October 17 facts for kids

October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 75 days remain until the end of the year.

October 17th is a day filled with many interesting events throughout history. From ancient empires to modern discoveries, this date has seen important moments in science, politics, and culture. Let's explore some of the key happenings and notable people connected to this day!

Historical Events on October 17

Ancient Times and Early History

• 690 – Empress Wu Zetian started the Zhou Dynasty in China. She was a powerful and unique ruler.
• 1091 – A very strong tornado, like an F4, hit the city of London. It caused a lot of damage.
• 1346 – During a battle called Neville's Cross, English forces captured King David II of Scotland. He was held prisoner for eleven years.
• 1448 – The Ottoman army won a big victory against the Hungarian army at the Second Battle of Kosovo.
• 1456 – The University of Greifswald was founded. It is one of the oldest universities in northern Europe.
• 1534 – Posters against certain Catholic beliefs appeared in Paris and other cities. These posters supported the ideas of Huldrych Zwingli.
• 1558 – Poczta Polska, which is the postal service for Poland, was officially started.

Important Events from 1601 to 1900

• 1604 – A very bright exploding star, called Kepler's Supernova, was seen in the sky.
• 1610 – The French king Louis XIII had his crowning ceremony in Reims Cathedral.
• 1660 – Nine people who had signed the order for King Charles I of England's death were executed.
• 1662 – King Charles II of England sold the city of Dunkirk to King Louis XIV of France for 40,000 pounds.
• 1713 – In the Great Northern War, Russia defeated Sweden in a battle in Pälkäne.
• 1771 – The opera Ascanio in Alba was first performed in Milan. It was composed by Mozart when he was just 15 years old!
• 1777 – During the American Revolutionary War, British General John Burgoyne surrendered his army at Saratoga, New York.
• 1781 – In another key moment of the American Revolutionary War, British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered at the Siege of Yorktown.
• 1800 – Britain took control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao.
• 1806 – Emperor Jacques I, a leader of the Haitian Revolution, passed away.
• 1811 – Large silver deposits were found in Agua Amarga, Chile. This discovery helped the Patriots fund the Chilean War of Independence.
• 1814 – Eight people died in the London Beer Flood, a strange accident where a huge vat of beer burst.
• 1850 – Riots began in Aleppo, leading to a massacre.
• 1860 – The very first The Open Championship, a famous golf tournament, was held.
• 1861 – In Australia, nineteen Europeans were killed in the Cullin-la-ringo massacre.

Modern History: 1901 to Today

• 1907 – The Marconi company started the first commercial wireless service that could send messages across the Atlantic Ocean.
• 1912 – Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia declared war on the Ottoman Empire. They joined Montenegro in the First Balkan War.
• 1919 – The famous football club Leeds United F.C. was founded in England.
• 1931 – Al Capone, a well-known gangster, was found guilty of not paying his income taxes.
• 1933 – The brilliant scientist Albert Einstein left Nazi Germany and moved to the United States.
• 1940 – The body of Willi Münzenberg, a Communist leader, was found in France. His death remains a mystery.
• 1941 – During World War II, the USS Kearny became the first U.S. Navy ship to be hit by a German U-boat.
• 1943 – The Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, was completed.
• 1943 – The Sobibór extermination camp was closed.
• 1945 – A huge demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, demanded the release of Juan Perón.
• 1952 – In Indonesia, parts of the army surrounded the Merdeka Palace. They wanted President Sukarno to dissolve the Provisional People's Representative Council.
• 1956 – The first commercial nuclear power station was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield, England.
• 1961 – Paris police, led by Maurice Papon, attacked many Algerian protesters.
• 1961 – Ahmad Shukeiri made the first comparison between Israel and apartheid.
• 1965 – The 1964–65 New York World's Fair closed after two years. More than 51 million people had visited it.
• 1966 – The 23rd Street Fire in New York City tragically killed 12 firefighters.
• 1969 – The famous Caravaggio painting Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence was stolen from a church in Palermo.
• 1970 – Terrorists from the FLQ group killed Quebec Vice-Premier Pierre Laporte.
• 1973 – OPEC, a group of oil-producing countries, stopped selling oil to countries they felt had helped Israel in the Yom Kippur War. This caused an oil crisis.
• 1977 – The hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 landed in Mogadishu. The remaining people held hostage were later rescued.
• 1979 – Mother Teresa was given the Nobel Peace Prize for her amazing work helping others.
• 1979 – The U.S. Department of Education was created by the Department of Education Organization Act.
• 1980 – For the first time, a British monarch made a state visit to the Vatican.
• 1989 – The powerful 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake shook the San Francisco Bay Area, causing 63 deaths.
• 1989 – The East German Politburo voted to remove Erich Honecker from his leadership role.
• 1994 – Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov passed away while investigating corruption.
• 2000 – The Hatfield rail crash led to the collapse of the Railtrack company.
• 2001 – Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi was killed by a member of the PFLP.
• 2003 – Taipei 101, a huge skyscraper in Taipei, became the world's tallest building at the time.
• 2004 – A large fire in Caracas, Venezuela, destroyed almost one-third of the East Tower of the Parque Central Urban Complex.
• 2017 – In the Syrian civil war, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured the last area held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Raqqa. This marked the end of the Battle of Raqqa.
• 2019 – The 17 October Revolution began in Lebanon.

Notable People Born on October 17

• 1253 – Ivo of Kermartin, a French priest and saint.
• 1577 – Dmitry Pozharsky, a Russian prince.
• 1780 – Richard Mentor Johnson, who became the ninth Vice President of the United States.
• 1813 – Georg Büchner, a German-Swiss poet and playwright.
• 1817 – Syed Ahmad Khan, an Indian philosopher and scholar.
• 1859 – Childe Hassam, an American painter.
• 1867 – Josep Puig i Cadafalch, a Catalan architect who designed famous buildings.
• 1898 – Shinichi Suzuki, a Japanese violinist and educator known for his teaching method.
• 1912 – Pope John Paul I, who was Pope for a short time.
• 1915 – Arthur Miller, a famous American playwright who wrote plays like Death of a Salesman.
• 1917 – Marsha Hunt, an American actress and singer.
• 1918 – Rita Hayworth, a very famous American actress, singer, and dancer.
• 1920 – Montgomery Clift, an American actor.
• 1956 – Mae Jemison, an American physician, academic, and astronaut. She was the first African American woman to travel to space!
• 1958 – Alan Jackson, a popular American country music singer-songwriter.
• 1958 – Evel Knievel, a daring American motorcycle rider and stuntman.
• 1959 – Norm Macdonald, a Canadian actor, comedian, and writer.
• 1966 – Mark Gatiss, an English actor, screenwriter, and novelist.
• 1968 – Ziggy Marley, a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician.
• 1969 – Wyclef Jean, a Haitian-American rapper, producer, and actor.
• 1972 – Eminem, a very famous American rapper, producer, and actor.
• 1979 – Kimi Räikkönen, a Finnish race car driver, known for Formula One.
• 1983 – Felicity Jones, an English actress.
• 1984 – Randall Munroe, an American author and illustrator, creator of the webcomic xkcd.

Notable People Who Passed Away on October 17

• 1849 – Frédéric Chopin, a brilliant Polish pianist and composer.
• 1887 – Gustav Kirchhoff, a German physicist and chemist.
• 1893 – Patrice de MacMahon, a French general who became the 3rd President of France.
• 1910 – Julia Ward Howe, an American poet and songwriter, famous for "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."
• 1937 – J. Bruce Ismay, an English businessman.
• 1967 – Puyi, the last emperor of China.
• 1979 – S. J. Perelman, an American humorist and screenwriter.
• 1991 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, an American singer and actor.
• 2007 – Joey Bishop, an American actor and talk show host.
• 2017 – Gord Downie, a Canadian musician, lead singer of The Tragically Hip.
• 2019 – Elijah Cummings, an American politician and civil rights advocate.

Holidays and Observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Andrew of Crete
  • Anstrudis
  • Catervus
  • Ethelred and Ethelberht
  • Florentius of Orange
  • François-Isidore Gagelin (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)
  • Hosea
  • Ignatius of Antioch
  • John the Short (John Colobus)
  • Marguerite Marie Alacoque (pre-1969 calendar, Visitadines)
  • Nothhelm
  • Rule of Andrew
  • Richard Gwyn
  • Victor of Capua
  • October 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
• Loyalty Day (Argentina)
• National Police Day (Thailand)

See also

In Spanish: 17 de octubre para niños