What happened this day in history August 17

What are the important events that happened on August 17? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

August 17: Facts & Myths About This Day

August 17 is the 230th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 136 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 4, 2024 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 1,723,852,800 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectatriacontagon’ day.

Leo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 165 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,257 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

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August 17 Historical Events

  • 1862
    American Civil War: Major General J.E.B. Stuart is assigned command of all the cavalry of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
  • 1864
    American Civil War: Battle of Gainesville – Confederate forces defeat Union troops near Gainesville, Florida.
  • 1907
    Pike Place Market, a popular tourist destination and registered historic district in Seattle, opened.
  • 1914
    World War I: Battle of Stalluponen – The German army of General Hermann von François defeats the Russian force commanded by Pavel Rennenkampf near modern-day Nesterov, Russia.
  • 1942
    World War II: U.S. Marines raid the Japanese-held Pacific island of Makin (Butaritari).
  • 1943
    World War II: First Québec Conference of Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and William Lyon Mackenzie King begins.
  • 1969
    Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the Mississippi coast, killing 248 people and causing $1.5 billion in damage.
  • 1978
    Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Presque Isle, Maine.
  • 1979
    Two Soviet Aeroflot jetliners collide in mid-air over Ukraine, killing 156.
  • 1999
    A 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes İzmit, Turkey, killing more than 17,000 and injuring 44,000.

Who were born on August 17?

  • 1840
    Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, English poet and writer (d. 1922)
  • 1913
    Óscar Alfredo Gálvez, Argentine racing driver (d. 1989)
  • 1926
    Valerie Eliot, surviving widow and second wife of the Nobel prize-winning poet, T. S. Eliot.
  • 1938
    Theodoros Pangalos, Greek politician
  • 1951
    Alan Minter, British boxer
  • 1951
    Robert Joy, Canadian actor
  • 1952
    Dr. Mario Theissen, German F1 team principal of BMW Sauber
  • 1952
    Nelson Piquet, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1967
    Spencer Rice, Canadian Actor
  • 1982
    Phil Jagielka, English footballer

Who died on August 17?

  • 1304
    Emperor Go-Fukakusa of Japan (b. 1243)
  • 1657
    Robert Blake, British admiral (b. 1599)
  • 1786
    King Frederick II of Prussia (b. 1712)
  • 1949
    Gregorio Perfecto, Filipino jurist and politician (b. 1891)
  • 1973
    Conrad Aiken, American author (b. 1889)
  • 1983
    Ira Gershwin, American lyricist (b. 1896)
  • 1988
    Victoria Shaw, Australian-born American actress (b. 1935)
  • 1995
    Ted Whitten, Australian rules footballer (b. 1933)
  • 2007
    Bill Deedes, British journalist and politician (b. 1913)
  • 2008
    Franco Sensi, Italian businessman and football team owner (b. 1926)

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