August 17

Events

 * -, the grandfather of and American   sails to  from ,
 * - 's first  leaves  for  on the, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.
 * - : The   begins in  as vicious Lakota attack white settlements along the.
 * - : In, batteries and ships bombard -held.
 * - American Civil War: -  forces defeat  troops near Gainesville, Florida.
 * - The first public performance of the 's, .
 * -, the longest continuously-running public farmers market in the US, opened in.
 * - : - The  army of   defeats the n force commanded by  near modern-day Nesterov, Russia.
 * - ish  is  for the alleged murder of a 13-year-old girl in.
 * - revolutionary leader  is.
 * -  the -held  island of Makin.
 * - : The  suffers the loss of 60 bombers on the.
 * 1943 - World War II: The under   arrive in, followed several hours later by the  8th Army under  , thus completing the  conquest of.
 * 1943 - World War II: of, , and  begins.
 * - : First meeting of in.
 * - : was formed by a 7.5 rated  in.
 * - : gains independence from.
 * - border guards kill 18-year-old  as he attempts to cross the  into  becoming the first victim of the wall.
 * - A ferry linking remote islands off the coast of sinks, killing 112.
 * - Category 5 hits the  coast, killing 248 people and causing $1.5 billion in damage.
 * - : launched. It will later become the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another.
 * -  becomes first to cross the  when it lands in  near, 137 hours after leaving.
 * - Two  jetliners collide in mid-air over, killing 156
 * -, likely taken by a , leading to what was then the most in.
 * - The first s ('s) were released to the public in.
 * - i  and   are killed in a plane crash.
 * - :  admits in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with  intern . On the same day he admits before the nation that he "misled people" about his relationship.
 * - A 7.4-magnitude strikes, , killing more than 17,000 and injuring 44,000.
 * - collision found by  researchers.
 * 2004  - The  unanimously adopts new state symbols for :  becomes the new anthem and the  is adopted for the whole country.
 * - The first forced of, as part of the , starts.
 * - The first forced of, as part of the , starts.

Births

 * - (d. ?)
 * - (baptized), German composer (d. )
 * -, Italian painter (d. )
 * -, French mathematician (d. )
 * - King (d. )
 * -, French general (d. )
 * -, American frontiersman and soldier (d. )
 * -, German priest (d. )
 * -, French neurologist (d. )
 * - (d. )
 * -, American author and naturalist (d. )
 * -, 6th (d. )
 * 1866  -, English actress (d. )
 * -, American gynecologist (d. )
 * -, Hollywood producer (d. )
 * -, Jamaican-born Black rights activist (d. )
 * 1887  -  (d. )
 * -, American actor (d. )
 * -, 8th (d. )
 * 1890  -, Polish aviator (d. )
 * -, American actress (d. )
 * -, American military engineer (d. )
 * -, Austrian musicologist (d. )
 * -, American newspaper editor and politician (d. )
 * -, American trumpeter and bandleader (d. )
 * -, Russian chess player (d. )
 * -, American informant
 * 1913  -, American baseball player (d. )
 * 1913  -, Argentine racing driver (d. )
 * -, son of (d. )
 * -, American singer (d. )
 * -, Irish actress
 * -, British historian (d. )
 * -, Chinese politician
 * 1926  -, British jazz & blues singer (d. )
 * 1926  -, French actor, director and screenwriter (d. )
 * -, American U-2 pilot and that was shot down over the  in 1960 (d. )
 * -, American actor (d. )
 * 1930  -, English poet (d. )
 * -, West Indian writer,
 * -, American space exploration executive
 * 1933  -, American singer (d. )
 * -, Russian actor
 * -, Indonesian Muslim cleric
 * -, American musician
 * 1939  -, British actor
 * -, Argentinian film director (d. )
 * -, French Canadian film director
 * 1941  -, American baseball player
 * -, American actor
 * 1943  -, American musician (d. )
 * -, CEO of Oracle Corporation, Billionaire
 * -, American film director
 * -, American guitarist
 * -, American musician
 * -, American drummer
 * -, Canadian actor
 * 1951  -, British boxer
 * -, Brazilian race car driver
 * 1952  -, Argentinian tennis player
 * -, American book publisher
 * 1953  -, English musician
 * -, American guitarist
 * -, American heir
 * -, American film executive
 * 1956  -, Spanish cyclist
 * -, British figure skater
 * -, American singer
 * 1958  -, Canadian snooker player
 * -, American cult leader (d. )
 * 1959  -, American author
 * -, American actor and director
 * 1960  -, Swiss singer
 * -, American musician
 * -, Indian film director.
 * -, Canadian musician
 * -, American skateboarder
 * 1966  -, Canadian ice hockey player
 * -  Singer and former member of
 * -, American football player
 * 1968  -, English actress
 * -, American actor and singer
 * -, American tennis player
 * 1970  -, English actor and voice artist
 * 1970  -, Norwegian footballer
 * -, Puerto Rican baseball player
 * 1971  -, South Korean singer and actress
 * -, American pornographic actor
 * -, Lebanese drummer
 * -, Italian-born American television personality
 * 1975  -, Turkish footballer
 * -, American actor
 * -, French footballer
 * 1977  -, Finnish singer
 * 1977  -, French footballer
 * -, Norwegian singer
 * -, American football player
 * 1979  -, British actor
 * -, Norwegian singer
 * 1980  -, Zimbabwean cricketer
 * 1980  -, Dutch footballer
 * -, American professional wrestler
 * 1982  -, English footballer
 * -, American baseball player
 * -, American basketball player
 * -, American basketball player
 * 1986  -, American basketball player
 * -, Japanese actress
 * -, British actress
 * 1990  -, American actor
 * -, Filipina actress

Deaths

 * -, son of (b. )
 * - of Japan (b. )
 * -, English statesman (b. )
 * -, British admiral (b. )
 * -, Dutch physician and anatomist (b. )
 * -, German novelist (b. )
 * -, French scholar (b. )
 * -, English scholar (b. )
 * (N. S.) -, Russian poet (b. )
 * -, Governor of the Colony and the state of Connecticut (b. )
 * - King (b. )
 * -, Bosnian rebel leader (b. )
 * -, Argentine general (b. )
 * -, American Politician (b. )
 * -, German linguist (b. )
 * -, Norwegian violinist (b. )
 * -, world's first automobile fatality
 * -, French composer (b. )
 * -, Russian revolutionary (b. )
 * -, American baseball player (b. )
 * -, Transylvanian writer of Romanian origin (b. )
 * -, American aviator and Olympic athlete (b. )
 * -, American recording artist (b. )
 * - trying to cross the  (b. )
 * -, German physicist, (b. )
 * -, Thai filmmaker (b. )
 * -, German field marshal (b. )
 * -, French composer (b. )
 * 1973  -, American singer  (b. )
 * 1973  -, American author (b. )
 * -, American actress (b. )
 * -, American lyricist (b. )
 * -, Nazi deputy (b. )
 * -, 6th (b. )
 * 1988  -, son of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States (b. )
 * 1988  -, Australian-born American actress (b. )
 * -, American singer and actress (b. )
 * -, American adult film actor (b. )
 * -, Chinese mathematician (b. )
 * -, American boxer (b. )
 * -, American screenwriter (b. )
 * 1995  -, Australian rules footballer (b. )
 * -, Australian writer (b. )
 * 2004  -, French baritone (b. )
 * -, American astrophysicist (b. )
 * -, British journalist and politician (b. )
 * 2007  -, American basketball player (b. )

Holidays and observances

 * – observance in.
 * - celebration of the birth of, considered a.
 * - observed in, on the day when died.
 * (Jeron), martyr [Utrecht]
 * Octave of [common]
 * , abbot, and companions, martyrs
 * , martyr [Metz, France]
 * Victory of French king at  [Paris]
 * , abbot, and companions, martyrs
 * , martyr [Metz, France]
 * Victory of French king at  [Paris]