On this day in history

July 17

27 births · 26 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

1976 Summer Olympics

50 years ago

Born this day

1954

Angela Merkel

Turns 72

Photo (modified): EU2017EE Estonian Presidency · CC BY 2.0

Oldest record

627th

Jadwiga I of Poland

death anniversary

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Famous births27

1487 · 539 yrs

Ismail I

Ismail I (Persian: اسماعیل یکم, romanized: Ismāʿīl; 17 July 1487 – 23 May 1524) was the founder and first shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1501 until his death in 1524. His reign is one of the most vital in the history of Iran, and the Safavid era is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 36

View profile Photo (modified): Cristofano dell'Altissimo · Public domain

1698 · 328 yrs

Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis

Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (French:; 1698 – 27 July 1759) was a French mathematician, philosopher and man of letters. He became the director of the Académie des Sciences and the first president of the Prussian Academy of Science, at the invitation of Frederick the Great.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 61

View profile Photo (modified): Robert Tournières · Public domain

1714 · 312 yrs

Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten

Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (German:; 17 July 1714 – 27 May 1762) was a German philosopher. He established aesthetics as a philosophical discipline.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyDied aged 47

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1744 · 282 yrs

Elbridge Gerry

Elbridge Thomas Gerry (17 July 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat, who was a member of the Second Continental Congress, and signed the Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 70

View profile Photo (modified): James Bogle · Public domain

1817 · 209 yrs

Ivan Aivazovsky

Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (Russian: Иван Константинович Айвазовский; 29 July 1817 – 2 May 1900) was a Russian Romantic painter who is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtDied aged 82

View profile Photo (modified): Ivan Aivazovsky · Public domain

1831 · 195 yrs

Xianfeng Emperor

The Xianfeng Emperor (17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), also known by his temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing, personal name Yizhu, was the eighth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 30

View profile Photo (modified): Qing Dynasty Court Painter · Public domain

1894 · 132 yrs

Georges Lemaître

Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître ( lə-MET-rə; French:; 17 July 1894 – 20 June 1966) was a Belgian Catholic priest, theoretical physicist, and mathematician who made major contributions to cosmology and astrophysics.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 132

View profile Photo (modified): unknown photographer, probably a CalTech employee. Cropped by Artistosteles · Public domain

1899 · 127 yrs

James Cagney

James Francis Cagney Jr. (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 127

View profile Photo (modified): Warner Bros. Studio (work for hire) · Public domain

1913 · 113 yrs

Roger Garaudy

Roger Garaudy (French:; 17 July 1913 – 13 June 2012) was a French philosopher, French resistance fighter and a communist author. He converted to Islam in 1982.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyWould be 113

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1917 · 109 yrs

Kenan Evren

Ahmet Kenan Evren (17 July 1917 – 9 May 2015) was a Turkish military officer who served as the 7th president of Turkey from 1982 to 1989. He assumed the post by leading the 1980 military coup.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 109

View profile Photo (modified): Reagan Library · CC BY 3.0

1917 · 109 yrs

Phyllis Diller

Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician and visual artist, noted for her eccentric stage persona, characterized by her self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and exaggerated, cackling laugh.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

TelevisionWould be 109

View profile Photo (modified): User:Brian Hamilton · Public domain

1935 · 91 yrs

Donald Sutherland

Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards as well as a BAFTA Award nomination.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 91

View profile Photo (modified): Festival TV Monte-Carlo · CC BY-SA 3.0

Showing 12 of 27

Famous deaths26

1399 · 627 yrs

Jadwiga I of Poland

Jadwiga (Polish:; 1373/1374 – 17 July 1399), also known as Hedwig (from German, Hungarian: Hedvig), was Queen of the Kingdom of Poland, as well as its last hereditary ruler. Crowned "King" (in regem Poloniae coronata) to highlight her sovereign status, she reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 25

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

1566 · 460 yrs

Bartolomé de las Casas

Bartolomé de las Casas, OP (US: lahss KAH-səss; Spanish pronunciation:); 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a Spanish lawyer, clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as a historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman, then became a Dominican friar.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScholarshipDied aged 91

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

1790 · 236 yrs

Adam Smith

Adam Smith (baptised 16 June 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 67

View profile Photo (modified): Etching created by Cadell and Davies (1811), John Horsburgh (1828) or R.C. Bell (1872). · Public domain

1793 · 233 yrs

Charlotte Corday

Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont (27 July 1768 – 17 July 1793), known as Charlotte Corday (French:), was a figure of the French Revolution who assassinated revolutionary and Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat on 13 July 1793.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 24

View profile Photo (modified): Melina Thomas · Public domain

1845 · 181 yrs

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (13 March 1764 – 17 July 1845) was a British Whig politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 81

View profile Photo (modified): After Thomas Lawrence · Public domain

1894 · 132 yrs

Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle

Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle (French:; 22 October 1818 – 17 July 1894) was a French poet of the Parnassian movement. He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 75

View profile Photo (modified): Jacques Blanquer · Public domain

1903 · 123 yrs

James McNeill Whistler

James Abbott McNeill Whistler (July 10, 1834 – July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake".

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtDied aged 69

View profile Photo (modified): Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress · Public domain

1912 · 114 yrs

Henri Poincaré

Jules Henri Poincaré (UK:, US:; French:; 29 April 1854 – 17 July 1912) was a French mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer, and philosopher of science.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 58

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

1918 · 108 yrs

Nicholas II of Russia

Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 18 May 1868 – 17 July 1918) was Emperor of Russia from 1 November 1894 until his abdication in 1917. He was the last Russian monarch before the Russian Revolution and oversaw the Russian Empire's participation in World War I.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 50

View profile Photo (modified): Boissonnas & Eggler · Public domain

1918 · 108 yrs

Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia

Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia (Russian: Татьяна Николаевна; romanized: Tatiana Nikolaevna) (10 June 1897 – 17 July 1918) was the second child of Tsar Nicholas II, the last monarch of Russia, and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. She was born at Peterhof Palace, near Saint Petersburg.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SportsWould be 129

View profile Photo (modified): Boasson and Eggler St. Petersburg Nevsky 24. · Public domain

1918 · 108 yrs

Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia

Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (Russian: Мария Николаевна; romanized: Maria Nikolaevna) 26 June 1899 – 17 July 1918) was the middle child and third daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SportsWould be 127

View profile Photo (modified): Boasson and Eggler at the Tsarskoe Selo Palace in 1914. · Public domain

1918 · 108 yrs

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (Russian: Ольга Николаевна; 15 November 1895 – 17 July 1918) was the eldest child of the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II, and his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Before the birth of her brother Alexei Nikolaevich, rumors spread that Nicholas II would declare Olga his heir.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SportsWould be 130

View profile Photo (modified): Photo studio Boasson and Eggler , Saint Petersburg , Nevsky 24.; State Archive of the Russian Federation · Public domain

Showing 12 of 26

Events5

1945 · 81 yrs

Potsdam Conference

The Potsdam Conference (German: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from 17 July to 2 August 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris Peace Conference of 1919.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

1976 · 50 yrs

1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1976), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad (Jeux de la XXIe Olympiade) and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (Montréal 1976), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Canada.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sports

1994 · 32 yrs

1994 FIFA World Cup Final

The final match of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th edition of the quadrennial soccer competition organized by FIFA for the men's national teams of its member associations, took place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, United States, on July 17, 1994.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sports

1998 · 28 yrs

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998 and entered into force on 1 July 2002.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

2014 · 12 yrs

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian-backed forces with a Buk 9M38 surface-to-air missile on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

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