December 17

December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 14 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1900

497 BC – The first Saturnalia festival is first celebrated in Ancient Rome.
546 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoths under King Totila plunder Rome, by bribing the Byzantine garrison.
942 – William I of Normandy is assassinated.
1538 – Pope Paul III excommunicates King Henry VIII of England.
1577 – Francis Drake sails from Plymouth on a secret mission to explore the Pacific Ocean coasts of the Americas.
1583 – Cologne War: Forces under Ernest of Bavaria defeat troops under Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg at the Siege of Godesberg.
1586 – Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan becomes Emperor.
1600 – Marriage of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici.
1637 – In Japan, the Shimabara Rebellion led by Amakusa Shigeharu against daimyo Matsukura Shigeharu begins.
1718 – Great Britain declares war on Spain.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: France formally recognizes the United States as an independent country.
1790 – The Aztec calendar stone Piedra del Sol is discovered during building work in Mexico City.
1819 – Simon Bolivar declares the independence of Gran Colombia (present–day Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador) in Angostura, now Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela.
1830 – Simon Bolivar dies at the age of 47.
1835 – Great Fire of New York City: Fire levels Lower Manhattan.
1837 – A fire rips through the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, killing 30 guards.
1862 – Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order Number 11, expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky.
1865 – First performance of Franz Schubert's 'Unfinished' Symphony.
1892 – The first issue of Vogue magazine is published.

1901 – 2000

1903 – The Wright Brothers make their first powered and heavier–than–air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
1907 – Ugyen Wangchuck becomes the first King of Bhutan.
1909 – Albert I of Belgium becomes King.
1918 – Up to 1,000 demonstrators march on Government House in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
1919 – Uruguay becomes a signatory of the Buenos Aires Convention.
1922 – The last British troops leave the Irish Free State.
1926 – Antanas Smetona becomes President of Lithuania.
1938 – Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy.
1939 – World War II: Battle of River Plate – The German Navy sinks its own ship Admiral Graf Spee outside Montevideo.
1941 – World War II: Japanese forces land in northern Borneo.
1960 – Haile Selassie is re–installed as Emperor of Ethiopia, after he had previously been removed by a coup, while he was in Brazil, on December 13.
1960 – 1960 Munich Convair 340 crash: 20 people on board the aircraft and 32 on the ground are killed.
1961 – The world's biggest circus tragedy occurs in Niteroi, Brazil when the circus is set on fire by angry workers, killing 323 people.
1967 – Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt goes missing on a diving trip off the state of Victoria. He is declared dead two days later.
1970 – The current flag of Oman comes into use.
1973 – 30 passengers are killed in an attack by Palestinian terrorists at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci Airport.
1981 – Senegal and Gambia form the Senegambia Confederation.
1983 – An IRA bomb at a Harrods Department store in London kills 6 people.
1989 – Fernando Collor de Mello is elected President of Brazil.
1989 – The first full–length episode of The Simpsons airs.
1997 – Oggy and the Cockroaches: The Movie releases in theaters by Warner Bros.

From 2001

2003 – The Soham murder trial ends with Ian Huntley being found guilty of the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman near Soham, Cambridgeshire, in 2002.
2004 – Out of health and cultural reasons, Bhutan bans the sale of tobacco.
2005 – King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan decides to abdicate the throne.
2010 – Arab Spring: Tunisian fruit seller Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire in an act of protest. He dies as a result of this on January 4, 2011. Shortly after, Tunisia's President, Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali is overthrown, and this starts a series of uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East.
2010 – Murder of Joanna Yeates: Vincent Tabak murders Joanna Yeates at her home in Clifton, Bristol. More than 10 months later, he is sentenced to life imprisonment.
2011 – A typhoon hits the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, killing at least 400 people.
2011 – North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il dies. His son, Kim Jong-un, takes over from him.
2014 – US President Barack Obama declares a normalization in US–Cuba relations for the first time in over 50 years, after the release of American Alan Gross, who was held in Cuba since December 2009.
2017 – Sebastian Pinera is elected President of Chile for a second time.
2019 – Fallon Sherrock becomes the first woman to win a match in a World Darts Championship.

Births

Up to 1900

1267 – Emperor Go-Uda, emperor of Japan (d. 1324)
1554 – Ernest of Bavaria (d. 1612)
1619 – Prince Rupert, Royalist commander in the English Civil War (d. 1682)
1632 – Anthony Wood, English antiqurian (d. 1695)
1638 – Anna Sophia II, Abbess of Quedlinburg (d. 1683)
1685 – Thomas Tickell, English writer (d. 1740)
1706 – Émilie du Châtelet, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1749)
1734 – Maria I of Portugal (d. 1816)
1749 – Domenico Cimarosa, Italian composer (d. 1801)
1758 – Nathaniel Macon, American politician (d. 1837)
1778 – Humphrey Davy, English chemist (d. 1829)
1789 – Clement Comer Clay, 8th Governor of Alabama (d. 1866)
1796 – Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Canadian novelist (d. 1865)
1797 – Joseph Henry, American physicist (d. 1878)
1799 – Titian Peale, American artist (d. 1885)
1807 – John Greenleaf Whittier, American poet and abolitionist (d. 1892)
1824 – John Kerr, Scottish physicist (d. 1907)
1830 – Jules de Goncourt, French publisher (d. 1870)
1835 – Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, Swiss–American scientist (d. 1910)
1842 – Sophus Lie, Norwegian mathematician (d. 1899)
1853 – Herbert Beerbohm Tree, English actor (d. 1917)
1866 – Kazys Grinius, 3rd President of Lithuania (d. 1950)
1866 – Mario García Menocal, 3rd President of Cuba (d. 1941)
1872 – Mistinguett, French actress and singer (d. 1956)
1873 – Ford Madox Ford, English writer (d. 1939)
1874 – William Lyon Mackenzie King, tenth Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1950)
1884 – Alison Uttley, English writer (d. 1976)
1887 – Hermine Reuss of Greiz, wife of Wilhelm II of Germany (d. 1947)
1889 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish–Russian ballet dancer and choreographer (d. 1950)
1892 – Sam Barry, American basketball coach (d. 1950)
1893 – Erwin Piscator, German movie director (d. 1966)
1894 – Willem Schermerhorn, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1977)
1894 – Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (d. 1979)
1898 – Loren Murchison, American athlete (d. 1979)
1900 – Mary Cartwright, English mathematician (d. 1998)

1901 – 1950

1901 – Lee Strasberg, Austrian–born actor and director (d. 1982)
1903 – Erskine Caldwell, American writer (d. 1987)
1903 – Ray Noble, English musician {d. 1978}
1905 – Simo Häyhä, Finnish soldier (d. 2002)
1905 – Mohammad Hidayatullah, 11th Chief Justice of India (d. 1992)
1905 – Jan Valtin, German writer (d. 1951)
1908 – Willard Frank Libby, American physicist and chemist (d. 1980)
1913 – Burt Baskin, American businessman (d. 1967)
1915 – André Claveau, French singer (d. 2003)
1915 – Robert A. Dahl, American political theorist (d. 2014)
1916 – Penelope Fitzgerald, English writer (d. 2000)
1919 – Tomas Spidlik, Czech cardinal (d. 2010)
1920 – Kenneth E. Iverson, Canadian computer scientist (d. 2004)
1922 – Mario Rigamonti, Italian footballer (d. 1949)
1926 – Stephen Lewis, English actor (d. 2015)
1926 – Patrice Wymore, American actress (d. 2014)
1928 – Marilyn Beck, American columnist (d. 2014)
1928 – George Lindsey, American actor (d. 2012)
1929 – William Safire, American columnist (d. 2009)
1929 – Jacqueline Hill, British actress (d. 1993)
1930 – Bob Guccione, American magazine publisher (d. 2010)
1930 – Armin Mueller-Stahl, German actor
1931 – Dave Madden, Canadian–American actor (d. 2014)
1934 – Ray Wilson, English footballer (d. 2018)
1935 – Cal Ripken, Sr., American baseball player, coach and manager (d. 1999)
1936 – Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires)
1936 – Tommy Steele, English singer and actor
1936 – Klaus Kinkel, German politician (d. 2019)
1937 – John Kennedy Toole, American author (d. 1969)
1937 – Art Neville, American singer and keyboardist (d. 2019)
1937 – Kerry Packer, Australian businessman (d. 2005)
1938 – Gilles Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2014)
1938 – Peter Snell, New Zealand athlete (d. 2019)
1939 – Eddie Kendricks, American musician (d. 1992)
1941 – Gene Clark, American musician (d. 1991)
1941 – Dave Dee, English singer (d. 2009)
1942 – Paul Butterfield, American musician (d. 1987)
1942 – Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerian leader
1943 – Christopher Cazenove, English actor (d. 2010)
1943 – Ron Geesin, Scottish musician
1943 – Lauren Hutton, American model and actress
1944 – Jack L. Chalker, American novelist
1944 – Lorne Michaels, Canadian television producer
1944 – Bernard Hill, English actor
1945 – Jacqueline Wilson, English writer
1945 – Elvin Hayes, American basketball player
1945 – Ernie Hudson, American actor
1946 – Eugene Levy, Canadian actor
1947 – Wes Studi, American actor
1947 – Robert Dornhelm, Romanian–Austrian film and television director
1948 – Valery Belousov, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
1949 – Paul Rodgers, British singer (Free)

1951 – 1975

1951 – Ken Hitchcock, Canadian ice hockey coach
1953 – Bill Pullman, American actor
1953 – Sally Menke, American movie producer (d. 2010)
1955 – Brad Davis, American basketball player
1956 – Peter John Farrelly, American screenwriter and director
1958 – Mike Mills, American musician in band R.E.M.
1959 – Gregg Araki, American filmmaker
1959 – Albert King, American basketball player
1960 – Moreno Argentin, Italian cyclist
1961 – Sara Dallin, English singer (Bananarama)
1962 – Ari Folman, Israeli film director, screenwriter and film score composer
1963 – Jón Kalman Stefánsson, Icelandic writer
1966 – Kristiina Ojuland, Estonian politician
1966 – Valery Liukin, Soviet gymnast
1967 – Gigi D'Agostino, Italian musician and DJ
1968 – Paul Tracy, Canadian race car driver
1969 – Chris Mason, English darts player
1970 – Sean Patrick Thomas, American actor
1971 – Antoine Rigaudeau, French basketball player
1973 – Paula Radcliffe, English runner
1973 – Codrin Tapu, Romanian psychologist
1974 – Sarah Paulson, American actress
1974 – Giovanni Ribisi, American actor
1974 – Marissa Ribisi, American actress and screenwriter
1975 – Nick Dinsmore, American professional wrestler
1975 – Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian–born actress and model

From 1976

1976 – Patrick Müller, Swiss footballer
1976 – Takeo Spikes, American football player
1976 – Andrew Simpson, English sailor (d. 2013)
1977 – Liédson, Portuguese footballer
1977 – Arnaud Clément, French tennis player
1977 – Oxana Fedorova, Russian model, actress and singer
1978 – Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxer and politician
1978 – Riteish Deshmukh, Indian actor
1979 – Charlotte Edwards, English cricketer
1979 – William Green, American football player
1980 – Eli Pariser, American internet activist and computer programmer
1981 – Tim Wiese, German footballer
1982 – Dynamo, English magician
1982 – Boubacar Sanogo, Ivory Coast footballer
1982 – Craig Kielburger, Canadian author and activist
1983 – Sébastien Ogier, French rally driver
1983 – Chidi Odiah, Nigerian footballer
1984 – Shannon Woodward, American actress
1985 – Ryuichi Ogata, Japanese singer and actor
1986 – Emma Bell, American actress
1987 – Chelsea Manning, American soldier, leaked information on WikiLeaks
1988 – David Rudisha, Kenyan athlete
1989 – André Ayew, Ghanaian footballer
1989 – Taylor York, American musician (Paramore)
1991 – Tom Walker, Scottish singer
1993 – Patricia Ku Flores, Peruvian tennis player
1993 – Buddy Hield, Bahamian basketball player
1994 – Nat Wolff, American actor, singer and musician
1998 – Martin Odegaard, Norwegian footballer
2007 – James, Viscount Severn, British royal and youngest grandchild of Elizabeth II

Deaths

Up to 1900

942 – William I of Normandy
1187 – Pope Gregory VIII
1195 – Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut (b. 1150)
1273 – Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, Persian poet and mystic (b. 1207)
1663 – Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba (b. 1583)
1721 – Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough, English statesman (b. 1640)
1830 – Simón Bolívar, Latin American politician and activist (b. 1783)
1833 – Kaspar Hauser, German foundling (b. 1812)
1847 – Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma (b. 1791)
1857 – Hiram Runnels, Governor of Mississippi (b. 1796)
1860 – Desirée Clary, French–born Queen Consort of Sweden (b. 1777)
1881 – Isaac Israel Hayes, American physician and polar explorer (b. 1832)
1881 – Lewis H. Morgan, American anthropologist (b. 1818)
1897 – Alphonse Daudet, French writer (b. 1840)

1901 – 2000

1901 – Josep Manyanet i Vives, Catalan priest (b. 1833)
1907 – William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Irish–born physicist (b. 1824)
1909 – King Léopold II of Belgium (b. 1835)
1917 – Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, English physician (b. 1836)
1927 – Rajendra Lahiri, Indian activist (b. 1892)
1929 – Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa, 10th President of Portugal (b. 1863)
1933 – Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama (b. 1876)
1934 – William L. Harding, 20th Governor of Iowa (b. 1877)
1935 – Juan Vicente Gómez, President of Venezuela (b. 1857)
1940 – Alicia Boole Stott, Irish–English mathematician (b. 1860)
1957 – Dorothy L. Sayers, English writer (b. 1893)
1962 – Thomas Mitchell, American actor (b. 1892)
1964 – Victor Franz Hess, Austrian–born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
1967 – Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1908)
1969 – Artur da Costa e Silva, President of Brazil (b. 1899)
1973 – Charles Greeley Abbott, American astrophysicist (b. 1872)
1973 – Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, Italian cardinal (b. 1883)
1978 – Josef Frings, German cardinal (b. 1887)
1982 – Homer S. Ferguson, American politician (b. 1889)
1987 – Irving Allen, American producer (b. 1916)
1987 – Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian novelist (b. 1903)
1992 – Dana Andrews, American actor (b. 1909)
1998 – Claudia Benton, Peruvian child psychologist (b. 1959)
1999 – Grover Washington Jr., American musician (b. 1943)

From 2001

2003 – Ed Devereaux, Australian actor (b. 1925)
2003 – Otto Graham, American football player (b. 1921)
2009 – Jennifer Jones, American actress (b. 1919)
2010 – Captain Beefheart, American musician (b. 1941)
2011 – Cesaria Evora, Cape Verdean singer (b. 1941)
2011 – Kim Jong-il, North Korean leader (b. 1941)
2012 – Dina Manfredini, Italian–born American supercentenarian (b. 1897)
2012 – Daniel Inouye, United States Senator from Hawaii (b. 1924)
2013 – Janet Rowley, American cancer researcher (b. 1925)
2014 – Dieter Grau, German–American rocket scientist (b. 1913)
2014 – Richard C. Hottelet, American broadcast journalist (b. 1917)
2014 – Oleh Lysheha, Ukrainian poet (b. 1949)
2015 – Buckshot Hoffner, American politician (b. 1924)
2016 – Henry Heimlich, American physician (b. 1920)
2016 – Benjamin A. Gilman, American politician (b. 1922)
2017 – Johnny Fox, American sword swallower (b. 1953)
2017 – Bob Glidden, American drag racer (b. 1944)
2017 – Kevin Mahogany, American jazz singer (b. 1958)
2017 – Edward Rowny, American army officer (b. 1917)
2017 – Terry Cavanagh, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1926)
2018 – Jon Bluming, Dutch martial artist and actor (b. 1933)
2018 – Penny Marshall, American actress (b. 1943)
2018 – Amélie Mummendey, German social psychologist (b. 1944)
2018 – Rona Ramon, Israeli educator and activist (b. 1964)
2018 – Francis Roache, American police officer and politician (b. 1936)
2019 – Karin Balzer, German hurdler (b. 1938)
2019 – Hayden Fry, American football player (b. 1929)
2019 – Bronco Horvath, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1930)
2019 – Shriram Lagoo, Indian actor (b. 1927)

Observances

National Day of Bhutan