October 17

October 17 in recent years

2024 (Thursday)

2023 (Tuesday)

2022 (Monday)

2021 (Sunday)

2020 (Saturday)

2019 (Thursday)

2018 (Wednesday)

2017 (Tuesday)

2016 (Monday)

2015 (Saturday)

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.

Events

Pre-1600

• 690 – Empress Wu Zetian establishes the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 1091 – London tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London.
• 1346 – The English capture King David II of Scotland at Neville's Cross and imprison him for eleven years.
• 1448 – An Ottoman army defeats a Hungarian army at the Second Battle of Kosovo.
• 1456 – The University of Greifswald is established as the second oldest university in northern Europe.
• 1534 – Anti-Catholic posters appear in Paris and other cities supporting Huldrych Zwingli's position on the Mass.
• 1558 – Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, is founded.

1601–1900

• 1604 – Kepler's Supernova is observed in the constellation of Ophiuchus.
• 1610 – French king Louis XIII is crowned in Reims Cathedral.
• 1660 – The nine regicides who signed the death warrant of Charles I of England are hanged, drawn and quartered.
• 1662 – Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to Louis XIV of France for 40,000 pounds.
• 1713 – Great Northern War: Russia defeated Sweden in the Battle of Kostianvirta in Pälkäne.
• 1771 – Premiere in Milan of the opera Ascanio in Alba, composed by Mozart at age 15.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: British General John Burgoyne surrenders his army at Saratoga, New York.
• 1781 – American Revolutionary War: British General Charles, Earl Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown.
• 1800 – War of the Second Coalition: Britain takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao.
• 1806 – Former leader of the Haitian Revolution, Emperor Jacques I, is assassinated after an oppressive rule.
• 1814 – Eight people die in the London Beer Flood.
• 1817 – The tomb of Pharaoh Seti I is discovered.
• 1860 – First The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open).
• 1861 – Aboriginal Australians kill nineteen Europeans in the Cullin-la-ringo massacre.

1901–present

• 1907 – Marconi begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service.
• 1912 – Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War.
• 1919 – Leeds United F.C. founded at Salem Chapel, Holbeck after the winding up of Leeds City F.C. for making illegal payments to players during World War I
• 1931 – Al Capone is convicted of income tax evasion.
• 1933 – Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States.
• 1940 – The body of Communist propagandist Willi Münzenberg is found in South France, starting a never-resolved mystery.
• 1941 – World War II: The USS Kearny becomes the first U.S. Navy vessel to be torpedoed by a U-boat.
• 1943 – The Burma Railway (Burma–Thailand Railway) is completed.
• 1943 – Nazi Holocaust in Poland: Sobibór extermination camp is closed.
• 1945 – A massive demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, demands Juan Perón's release.
• 1952 – Indonesian Army elements surrounded the Merdeka Palace demanding President Sukarno disband the Provisional People's Representative Council.
• 1956 – The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield, England.
• 1961 – Directed by their chief Maurice Papon, Paris police massacre scores of Algerian protesters.
• 1961 – The first attempt of the apartheid analogy, by Ahmad Shukeiri, it was on Oct 17, 1961.
• 1965 – The 1964–65 New York World's Fair closes after two years and more than 51 million attendees.
• 1966 – The 23rd Street Fire in New York City kills 12 firefighters.
• 1969 – The Caravaggio painting Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence is stolen from the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo.
• 1970 – FLQ terrorists murder Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte.
• 1973 – OPEC imposes an oil embargo against countries they deem to have helped Israel in the Yom Kippur War.
• 1977 – The hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu. The remaining hostages are later rescued.
• 1979 – Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1979 – The Department of Education Organization Act creates the U.S. Department of Education.
• 1980 – As part of the Holy See–United Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican.
• 1988 – Uganda Airlines Flight 775 crashes at Rome–Fiumicino International Airport, in Rome, Italy, killing 33 people.
• 1989 – The 6.9 M_w Loma Prieta earthquake shakes the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast, killing 63.
• 1989 – The East German Politburo votes to remove Erich Honecker from his role as General Secretary.
• 1991 – 1991 Rudrapur bombings by Sikh separatists, who explode two bombs, during a Ramlila Hindu celebration in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, killing 41 people.
• 1992 – Having gone to the wrong house, Japanese student Yoshihiro Hattori is killed by the homeowner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
• 1994 – Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov is assassinated while investigating corruption in the armed forces.
• 2000 – The Hatfield rail crash leads to the collapse of Railtrack.
• 2001 – Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi becomes the first Israeli minister to be assassinated in a terrorist attack.
• 2003 – Taipei 101, a 101-floor skyscraper in Taipei, becomes the world's tallest high-rise.
• 2017 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the last foothold of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Raqqa, marking the end of the Battle of Raqqa.
• 2018 – The recreational use of cannabis is legalized in Canada.
• 2018 – Kerch Polytechnic College attack in Crimea.
• 2019 – Drug dealers in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico force the government to back down on an arrest.

Births

Pre-1600

• 503 – Lý Nam Đế, first emperor of Vietnam (d. 548)
• 1253 – Ivo of Kermartin, French priest and saint (d. 1303)
• 1493 – Bartolommeo Bandinelli, Italian sculptor (d. 1560)
• 1500 – Alonso de Orozco Mena, Spanish Roman Catholic priest (d. 1591)
• 1538 – Irene di Spilimbergo, Italian Renaissance poet and painter (d. 1559)
• 1577 – Cristofano Allori, Italian painter (d. 1621)
• 1577 – Dmitry Pozharsky, Russian prince (d. 1642)
• 1582 – Johann Gerhard, German theologian and academic (d. 1637)
• 1587 – Nathan Field, English dramatist and actor (d. 1620)

1601–1900

• 1623 – Francis Turretin, Swiss-Italian minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1687)
• 1629 – Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias (d. 1646)
• 1688 – Domenico Zipoli, Italian missionary and composer (d. 1726)
• 1711 – Jupiter Hammon, American poet (d. 1806)
• 1719 – Jacques Cazotte, French author and academic (d. 1792)
• 1720 – Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini, Italian harpsichord player and composer (d. 1795)
• 1725 – John Wilkes, English journalist and politician (d. 1797)
• 1729 – Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny, French composer and academic (d. 1817)
• 1735 – Franz Xaver Feuchtmayer the Younger, German Baroque artist (d. 1803)
• 1759 – Andrey Voronikhin, Russian architect and painter (d. 1814)
• 1760 – Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French economist and philosopher (d. 1825)
• 1768 – Sophie von Dönhoff, morganatic spouse by bigamy to King Frederick William II of Prussia (d. 1838)
• 1779 – Louis Charles, French prince of the blood (d. 1808)
• 1779 – José Andrés Pacheco de Melo, Argentine statesman and priest (d. approx. 1820)
• 1780 – Richard Mentor Johnson, American politician, ninth Vice President of the United States (d. 1850)
• 1781 – Johann Friedrich Meckel, German anatomist (d. 1833)
• 1784 – Fructuoso Rivera, first president of Uruguay (d. 1854)
• 1785 – Christen Smith, Norwegian scientist (d. 1816)
• 1792 – John Bowring, English polyglot and governor of Hong Kong (d. 1826)
• 1797 – Juan Lavalle, Argentine politician (d.1841)
• 1803 – Ferenc Deák, Hungarian politician (d. 1876)
• 1810 – Adolphe-Félix Cals, French painter (d. 1880)
• 1811 – Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-American pastor and educator (d. 1876)
• 1813 – Georg Büchner, German-Swiss poet and playwright (d. 1837)
• 1814 – Yakiv Holovatsky, Ukrainian historian, scholar, and poet (d. 1888)
• 1817 – Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian philosopher and scholar (d. 1898)
• 1821 – Alexander Gardner, Scottish photographer (d. 1882)
• 1828 – Aureliano Maestre de San Juan, Spanish scientist (d. 1890)
• 1833 – José E. Días, Paraguayan general (d. 1867)
• 1835 – Louis-Léon Cugnot, French sculptor (d. 1894)
• 1835 – Paul Haenlein, German mechanical engineer (d.1905)
• 1840 – André Gill, French caricaturist (d. 1885)
• 1844 – Gustave Schlumberger, French historian (d. 1929)
• 1845 – John J. Gardner, American politician (d. 1921)
• 1853 – Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (d. 1920)
• 1859 – Childe Hassam, American painter and illustrator (d. 1935)
• 1860 – Henry Campbell Black, founder of Black's Law Dictionary (d. 1927)
• 1864 – Elinor Glyn, English author, screenwriter, and producer (d. 1943)
• 1865 – James Rudolph Garfield, American lawyer and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1950)
• 1867 – Josep Puig i Cadafalch, Catalan architect who designed the Casa Martí (d. 1956)
• 1871 – Segundo de Chomón, Spanish cinematographer, director, and screenwriter (d.1929)
• 1876 – Hippolyte Aucouturier, French road cyclist (d. 1944)
• 1878 – Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, Spanish politician and 17th Duke of Alba (d. 1953)
• 1880 – Jesús Reyes Ferreira, Mexican artist and art collector (d. 1977)
• 1881 – Maria Dulęba, Polish actress (d. 1959)
• 1882 – Haritina Korotkevich, Russian war heroine (d. 1904)
• 1883 – Alexander Neill, Scottish educator (d. 1973)
• 1883 – Thaddeus Shideler, American hurdler (d. 1966)
• 1886 – Spring Byington, American actress (d. 1971)
• 1889 – Mikha'il Na'ima, Lebanese author (d. 1988)
• 1890 – Roy Kilner, English cricketer (d. 1928)
• 1892 – Theodor Eicke, German SS general (d. 1943)
• 1892 – Herbert Howells, English organist, composer, and educator (d. 1983)
• 1893 – Raffaele Bendandi, Italian clockmaker and seismologist (d. 1979)
• 1894 – Prince René, Italian Prince of Denmark (d. 1962)
• 1894 – Pablo de Rokha, Chilean poet (d. 1968)
• 1895 – Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes, President of Guatemala (1958–1963) (d. 1982)
• 1895 – Doris Humphrey, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1958)
• 1896 – Roman Petrovich, Russian prince (d. 1978)
• 1898 – Shinichi Suzuki, Japanese violinist and educator (d. 1998)
• 1898 – Eileen Sedgwick, American actress (d. 1991)
• 1898 – Simon Vestdijk, Dutch author and poet (d. 1971)
• 1900 – C. C. van Asch van Wijck, Dutch artist and sculptor (d. 1932)
• 1900 – Jean Arthur, American actress (d. 1991)
• 1900 – Yvor Winters, American critic and poet (d. 1968)

1901–present

• 1901 – Emma Gamboa Alvarado, Costa Rican educator (d. 1973)
• 1902 – Irene Ryan, American actress (d. 1973)
• 1903 – Andrei Grechko, Soviet general (d. 1976)
• 1903 – Nathanael West, American author and screenwriter (d. 1940)
• 1905 – Leopoldo Benites, Ecuadorian diplomat 28th president of the United Nations General Assembly (d. 1996)
• 1906 – Andrey Tikhonov, Soviet and Russian mathematician (d. 1993)
• 1906 – Paul Derringer, American baseball player (d. 1987)
• 1907 – John Marley, American actor (d. 1984)
• 1908 – Hjördis Petterson, Swedish actress (d. 1988)
• 1908 – Wally Prigg, Australian rugby league player (d. 1980)
• 1908 – Red Rolfe, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1969)
• 1908 – Kenji Miyamoto, Japanese politician (d. 2007)
• 1909 – Cozy Cole, American drummer (d. 1981)
• 1909 – Leopoldo Panero, Spanish poet (d. 1962)
• 1909 – Joaquín Satrústegui, Spanish lawyer and politician (d. 1992)
• 1910 – Ester Wier, American author (d. 2000)
• 1910 – Marina Núñez del Prado, Bolivian sculptor (d. 1995)
• 1912 – Pope John Paul I, Catholic pope from August 1978- September 1978 (d. 1978)
• 1912 – Theodore Marier, American composer and educator, founded the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (d. 2001)
• 1912 – Jack Owens, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1982)
• 1913 – Faik Türün, Turkish general (d. 2003)
• 1913 – Robert Lowery, American actor (d. 1971)
• 1913 – Marian Marsh, Trinidadian-American actress and environmentalist (d. 2006)
• 1914 – Jerry Siegel, American author and illustrator (d. 1996)
• 1915 – Arthur Miller, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 2005)
• 1916 – José López Rega, Argentinean politician (d. 1989)
• 1917 – Adele Stimmel Chase, American painter and sculptor (d. 2000)
• 1917 – Martin Donnelly, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-American author and playwright (d. 1991)
• 1917 – Marsha Hunt, American actress and singer
• 1917 – Norman Leyden, American composer and conductor (d. 2014)
• 1917 – Alfred Benlloch Llorach, Spanish inventor (d. 2013)
• 1918 – Rita Hayworth, American actress, singer and dancer (d. 1987)
• 1918 – Ralph Wilson, American businessman, founded the Buffalo Bills (d. 2014)
• 1918 – Luis Alberto Solari, Uruguayan artist (d. 1993)
• 1919 – Isaak Khalatnikov, Ukrainian-Russian theoretical physicist and academic (d. 2021)
• 1919 – Violet Milstead, Canadian World War II aviator and bush pilot (d. 2014)
• 1919 – Zhao Ziyang, Chinese politician (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Montgomery Clift, American actor (d. 1966)
• 1920 – Miguel Delibes, Spanish journalist and author (d. 2010)
• 1920 – Zully Moreno, Argentine actress (d. 1999)
• 1921 – George Mackay Brown, Scottish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Priscilla Buckley, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
• 1921 – Maria Gorokhovskaya, Russian-Israeli gymnast (d. 2001)
• 1921 – Tom Poston, American actor and comedian (d. 2007)
• 1922 – Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Pierre Juneau, Canadian broadcaster and politician, co-founded the Montreal World Film Festival (d. 2012)
• 1923 – Barney Kessel, American guitarist and composer (d. 2004)
• 1923 – Charles McClendon, American football player and coach (d. 2001)
• 1924 – Don Coryell, American football player and coach (d. 2010)
• 1924 – Anton Geiser, Croatian SS officer (d. 2012)
• 1924 – Giacomo Mari, Italian football midfielder (d. 1991)
• 1924 – Rolando Panerai, Italian baritone (d. 2019)
• 1925 – Harry Carpenter, English sportscaster (d. 2010)
• 1926 – Julie Adams, American actress (d. 2019)
• 1926 – Beverly Garland, American actress (d. 2008)
• 1926 – Roberto Lippi, Italian race car driver (d. 2011)
• 1928 – Santiago Stevenson, Panamanian singer and minister (d. 2007)
• 1928 – Alejandro Végh Villegas, Uruguayan politician (d. 2017)
• 1929 – Mário Wilson, Mozambican footballer and manager (d. 2016)
• 1930 – Ismail Akbay, Turkish physicist and engineer (d. 2003)
• 1930 – Robert Atkins, American physician and cardiologist, created the Atkins diet (d. 2003)
• 1931 – Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian author and playwright (d. 2012)
• 1931 – José Alencar, Brazilian businessman and politician (d. 2011)
• 1931 – Anatoly Pristavkin, Russian writer (d. 2008)
• 1932 – Paul Anderson, American weightlifter (d. 1994)
• 1933 – William Anders, Hong Kong-American general and astronaut
• 1933 – The Singing Nun, Belgian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and nun (d. 1985)
• 1934 – Alan Garner, English author and playwright
• 1934 – Johnny Haynes, English-Scottish footballer (d. 2005)
• 1934 – Rico Rodriguez, Jamaican trombonist (d. 2015)
• 1935 – Sydney Chapman, English architect and politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Michael Eavis, English farmer, founded the Glastonbury Festival
• 1935 – Carlos Pairetti, Argetine racing driver
• 1936 – Sathima Bea Benjamin, South African singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Hiroo Kanamori, Japanese-American seismologist and academic
• 1936 – Santiago Navarro, Spanish basketball player (d. 1993)
• 1936 – Bert Nievera, Filipino-American singer (d. 2018)
• 1937 – Paxton Whitehead, English actor
• 1937 – José María Álvarez del Manzano, Spanish politician
• 1937 – Aida Navarro, Venezuelan mezzo-soprano
• 1937 – Renato Prada Oropeza, Bolivian-Mexican scientist (d. 2011)
• 1938 – Evel Knievel, American motorcycle rider and stuntman (d. 2007)
• 1938 – Les Murray, Australian anthologist, poet, and critic (d. 2019)
• 1938 – António Calvário, Portuguese singer and artist
• 1939 – Oliver Rackham, English botanist and academic (d. 2015)
• 1940 – Stephen Kovacevich, American pianist and conductor
• 1940 – Jim Smith, English footballer and manager (d. 2019)
• 1940 – Peter Stringfellow, English businessman (d. 2018)
• 1941 – Earl Thomas Conley, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
• 1941 – Jim Seals, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and violinist
• 1941 – Paul Ellison, American musician
• 1942 – Steve Jones, American basketball player and sportscaster (d. 2017)
• 1942 – Gary Puckett, American pop singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1943 – Ignacio Rupérez, Spanish diplomat and journalist (d. 2015)
• 1944 – Ángel Cristo, Spanish circus performer (d. 2010)
• 1946 – Ronni Chasen, American publicist (d. 2010)
• 1946 – Michael Hossack, American drummer (d. 2012)
• 1946 – Cameron Mackintosh, English producer and manager
• 1946 – Adam Michnik, Polish journalist and historian
• 1946 – Drusilla Modjeska, English-Australian author and critic
• 1946 – Bob Seagren, American pole vaulter
• 1946 – Manuel "Flaco" Ibáñez, Mexican actor and comedian
• 1946 – Julio Miranda, Argentine politician (d. 2021)
• 1946 – Daniela Payssé, Uruguayan politician (d. 2018)
• 1946 – José Perramón, Spanish handball player
• 1946 – Jaime Ravinet, Chilean politician
• 1946 – Rüdiger Wittig, German geobotanist and ecologist
• 1946 – Akira Kushida, Japanese vocalist
• 1947 – Gene Green, American lawyer and politician
• 1947 – Michael McKean, American singer-songwriter, actor, and director
• 1947 – Robert Post, American educator and academic
• 1947 – Omar Azziman, adviser to the King of Morocco
• 1948 – Robert Jordan, American soldier and author (d. 2007)
• 1948 – Margot Kidder, Canadian-American actress (d. 2018)
• 1948 – George Wendt, American actor and comedian
• 1948 – Osvaldo Castro, Chilean footballer
• 1949 – Owen Arthur, Barbadian economist and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Barbados (d. 2020)
• 1949 – Bill Hudson, American musician and actor
• 1950 – Philippe Barbarin, French cardinal
• 1950 – Howard Rollins, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1950 – Sandra Reemer, Indo-Dutch singer (d. 2017)
• 1951 – Annie Borckink, Dutch speed skater
• 1951 – Roger Pontare, Swedish singer
• 1951 – Shari Ulrich, American-Canadian singer-songwriter and violinist
• 1951 – Dirk Beheydt, Belgian football player.
• 1953 – Joseph Bowie, American trombonist and bandleader
• 1953 – Domenico Penzo, Italian footballer
• 1954 – Carlos Buhler, American mountaineer
• 1955 – Georgios Alogoskoufis, Greek economist, academic, and politician, Greek Minister of Finance
• 1955 – Mike Bratz, American basketball player
• 1956 – Fran Cosmo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1956 – Mae Jemison, American physician, academic, and astronaut
• 1956 – Pat McCrory, American businessman and politician, 74th Governor of North Carolina
• 1956 – Stephen Palumbi, American academic and author
• 1957 – Lawrence Bender, American actor and producer
• 1957 – Steve McMichael, American football player, wrestler, and sportscaster
• 1957 – Vincent Van Patten, American tennis player and actor
• 1957 – Antonio Galdo, Italian journalist
• 1957 – Nelson Barrera, Mexican baseball player (d. 2002)
• 1957 – Pino Palladino, Welsh bassist
• 1957 – Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Greek folk singer
• 1958 – Howard Alden, American guitarist
• 1958 – Alan Jackson, American singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Craig Murray, British diplomat
• 1958 – Sandra Mozarowsky, Spanish actress (d. 1977)
• 1959 – Ron Drummond, American author and scholar
• 1959 – Francisco Flores Pérez, Salvadorian politician, President of El Salvador (d. 2016)
• 1959 – Russell Gilbert, Australian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1959 – Norm Macdonald, Canadian actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2021)
• 1959 – Mark Peel, Australian historian and academic
• 1959 – Richard Roeper, American journalist and critic
• 1959 – Mustafa Aberchán, Spanish politician
• 1959 – Eugenio Hernández Flores, Mexican politician
• 1960 – Guy Henry, English actor
• 1960 – Rob Marshall, American director, producer, and choreographer
• 1960 – Bernie Nolan, Irish singer (d. 2013)
• 1960 – Philippe Sands, American lawyer and academic
• 1961 – David Means, American short story writer
• 1962 – Glenn Braggs, American baseball player
• 1962 – Mike Judge, American animator, director, screenwriter, producer and actor
• 1962 – Jay Humphries, American basketball player
• 1963 – Sergio Goycochea, Argentinian footballer and journalist
• 1963 – Toby Young, English journalist and academic
• 1964 – Gregg Wallace, English television presenter
• 1964 – Margarita Liborio Arrazola, Mexican politician
• 1965 – Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1965 – Rhys Muldoon, Australian actor
• 1966 – Shaun Edwards, English rugby player and coach
• 1966 – Danny Ferry, American basketball player and manager
• 1966 – Mark Gatiss, English actor, screenwriter and novelist
• 1966 – Tommy Kendall, American race car driver and sportscaster
• 1967 – Simon Segars, English businessman
• 1967 – Nathalie Tauziat, French tennis player
• 1967 – René Dif, Danish musician
• 1967 – Pedro González Vera, Chilean footballer
• 1968 – Graeme Le Saux, English footballer and sportscaster
• 1968 – Ziggy Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter, guitarist, and voice actor
• 1968 – David Robertson, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1968 – Alejandra Ávalos, Mexican artist
• 1969 – Ernie Els, South African golfer and sportscaster
• 1969 – Jesús Ángel García, Spanish racewalker
• 1969 – Wyclef Jean, Haitian-American rapper, producer, and actor
• 1969 – Rick Mercer, Canadian comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1969 – Wood Harris, American actor
• 1970 – Anil Kumble, Indian cricketer
• 1970 – John Mabry, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1970 – J. C. MacKenzie, Canadian actor
• 1971 – Blues Saraceno, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1971 – Chris Kirkpatrick, American singer-songwriter and dancer
• 1971 – Kim Ljung, Norwegian singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1971 – Martin Heinrich, American politician
• 1971 – Derrick Plourde, American drummer (d. 2005)
• 1972 – Eminem, American rapper, producer, and actor
• 1972 – Tarkan, German-Turkish singer
• 1972 – Akio "Musashi" Mori, Japanese karateka and kickboxer
• 1973 – Andrea Tarozzi, Italian footballer and coach
• 1973 – Rubén Garcés, Panamanian basketball player
• 1974 – Ariel Levy, American journalist and author
• 1974 – Matthew Macfadyen, English actor
• 1974 – Obdulio Ávila Mayo, Mexican politician
• 1974 – Bárbara Paz, Brazilian actress
• 1974 – Janne Puurtinen, Finnish keyboard player
• 1974 – John Rocker, American baseball player
• 1974 – Darío Sala, Argentine footballer
• 1974 – Gabriel Silberstein, Chilean tennis player
• 1974 – Dhondup Wangchen, Chinese director and producer
• 1975 – Francis Bouillon, American-Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Jericó Abramo Masso, Mexican politician
• 1975 – Vina Morales, Filipino actress and singer
• 1976 – Sebastián Abreu, Uruguayan footballer
• 1976 – Seth Etherton, American baseball player
• 1976 – Carlos Loret de Mola, Mexican journalist
• 1976 – Kevin Maher, English-Irish footballer and coach
• 1977 – Dudu Aouate, Israeli footballer
• 1977 – Alimi Ballard, American actor and producer
• 1977 – Bryan Bertino, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1977 – Walter Calderón, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1977 – Marko Antonio Cortés Mendoza, Mexican politician
• 1977 – Ryan McGinley, American photographer
• 1977 – André Villas-Boas, Portuguese footballer and manager
• 1978 – Pablo Iglesias Turrión, Spanish politician
• 1978 – Jerry Flannery, Irish rugby player and coach
• 1978 – Erin Karpluk, Canadian actress
• 1978 – Chuka Umunna, English lawyer and politician
• 1979 – Marcela Bovio, Mexican singer-songwriter and violinist
• 1979 – Alexandros Nikolaidis, Greek martial artist
• 1979 – Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish race car driver
• 1979 – Kostas Tsartsaris, Greek basketball player
• 1980 – Yekaterina Gamova, Russian volleyball player
• 1980 – Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistani cricketer
• 1980 – Isaac Mina, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1980 – Angel Parker, American actress
• 1980 – Alessandro Piccolo, Italian race car driver
• 1980 – Justin Shenkarow, American actor
• 1981 – Horacio Cervantes, Mexican footballer
• 1981 – Kurumi Enomoto, Japanese singer-songwriter
• 1981 – Tsubasa Imai, Japanese singer, actor, and dancer
• 1981 – Ben Rothwell, American mixed-martial artist
• 1982 – Rubén Ramírez, Argentine football striker
• 1982 – Nick Riewoldt, Australian footballer
• 1982 – Marion Rolland, alpine ski racer
• 1983 – Michelle Ang, New Zealander actress
• 1983 – Milica Brozovic, Serbian-Russian figure skater
• 1983 – Felicity Jones, English actress
• 1983 – Toshihiro Matsushita, Japanese footballer
• 1983 – Riki Miura, Japanese actor
• 1983 – Junichi Miyashita, Japanese swimmer
• 1983 – Ivan Saenko, Russian footballer
• 1983 – Mitch Talbot, American baseball player
• 1983 – Vitali Teleš, Estonian footballer
• 1984 – Chris Lowell, American actor
• 1984 – Giovanni Marchese, Italian footballer
• 1984 – Randall Munroe, American author and illustrator
• 1984 – Luke Rockhold, American mixed martial artist
• 1984 – Anja Eline Skybakmoen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and bandleader
• 1984 – Gottfrid Svartholm, Swedish computer specialist
• 1984 – Jared Tallent, Australian race walker
• 1985 – Carlos González, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1985 – Max Irons, English-Irish actor
• 1985 – Collins John, Dutch footballer
• 1985 – Tomokazu Nagira, Japanese footballer
• 1986 – Alexandre Bonnet, French football midfielder
• 1986 – Antoni Bou, Spanish motorcyclist
• 1986 – Aija Brumermane, Latvian basketball player
• 1986 – Constant Djakpa, Ivorian footballer
• 1986 – Yannick Ponsero, French figure skater
• 1986 – Nicolás Richotti, Argentine basketball player
• 1987 – Bea Alonzo, Filipino actress and singer
• 1987 – Jarosław Fojut, Polish footballer
• 1987 – Elliot Grandin, French football winger
• 1987 – Hideto Takahashi, Japanese footballer
• 1988 – Sergiy Gladyr, Ukrainian basketball player
• 1988 – Tori Matsuzaka, Japanese actor and model
• 1988 – Marina Salas, Spanish actress
• 1989 – Débora García, Spanish football midfielder
• 1989 – Oleksandr Isakov, Ukrainian swimmer
• 1989 – Sophie Luck, Australian actress
• 1989 – David Timor, Spanish footballer
• 1990 – Paolo Campinoti, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Maica García Godoy, Spanish water polo player
• 1990 – Ronald González Tabilo, Chilean footballer
• 1990 – Saki Kumagai, Japanese footballer
• 1990 – Patrick Lambie, South African rugby player
• 1991 – Brenda Asnicar, Argentine actress
• 1992 – Sam Concepcion, Filipino musician and dancer
• 1992 – Keerthy Suresh, Indian actress
• 1993 – Kenneth Omeruo, Nigerian footballer
• 2001 – Thomas Strudwick, British motorcycle road racer

Deaths

Pre-1600

• AD 33 – Agrippina the Elder, Roman wife of Germanicus (b. 14 BC)
• 532 – Pope Boniface II
• 866 – Al-Musta'in, Abbasid caliph (b. 836)
• 1271 – Steinvör Sighvatsdóttir, Icelandic aristocrat and poet
• 1277 – Beatrice of Falkenburg, German queen consort (b. c. 1254)
• 1346 – John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray
• 1346 – Maurice de Moravia, Earl of Strathearn
• 1456 – Nicolas Grenon, French composer (b. 1375)
• 1485 – John Scott of Scott's Hall, Warden of the Cinque Ports
• 1552 – Andreas Osiander, German Protestant theologian (b. 1498)
• 1575 – Gaspar Cervantes de Gaeta, Spanish cardinal (b. 1511)
• 1586 – Philip Sidney, English courtier, poet, and general (b. 1554)
• 1587 – Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1541)

1601–1900

• 1616 – John Pitts, English priest and scholar (b. 1560)
• 1660 – Adrian Scrope, English colonel and politician (b. 1601)
• 1673 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer of England (b. 1630)
• 1690 – Margaret Mary Alacoque, French mystic (b. 1647)
• 1757 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (b. 1683)
• 1776 – Pierre François le Courayer, French-English theologian and author (b. 1681)
• 1780 – William Cookworthy, English pharmacist and minister (b. 1705)
• 1781 – Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, English admiral (b. 1705)
• 1786 – Johann Ludwig Aberli, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1723)
• 1806 – Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian commander and politician, Governor-General of Haiti (b. 1758)
• 1836 – Orest Kiprensky, Russian painter (b. 1782)
• 1837 – Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1778)
• 1849 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1810)
• 1868 – Laura Secord, Canadian war heroine (b. 1775)
• 1887 – Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist and chemist (b. 1824)
• 1889 – Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (b. 1828)
• 1893 – Patrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta, French general and politician, 3rd President of France (b. 1808)

1901–present

• 1910 – Julia Ward Howe, American poet and songwriter (b. 1819)
• 1918 – Malak Hifni Nasif, Egyptian poet and author (b. 1886)
• 1920 – Michael Fitzgerald (Irish republican) died on Hunger Strike (b. 1881)
• 1928 – Frank Dicksee, English painter and illustrator (b. 1853)
• 1931 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist and academic (b. 1884)
• 1937 – J. Bruce Ismay, English businessman (b. 1862)
• 1938 – Karl Kautsky, Czech-German journalist, philosopher, and theoretician (b. 1854)
• 1948 – Royal Cortissoz, American art critic (b. 1869)
• 1955 – Dimitrios Maximos, Greek banker and politician (b. 1873)
• 1956 – Anne Crawford, Israeli-English actress (b. 1920)
• 1957 – Wilhelmina Hay Abbott, Scottish suffragist and feminist (b. 1884)
• 1958 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer (b. 1896)
• 1958 – Charlie Townsend, English cricketer and lawyer (b. 1876)
• 1962 – Natalia Goncharova, Russian painter, costume designer, and set designer (b. 1882)
• 1963 – Jacques Hadamard, French mathematician and academic (b. 1865)
• 1965 – Bart King, American cricketer (b. 1873)
• 1966 – Sidney Hatch, American runner and soldier (b. 1883)
• 1966 – Wieland Wagner, German director and manager (b. 1917)
• 1967 – Puyi, Chinese emperor (b. 1906)
• 1970 – Pierre Laporte, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1921)
• 1970 – Vola Vale, American actress (b. 1897)
• 1970 – Quincy Wright, American political scientist and academic (b. 1890)
• 1972 – Turk Broda, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1914)
• 1972 – George, Crown Prince of Serbia (b. 1887)
• 1973 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (b. 1926)
• 1978 – George Clark, American race car driver (b. 1890)
• 1978 – Giovanni Gronchi, Italian educator, soldier, and politician, 3rd President of the Italian Republic (b. 1887)
• 1979 – S. J. Perelman, American humorist and screenwriter (b. 1904)
• 1979 – John Stuart, Scottish-English actor (b. 1898)
• 1979 – Eugenio Mendoza, Venezuelan business tycoon (b. 1909)
• 1981 – Kannadasan Indian author, poet, and songwriter (b. 1927)
• 1981 – Albert Cohen, Greek-Swiss civil servant and author (b. 1895)
• 1981 – Lina Tsaldari, Greek politician (b. 1887)
• 1983 – Raymond Aron, French sociologist, political scientist, and philosopher (b. 1905)
• 1987 – Abdul Malek Ukil, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
• 1991 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and actor (b. 1919)
• 1992 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist, academic, and politician (b. 1912)
• 1992 – Orestis Laskos, Greek actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
• 1993 – Criss Oliva, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1963)
• 1996 – Chris Acland, English musician and drummer of Lush (b. 1966)
• 1997 – Larry Jennings, American magician and author (b. 1933)
• 1998 – Joan Hickson, English actress (b. 1906)
• 1998 – Hakim Said, Pakistani scholar and politician, 20th Governor of Sindh (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Nicholas Metropolis, Greek-American mathematician and physicist (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Leo Nomellini, Italian-American football player and wrestler (b. 1924)
• 2000 – Joachim Nielsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1964)
• 2001 – Jay Livingston, American singer-songwriter (b. 1915)
• 2001 – Micheline Ostermeyer, French shot putter, discus thrower, and pianist (b. 1922)
• 2001 – Rehavam Ze'evi, Israeli historian, general, and politician, Tourism Minister of Israel (b. 1926)
• 2002 – Derek Bell, Irish harpist and composer (b. 1935)
• 2004 – Uzi Hitman, Israeli singer-songwriter (b. 1952)
• 2006 – Daniel Emilfork, Chilean-French actor (b. 1924)
• 2006 – Christopher Glenn, American journalist (b. 1938)
• 2007 – Joey Bishop, American actor and talk show host (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Suzy Covey, American scholar and academic (b. 1939)
• 2008 – Urmas Ott, Estonian journalist and author (b. 1955)
• 2008 – Levi Stubbs, American singer (b. 1936)
• 2008 – Ben Weider, Canadian businessman, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (b. 1923)
• 2009 – Norma Fox Mazer, American author and educator (b. 1931)
• 2009 – Vic Mizzy, American composer (b. 1916)
• 2011 – Carl Lindner, Jr., American businessman (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Milija Aleksic, English-South African footballer (b. 1951)
• 2012 – Émile Allais, French skier (b. 1912)
• 2012 – Henry Friedlander, German-American historian and author (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Stanford R. Ovshinsky, American scientist and businessman, co-founded Energy Conversion Devices (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Kōji Wakamatsu, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Mother Antonia, American-Mexican nun and activist (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Terry Fogerty, English rugby player and coach (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Arthur Maxwell House, Canadian neurologist and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Lou Scheimer, American animator, producer, and voice actor, co-founded the Filmation Company (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Rene Simpson, Canadian-American tennis player (b. 1966)
• 2014 – Edwards Barham, American farmer and politician (b. 1937)
• 2014 – Masaru Emoto, Japanese author and activist (b. 1943)
• 2014 – Tom Shaw, American bishop (b. 1945)
• 2014 – Berndt von Staden, German diplomat, German Ambassador to the United States (b. 1919)
• 2015 – Danièle Delorme, French actress and producer (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Howard Kendall, English footballer and manager (b. 1946)
• 2015 – Anne-Marie Lizin, Belgian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
• 2015 – Tom Smith, American businessman and politician (b. 1947)
• 2017 – Gord Downie, Canadian musician (b. 1964)
• 2019 – Elijah Cummings, American politician and civil rights advocate (b. 1951)

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)
• Dessalines Day (Haiti)
• Digital Society Day (India)
• International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
• Loyalty Day (Argentina)
• National Police Day (Thailand)

External links

• "On This Day". BBC.
• The New York Times: On This Day
• "Historical Events on October 17". OnThisDay.com.
• "Today in Canadian History". Canada Channel.