What are the important events that happened on December 17? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
December 17: Facts & Myths About This Day
December 17 is the 351st day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 14 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 4, 2025 – a Wednesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,765,929,600 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 ‘trihectapentacontahenagon’ day.
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Sagittarius is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Turquoise is the modern birthstone for this month. Onyx is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 62 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 4,744 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
Do people and celebrities interest you? Discover all the December 17 famous birthdays who share your special day. Learn some fun facts about your birthday!
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December 17 Historical Events
- 920 –Romanos I is crowned co-emperor of the underage Emperor Constantine VII.
- 1600 –Marriage of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici.
- 1777 –France formally recognizes the United States of America.
- 1837 –Fire in the Winter Palace of Saint Petersburg occurred.
- 1928 –Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru assassinate British police officer James Saunders in Lahore, Punjab to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police. The three were executed in 1931.
- 1939 –World War II: Battle of the River Plate – The Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by Captain Hans Langsdorff outside Montevideo.
- 1950 –The F-86 Sabre’s first mission over Korea.
- 1969 –The SALT I talks begin.
- 1981 –Brigadier General James L. Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigade in Verona, Italy.
- 2005 –Anti-WTO protesters riot in Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Who were born on December 17?
- 1267 –Emperor Go-Uda of Japan (d. 1324)
- 1895 –Nils Asheim, Norwegian politician (d. 1966)
- 1906 –Fernando Lopes-Graça, Portuguese composer and musicologist (d. 1994)
- 1923 –Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian (d. 2006)
- 1949 –Sotiris Kaiafas, Cypriot footballer
- 1964 –Ginger, English singer and guitarist (The Wildhearts)
- 1972 –Laurie Holden, American actress
- 1973 –Rian Johnson, American writer and director
- 1974 –Marissa Ribisi, American actress
- 1985 –Ryuichi Ogata, Japanese singer (w-inds.)
Who died on December 17?
- 1273 –Rumi (b. 1207)
- 1830 –Simón Bolívar, Venezuelan military leader (b. 1783)
- 1917 –Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, English physician (b. 1836)
- 1917 –Frank Gotch, American professional wrestler (b. 1878)
- 1927 –Rajendra Lahiri, Indian British anti-occupation activist (b. 1892)
- 1962 –Thomas Mitchell, American actor (b. 1892)
- 1987 –Linda Wong, American porn star (b. 1951)
- 1987 –Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian novelist (b. 1903)
- 2005 –Marc Favreau, French-Canadian humourist (b. 1929)
- 2006 –Larry Sherry, American baseball player (b. 1935)
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