January 17th
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January 17 is the 17th day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. There are 348 days left in the year (349 in a leap year).
Name days
Finnish calendar: Toni, Anton, Antto, Anttoni
Finnish-Swedish calendar: Anton, Tony, Antonia
orthodox calendar: Anttoni, Toni
Sami calendar: Ánton
in older calendars: Antonius, Antti, Hyrkkö, Lowisa, Luisa
Events
1773 - Captain James Cook was the first to cross the Antarctic Circle.
1819 – Simón Bolívar declares Colombia a republic.
1852 – The United Kingdom recognized the independence of the Boer colonies in the Transvaal.
1899 – The United States takes over Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.
1912 - Sir Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole one month after Roald Amundsen.
1917 - The United States bought the US Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million.
1929 – The cartoon character "Kippari-Kalle" appeared for the first time in a newspaper.
1941 - Kuomintang forces opened fire on Communist forces on Chiang Kai-shek's orders; The Chinese civil war started again during World War II.
1944 – The Battle of Monte Cassino began.
1945 – Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg disappeared in Hungary after being captured by Soviet forces.
1945 - World War II: Soviet forces occupy an almost completely destroyed Warsaw.
1945 – World War II: Nazis begin evacuating Auschwitz concentration camp due to approaching Soviet forces.
1946 – The UN Security Council held its first session.
1961 - US President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered a televised farewell address to the American people three days before the end of his term. In the speech, he warned about the growing influence of the military industrial complex.
1966 – Palomares nuclear accident: A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, dropping three 70 kiloton hydrogen bombs on Palomares fields and one into the sea.
1973 - Ferdinand Marcos became "President for Life" of the Philippines.
1973 – Parliament approved by 170-28 a special law, which extended the term of office of President Urho Kekkonen by four years from March 1, 1974.
1985 - British Telecom announced that it was phasing out its famous red telephone kiosks.
1987 – The God's Theater group threw excrement on the audience during theater days in Oulu.
1991 – The United States begins the Persian Gulf War against Iraq.
1991 – Harald V became King of Norway after the death of his father Olavi V.
1995 – A 7.3 Richter earthquake struck near Kobe, Japan. The earthquake caused extensive property damage and killed more than 6,000 people.
1996 – The Czech Republic applied for European Union membership.
1998 - Paula Jones accused President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment.
Born
1463 – Fredrik the Wise, Elector of Saxony 1486–1525 (d. 1525)
1504 – Pius V, Pope 1566–1572 (d. 1572)
1600 – Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish playwright and poet (d. 1681)
1706 – Benjamin Franklin, American author, physicist, inventor and diplomat (d. 1790)
1732 – Stanislaus II Poniatowski, King of Poland 1764–1795 (d. 1798)
1798 – Auguste Comte, French philosopher (the “father” of sociology) (d. 1857)
1820 – Anne Brontë, British author (resident of Wildfell Hall) (d. 1849)
1829 – Catherine Booth, British religious activist (d. 1890)
1860 - Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright (The Cherry Orchard) (d. 1904)
1863 – David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1916–1922 (d. 1945)
1863 – Konstantin Stanislavski, Russian theater director and theorist (d. 1938)
1867 – Carl Laemmle, German-American film producer, co-founder of Universal Studios (d. 1939)
1872 – Henri Masson, French fencer (Olympic medalist) (d. 1963)
1885 – Juho August Holl
