June 17 facts for kids

June 17th is a day filled with many interesting events throughout history, from important discoveries to major changes in countries. It's a day when explorers found new lands, nations gained independence, and significant inventions were introduced. Many famous people were also born or passed away on this date.

June 17 is the 168th day of the year (169th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 197 days remain until the end of the year.

Historical Events on June 17

Early History (Before 1600)

• 653 – Pope Martin I was arrested and taken to Constantinople. This happened because he disagreed with a religious idea called monothelitism.
• 1242 & In Paris, France, many Jewish religious books were burned after a big debate.
• 1397 – The Kalmar Union was created. This united the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden under the rule of Margaret I of Denmark.
• 1462 – Vlad the Impaler tried to attack the army of Mehmed II in a surprise night raid near Târgovişte. This forced Mehmed II to leave Wallachia.
• 1497 – The Battle of Deptford Bridge took place. King Henry VII's forces defeated troops led by Michael An Gof.
• 1579 – The famous explorer Sir Francis Drake claimed a land he named Nova Albion (which is now part of California) for England.
• 1596 – Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz discovered the Arctic islands of Spitsbergen.

Later History (1601–1900)

• 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal passed away. Her husband, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, then spent the next 17 years building the amazing Taj Mahal as her mausoleum.
• 1665 – The Battle of Montes Claros was fought. This battle helped Portugal finally secure its independence from Spain after a long war.
• 1673 – French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet reached the Mississippi River. They were the first Europeans to write a detailed description of its path.
• 1767 – Samuel Wallis, a British sea captain, became the first European to see the island of Tahiti.
• 1773 – The city of Cúcuta in Colombia was founded by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar.
• 1775 – During the American Revolutionary War, colonists caused many losses for British forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
• 1789 – In France, the common people, known as the Third Estate, declared themselves the National Assembly. This was a big step towards the French Revolution.
• 1794 – The Anglo-Corsican Kingdom was established.
• 1795 – The citizens of Swellendam in South Africa removed the Dutch East India Company's leader and declared their own republic.
• 1839 – In the Kingdom of Hawaii, King Kamehameha III issued a special rule called the edict of toleration. This rule gave Roman Catholics the freedom to practice their religion in the Hawaiian Islands.
• 1843 – The Wairau Affray happened in New Zealand. This was the first serious fight between the Māori people and British settlers during the New Zealand Wars.
• 1861 – During the American Civil War, the Battle of Vienna, Virginia took place.
• 1863 – Another American Civil War battle, the Battle of Aldie, occurred as part of the Gettysburg Campaign.
• 1876 – In the American Indian Wars, about 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors, led by Crazy Horse, pushed back General George Crook's forces at Rosebud Creek in Montana Territory.
• 1877 – In the Idaho Territory, the Nez Perce tribe defeated the U.S. Cavalry at the Battle of White Bird Canyon.
• 1885 – The famous Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor from France.
• 1898 – The United States Navy Hospital Corps was created to provide medical care.
• 1900 – During the Boxer Rebellion in China, forces from several Western countries and Japan captured the Taku Forts in Tianjin.

Modern History (1901–Present)

• 1901 – The College Board introduced its first standardized test, which was the beginning of the SAT test used today.
• 1910 – Aurel Vlaicu flew his airplane, the A. Vlaicu nr. 1, for the very first time.
• 1922 – Portuguese naval aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral completed the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic Ocean by plane.
• 1929 – The town of Murchison, New Zealand was hit by a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which sadly killed 17 people.
• 1930 – U.S. President Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act into law, which affected trade.
• 1932 – The Bonus Army: About a thousand World War I veterans gathered at the United States Capitol to ask for certain benefits.
• 1933 – The Union Station massacre happened in Kansas City, Missouri. Several FBI agents and a captured fugitive were shot by gangsters trying to free the fugitive.
• 1939 – The last public execution by guillotine in France took place in Versailles.
• 1940 – World War II: The ship RMS Lancastria was attacked and sunk by German planes near Saint-Nazaire, France. This was Britain's worst maritime disaster, with many lives lost.
• 1940 – World War II: The British Army's 11th Hussars attacked and took Fort Capuzzo in Libya from Italian forces.
• 1940 – The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania came under the control of the Soviet Union.
• 1944 – Iceland declared its independence from Denmark and became a republic.
• 1952 – Guatemala passed Decree 900, a law that ordered the redistribution of unused land.
• 1953 – Cold War: During the East Germany Workers Uprising, the Soviet Union sent troops into East Berlin to stop a rebellion.
• 1958 – The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, a bridge being built in Canada, collapsed into the Burrard Inlet.
• 1960 – The Nez Perce tribe was awarded $4 million for land that was undervalued in a treaty from 1863.
• 1963 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Abington School District v. Schempp that public schools could not require students to recite Bible verses or the Lord's Prayer.
• 1963 – A day after South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm announced a plan to end the Buddhist crisis, a riot involving about 2,000 people broke out.
• 1967 – Nuclear weapons testing: China announced that it had successfully tested its first thermonuclear weapon.
• 1971 – U.S. President Richard Nixon announced the start of the War on drugs in a televised speech.
• 1972 – Watergate scandal: Five people working for the White House were arrested for breaking into the offices of the Democratic National Committee. This was part of a plan to secretly listen to the political opposition.
• 1985 – Space Shuttle program: The Space Shuttle Discovery launched with Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on board. He was the first Arab and first Muslim person to travel into space.
• 1987 – The dusky seaside sparrow became extinct when the last known bird of its kind passed away.
• 1991 – Apartheid: The South African Parliament ended the Population Registration Act, which had required all South Africans to be classified by race at birth.
• 1992 – U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed an agreement to reduce nuclear weapons.
• 2017 – A series of wildfires in central Portugal tragically killed at least 64 people and injured many others.
• 2021 – Juneteenth National Independence Day was signed into law by President Joe Biden, making it a federal holiday.

Notable Births on June 17

People Born Before 1900

• 1239 – Edward I, who became a powerful English king.
• 1571 – Thomas Mun, an English writer who wrote about economics.
• 1682 – Charles XII, a famous Swedish king.
• 1704 – John Kay, an English engineer who invented the Flying shuttle, a key invention for weaving.
• 1818 – Charles Gounod, a French composer known for his operas.
• 1832 – William Crookes, an English chemist and physicist.
• 1858 – Eben Sumner Draper, an American businessman and politician who served as the 44th Governor of Massachusetts.
• 1865 – Susan La Flesche Picotte, a Native American physician, one of the first female Native American doctors.
• 1867 – Henry Lawson, a famous Australian poet and author.
• 1871 – James Weldon Johnson, an American author, journalist, and activist.
• 1882 – Igor Stravinsky, a very important Russian pianist, composer, and conductor.
• 1898 – M. C. Escher, a Dutch artist famous for his unique and mind-bending illustrations.
• 1900 – Evelyn Irons, a Scottish journalist and war correspondent.

People Born After 1900

• 1903 – Ruth Graves Wakefield, an American chef who invented the chocolate chip cookie!
• 1904 – Ralph Bellamy, an American actor.
• 1914 – John Hersey, an American journalist and author.
• 1920 – François Jacob, a French biologist and geneticist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1925 – Alexander Shulgin, an American pharmacologist and chemist.
• 1929 – Tigran Petrosian, an Armenian chess player who became a world champion.
• 1936 – Ken Loach, an English director and filmmaker.
• 1940 – George Akerlof, an American economist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1942 – Mohamed ElBaradei, an Egyptian politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
• 1943 – Newt Gingrich, an American politician who was the 58th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
• 1943 – Barry Manilow, a popular American singer-songwriter.
• 1945 – Eddy Merckx, a famous Belgian cyclist.
• 1951 – Joe Piscopo, an American actor and comedian.
• 1958 – Jello Biafra, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1960 – Thomas Haden Church, an American actor.
• 1961 – Kōichi Yamadera, a Japanese actor and singer.
• 1963 – Greg Kinnear, an American actor and TV presenter.
• 1964 – Michael Gross, a German swimmer.
• 1965 – Dan Jansen, an American speed skater.
• 1966 – Tory Burch, an American fashion designer.
• 1970 – Will Forte, an American actor and comedian.
• 1971 – Paulina Rubio, a Mexican pop singer.
• 1973 – Leander Paes, an Indian tennis player.
• 1976 – Scott Adkins, an English actor and martial artist.
• 1980 – Venus Williams, a famous American tennis player.
• 1987 – Kendrick Lamar, a popular American rapper.
• 1997 – KJ Apa, a New Zealand actor.
• 1999 – Elena Rybakina, a Kazakhstani tennis player.

Notable Deaths on June 17

People Who Passed Away Before 1900

• 656 – Uthman, an early leader of the Islamic world.
• 1025 – Bolesław I the Brave, a Polish king.
• 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal, a Mughal princess for whom the Taj Mahal was built.
• 1696 – John III Sobieski, a Polish king.
• 1719 – Joseph Addison, an English writer and politician.
• 1775 – John Pitcairn, a Scottish-English soldier during the American Revolutionary War.
• 1889 – Lozen, a brave Chiricahua Apache warrior woman.
• 1898 – Edward Burne-Jones, an English painter.

People Who Passed Away After 1900

• 1940 – Arthur Harden, an English biochemist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1952 – Jack Parsons, an American chemist and engineer who helped develop rockets.
• 1956 – Bob Sweikert, an American race car driver.
• 1961 – Jeff Chandler, an American actor.
• 1968 – José Nasazzi, a Uruguayan footballer.
• 1982 – Roberto Calvi, an Italian banker.
• 1986 – Kate Smith, a beloved American singer.
• 1996 – Thomas Kuhn, an American historian and philosopher of science.
• 2001 – Donald J. Cram, an American chemist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 2002 – Fritz Walter, a German footballer.
• 2008 – Cyd Charisse, an American actress and dancer.
• 2012 – Rodney King, an American whose experience with police brutality led to major discussions about civil rights.
• 2015 – Süleyman Demirel, who served as the 9th President of Turkey.
• 2019 – Gloria Vanderbilt, an American artist, author, and fashion designer.
• 2019 – Mohamed Morsi, the first elected president of Egypt after the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
• 2021 – Kenneth Kaunda, the first president of Zambia.

Holidays and Observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Albert Chmielowski
  • Botolph (England and Scandinavia)
  • Gondulphus of Berry
  • Hervé
  • Hypatius of Bithynia (Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches)
  • Rainerius
  • Samuel and Henrietta Barnett (Church of England)
  • June 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Father's Day (El Salvador, Guatemala)
• Icelandic National Day, celebrates the independence of Iceland from Kingdom of Denmark in 1944.
• National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Forest Fires (Portugal)
• Occupation of the Latvian Republic Day (Latvia)
• World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (international)
• Zemla Intifada Day (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic)

See also

In Spanish: 17 de junio para niños