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

February 17: Facts & Myths About This Day

February 17 is the 48^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 317 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is February 4, 2025 – a Monday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 483,264 hours 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 ‘tetracontaoctagon’ day.

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

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 365 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 4,441 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

February 17 Historical Events

• 1370 –
  Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
• 1871 –
  The victorious Prussian Army parades though Paris, France after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
• 1944 –
  World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
• 1959 –
  Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2 – The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
• 1964 –
  Gabonese president Leon M'ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
• 1965 –
  Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the “Sea of Tranquility” would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
• 1979 –
  The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
• 1998 –
  Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops kill 70–90 Azerbaijani civilians in the village of Qaradağlı.
• 2003 –
  The London Congestion Charge scheme begins.
• 2026 –
  New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Fire Horse in Chinese astrology.

Who were born on February 17?

• 1816 –
  Haller Nutt, Southern Plantation owner (d. 1864)
• 1836 –
  Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish poet (d. 1870)
• 1863 –
  Fyodor Sologub, Russian symbolist novelist and poet (d. 1927)
• 1912 –
  Andre Norton, American author (d. 2005)
• 1930 –
  Ruth Rendell, English writer
• 1941 –
  Julia McKenzie, English actress and theatre director
• 1952 –
  Karin Janz, East German gymnast
• 1963 –
  Alison Hargreaves, British mountaineer (d. 1995)
• 1973 –
  Drew Barry, American basketball player
• 1975 –
  Harisu, South Korean singer, model and actress

Who died on February 17?

• 1659 –
  Abel Servien, French diplomat (b. 1593)
• 1841 –
  Ferdinando Carulli, Italian guitarist (b. 1770)
• 1883 –
  Napoleon Coste, French guitarist and composer (b. 1806)
• 1934 –
  King Albert I of Belgium (b. 1875)
• 1943 –
  Armand J. Piron, American jazz violinist and composer (b. 1888)
• 1982 –
  Lee Strasberg, Austrian-born actor (b. 1901)
• 1990 –
  Hap Day, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1901)
• 2001 –
  Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman (b. 1948)
• 2007 –
  Maurice Papon, French Nazi collaborator (b. 1910)
• 2009 –
  Gazanfer Özcan, Turkish actor (b. 1931)