What are the important events that happened on June 17? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
June 17: Facts & Myths About This Day
June 17 is the 169th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 197 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is June 4, 2024 – a Monday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 477,384 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 ‘hectahexacontaenneagon’ day.
Gemini is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Pearl is the modern birthstone for this month. Moonstone is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 226 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 4,196 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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June 17 Historical Events
- 1497 –Battle of Deptford Bridge – forces under King Henry VII defeat troops led by Michael An Gof.
- 1775 –American Revolutionary War: Colonists inflict heavy casualties on British forces while losing the Battle of Bunker Hill.
- 1901 –The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT.
- 1940 –World War II: sinking of the RMS Lancastria by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France.
- 1940 –World War II: the British Army’s 11th Hussars assault and take Fort Capuzzo in Libya, Africa from Italian forces.
- 1953 –East Germany Workers Uprising: in East Germany, the Soviet Union orders a division of troops into East Berlin to quell a rebellion.
- 1971 –President Richard Nixon declares the U.S. War on Drugs.
- 1981 –Hyatt Regency walkway collapse: In the Hyatt Regency Hotel the 2nd and 4th floor walkways collapse crushing 144 people to death, this was the worst structural failure in the United States.
- 1992 –A “joint understanding” agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II).
- 1994 –Following a televised low-speed highway chase, O.J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Who were born on June 17?
- 1810 –Ferdinand Freiligrath, German writer (d. 1876)
- 1818 –Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of the Netherlands (d. 1877)
- 1832 –Sir William Crookes, English physicist and chemist (d. 1919)
- 1914 –John Hersey, American writer and journalist (d. 1993)
- 1915 –Karl Targownik, Hungarian psychiatrist (d. 1996)
- 1920 –Setsuko Hara, Japanese actress
- 1927 –Martin Böttcher, German conductor
- 1932 –John Murtha, American politician (d. 2010)
- 1944 –Chris Spedding, British guitarist
- 1985 –Rafael Sóbis, Brazilian footballer
Who died on June 17?
- 1740 –Sir William Wyndham, English politician (b. 1687)
- 1813 –Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, English sailor and politician (b. 1726)
- 1821 –Martín Miguel de Güemes, Argentine military leader (b. 1785)
- 1968 –José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1901)
- 1969 –Rita Abatzi, Greek rebetiko singer (b. 1914)
- 1986 –Kate Smith, American singer (b. 1907)
- 1987 –Dick Howser, American baseball player and manager (b. 1936)
- 2001 –Thomas Joseph Winning, Scottish Roman Catholic Cardinal, Archbishop of Glasgow (b. 1925)
- 2005 –Sam Loeb, American comic book writer (b. 1988)
- 2006 –Arthur Franz, American actor (b. 1920)
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