1700s / 78th century history on the 17th of August
1786 : Davy Crockett, the American soldier and politician, was born in Limestone, Greene County, Tennessee, USA, but at the time of his birth it was part of North Carolina (died in 1836 aged 49). He was known as “King of the Wild Frontier”, and served in the Texas Revolution.
1800s / 17th century history on the 17th of August
1807 : Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat departed from New York City for Albany, New York, on the Hudson River, to become the world’s first vessel to use steam propulsion for commercial water transportation.
1836 : Marriage Act 1836, an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that legalised civil marriage, was approved via royal assent.
1893 : Mae West, the American stage and film actress, was born Mary Jane West, in Brooklyn, New York, USA (died in 1980 aged 87).
1896 : The 1st recorded case of a pedestrian killed by a motor car in Great Britain, after a motor car struck Bridget Driscoll, while she was crossing Dolphin Terrace in the grounds of the Crystal Palace in London, with her daughter May, and her friend.
1943 : Robert De Niro, the American actor and producer, was born in New York City, USA.
1945 : Animal Farm by George Orwell was published for the first time, in England.
1953 : Mick Malthouse, the Australian footballer and coach, was born in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
1958 : Belinda Carlisle, the American singer, was born in Los Angeles, California, USA.
1960 : Sean Penn, the American actor and director, was born in Santa Monica, California, USA.
1969 : Hurricane Camille (category 5) hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, resulting in the deaths of 259 people, and $1.42 billion of damage.
1970 : Venera 7 was launched, on a journey to Venus. The Soviet spacecraft landed on Venus on the 15th December in 1970, becoming the 1st spacecraft to perform a soft landing on another planet, and also the 1st to transmit data from another planet back to Earth.
1970 : Jim Courier, the American tennis player, was born James Spencer Courier, in Orlando, Florida, USA.
1976 : Moro Gulf earthquake hit the coast of Mindanao, Philippines, with a magnitude 7.9. The earthquake triggered a tsunami, resulting in the deaths of up to 8,000 people, and left over 90,000 people homeless.
1977 : Arktika the Soviet icebreaker became the 1st surface ship to reach the North Pole.
1978 : Double Eagle II piloted balloon became the 1st to cross the Atlantic Ocean, when it landed near Paris, in Miserey, France, after a 137 hour journey from Presque Isle, Maine, USA.
1995 : Ted Whitten (OAM) the Australian footballer and coach, died from prostate cancer, aged 62 (born in 1933).
1998 : US President Bill Clinton admitted that he had an “improper physical relationship” with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern, in a tape recorded testimony, during the Lewinsky scandal.
1999 : İzmit earthquake hit north-western Turkey with a magnitude of 7.6 Mw, resulting in the deaths of up to 17,127 people.
2000s / 21st century history on the 17th of August
2008 : Michael Phelps the American swimmer became the 1st person to win 8 gold medals at one Olympic Games, while competing at the 2008 Beijing Games.
2017 : Barcelona attacks occurred when a van was driven into pedestrians on La Rambla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, resulting in the deaths of 24 people (16 civilians, 8 terrorists) and leaving 152 people injured.
Thank you for visiting the 17th of August
please visit again to see the regular updates for this day
see more of the interesting events on all the other DAYS of AUGUST (History On This Day @ Azoosh) or see the other MONTHS of the Year (History On This Day @ Azoosh)
This page was uploaded on the 17th August 2022
this page contains a total of 814 words
