August 17 in History
What happened on August 17 in history?
A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on august 17 in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened on august 17 in history.
?>2012
Moscow’s top court upholds a ban of gay pride events in Russia’s capital city for 100 years.
2005
Israel begins the first forced evacuation of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, as part of a unilateral disengagement plan.
1999
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake near Izmit, Turkey kills over 17,000 and injures nearly 45,000.
1998
President Bill Clinton admits to the American public that he had affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
1988
Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq is killed in an airplane crash suspected of being an assassination.
1987
93-year-old Rudolf Hess, former Nazi leader and deputy of Adolf Hitler, is found hanged to death in Spandau Prison.
1978
Three Americans complete the first crossing of the Atlantic in a balloon.
1960
American Francis Gary Powers pleads guilty at his Moscow trial for spying over the Soviet Union in a U-2 plane.
1945
Upon hearing confirmation that Japan has surrendered, Sukarno proclaims Indonesia’s independence.
1944
The mayor of Paris, Pierre Charles Tattinger, meets with the German commander Dietrich von Choltitz to protest the explosives being deployed throughout the city.
1943
Allied forces complete the conquest of Sicily.
1942
Marine Raiders attack Makin Island in the Gilbert Islands from two submarines.
1863
Union gunboats attack Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, for the first time.
1833
The first steam ship to cross the Atlantic entirely on its own power, the Canadian ship Royal William, begins her journey from Nova Scotia to The Isle of Wight.
1812
Napoleon Bonaparte‘s army defeats the Russians at the Battle of Smolensk during the Russian retreat to Moscow.
1743
By the Treaty of Abo, Sweden cedes southeast Finland to Russia, ending Sweden’s failed war with Russia.