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

July 17: Facts & Myths About This Day

July 17 is the 198^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 167 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday.

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

When this day started, 29,211,840 minutes 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 ‘hectaenneacontaoctagon’ day.

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

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 215 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 4,591 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

July 17 Historical Events

• 1402 –
  Zhu Di, better known by his era name as the Yongle Emperor, assumes the throne over the Ming Dynasty of China.
• 1453 –
  Hundred Years’ War: Battle of Castillon: The French under Jean Bureau defeat the English under the Earl of Shrewsbury, who is killed in the battle in Gascony.
• 1762 –
  Catherine II becomes tsar of Russia upon the murder of Peter III of Russia.
• 1867 –
  Harvard School of Dental Medicine was established in Boston. It was the first dental school in the U.S.
• 1918 –
  On the orders of the Bolshevik Party carried out by Cheka, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his immediate family and retainers are murdered at the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, Russia.
• 1932 –
  Altona Bloody Sunday.
• 1933 –
  After successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Lithuanian research aircraft Lituanica crashes in Europe under mysterious circumstances.
• 1948 –
  The South Korean constitution is proclaimed.
• 1976 –
  The opening of the Summer Olympics in Montreal is marred by 25 African teams boycotting the New Zealand team.
• 1989 –
  First flight of the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber.

Who were born on July 17?

• 1839 –
  Ephraim Shay, American inventor (d. 1916)
• 1911 –
  Ted Anderson, English footballer (d. 1979)
• 1920 –
  Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish chairman of the International Olympic Committee (d. 2010)
• 1948 –
  Jan Gangelhoff, American whistleblower (d. 2005)
• 1950 –
  P.J. Soles, German-born American actress
• 1960 –
  Dawn Upshaw, American soprano
• 1963 –
  Matti Nykänen, Finnish ski jumper
• 1965 –
  Craig Morgan, American singer
• 1969 –
  F. Gary Gray, American music video and film director
• 1975 –
  Konnie Huq, English television presenter

Who died on July 17?

• 1588 –
  Mimar Sinan, Ottoman architect (b. 1489)
• 1879 –
  Maurycy Gottlieb, Ukrainian painter (b. 1856)
• 1887 –
  Dorothea Dix, American social activist (b. 1802)
• 1907 –
  Hector Malot, French writer (b. 1830)
• 1918 –
  Family of Emperor Nicholas II Alexandrovich (b. 1868): Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna (b. 1872)
• 1945 –
  Ernst Busch, German field marshal (b. 1885)
• 1959 –
  Eugene Meyer, American businessman and newspaper publisher (b. 1875)
• 1974 –
  Dizzy Dean, Major League baseball pitcher (b. 1910)
• 2005 –
  Gavin Lambert, British-born screenwriter (b. 1924)
• 2009 –
  Leszek Kołakowski, Polish philosopher (b. 1927)