Tukuk-OS📅 August 17
15 events · 12 births · 12 deaths
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What happened on August 17? Below are the notable events chosen by Wikipedia’s editors for this date, followed by celebrated births, deaths and the observances recognised around the world.
Events
- 2008 — Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal of the Summer Olympics in Beijing, setting the record for the most gold medals won by an athlete at a single games.
- 1959 — American musician Miles Davis released Kind of Blue, which became one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed jazz recordings of all time.
- 1950 — Korean War: Forty-two American prisoners of war were massacred by the Korean People's Army on a hill above Waegwan, South Korea.
- 1945 — Animal Farm, George Orwell's satirical allegory of Soviet totalitarianism, was first published.
- 1945 — The independence of Indonesia was proclaimed, igniting a revolution against the Dutch Empire.
Proclamation of Indonesian IndependenceIndonesian National RevolutionDutch colonial empire
- 1943 — World War II: The Royal Air Force began a strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany's V-weapon programme by attacking the Peenemünde Army Research Center.
World War IIRoyal Air ForceStrategic bombing during World War II
- 1943 — Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt met in a secret conference in Quebec.
Winston ChurchillFranklin D. RooseveltFirst Quebec Conference
- 1915 — A category 4 hurricane made landfall in Galveston, Texas, leaving at least 275 people dead.
- 1914 — World War I: Ignoring orders to retreat, Hermann von François led a successful counterattack defending East Prussia at the Battle of Stallupönen and scored the first German victory in the Eastern Front.
- 1907 — Pike Place Market (pictured), one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the U.S. and a popular tourist attraction, opened in Seattle, Washington.
- 1876 — The premiere of Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner (pictured) closed the first Bayreuth Festival.
- 1676 — Scanian War: Swedish forces defeated Danish troops at the Battle of Halmstad.
- 1668 — An earthquake struck the North Anatolia region, killing over 8,000 people.
- 1560 — The Scottish Reformation Parliament approved a Protestant confession of faith, initiating the Scottish Reformation and disestablishing Catholicism as the national religion.
- 986 — Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: The Bulgarians defeated Byzantine forces at the battle of the Gates of Trajan near present-day Ihtiman, with Emperor Basil II barely escaping.
Byzantine–Bulgarian warsByzantine EmpireBattle of the Gates of Trajan
Births
- 2003 — Rayan Cherki, French footballer
- 2003 — Nastasja Schunk, German tennis player
- 2003 — The Kid Laroi, Australian rapper and songwriter
- 2000 — Lil Pump, American rapper and songwriter
- 1998 — Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Japanese baseball player
- 1996 — Jake Virtanen, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1995 — Gracie Gold, American figure skater
- 1995 — Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1994 — Phoebe Bridgers, American singer/songwriter
- 1994 — Jack Conklin, American football player
- 1994 — Taissa Farmiga, American actress
- 1993 — Kevin Byard, American football player
Deaths
- 2025 — Terence Stamp, English actor (born 1938)
- 2024 — Virginia Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie, British countess (born 1933)
- 2024 — Silvio Santos, Brazilian media mogul and television host (born 1930)
- 2016 — Arthur Hiller, Canadian actor, director, and producer (born 1923)
- 2015 — Yvonne Craig, American ballet dancer and actress (born 1937)
- 2015 — Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, German businessman (born 1933)
- 2015 — László Paskai, Hungarian cardinal (born 1927)
- 2014 — Børre Knudsen, Norwegian minister and activist (born 1937)
- 2014 — Wolfgang Leonhard, German historian and author (born 1921)
- 2014 — Sophie Masloff, American civil servant and politician, 56th Mayor of Pittsburgh (born 1917)
- 2014 — Miodrag Pavlović, Serbian poet and critic (born 1928)
- 2014 — Pierre Vassiliu, French singer-songwriter (born 1937)
Observances & holidays
- Christian feast day: Saint Beatrice of Silva
- Christian feast day: Saint Clare of Montefalco
- Christian feast day: Elias of Enna
- Christian feast day: Saint Hyacinth of Poland
- Christian feast day: Jacobo Kyushei Tomonaga
- Christian feast day: Saint Jeanne Delanoue
- Christian feast day: Saint Mammes of Caesarea
- Christian feast day:
Samuel Johnson, Timothy Cutler, and Thomas Bradbury Chandler (Episcopal Church)
Samuel Johnson (American educator)Timothy CutlerThomas Bradbury Chandler
- Christian feast day: August 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Engineer's Day (Colombia)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence proclamation of Indonesia from Japan in 1945.
Independence Day (Indonesia)Proclamation of Indonesian IndependenceIndonesia
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