On this day in history

August 17

28 births · 13 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

112

WWI Eastern Front

112 years ago

Born this day

1943

Robert De Niro

Turns 83

Photo (modified): Harald Krichel · CC BY-SA 4.0

Oldest record

425th

Pierre de Fermat

birth anniversary

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Famous births28

1601 · 425 yrs

Pierre de Fermat

Pierre de Fermat (French:; 17 August 1601 – 12 January 1665) was a French magistrate, polymath, and mathematician credited for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus, including his technique of adequality.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 63

View profile Photo (modified): Rolland Lefebvre · Public domain

1629 · 397 yrs

John III Sobieski

John III Sobieski (Polish: Jan III Sobieski (Polish pronunciation:); Lithuanian: Jonas III Sobieskis (Lithuanian pronunciation:); Latin: Ioannes III Sobiscius (Latin pronunciation:) 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 66

View profile Photo (modified): Marcello Bacciarelli · Public domain

1786 · 240 yrs

Davy Crockett

David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives and fought in the Texas Revolution.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 49

View profile Photo (modified): James Hamilton Shegogue, 1806 - 1872 · Public domain

1844 · 182 yrs

Menilek II

Menelik II (Ge'ez: ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ dagmawi mənilək; horse name Aba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው abba daññäw); 17 August 1844 – 12 December 1913), baptised as Sahle Maryam (ሣህለ ማርያም sahlä maryam), was king of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death in 1913.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 69

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1887 · 139 yrs

Charles I of Austria

Charles I and IV (German: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria, Hungarian: Károly Ferenc József Lajos Hubert György Ottó Mária; 17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria (as Charles I), King of Hungary (as Charles IV), and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from November 1916…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyWould be 139

View profile Photo (modified): Wenzl Weis · Public domain

1887 · 139 yrs

Marcus Garvey

Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. (17 August 1887 – 10 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ActivismWould be 139

View profile Photo (modified): from George Grantham Bain Collection · Public domain

1893 · 133 yrs

Mae West

Mary Jane West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980), known as Mae West, was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 133

View profile Photo (modified): Paramount Pictures · Public domain

1911 · 115 yrs

Mikhail Botvinnik

Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik (Russian: Михаи́л Моисе́евич Ботви́нник; IPA:; 17 August 1911 – May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster who held five world titles in three different reigns.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SportsWould be 115

View profile Photo (modified): Harry Pot for Anefo ]] · CC BY-SA 3.0 nl

1920 · 106 yrs

Maureen O'Hara

Maureen O'Hara (née FitzSimons; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was an Irish and American actress and singer who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for playing passionate but sensible heroines, often in Westerns and adventure films.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicWould be 106

View profile Photo (modified): USMC Archives from Quantico, USA · CC BY 2.0

1926 · 100 yrs

Jiang Zemin

Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the fourth paramount leader of China from 1989 to 2002, as the chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as the president of China from 1993 to…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryWould be 100

View profile Photo (modified): Presidential Press and Information Office · CC BY 4.0

1930 · 96 yrs

Ted Hughes

Edward James Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 96

View profile Photo (modified): Layle Silbert · Public domain

1932 · 94 yrs

V. S. Naipaul

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (17 August 1932 – 11 August 2018) was a Trinidad-born British writer renowned for his works of fiction and nonfiction in English.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 94

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Showing 12 of 28

Famous deaths13

1676 · 350 yrs

Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen

Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen (1621/22 – 17 August 1676) was a German author. He is best known for his 1669 picaresque novel Simplicius Simplicissimus (German: Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus) and the accompanying Simplician Cycle series, including The Life of Courage.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 54

View profile Photo (modified): Circle of Lucas de Wael · Public domain

1681 · 345 yrs

Patriarch Nikon of Moscow

Nikon (Russian: Ни́кон, Old spelling: Нїконъ), born Nikita Minin (Никита Минин; 7 May 1605 – 17 August 1681) was the seventh Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' of the Russian Orthodox Church, serving officially from 1652 to 1666. He was renowned for his eloquence, energy, piety and close ties to Tsar Alexis of Russia.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ReligionDied aged 76

View profile Photo (modified): anonymous / Unidentified painter · Public domain

1786 · 240 yrs

Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II (German: Friedrich II.; 24 January 1712 – 17 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled King in Prussia, declaring himself King of Prussia after annexing Royal Prussia from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 74

View profile Photo (modified): Anton Graff · Public domain

1838 · 188 yrs

Lorenzo Da Ponte

Lorenzo Da Ponte (né Emanuele Conegliano; 10 March 1749 – 17 August 1838) was an Italian and American librettist, poet and Roman Catholic priest.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 89

View profile Photo (modified): Michele Pekenino (engraver, 19th century) after Nathaniel Rogers (American, 1788-1844) · Public domain

1850 · 176 yrs

José de San Martín

José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (Spanish pronunciation:; 25 February 1778 – 17 August 1850), nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryDied aged 72

View profile Photo (modified): The exact author is disputed. Some sources attribute it to Jean Baptiste Madou, others to the art teacher of San Martin' · Public domain

1935 · 91 yrs

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Charlotte Anna Perkins Gilman (née Perkins; July 3, 1860 – August 17, 1935), also known by her first married name Charlotte Perkins Stetson, was an American humanist, novelist, writer, lecturer, early sociologist, and advocate for social reform.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 75

View profile Photo (modified): Hollinger · Public domain

1936 · 90 yrs

Federico García Lorca

Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 128

View profile Photo (modified): Anonymous Unknown author · Public domain

1944 · 82 yrs

Günther von Kluge

Günther Adolf Ferdinand von Kluge (30 October 1882 – 19 August 1944) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) during World War II. Kluge held commands on the Eastern and Western Fronts, until his suicide in connection with the 20 July plot.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryWould be 143

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

1969 · 57 yrs

Otto Stern

Otto Stern (German:; 17 February 1888 – 17 August 1969) was a German–American experimental physicist. He is the second most nominated person for a Nobel Prize, with 82 nominations during the years 1925–1945.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 138

View profile Photo (modified): Nobelprize.org · Public domain

1969 · 57 yrs

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( MEESS-...-ROH; German:; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886 – August 17, 1969) was a German and American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtWould be 140

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1987 · 39 yrs

Rudolf Hess

Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician, convicted war criminal, and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Germany.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 132

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

1988 · 38 yrs

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani general who ruled Pakistan from his coup in 1977 until his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He served as the chief martial law administrator from 1977 to 1985, and as the president of Pakistan from 1978 until his death.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 102

View profile Photo (modified): Series: Reagan White House Photographs, 1/20/1981 - 1/20/1989 Collection: White House Photographic Collection, 1/20/1981 · Public domain

Showing 12 of 13

Events5

1914 · 112 yrs

WWI Eastern Front

The Eastern Front or Eastern Theater, of World War I, was a theater of operations that encompassed at its greatest extent the entire frontier between Russia and Romania on one side and Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire, and Germany on the other.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1945 · 81 yrs

Indonesian National Revolution

The Indonesian National Revolution (Indonesian: Revolusi Nasional Indonesia), also known as the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcolonial Indonesia.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1998 · 28 yrs

1998 Russian financial crisis

The Russian financial crisis (also called the ruble crisis or the Russian flu) began in Russia on 17 August 1998. It resulted in the Russian government and the Russian Central Bank devaluing the ruble and defaulting on its debt.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

1999 · 27 yrs

1999 İzmit earthquake

An earthquake of moment magnitude 7.6 struck Kocaeli Province, Turkey, on 17 August 1999. According to official figures, at least 18,373 people died and 48,901 people were injured during the earthquake, and 5,840 people were missing.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Disaster

2017 · 9 yrs

2017 Catalonia attacks

On the afternoon of 17 August 2017, 22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub drove a van into a crowd of pedestrians on La Rambla street in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, killing 13 people and injuring at least 130 others, one of whom died as a result of the injuries ten days later, on 27 August.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tragedy

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