July 17 facts for kids

July 17 is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 167 days remain until the end of the year.

July 17th is a day filled with many interesting events throughout history, from ancient times to the modern day. It's a day when kings were crowned, new inventions changed the world, and important agreements were made between countries. Let's explore some of the key moments that happened on this date!

Events

Important Moments in History

Early History (Before 1600)

• 180 – In North Africa, twelve people from Scillium (which is now in Tunisia) were put to death for being Christians. This is one of the first times we know about Christianity in that area.
• 1048 – Pope Damasus II was chosen as pope, but he passed away just 23 days later.
• 1203 – During the Crusades, an army attacked Constantinople. The Byzantine emperor, Alexios III Angelos, had to leave his capital city and go into exile.
• 1402 – Zhu Di, known as the Yongle Emperor, became the ruler of China's Ming dynasty.
• 1429 – In the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII of France was crowned King of France at Reims Cathedral. This happened after Joan of Arc led a successful military campaign.
• 1453 – The Battle of Castillon was the very last battle of the Hundred Years' War. The French army, led by Jean Bureau, defeated the English. The English leader, John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, died in the battle.

Changing Times (1601–1900)

• 1717 – King George I of Great Britain sailed along the River Thames with 50 musicians. This is where George Frideric Handel's famous Water Music was played for the first time.
• 1762 – Former emperor Peter III of Russia died.
• 1791 – During the French Revolution, the French National Guard opened fire on a crowd in Paris at the Champ de Mars.
• 1794 – Sixteen Carmelites were put to death just ten days before the end of the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution.
• 1821 – Spain gave the territory of Florida to the United States.
• 1850 – Vega became the first star, besides our Sun, to ever be photographed.
• 1867 – The Harvard School of Dental Medicine was started in Boston, Massachusetts. It was the first dental school in the U.S. to be connected with a university.
• 1899 – NEC Corporation was formed. It was the first Japanese company to be a joint venture with foreign investors.

Modern Era (1901–Present)

• 1901 – The ship Deutschland set a new record for crossing the Atlantic from east to west, taking only five days, eleven hours, and five minutes.
• 1902 – Willis Carrier invented the first air conditioner in Buffalo, New York.
• 1917 – King George V announced that the British Royal Family's male descendants would use the surname Windsor.
• 1918 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family were killed by Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg.
• 1918 – The RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued survivors from the RMS Titanic, was sunk near Ireland by a German submarine. Five lives were lost.
• 1919 – The government of the Republic of Finland was officially confirmed. Because of this, July 17th is known as Day of Democracy in Finland.
• 1936 – The Spanish Civil War began when a military rebellion started against the government.
• 1938 – Douglas Corrigan flew from Brooklyn to Ireland, even though he was supposed to fly the other way. He became known as "Wrong Way" Corrigan.
• 1944 – The Port Chicago disaster happened near the San Francisco Bay. Two ships carrying ammunition exploded, killing 320 people.
• 1945 – After World War II, the main leaders of the Allied nations – Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman, and Joseph Stalin – met in Potsdam, Germany, to decide what would happen to Germany.
• 1955 – Disneyland was officially opened by Walt Disney in Anaheim, California.
• 1962 – The "Small Boy" test was the last nuclear test explosion in the atmosphere at the Nevada National Security Site.
• 1975 – The Apollo–Soyuz Test Project saw an American Apollo spacecraft and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft connect in orbit. This was the first time spacecraft from the two nations linked up.
• 1976 – East Timor became the 27th province of Indonesia.
• 1976 – The 1976 Summer Olympics opened in Montreal, but 25 African teams boycotted the games. They did this because New Zealand was allowed to participate, even though they had played sports with South Africa during apartheid.
• 1981 – A walkway at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri, collapsed, killing 114 people and injuring more than 200.
• 1984 – The national drinking age in the United States was changed from 18 to 21.
• 1989 – The B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber flew for the first time.
• 1996 – TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747 flying to Paris, exploded off the coast of Long Island, New York. All 230 people on board died.
• 1998 – A large earthquake in Papua New Guinea caused a tsunami that destroyed ten villages. Up to 2,700 people died.
• 1998 – A meeting of countries adopted the Rome Statute, which created the International Criminal Court in The Hague. This court prosecutes individuals for very serious crimes like genocide and war crimes.
• 2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777, crashed near the border of Ukraine and Russia after being shot down. All 298 people on board were killed.
• 2018 – Scientists announced they had found a dozen new moons of Jupiter.

Famous Birthdays

People Born Before 1900

• 1487 – Ismail I, a ruler of Iran.
• 1674 – Isaac Watts, an English hymn writer.
• 1744 – Elbridge Gerry, an American politician who became the 5th Vice President of the United States.
• 1763 – John Jacob Astor, a German-American businessman and giver of money to good causes.
• 1831 – Xianfeng Emperor, an emperor of China.
• 1839 – Ephraim Shay, an American engineer who invented the Shay locomotive.
• 1871 – Lyonel Feininger, a German-American painter.
• 1888 – Shmuel Yosef Agnon, an Israeli novelist and poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1889 – Erle Stanley Gardner, an American lawyer and author.
• 1894 – Georges Lemaître, a Belgian priest, astronomer, and cosmologist. He proposed the Big Bang theory.
• 1899 – James Cagney, a famous American actor and dancer.

People Born After 1900

• 1902 – Christina Stead, an Australian author.
• 1917 – Phyllis Diller, an American actress and comedian.
• 1920 – Gordon Gould, an American physicist who invented the laser.
• 1920 – Juan Antonio Samaranch, a Spanish businessman who was the 7th President of the International Olympic Committee.
• 1925 – Jimmy Scott, an American singer.
• 1928 – Vince Guaraldi, an American singer-songwriter and pianist.
• 1932 – Quino, a Spanish-Argentinian cartoonist.
• 1935 – Diahann Carroll, an American actress and singer.
• 1935 – Donald Sutherland, a Canadian actor.
• 1947 – Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom.
• 1949 – Geezer Butler, an English bass player and songwriter.
• 1952 – David Hasselhoff, an American actor and singer.
• 1954 – Angela Merkel, a German chemist and politician who was the Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021.
• 1956 – Julie Bishop, an Australian lawyer and politician.
• 1960 – Robin Shou, a Hong Kong martial artist and actor.
• 1961 – António Costa, a Portuguese politician who became the Prime Minister of Portugal.
• 1963 – Matti Nykänen, a Finnish ski jumper and singer.
• 1965 – Alex Winter, an English-American actor and film director.
• 1975 – Darude, a Finnish DJ and producer.
• 1975 – Terence Tao, an Australian-American mathematician.
• 1976 – Luke Bryan, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1980 – Brett Goldstein, a British actor and writer.
• 1987 – Jeremih, an American singer and record producer.
• 1992 – Billie Lourd, an American actress.
• 1994 – Kali Uchis, an American singer-songwriter.
• 2005 – Connor Bedard, a Canadian ice hockey player.

People We Remember

Important People Who Died Before 1900

• 855 – Pope Leo IV, a pope of the Catholic Church.
• 1085 – Robert Guiscard, a Norman adventurer.
• 1399 – Jadwiga, a queen of Poland.
• 1453 – John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, an English military leader.
• 1588 – Mimar Sinan, an Ottoman architect who designed many famous buildings.
• 1762 – Peter III of Russia, a former emperor of Russia.
• 1790 – Adam Smith, a Scottish economist and philosopher.
• 1793 – Charlotte Corday, a Frenchwoman involved in a famous event during the French Revolution.
• 1845 – Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, an English politician who was a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 1881 – Jim Bridger, an American scout and explorer.

Important People Who Died After 1900

• 1912 – Henri Poincaré, a French mathematician and physicist.
• 1918 – Tsar Nicholas II and his family, the last rulers of Russia, died.
• 1925 – Lovis Corinth, a German painter.
• 1928 – Giovanni Giolitti, an Italian politician who was a Prime Minister of Italy.
• 1944 – William James Sidis, an American mathematician.
• 1959 – Billie Holiday, a famous American singer.
• 1961 – Ty Cobb, a legendary American baseball player.
• 1967 – John Coltrane, a very influential American saxophonist and composer.
• 1974 – Dizzy Dean, an American baseball player.
• 1988 – Bruiser Brody, an American wrestler.
• 1994 – Jean Borotra, a French tennis player.
• 1995 – Juan Manuel Fangio, an Argentinian race car driver.
• 1996 – Victims of TWA Flight 800 included Marcel Dadi, a French guitarist, and Jed Johnson, an American interior designer.
• 2001 – Katharine Graham, an American publisher.
• 2005 – Edward Heath, an English politician who was a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 2006 – Mickey Spillane, an American crime novelist.
• 2009 – Walter Cronkite, a well-known American journalist.
• 2014 – Victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 included Joep Lange, a Dutch physician, and Willem Witteveen, a Dutch scholar.
• 2015 – Jules Bianchi, a French race car driver.
• 2020 – John Lewis, an American politician and important Civil Rights Leader.

Special Days and Holidays

• Christian feast day:
  • Alexius of Rome
  • Jadwiga of Poland
  • Pope Leo IV
  • Romanov sainthood
  • Speratus and companions
• Constitution Day (South Korea)
• Gion Matsuri (Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto)
• Independence Day (Slovakia)
• International Firgun Day
• King's Birthday (Lesotho)
• U Tirot Sing Day (Meghalaya, India)
• World Day for International Justice
• World Emoji Day

See also

In Spanish: 17 de julio para niños