December 17 facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

December 17 is a special day in history, filled with many interesting events, important births, and notable deaths. From ancient festivals to modern inventions, this date has seen a lot happen around the world. Let's explore some of the key moments that took place on December 17.

Historical Events
Famous Births
Notable Deaths
Holidays and Observances
Images for kids
See also

Historical Events

Ancient Times and Middle Ages

In 497 BC, the very first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome. This was a fun Roman holiday with feasting and gift-giving.
In 546, during the Siege of Rome, the Ostrogoths (a Germanic tribe) took over the city. Their king, Totila, managed to get past the city's defenses by paying off the guards.
In 920, Romanos I Lekapenos became a co-emperor alongside the young Constantine VII. This meant they shared power in the Byzantine Empire.
In 942, William Longsword, who was the Duke of Normandy, sadly passed away.
In 1297, King Kyawswa of Pagan was removed from power by three brothers from the Myinsaing Kingdom. This event marked the end of the Pagan Kingdom in what is now Myanmar.
In 1398, the armies of Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud in Delhi were defeated by Timur, a powerful conqueror.
In 1538, Pope Paul III took a strong action against Henry VIII of England, removing him from the Catholic Church.
In 1583, during the Cologne War, forces led by Ernest of Bavaria won a battle against troops led by Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg at the Siege of Godesberg.
In 1586, Go-Yōzei became the new Emperor of Japan.

1600s to 1900s

In 1718, Great Britain declared war on Spain as part of the War of the Quadruple Alliance.
In 1777, during the American Revolution, France officially recognized the United States as an independent country. This was a big step for the new nation!
In 1790, the famous Aztec sun stone was found in Mexico City. This ancient stone shows the Aztec calendar.
In 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars, France issued the Milan Decree. This rule was part of the Continental System, which aimed to stop trade with Britain.
In 1812, during the War of 1812, U.S. forces attacked a Lenape village in the Battle of the Mississinewa.
In 1819, Simón Bolívar announced the independence of Gran Colombia in Venezuela. He was a key leader in South American independence.
In 1835, a huge fire, known as the second Great Fire of New York, destroyed a large part of New York City's Financial District.
In 1837, a fire broke out in the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and 30 guards lost their lives.
In 1862, during the American Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant issued a special order. It led to the removal of Jewish people from certain areas in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
In 1865, the famous "Unfinished Symphony" by Franz Schubert was performed for the first time.
In 1892, the very first issue of Vogue magazine was published.
In 1896, the Schenley Park Casino in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was destroyed by fire. It was a special arena because it was the first in North America to have artificial ice for skating.

1900s to Today

In 1903, the Wright brothers made history! They completed the first successful controlled flight in their Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. This was a huge step for aviation!
In 1907, Ugyen Wangchuck was crowned the first King of Bhutan.
In 1918, the Darwin Rebellion happened in Australia. Many people marched to protest the government in Darwin.
In 1926, Antanas Smetona took power in Lithuania after a successful change in government.
In 1928, Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru took action against a British police officer in Lahore. They were later executed in 1931.
In 1933, the first NFL Championship Game was played in Chicago. The Chicago Bears won against the New York Giants.
In 1935, the Douglas DC-3 airplane made its first flight. This plane became very important for air travel.
In 1938, Otto Hahn made a big discovery: nuclear fission of uranium. This discovery became the basis for nuclear energy.
In 1939, during World War II, the German ship Admiral Graf Spee was sunk by its captain outside Montevideo. This happened after the Battle of the River Plate.
In 1943, all Chinese people were again allowed to become citizens of the United States. This happened when the Chinese Exclusion Act was ended.
In 1944, during World War II and the Battle of the Bulge, American prisoners of war were shot by German soldiers in what is known as the Malmedy massacre.
In 1945, the flag of Kurdistan was raised for the first time in Mahabad, marking Kurdistan flag day.
In 1947, the Boeing B-47 Stratojet bomber made its first flight.
In 1948, the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service was created to change the leadership of the police force.
In 1950, the North American Aviation F-86 Sabre jet flew its first mission over Korea.
In 1951, the American Civil Rights Congress presented a report called "We Charge Genocide" to the United Nations.
In 1957, the United States successfully launched its first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
In 1960, troops loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia stopped a coup that had started a few days earlier.
In 1961, a terrible fire broke out during a circus performance in Brazil, killing more than 500 people.
In 1967, Harold Holt, the Prime Minister of Australia, disappeared while swimming and was believed to have drowned.
In 1969, the United States Air Force closed its study of UFOs, known as Project Blue Book.
In 1973, there was an attack by Palestinian terrorists at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, which resulted in the deaths of thirty passengers.
In 1981, American Brigadier General James L. Dozier was taken by the Red Brigades in Italy.
In 1989, protests continued in Timișoara, Romania, as part of the Romanian Revolution. People broke into a building and tried to set it on fire.
In 1989, Fernando Collor de Mello won the Brazilian presidential election. He became the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.
Also in 1989, The Simpsons cartoon show premiered on television with its first episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".
In 1997, members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement took over the Japanese embassy in Lima, Peru, taking hostages.
In 1997, Aerosvit Flight 241, a Yakovlev Yak-42 plane, crashed in Greece, killing all 70 people on board.
In 2002, during the Second Congo War, different groups in Congo signed a peace agreement. This agreement planned for a temporary government and elections.
In 2003, SpaceShipOne, flown by Brian Binnie, made its first powered and supersonic flight. This was a big step for private space travel.
In 2005, protesters against the World Trade Organization caused riots in Hong Kong.
Also in 2005, Jigme Singye Wangchuck stepped down as King of Bhutan.
In 2009, the ship MV Danny F II sank off the coast of Lebanon. This sad event led to the deaths of 44 people and many animals.
In 2014, the United States and Cuba started having diplomatic relations again after they had been stopped in 1961.

Famous Births

Born Before 1600

1239 – Kujō Yoritsugu, a Japanese shōgun (a military leader).
1267 – Emperor Go-Uda of Japan.
1554 – Ernest of Bavaria, a Roman Catholic bishop.
1556 – Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, a poet in the Mughal Empire.
1574 – Pedro Téllez-Girón, 3rd Duke of Osuna, a Spanish nobleman and politician.

Born 1601–1900

1616 – Roger L'Estrange, an English writer.
1619 – Prince Rupert of the Rhine, a famous military commander.
1632 – Anthony Wood, an English historian.
1685 – Thomas Tickell, an English poet.
1699 – Charles-Louis Mion, a French composer.
1706 – Émilie du Châtelet, a French mathematician and physicist.
1734 – Maria I of Portugal, a queen.
1749 – Domenico Cimarosa, an Italian composer.
1778 – Humphry Davy, an English chemist and physicist.
1796 – Thomas Chandler Haliburton, a Canadian judge and politician.
1797 – Joseph Henry, an American physicist and engineer.
1807 – John Greenleaf Whittier, an American poet and activist.
1812 – Vilhelm Petersen, a Danish painter.
1827 – Alexander Wassilko von Serecki, an Austrian lawyer and politician.
1830 – Jules de Goncourt, a French author.
1835 – Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, a Swiss-American scientist and engineer.
1840 – Nozu Michitsura, a Japanese field marshal.
1842 – Sophus Lie, a Norwegian mathematician.
1847 – Émile Faguet, a French author.
1853 – Pierre Paul Émile Roux, a French physician who helped found the Pasteur Institute.
1858 – Eva Nansen, a Norwegian singer and pioneer in women's skiing.
1859 – Paul César Helleu, a French painter.
1866 – Kazys Grinius, a Lithuanian physician and the third President of Lithuania.
1873 – Ford Madox Ford, an English novelist and poet.
1874 – William Lyon Mackenzie King, the tenth Prime Minister of Canada.
1881 – Aubrey Faulkner, a South African-English cricketer.
1884 – Alison Uttley, an English children's book writer.
1887 – Josef Lada, a Czech painter and illustrator.
1890 – Prince Joachim of Prussia.
1892 – Sam Barry, an American basketball player and coach.
1893 – Charles C. Banks, an English captain and pilot.
1893 – Erwin Piscator, a German director.
1894 – Arthur Fiedler, an American conductor.
1894 – Patrick Flynn, an Irish-American runner.
1894 – Wim Schermerhorn, a Dutch engineer and Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
1895 – Gerald Patterson, an Australian tennis player.
1898 – Loren Murchison, an American sprinter.
1900 – Mary Cartwright, an English mathematician who studied chaos theory.

Born 1901–Present

1903 – Erskine Caldwell, an American novelist.
1903 – Ray Noble, an English bandleader and composer.
1904 – Paul Cadmus, an American painter.
1905 – Simo Häyhä, a famous Finnish soldier and sniper.
1905 – Mohammad Hidayatullah, a Chief Justice and Vice President of India.
1905 – Erico Verissimo, a Brazilian author.
1906 – Fernando Lopes-Graça, a Portuguese composer.
1906 – Russell C. Newhouse, an American pilot and engineer.
1908 – Willard Libby, an American chemist who won the Nobel Prize.
1910 – Eknath Easwaran, an Indian-American educator.
1910 – Sy Oliver, an American singer and trumpet player.
1912 – Edward Short, Baron Glenamara, an English politician.
1913 – Burt Baskin, an American businessman who co-founded Baskin-Robbins.
1914 – Mushtaq Ali, an Indian cricketer.
1914 – Fernando Alonso, a Cuban ballet dancer.
1916 – Penelope Fitzgerald, an English author.
1917 – Kenneth Dike, a Nigerian historian.
1920 – Kenneth E. Iverson, a Canadian computer scientist.
1921 – Lore Berger, a German-Swiss author.
1922 – Alan Voorhees, an American engineer.
1923 – Jaroslav Pelikan, an American historian.
1926 – Ray Jablonski, an American baseball player.
1926 – John Hans Krebs, an American lawyer and politician.
1926 – Stephen Lewis, an English actor.
1927 – Richard Long, an American actor.
1927 – Edward Meneeley, an American painter.
1928 – Marilyn Beck, an American journalist.
1928 – Eli Beeding, an American captain and pilot.
1928 – Doyle Conner, an American politician.
1929 – William Safire, an American journalist.
1930 – Bob Guccione, an American publisher.
1930 – Armin Mueller-Stahl, a German actor and painter.
1930 – Dorothy Rowe, an Australian psychologist.
1931 – Gerald Finnerman, an American director.
1931 – Dave Madden, a Canadian-American actor.
1931 – James McGaugh, an American neurobiologist.
1932 – John Bond, an English footballer and manager.
1934 – Irving Petlin, an American painter.
1934 – Ray Wilson, an English footballer.
1935 – Brian Langford, an English cricketer.
1935 – Cal Ripken Sr., an American baseball coach.
1936 – Pope Francis, the current Pope.
1936 – Tommy Steele, an English singer and actor.
1937 – Brian Hayes, an Australian-English radio host.
1937 – Art Neville, an American singer and keyboard player.
1937 – Kerry Packer, an Australian businessman.
1937 – John Kennedy Toole, an American novelist.
1937 – Calvin Waller, an American general.
1938 – Peter Snell, a New Zealand runner.
1939 – James Booker, an American pianist.
1939 – Eddie Kendricks, an American R&B singer.
1940 – Kåre Valebrokk, a Norwegian journalist.
1940 – María Elena Velasco, a Mexican actress and director.
1941 – Dave Dee, an English singer.
1941 – Stan Mudenge, a Zimbabwean politician.
1942 – Muhammadu Buhari, a Nigerian general and former Head of State.
1942 – Paul Butterfield, an American singer and harmonica player.
1943 – Ron Geesin, a Scottish pianist and composer.
1944 – Jack L. Chalker, an American author.
1944 – Carlo M. Croce, an Italian-American oncologist.
1944 – Bernard Hill, an English actor.
1945 – Ernie Hudson, an American actor.
1945 – David Mallet, an English director.
1945 – Chris Matthews, an American journalist.
1945 – Jüri Talvet, an Estonian poet.
1945 – Jacqueline Wilson, an English author.
1946 – Simon Bates, an English radio host.
1946 – Eugene Levy, a Canadian actor and director.
1947 – Wes Studi, an American actor.
1948 – Valery Belousov, a Russian ice hockey player.
1948 – Jim Bonfanti, an American rock drummer.
1948 – Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a Turkish politician.
1949 – Joel Brooks, an American actor.
1949 – Sotiris Kaiafas, a Cypriot footballer.
1949 – Paul Rodgers, an English singer.
1950 – Laurence F. Johnson, an American educator.
1950 – Maurice Peoples, an American sprinter.
1951 – Pat Hill, an American football coach.
1951 – Ken Hitchcock, a Canadian ice hockey coach.
1951 – Tatyana Kazankina, a Russian runner.
1953 – Bill Pullman, an American actor.
1954 – Sergejus Jovaiša, a Lithuanian basketball player.
1955 – Brad Davis, an American basketball player.
1956 – Peter Farrelly, an American director.
1956 – Dominic Lawson, an English journalist.
1956 – Totka Petrova, a Bulgarian runner.
1957 – Wendy Hoyte, an English sprinter.
1957 – Bob Ojeda, an American baseball player.
1958 – Mike Mills, an American bass player.
1959 – Bob Stinson, an American songwriter.
1961 – Mansoor al-Jamri, a Bahraini journalist.
1961 – Sara Dallin, an English singer.
1962 – Paul Dobson, an English footballer.
1962 – Galina Malchugina, a Russian sprinter.
1962 – Rocco Mediate, an American golfer.
1964 – Frank Musil, a Czech ice hockey player.
1964 – Joe Wolf, an American basketball player.
1965 – Craig Berube, a Canadian ice hockey player and coach.
1965 – Jeff Grayer, an American basketball player.
1966 – Tracy Byrd, an American singer.
1966 – Kristiina Ojuland, an Estonian politician.
1967 – Vincent Damphousse, a Canadian ice hockey player.
1967 – Gigi D'Agostino, an Italian musician and DJ.
1967 – Karsten Neitzel, a German footballer.
1968 – Claudio Suárez, a Mexican footballer.
1968 – Paul Tracy, a Canadian race car driver.
1969 – Laurie Holden, an American actress.
1969 – Inna Lasovskaya, a Russian triple jumper.
1969 – Chuck Liddell, an American mixed martial artist.
1969 – Mick Quinn, an English singer.
1970 – Sean Patrick Thomas, an American actor.
1971 – Claire Forlani, an English actress.
1971 – Alan Khan, a South African TV presenter.
1971 – Nikki McCray-Penson, an American basketball player.
1971 – Antoine Rigaudeau, a French basketball player.
1972 – John Abraham, an Indian actor.
1972 – Iván Pedroso, a Cuban long jumper.
1973 – Eddie Fisher, an American drummer.
1973 – Konstadinos Gatsioudis, a Greek javelin thrower.
1973 – Rian Johnson, an American director.
1973 – Paula Radcliffe, an English runner.
1973 – Hasan Vural, a German-Turkish footballer.
1974 – Charl Langeveldt, a South African cricketer.
1974 – Sarah Paulson, an American actress.
1974 – Giovanni Ribisi, an American actor.
1974 – Marissa Ribisi, an American actress.
1975 – Nick Dinsmore, an American wrestler.
1975 – Susanthika Jayasinghe, a Sri Lankan sprinter.
1975 – Milla Jovovich, a Ukrainian-American actress.
1976 – Éric Bédard, a Canadian speed skater.
1976 – Nir Davidovich, an Israeli footballer.
1976 – Patrick Müller, a Swiss footballer.
1976 – Andrew Simpson, an English sailor.
1976 – Takeo Spikes, an American football player.
1977 – Arnaud Clément, a French tennis player.
1977 – Samuel Påhlsson, a Swedish ice hockey player.
1977 – Katheryn Winnick, a Canadian actress.
1978 – Alex Cintrón, a Puerto Rican baseball player.
1978 – Riteish Deshmukh, an Indian actor.
1978 – Manny Pacquiao, a Filipino boxer and politician.
1978 – Neil Sanderson, a Canadian drummer.
1978 – Chase Utley, an American baseball player.
1979 – Matt Murley, an American ice hockey player.
1979 – Paul Smith, an English footballer.
1980 – Suzy Batkovic, an Australian basketball player.
1980 – Ryan Hunter-Reay, an American race car driver.
1980 – Alexandra Papageorgiou, a Greek hammer thrower.
1980 – Eli Pariser, an American activist.
1981 – Jerry Hsu, an American skateboarder.
1981 – Tim Wiese, a German footballer.
1982 – Josh Barfield, an American baseball player.
1982 – Lorenzo Cittadini, an Italian rugby player.
1982 – Craig Kielburger, a Canadian activist.
1982 – Stéphane Lasme, a Gabonese basketball player.
1983 – Gregory Campbell, a Canadian ice hockey player.
1983 – Erik Christensen, a Canadian ice hockey player.
1983 – Mikky Ekko, an American singer.
1983 – Haron Keitany, a Kenyan runner.
1983 – Sébastien Ogier, a French race car driver.
1984 – Luis Alfageme, an Argentinian footballer.
1984 – Julian Bennett, an English footballer.
1984 – Andrew Davies, an English footballer.
1984 – Shannon Woodward, an American actress.
1985 – Fernando Abad, a Dominican baseball player.
1985 – Łukasz Broź, a Polish footballer.
1985 – Craig Reid, an English footballer.
1986 – Emma Bell, an American actress.
1986 – Frank Winterstein, an Australian-Samoan rugby league player.
1986 – Vanessa Zima, an American actress.
1987 – Maryna Arzamasova, a Belarusian runner.
1987 – Bo Guagua, a Chinese businessman.
1987 – Chelsea Manning, an American intelligence analyst.
1987 – Donovan Solano, a Colombian baseball player.
1988 – Liisa Ehrberg, an Estonian cyclist.
1988 – Grethe Grünberg, an Estonian ice dancer.
1988 – Kris Joseph, a Canadian basketball player.
1988 – David Rudisha, a Kenyan runner.
1988 – Craig Sutherland, a Scottish footballer.
1989 – Taylor York, an American musician.
1990 – Graham Rogers, an American actor.
1991 – Jordan Rankin, an Australian rugby league player.
1991 – Atsedu Tsegay, an Ethiopian runner.
1992 – Quinton de Kock, a South African cricketer.
1992 – Buddy Hield, a Bahamian basketball player.
1992 – Joshua Ingram, a Canadian drummer.
1993 – Kiersey Clemons, an American actress.
1993 – Patricia Kú Flores, a Peruvian tennis player.
1994 – Lloyd Perrett, a New Zealand rugby league player.
1994 – Nat Wolff, an American singer and actor.
1995 – Guerschon Yabusele, a French basketball player.
1996 – Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, a Russian figure skater.
1997 – Naiktha Bains, a British-Australian tennis player.
1997 – Shoma Uno, a Japanese figure skater.
1998 – Jasmine Armfield, an English actress.
1998 – Martin Ødegaard, a Norwegian footballer.
1999 – Mirei Sasaki, a Japanese singer and model.

Notable Deaths

Passed Away Before 1600

779 – Saint Sturm, an abbot.
908 – al-Abbas ibn al-Hasan al-Jarjara'i, a vizier.
908 – Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz, a prince and poet.
942 – William I, Duke of Normandy.
1187 – Pope Gregory VIII.
1195 – Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut.
1273 – Rumi, a Persian poet and scholar.
1316 – Juan Fernández, a bishop.
1419 – William Gascoigne, a Chief Justice of England.
1471 – Infanta Isabel, Duchess of Burgundy.
1559 – Irene di Spilimbergo, an Italian poet and painter.
1562 – Eleonora di Toledo, a Grand Duchess.

Passed Away 1601–1900

1663 – Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba, an African queen.
1721 – Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough, an English soldier and politician.
1830 – Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general and politician, known for leading independence movements.
1833 & Kaspar Hauser, a famous German young man with a mysterious past.
1847 – Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma.
1857 – Francis Beaufort, an Irish officer who created the Beaufort scale for wind speed.
1891 – José María Iglesias, a Mexican politician and interim President.

Passed Away 1901–Present

1904 – William Shiels, an Irish-Australian politician.
1907 – William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, a famous Irish-Scottish physicist and engineer.
1909 – Leopold II of Belgium, a king.
1917 – Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, an English physician and activist.
1927 – Rajendra Lahiri, an Indian activist.
1928 – Frank Rinehart, an American photographer.
1929 – Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa, a Portuguese general and President.
1930 & Peter Warlock, a Welsh composer.
1932 & Charles Winckler, a Danish athlete.
1933 & 13th Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader.
1935 & Lizette Woodworth Reese, an American poet.
1940 & Alicia Boole Stott, an Anglo-Irish mathematician.
1942 & Allen Bathurst, Lord Apsley, an English politician.
1947 & Christos Tsigiridis, a Greek engineer.
1956 & Eddie Acuff, an American actor.
1957 & Dorothy L. Sayers, an English author.
1962 & Thomas Mitchell, an American actor.
1964 & Victor Francis Hess, an Austrian-American physicist who won the Nobel Prize.
1967 & Harold Holt, the Prime Minister of Australia.
1970 & Oliver Waterman Larkin, an American historian.
1978 & Don Ellis, an American trumpet player.
1981 & Antiochos Evangelatos, a Greek composer.
1982 & Homer S. Ferguson, an American lawyer and judge.
1986 & Guillermo Cano Isaza, a Colombian journalist.
1987 & Bernardus Johannes Alfrink, a Dutch cardinal.
1987 & Marguerite Yourcenar, a Belgian-American author.
1992 & Günther Anders, a German philosopher.
1992 & Dana Andrews, an American actor.
1999 & Rex Allen, an American singer and actor.
1999 & Grover Washington Jr., an American saxophonist.
1999 & C. Vann Woodward, an American historian.
2002 & K. W. Devanayagam, a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician.
2003 & Otto Graham, an American football player and coach.
2004 & Tom Wesselmann, an American painter.
2005 & Jack Anderson, an American journalist.
2005 & Marc Favreau, a Canadian actor.
2005 & Haljand Udam, an Estonian orientalist.
2006 & Larry Sherry, an American baseball player.
2008 & Sammy Baugh, an American football player.
2008 & Freddy Breck, a German singer.
2008 & Dave Smith, an American baseball player.
2008 & Gregoire, a chimpanzee known for being very old.
2009 & Chris Henry, an American football player.
2009 & Jennifer Jones, an American actress.
2009 & Alaina Reed Hall, an American actress.
2010 & Captain Beefheart, an American singer.
2010 & Walt Dropo, an American baseball player.
2010 & Ralph Coates, an English footballer.
2011 & Eva Ekvall, a Venezuelan journalist and Miss Venezuela 2000.
2011 & Kim Jong-il, the former leader of North Korea.
2012 & Richard Adams, an American activist.
2012 & James Gower, an American priest.
2012 & Daniel Inouye, an American politician.
2012 & Laurier LaPierre, a Canadian historian and journalist.
2012 & Frank Pastore, an American baseball player.
2013 & Fred Bruemmer, a Latvian-Canadian photographer.
2013 & Ricardo María Carles Gordó, a Spanish cardinal.
2013 & Richard Heffner, an American historian.
2013 & Tetsurō Kashibuchi, a Japanese drummer.
2013 & Janet Rowley, an American geneticist.
2013 & Conny van Rietschoten, a Dutch sailor.
2014 & Dieter Grau, a German-American scientist.
2014 & Richard C. Hottelet, an American journalist.
2014 & Oleh Lysheha, a Ukrainian poet.
2014 & Lowell Steward, an American captain.
2014 & Ivan Vekić, a Croatian politician.
2015 & Hal Brown, an American baseball player.
2015 & Osamu Hayaishi, an American-Japanese biochemist.
2015 & Michael Wyschogrod, a German-American philosopher.
2016 & Benjamin A. Gilman, an American politician.
2016 & Henry Heimlich, an American doctor, known for the Heimlich maneuver.
2016 & Gordon Hunt, an American voice director.
2020 & Jeremy Bulloch, an English actor.
2020 & Allen Dines, an American politician.
2023 & Ronaldo Valdez, a Filipino actor.
2023 & James McCaffrey, an American actor.

Holidays and Observances

Christian feast day:
- Daniel the Prophet
- Josep Manyanet i Vives
- Lazarus of Bethany (celebrated in Cuba)
- O Sapientia
- Olympias the Deaconess
- Wivina
- Sturm
- December 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Accession Day (Bahrain)
Kurdish Flag Day (celebrated by Kurdish people around the world)
National Day (Bhutan)
Pan American Aviation Day (United States)
Wright Brothers Day, a special day in the United States to remember the Wright brothers' first flight.

Images for kids

A friendly robot