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 2021 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 14 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 4, 2021 – a Friday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,639,699,200 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 46 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 3,283 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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December 17 Historical Events
- 1586 –Emperor Go-Yozei becomes Emperor of Japan.
- 1777 –France formally recognizes the United States of America.
- 1819 –Simón Bolívar declares the independence of the Republic of Gran Colombia in Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar in Venezuela).
- 1926 –Antanas Smetona assumes power in Lithuania as the 1926 coup d'état is successful.
- 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.
- 1957 –The United States successfully launches the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- 1967 –Prime Minister of Australia Harold Holt disappears while swimming near Portsea, Victoria and is presumed drowned.
- 1973 –Terrorism: 30 passengers are killed in an attack by Palestinian terrorists on Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport.
- 1981 –Brigadier General James L. Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigade in Verona, Italy.
- 2010 –Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire.This act became the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution. The success of the Tunisian protests sparked protests in several other Arab countries.
Who were born on December 17?
- 1778 –Humphry Davy, English chemist and physicist (d. 1829)
- 1883 –Raimu, French actor (d. 1946)
- 1900 –Mary Cartwright, English mathematician (d. 1998)
- 1914 –Raymond Fernandez, American convicted murderer (d. 1951)
- 1937 –Calvin Waller, American Army general (d. 1996)
- 1964 –Frank Musil, Czech ice hockey player
- 1966 –Kristiina Ojuland, Estonian politician
- 1966 –Tracy Byrd, American musician
- 1975 –Bree Sharp, American singer/songwriter
- 1994 –Nat Wolff, American singer and actor
Who died on December 17?
- 1860 –Désirée Clary, Queen of Sweden and Norway (b. 1777)
- 1909 –Leopold II of Belgium (b. 1835)
- 1929 –Manuel Gomes da Costa, Portuguese politician (b. 1863)
- 1930 –Peter Warlock, Anglo-Welsh composer (b. 1894)
- 1981 –Ada Kramm, Norwegian actress (b. 1899)
- 1987 –Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian novelist (b. 1903)
- 1999 –Rex Allen, American actor, singer, and songwriter (b. 1920)
- 2004 –Tom Wesselmann, American collage artist (b. 1931)
- 2009 –Chris Henry, American football player (b. 1983)
- 2010 –Captain Beefheart, American musician (b. 1941)
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