. Ehrlichman is released from an Arizona prison after serving 18 months for Watergate-related crimes.
25 Jul

In vitro fertilisation
Birth of Louise Joy Brown, the first human to have been born after conception by in vitro fertilisation, or IVF.
22 Oct

Pope John Paul II
Papal inauguration of Pope John Paul II.
18 Nov

Jim Jones
In Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones led his Peoples Temple to a mass murder-suicide that claimed 918 lives in all, 909 of them in Jonestown itself, including over 270 children. Congressman Leo Ryan is murdered by members of the Peoples Temple hours earlier.

Deaths on October 17

Giovanni Gronchi

Died on October 17, 1978

References

Choose Another Date

Events on 1978

Aristotle

Watergate scandal

In vitro fertilisation

Pope John Paul II

Jim Jones