January 17 facts for kids

January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 348 days remain until the end of the year (349 in leap years).

January 17th is a day filled with many important events throughout history, from ancient times to today. People have been born and passed away on this day, and various cultures celebrate special holidays. Let's explore some of the interesting things that happened on January 17th!

Historical Events

Early History (Before 1600)

• 38 BC – Octavian, a powerful Roman leader, divorced his wife and married Livia Drusilla. This event changed the peace between the leaders of Rome and Sextus Pompey.
• 1362 – A huge storm known as the Saint Marcellus' flood hit the North Sea coast. It caused a lot of damage and sadly, at least 25,000 people lost their lives.
• 1377 – Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome. He had decided to move the Papacy (the Pope's official home) back to Rome from Avignon, France.
• 1524 – Explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano began a journey from Madeira. He was sailing west to try and find a sea route to the Pacific Ocean.
• 1562 – France passed the Edict of Saint-Germain. This law gave religious freedom to the Huguenots, who were French Protestants.
• 1595 – During the French Wars of Religion, Henry IV of France declared war on Spain.

Later History (1601–1900)

• 1608 – Emperor Susenyos I of Ethiopia led his army to a big victory against an Oromo army at Ebenat.
• 1641 – The parliament of Principality of Catalonia in Spain declared the Catalan Republic. It was under the protection of France.
• 1648 – England's Long Parliament decided to stop talking with King Charles I. This led to the second part of the English Civil War.
• 1649 – The Second Ormonde Peace created an alliance between Irish Royalists and Confederates during the War of the Three Kingdoms.
• 1773 – Captain James Cook became the first person to sail south of the Antarctic Circle. This was during his second expedition.
• 1781 – During the American Revolutionary War, American troops won the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina. Brigadier General Daniel Morgan led the American forces.
• 1799 – Maltese patriot Dun Mikiel Xerri and other patriots were executed.
• 1811 – In the Mexican War of Independence, a smaller Spanish army defeated a much larger Mexican revolutionary force at the Battle of Calderón Bridge.
• 1852 – The United Kingdom signed the Sand River Convention with the South African Republic.
• 1873 – Modoc warriors defeated the United States Army in the First Battle of the Stronghold. This was part of the Modoc War.
• 1885 – A British force won a battle against a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.
• 1893 – Lorrin A. Thurston and others led the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. They removed Queen Liliʻuokalani from power.
• 1899 – The United States took control of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.

Modern History (1901–Present)

• 1903 – El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico became part of the United States National Forest System. It was named the Luquillo Forest Reserve.
• 1904 – Anton Chekhov's famous play The Cherry Orchard was performed for the first time in Moscow.
• 1912 – British explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole. He arrived one month after Roald Amundsen.
• 1915 – Russia defeated Ottoman Turkey in the Battle of Sarikamish during World War I.
• 1917 – The United States bought the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million.
• 1918 – The first serious battles of the Finnish Civil War took place between the Red Guards and the White Guard.
• 1920 – Alcohol Prohibition began in the United States. This meant it was illegal to make, sell, or transport alcohol.
• 1941 – During the Franco-Thai War, French forces won a big victory over the Royal Thai Navy at the Battle of Ko Chang.
• 1943 – World War II: The Greek submarine Papanikolis captured a sailing ship called Agios Stefanos.
• 1944 – World War II: Allied forces began the first of four attacks on Monte Cassino in Italy. They wanted to break through the German defenses and reach Rome.
• 1945 – World War II: The Vistula–Oder Offensive forced German troops out of Warsaw, Poland.
• 1945 – The SS-Totenkopfverbände started emptying the Auschwitz concentration camp as the Red Army got closer.
• 1945 – Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg was taken into custody by the Soviets in Hungary. He was never seen publicly again.
• 1946 – The UN Security Council held its very first meeting.
• 1948 – The Renville Agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesia was officially approved.
• 1950 – The Great Brink's Robbery happened in Boston. Eleven thieves stole over $2 million from an armored car company.
• 1961 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his farewell speech on TV. He warned about the growing power of the "military–industrial complex".
• 1961 – Former Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba died during political unrest.
• 1977 – Capital punishment in the United States started again after ten years. Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in Utah.
• 1981 – President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos ended martial law in the Philippines.
• 1991 – Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm began with aircraft striking targets in Iraq. It was the first major combat mission for the F-117 stealth jet.
• 1991 – Crown Prince Harald of Norway became King Harald V after his father, King Olav V, passed away.
• 1994 – The 1994 Northridge earthquake shook the Greater Los Angeles Area. It was a strong earthquake that caused 57 deaths and injured over 8,700 people.
• 1995 – The Great Hanshin earthquake hit the southern Hyōgo Prefecture in Japan. It was a very strong earthquake that caused 5,502–6,434 deaths and displaced many people.
• 1996 – The Czech Republic applied to become a member of the European Union.
• 1997 – A Delta II rocket carrying a satellite exploded 13 seconds after launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
• 1998 – The Clinton–Lewinsky scandal story was first reported by Matt Drudge on his Drudge Report website.
• 2002 – Mount Nyiragongo erupted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This forced about 400,000 people to leave their homes.
• 2007 – The Doomsday Clock was set to five minutes to midnight. This was due to North Korea's nuclear testing.
• 2008 – British Airways Flight 38 crashed just before the runway at Heathrow Airport, injuring 47 people.
• 2010 – Rioting started between Muslim and Christian groups in Jos, Nigeria. At least 200 people died.
• 2013 – Former cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in an interview on Oprah's Next Chapter.
• 2016 – President Barack Obama announced the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement about nuclear power.
• 2017 – The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was officially stopped.

Famous Births

Born Before 1900

• 1342 – Philip II, Duke of Burgundy, a powerful duke.
• 1429 – Antonio del Pollaiuolo, an Italian artist.
• 1463 – Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, a German prince.
• 1484 – George Spalatin, a German priest and reformer.
• 1501 – Leonhart Fuchs, a German doctor and botanist.
• 1504 – Pope Pius V, a Pope of the Catholic Church.
• 1517 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, an English Duke.
• 1560 – Gaspard Bauhin, a Swiss botanist and doctor.
• 1600 – Pedro Calderón de la Barca, a Spanish playwright and poet.
• 1706 – Benjamin Franklin, a famous American publisher, inventor, and politician.
• 1732 – Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of Poland and Lithuania.
• 1820 – Anne Brontë, an English author and poet, known for her novels.
• 1834 – August Weismann, a German biologist and geneticist.
• 1860 – Douglas Hyde, the first President of Ireland.
• 1863 – David Lloyd George, a Welsh lawyer and politician who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 1863 – Konstantin Stanislavski, a Russian actor and director who developed a famous acting method.
• 1867 – Carl Laemmle, a German-born American film producer who co-founded Universal Studios.
• 1877 – May Gibbs, an English-Australian author and illustrator.
• 1880 – Mack Sennett, a Canadian-American actor, director, and producer.
• 1886 – Glenn L. Martin, an American pilot and businessman who founded the Glenn L. Martin Company.
• 1899 – Al Capone, an American mob boss.
• 1899 – Nevil Shute, an English engineer and author.

Born 1901–Present

• 1911 – George Stigler, an American economist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1917 – M. G. Ramachandran, an Indian actor, director, and politician.
• 1922 – Betty White, a beloved American actress and television personality.
• 1925 – Robert Cormier, an American author and journalist.
• 1927 – Eartha Kitt, an American actress and singer.
• 1928 – Vidal Sassoon, a famous English-American hairdresser and businessman.
• 1931 – James Earl Jones, a well-known American actor, famous for his deep voice.
• 1933 – Dalida, an Egyptian-French singer and actress.
• 1933 – Shari Lewis, an American actress, puppeteer, and television host.
• 1940 – Kipchoge Keino, a Kenyan athlete.
• 1942 – Muhammad Ali, a legendary American boxer and activist.
• 1949 – Andy Kaufman, an American actor and comedian.
• 1952 – Ryuichi Sakamoto, a Japanese pianist, composer, and producer.
• 1955 – Steve Earle, an American singer-songwriter and actor.
• 1957 – Steve Harvey, an American actor, comedian, and television host.
• 1959 – Susanna Hoffs, an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
• 1962 – Jim Carrey, a Canadian-American actor and comedian.
• 1964 – Michelle Obama, an American lawyer and activist, and the 44th First Lady of the United States.
• 1969 – Tiësto, a Dutch DJ and producer.
• 1971 – Kid Rock, an American singer-songwriter and producer.
• 1973 – Cuauhtémoc Blanco, a Mexican footballer and actor.
• 1977 – Leigh Whannell, an Australian actor, director, and screenwriter.
• 1980 – Zooey Deschanel, an American singer-songwriter and actress.
• 1982 – Dwyane Wade, an American basketball player.
• 1984 – Calvin Harris, a Scottish singer-songwriter, DJ, and producer.
• 1987 – Oleksandr Usyk, a Ukrainian boxer.
• 1997 – Jake Paul, an American boxer, actor, and social media personality.

Notable Deaths

Passed Away Before 1900

• 395 – Theodosius I, a Roman emperor.
• 644 – Sulpitius the Pious, a French bishop and saint.
• 1040 – Mas'ud I of Ghazni, a Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire.
• 1156 – André de Montbard, the fifth Grand Master of the Knights Templar.
• 1369 – Peter I of Cyprus, a king.
• 1468 – Skanderbeg, an Albanian soldier and politician.
• 1598 – Feodor I of Russia, a Russian Tsar.
• 1705 – John Ray, an English botanist and historian.
• 1751 – Tomaso Albinoni, an Italian violinist and composer.
• 1826 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, a Spanish-French composer.
• 1861 – Lola Montez, an Irish actress and dancer.
• 1863 – Horace Vernet, a French painter.
• 1893 – Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th President of the United States.

Passed Away 1901–Present

• 1911 – Francis Galton, an English scientist and geographer.
• 1927 – Juliette Gordon Low, the American founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA.
• 1933 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, an American stained glass artist.
• 1961 – Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• 1977 – Dougal Haston, a Scottish mountaineer.
• 1991 – Olav V of Norway, the King of Norway.
• 1997 – Clyde Tombaugh, an American astronomer who discovered Pluto.
• 2002 – Camilo José Cela, a Spanish author and politician who won the Nobel Prize.
• 2008 – Bobby Fischer, a famous American chess player.
• 2010 – Erich Segal, an American author and screenwriter.
• 2012 – Johnny Otis, an American singer-songwriter and producer.
• 2014 – Suchitra Sen, an Indian film actress.
• 2015 – Faten Hamama, an Egyptian actress and producer.
• 2017 – Colo, a western lowland gorilla who was the first gorilla born in captivity and the oldest recorded.
• 2022 – Birju Maharaj, an Indian dancer.
• 2023 – Lucile Randon, a French supercentenarian (someone over 110 years old).

Holidays and Observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Anthony the Great
  • Blessed Angelo Paoli
  • Blessed Gamelbert of Michaelsbuch
  • Charles Gore (Church of England)
  • Jenaro Sánchez Delgadillo (one of Saints of the Cristero War)
  • Mildgyth
  • Our Lady of Pontmain
  • Sulpitius the Pious
  • January 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• National Day (Menorca, Spain)
• The opening ceremony of Patras Carnival, celebrated until Clean Monday. (Patras, Greece)

See also

In Spanish: 17 de enero para niños