July 17
Events
Pre-1600
- 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians. This is the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world.
- 1048 - Damasus II is elected pope, and dies 23 days later.
- 1203 - The Fourth Crusade assaults Constantinople. The Byzantine emperor Alexios III Angelos flees from his capital into exile.
- 1402 - Zhu Di, better known by his era name as the Yongle Emperor, assumes the throne over the Ming dynasty of China.
- 1429 - Hundred Years' War: Charles VII of France is crowned the King of France in the Reims Cathedral after a successful campaign by Joan of Arc.
- 1453 - Battle of Castillon: The last battle of the Hundred Years' War, the French under Jean Bureau defeat the English under the Earl of Shrewsbury, who is killed in the battle in Gascony.
- 1489 - Sikandar Lodi succeeds Bahlul Khan Lodi as Sultan of Delhi.
1601–1900
- 1717 - King George I of Great Britain sails down the River Thames with a barge of 50 musicians, where George Frideric Handel's Water Music is premiered.
- 1762 - Former emperor Peter III of Russia is murdered.
- 1771 - Bloody Falls massacre: Chipewyan chief Matonabbee, traveling as the guide to Samuel Hearne on his Arctic overland journey, massacres a group of unsuspecting Inuit.
- 1791 - Members of the French National Guard under the command of General Lafayette open fire on a crowd of radical Jacobins at the Champ de Mars, Paris, during the French Revolution, killing scores of people.
- 1794 - The 16 Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne are executed ten days prior to the end of the French Revolution's Reign of Terror.
- 1821 - The Kingdom of Spain cedes the territory of Florida to the United States.
- 1850 - Vega becomes the first star to be photographed.
- 1867 - Harvard School of Dental Medicine is established in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the first dental school in the U.S. that is affiliated with a university.
- 1899 - NEC Corporation is organized as the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital.
1901–present
- 1918 - Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his immediate family and retainers are executed by Bolshevik Chekists at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
- 1918 - The is sunk off Ireland by the German ; five lives are lost.
- 1919 - The form of government in the Republic of Finland is officially confirmed. For this reason, July 17 is known as the Day of Democracy in Finland.
- 1932 - Altona Bloody Sunday: A riot between the Nazi Party paramilitary forces, the SS and SA, and the German Communist Party ensues.
- 1936 - Spanish Civil War: An Armed Forces rebellion against the recently elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain starts the civil war.
- 1938 - Douglas Corrigan takes off from Brooklyn to fly the "wrong way" to Ireland and becomes known as "Wrong Way" Corrigan.
- 1944 - Port Chicago disaster: Near the San Francisco Bay, two ships laden with ammunition for the war explode in Port Chicago, California, killing 320.
- 1945 - World War II: The main three leaders of the Allied nations, Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin, hold the Potsdam Conference in the German city of Potsdam to decide the future of a defeated Germany.
- 1953 - The largest number of United States midshipman casualties in a single event results from an aircraft crash in Florida, killing 44.
- 1954 - First Indochina War: Viet Minh troops successfully ambush the armoured French column 'G.M. 42' in the Battle of Chu Dreh Pass in the Central Highlands. It is the last battle of the war.
- 1962 - Nuclear weapons testing: The "Small Boy" test shot Little Feller I becomes the last atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada National Security Site.
- 1968 - Abdul Rahman Arif is overthrown and the Ba'ath Party is installed as the governing power in Iraq with Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as the new Iraqi President.
- 1973 - King Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan, while having surgery in Italy, is deposed by his cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan.
- 1975 - Apollo–Soyuz Test Project: An American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock with each other in orbit marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations.
- 1976 - East Timor is annexed and becomes the 27th province of Indonesia.
- 1976 - The opening of the Summer Olympics in Montreal is marred by 25 African teams boycotting the games because of New Zealand's participation. Contrary to rulings by other international sports organizations, the IOC had declined to exclude New Zealand because of their participation in South African sporting events during apartheid.
- 1981 - A structural failure leads to the collapse of a walkway at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri, killing 114 people and injuring more than 200.
- 1994 - Brazil win their fourth World Cup title, defeating Italy 3–2 on penalties.
- 1996 - TWA Flight 800: Off the coast of Long Island, New York, a Paris-bound TWA Boeing 747 explodes, killing all 230 on board.
- 1997 - After takeoff from Husein Sastranegara International Airport, Sempati Air Flight 304 crashes into a residential neighborhood in Bandung, killing 28 people.
- 1998 - The 7.0 Papua New Guinea earthquake triggers a tsunami that destroys ten villages in Papua New Guinea, killing up to 2,700 people, and leaving several thousand injured.
- 1998 - A diplomatic conference adopts the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, establishing the permanent international court in The Hague, to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
- 2000 - During approach to Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport, Alliance Air Flight 7412 suddenly crashes into a residential neighborhood in Patna, India, killing 60 people.
- 2006 - The 7.7 Pangandaran tsunami earthquake severely affects the Indonesian island of Java, killing 668 people, and leaving more than 9,000 injured.
- 2007 - TAM Airlines Flight 3054, an Airbus A320, crashes into a warehouse after landing too fast and missing the end of the São Paulo–Congonhas Airport runway, killing 199 people.
- 2014 - Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777, crashes near the border of Ukraine and Russia after being shot down. All 298 people on board are killed.
- 2014 - A French regional train on the Pau-Bayonne line crashes into a high-speed train near the town of Denguin, resulting in at least 25 injuries.
- 2014 - Eric Garner is killed by police officer Daniel Pantaleo in New York City, after the latter put him in a prohibited chokehold while arresting him.
- 2015 - At least 120 people are killed and 130 injured by a suicide bombing in Diyala Governorate, Iraq.
Births
Pre-1600
- 1487 - Ismail I of Iran
- 1499 - Maria Salviati, Italian noblewoman
- 1531 - Antoine de Créqui Canaples, Roman Catholic cardinal
1601–1900
- 1674 - Isaac Watts, English hymnwriter and theologian
- 1695 - Christian Karl Reinhard of Leiningen-Dachsburg-Falkenburg-Heidesheim
- 1698 - Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician and philosopher
- 1708 - Frederick Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
- 1714 - Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, German philosopher and academic
- 1744 - Elbridge Gerry, American merchant and politician, 5th Vice President of the United States
- 1763 - John Jacob Astor, German-American businessman and philanthropist
- 1774 - John Wilbur, American minister and theologian
- 1797 - Paul Delaroche, French painter and academic
- 1823 - Leander Clark, American businessman, judge, and politician
- 1831 - Xianfeng Emperor of China
- 1831 - Naser al-Din Shah of Qajar Iran
- 1837 - Joseph-Alfred Mousseau, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 7th Secretary of State for Canada
- 1839 - Ephraim Shay, American engineer, invented the Shay locomotive
- 1853 - Alexius Meinong, Ukrainian-Austrian philosopher and academic
- 1868 - Henri Nathansen, Danish director and playwright
- 1870 - Charles Davidson Dunbar, Scottish soldier and bagpipe player
- 1871 - Lyonel Feininger, German-American painter and illustrator
- 1873 - Many Benner, French painter
- 1879 - Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1882 - James Somerville, English admiral and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
- 1888 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Ukrainian-Israeli novelist, short story writer and poet, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1889 - Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author
- 1894 - Georges Lemaître, Belgian priest, astronomer, and cosmologist
- 1896 - Rupert Atkinson, English RAF officer
- 1898 - Berenice Abbott, American photographer
- 1898 - Osmond Borradaile, Canadian soldier and cinematographer
- 1899 - James Cagney, American actor and dancer
1901–present
- 1901 - Luigi Chinetti, Italian-American race car driver
- 1901 - Bruno Jasieński, Polish poet and author
- 1901 - Patrick Smith, Irish farmer and politician, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine
- 1902 - Christina Stead, Australian author and academic
- 1905 - William Gargan, American actor
- 1910 - James Coyne, Canadian lawyer and banker, 2nd Governor of the Bank of Canada
- 1910 - Frank Olson, American chemist and microbiologist
- 1911 - Lionel Ferbos, American trumpet player
- 1911 - Heinz Lehmann, German-Canadian psychiatrist and academic
- 1912 - Erwin Bauer, German race car driver
- 1912 - Art Linkletter, Canadian-American radio and television host
- 1913 - Bertrand Goldberg, American architect, designed the Marina City Building
- 1914 - Eleanor Steber, American soprano and educator
- 1915 - Bijon Bhattacharya, Indian actor, singer, and screenwriter
- 1915 - Arthur Rothstein, American photographer and educator
- 1916 - Eleanor Hadley, American economist and policymaker
- 1917 - Lou Boudreau, American baseball player and manager
- 1917 - Phyllis Diller, American actress, comedian, and voice artist
- 1917 - Kenan Evren, Turkish general and politician, 7th President of Turkey
- 1917 - Christiane Rochefort, French author
- 1918 - Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, Guatemalan soldier and politician, President of Guatemala
- 1919 - Albert Stubbins, English footballer
- 1920 - Gordon Gould, American physicist and academic, invented the laser
- 1920 - Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish businessman, 7th President of the International Olympic Committee
- 1921 - George Barnes, American guitarist, producer, and songwriter
- 1921 - Louis Lachenal, French mountaineer
- 1921 - Mary Osborne, American guitarist
- 1921 - Toni Stone, American baseball player
- 1921 - František Zvarík, Slovak actor
- 1923 - Jeanne Block, American psychologist
- 1923 - John Cooper, English car designer, co-founded the Cooper Car Company
- 1924 - Garde Gardom, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
- 1925 - Jimmy Scott, American singer and actor
- 1925 - Mohammad Hasan Sharq, Afghan politician
- 1926 - Édouard Carpentier, French-Canadian wrestler
- 1926 - Willis Carto, American activist and theorist
- 1928 - Vince Guaraldi, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1929 - Arthur Frommer, American travel writer
- 1929 - Sergei K. Godunov, Russian mathematician and academic
- 1932 - Niccolò Castiglioni, Italian composer
- 1932 - Red Kerr, American basketball player and coach
- 1932 - Wojciech Kilar, Polish pianist and composer
- 1932 - Karla Kuskin, American author and illustrator
- 1932 - Slick Leonard, American basketball player and coach
- 1932 - Ian Moir, Australian rugby league player
- 1932 - Quino, Spanish-Argentinian cartoonist
- 1932 - Hal Riney, American businessman, founded Publicis & Hal Riney
- 1933 - Keiko Awaji, Japanese actress
- 1933 - Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, Maltese politician, 9th Prime Minister of Malta
- 1933 - Mimi Hines, Canadian singer and comedian
- 1933 - Tony Pithey, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer
- 1934 - Lucio Tan, Chinese-Filipino billionaire businessman and educator
- 1935 - Diahann Carroll, American actress and singer
- 1935 - Peter Schickele, American composer and educator
- 1935 - Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor and producer
- 1938 - Hermann Huppen, Belgian author and illustrator
- 1939 - Andrée Champagne, Canadian actress and politician
- 1939 - Spencer Davis, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1940 - Tim Brooke-Taylor, English actor and screenwriter
- 1941 - Daryle Lamonica, American football player
- 1941 - Bob Taylor, English cricketer
- 1941 - Achim Warmbold, German race car driver and manager
- 1942 - Gale Garnett, New Zealand–born Canadian singer
- 1942 - Connie Hawkins, American basketball player
- 1942 - Don Kessinger, American baseball player and manager
- 1942 - Zoot Money, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1943 - LaVyrle Spencer, American author and educator
- 1944 - Mark Burgess, New Zealand cricketer and footballer
- 1944 - Catherine Schell, Hungarian-English actress
- 1944 - Carlos Alberto Torres, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1945 - Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
- 1945 - John Patten, Baron Patten, English politician, Secretary of State for Education
- 1946 - Chris Crutcher, American novelist and short story writer
- 1946 - Ted Sampley, American POW/MIA activist
- 1947 - Joyce Anelay, Baroness Anelay of St John's, English educator and politician
- 1947 - Robert Begerau, German footballer and manager
- 1947 - Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom
- 1947 - Wolfgang Flür, German musician
- 1947 - Mick Tucker, English rock drummer
- 1948 - Ron Asheton, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1948 - Luc Bondy, Swiss director and producer
- 1949 - Geezer Butler, English bass player and songwriter
- 1949 - Charley Steiner, American journalist and sportscaster
- 1950 - Sadhan Chandra Majumder, Bangladeshi politician
- 1950 - Tengku Sulaiman Shah, Malaysian corporate figure
- 1950 - Phoebe Snow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 - Lucie Arnaz, American actress and singer
- 1951 - Mark Bowden, American journalist and author
- 1951 - Andrew Robathan, English soldier and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
- 1952 - David Hasselhoff, American actor, singer, and producer
- 1952 - Nicolette Larson, American singer-songwriter
- 1952 - Thé Lau, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1952 - Robert R. McCammon, American author
- 1954 - Angela Merkel, German chemist and politician, Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021.
- 1954 - Edward Natapei, Vanuatuan politician, 6th Prime Minister of Vanuatu
- 1954 - J. Michael Straczynski, American author, screenwriter, and producer
- 1955 - Sylvie Léonard, Canadian actress and screenwriter
- 1955 - Paul Stamets, American mycologist and author
- 1956 - Julie Bishop, Australian lawyer and politician, 38th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs
- 1956 - Bryan Trottier, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
- 1957 - Bruce Crump, American drummer and songwriter
- 1957 - Wendy Freedman, Canadian-American cosmologist and astronomer
- 1958 - Wong Kar-wai, Chinese director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1958 - Suzanne Moore, English journalist
- 1958 - Thérèse Rein, Australian businesswoman, founded Ingeus
- 1958 - Susan Silver, American music manager
- 1959 - Pola Uddin, Baroness Uddin, Bangladeshi-English politician
- 1960 - Kim Barnett, English cricketer and coach
- 1960 - Mark Burnett, English-American screenwriter and producer
- 1960 - Nancy Giles, American journalist and actress
- 1960 - Robin Shou, Hong Kong martial artist and actor
- 1960 - Dawn Upshaw, American soprano
- 1960 - Jan Wouters, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1961 - António Costa, Portuguese politician, 119th Prime Minister of Portugal
- 1961 - Jeremy Hardy, English comedian and actor
- 1963 - Regina Belle, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1963 - Letsie III of Lesotho
- 1963 - Matti Nykänen, Finnish ski jumper and singer
- 1964 - Heather Langenkamp, American actress and producer
- 1966 - Sten Tolgfors, Swedish lawyer and politician, 30th Swedish Minister of Defence
- 1969 - Jason Clarke, Australian actor
- 1969 - Scott Johnson, American cartoonist
- 1969 - Jaan Kirsipuu, Estonian cyclist
- 1971 - Calbert Cheaney, American basketball player and coach
- 1971 - Cory Doctorow, Canadian author and activist
- 1971 - Nico Mattan, Belgian cyclist
- 1972 - Donny Marshall, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1972 - Jaap Stam, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1972 - Eric Williams, American basketball player
- 1973 - Eric Moulds, American football player
- 1974 - Claudio López, Argentine footballer
- 1975 - Andre Adams, New Zealand cricketer
- 1975 - Elena Anaya, Spanish actress
- 1975 - Darude, Finnish DJ and producer
- 1975 - Loretta Harrop, Australian triathlete
- 1975 - Konnie Huq, English television presenter
- 1975 - Terence Tao, Australian-American mathematician
- 1976 - Luke Bryan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1976 - Gino D'Acampo, Italian chef and author
- 1976 - Dagmara Domińczyk, Polish-American actress
- 1976 - Marcos Senna, Brazilian-Spanish footballer
- 1976 - Anders Svensson, Swedish footballer and sportscaster
- 1976 - Brian K. Vaughan, American comic book and television writer
- 1976 - Eric Winter, American actor
- 1977 - Andrew Downton, Australian cricketer
- 1977 - Leif Hoste, Belgian cyclist
- 1977 - Marc Savard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 - Ricardo Arona, Brazilian mixed martial artist
- 1978 - Jason Jennings, American baseball player
- 1978 - Justine Triet, French film director and screenwriter
- 1979 - Mike Vogel, American actor
- 1980 - Javier Camuñas, Spanish footballer
- 1980 - Brett Goldstein, British actor, comedian and writer
- 1980 - Ryan Miller, American ice hockey player
- 1981 - Hely Ollarves, Venezuelan runner
- 1982 - Omari Banks, Anguillan cricketer
- 1983 - Adam Lind, American baseball player
- 1985 - Loui Eriksson, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1985 - Neil McGregor, Scottish footballer
- 1986 - DeAngelo Smith, American football player
- 1987 - Darius Boyd, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 - Jeremih, American singer, songwriter, and record producer
- 1991 - Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1992 - Billie Lourd, American actress
- 1992 - Tatu Sinisalo, Finnish actor
- 1994 - Kali Uchis, American singer-songwriter
- 1996 - Wonwoo, South Korean rapper and singer
- 1997 - OG Anunoby, British basketball player
- 1998 - Rosana Serrano, Cuban rower
- 2002 - Jordan Lawlar, American baseball player
- 2005 - Connor Bedard, Canadian ice hockey player