Historical Events on February 17, Facts & Special Events On This Day - CalendarZ

Historical Events on February 17

364
Roman Emperor Jovian dies after a reign of eight months. He is found dead in his tent at Tyana (Asia Minor) en route back to Constantinople in suspicious circumstances.
1370
Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
1411
Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.
1500
Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.
1600
The philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive, for heresy, at Campo de' Fiori in Rome.
1621
Myles Standish is appointed as first military commander of the English Plymouth Colony in North America.
1753
In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
1801
An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr, Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
1814
War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormant.
1819
The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
1838
Weenen massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
1854
The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
1859
Cochinchina Campaign: The French Navy captured the Citadel of Saigon, a fortress that was manned by 1,000 Nguyễn dynasty soldiers, en route to conquering Saigon and other regions of southern Viet Nam.
1863
A group of citizens of Geneva founded an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
1864
American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
1865
American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
1867
The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.
1871
The victorious Prussian Army parades through Paris, France, after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
1904
Madama Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan.
1913
The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
1919
The Ukrainian People's Republic asks Entente and the US for help fighting the Bolsheviks.
1933
Newsweek magazine is first published.
1944
World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok begins: The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
1944
World War II: Operation Hailstone begins: U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk Lagoon, Japan's main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
1949
Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.
1959
Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
1964
In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
1964
Gabonese president Léon M'ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
1965
Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the "Sea of Tranquility" would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
1968
In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
1972
Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.
1974
Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
1978
The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30 others, all Protestants.
1979
The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
1980
First winter ascent of Mount Everest by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.
1992
Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops massacre more than 20 Azerbaijani civilians during the Capture of Garadaghly.
1995
The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a ceasefire brokered by the UN.
1996
In Philadelphia, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
1996
NASA's Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.
1996
The 8.2 Mw Biak earthquake shakes the Papua province of eastern Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A large tsunami followed, leaving one-hundred sixty-six people dead or missing and 423 injured.
2006
A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
2008
Kosovo declares independence as the Republic of Kosovo.
2011
Libyan protests begin. In Bahrain, security forces launched a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama, the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.
2015
Eighteen people are killed and 78 injured in a stampede at a Mardi Gras parade in Haiti.
2016
Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.

February 17 Birthdays

February 17 Deaths