February 17 Historical Events

The following events took place on February 17. The list is arranged in chronological order.

Found 43 events. Showing 1 - 30.

• 364
  Roman Emperor Jovian dies after a reign of eight months. He is found dead in his tent at Tyana (Asia Minor) en route back to Constantinople in suspicious circumstances.
• 1370
  Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
• 1411
  Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.
• 1500
  Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.
• 1600
  The philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive, for heresy, at Campo de' Fiori in Rome.
• 1621
  Myles Standish is appointed as first commander of the English Plymouth Colony in North America.
• 1753
  In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
• 1801
  An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr, Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
• 1814
  War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormans.
• 1819
  The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
• 1838
  Weenen massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
• 1854
  The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
• 1863
  A group of citizens of Geneva founded an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
• 1864
  American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
• 1865
  American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.

• 1871
  The victorious Prussian Army parades through Paris, France, after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
• 1904
  Madama Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan.
• 1913
  The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
• 1919
  The Ukrainian People’s Republic asks Entente and the US for help fighting the Bolsheviks.
• 1933
  The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.
• 1933
  Newsweek magazine is first published.
• 1944
  World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
• 1944
  World War II: Operation Hailstone begins. U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk Lagoon, Japan’s main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
• 1949
  Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.
• 1959
  Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2 – The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
• 1964
  In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
• 1964
  Gabonese president Léon M'ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
• 1965
  Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the “Sea of Tranquility” would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
• 1968
  In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
• 1972
  Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.