# On this day: December 17

December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years), with 14 days left until the end of the year.

## December 17 in one line

Headline entries for December 17, from Wikipedia: in 1903, The Wright brothers make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina; born 1936: Pope Francis, Argentinian Pope of the Catholic Church (died 2025); died 1830: Simón Bolívar, Venezuelan general and politician, second President of Venezuela (born 1783). In 2026 it is a Thursday, in 2027 a Friday.

## Events on December 17

- 546 Rome was sacked by the Ostrogoths led by Totila after a year-long siege. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_(546))
- 942 William Longsword of Normandy was ambushed and assassinated by supporters of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders, while both were at a peace conference to settle their differences. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Longsword)
- 1538 Pope Paul III excommunicates Henry VIII of England. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_III)
- 1583 Cologne War: Forces under Ernest of Bavaria defeated Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg's troops at the siege of Godesberg. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Godesberg)
- 1790 The Aztec sun stone, now a modern symbol of Mexican culture, was excavated in the Zócalo, the main square of Mexico City. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_sun_stone)
- 1819 Simón Bolívar declares the independence of Gran Colombia in Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar in Venezuela). [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Colombia)
- 1862 American Civil War: Union General Ulysses S. Grant issued General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Order_No._11_(1862))
- 1892 First issue of Vogue is published. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogue_(magazine))
- 1903 The Wright brothers make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers)
- 1918 About 1,000 demonstrators marched on Government House in Darwin, Australia, where they burned an effigy of Administrator John Gilruth and demanded his resignation. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_rebellion)
- 1926 A coup d'état by the Lithuanian military replaced the democratically elected President Kazys Grinius with Antanas Smetona. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1926_Lithuanian_coup_d'%C3%A9tat)
- 1935 Douglas DC-3: The twin-engine airliner makes its maiden flight from Santa Monica. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-3)
- 1938 Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission)
- 1939 World War II: After sustaining moderate damage in the Battle of the River Plate two days earlier, the German cruiser Graf Spee was scuttled by its commander, Hans Langsdorff, to avoid its internment by Uruguay. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cruiser_Admiral_Graf_Spee)
- 1944 Nazi troops under Joachim Peiper killed unarmed prisoners of war, captured during the Battle of the Bulge, with machine guns near Malmedy, Belgium. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malmedy_massacre)
- 1945 The modern flag of Kurdistan was raised for the first time in Mahabad, Iran. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Kurdistan)
- 1948 The Finnish Security Police was established to remove communist leadership from its predecessor, the State Police. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Security_and_Intelligence_Service)
- 1950 The F-86 Sabre's first mission over Korea. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_F-86_Sabre)
- 1951 The Civil Rights Congress presented a document to the United Nations Genocide Convention charging the United States government with genocide against African Americans. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Charge_Genocide)
- 1967 Harold Holt, the prime minister of Australia, disappeared while swimming near Portsea, Victoria; his body was never recovered. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Harold_Holt)
- 1970 Polish soldiers fired at workers emerging from trains in Gdynia, beginning the government's crackdown on mass anti-communist protests across the country. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_1970_protests_in_Poland)
- 1983 The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a car bomb outside Harrods in London, killing six people and injuring about 90 others. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Harrods_bombing)
- 1989 The Simpsons premieres on television with the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons)
- 1990 American gay rights activist William E. Woods brought three same-sex couples to fill out marriage licenses in Honolulu. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_E._Woods)
- 2005 Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicates the throne as King of Bhutan. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jigme_Singye_Wangchuck)
- 2010 Arab Spring: Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor in Sidi Bouzid, set himself on fire in protest against police harassment, triggering the Tunisian revolution. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Bouazizi)
- 2016 The first victims of a mass methanol poisoning which eventually killed over 70 inhabitants of Irkutsk, Russia, began arriving at hospitals. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Irkutsk_mass_methanol_poisoning)

## Born on December 17

- 1706 Émilie du Châtelet, French mathematician and physicist (died 1749) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89milie_du_Ch%C3%A2telet)
- 1734 Maria I of Portugal (died 1816) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_I_of_Portugal)
- 1778 Humphry Davy, English chemist and physicist (died 1829) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphry_Davy)
- 1797 Joseph Henry, American physicist and engineer (died 1878) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Henry)
- 1842 Sophus Lie, Norwegian mathematician and academic (died 1899) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophus_Lie)
- 1874 William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canadian economist and politician, tenth Prime Minister of Canada (died 1950) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lyon_Mackenzie_King)
- 1905 Simo Häyhä, Finnish soldier and sniper (died 2002) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4)
- 1908 Willard Libby, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1980) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willard_Libby)
- 1930 Armin Mueller-Stahl, German actor and painter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armin_Mueller-Stahl)
- 1936 Pope Francis, Argentinian Pope of the Catholic Church (died 2025) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis)
- 1942 Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerian general and politician, 7th & 15th President of Nigeria (died 2025) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammadu_Buhari)
- 1948 Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Turkish economist and politician [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kemal_K%C4%B1l%C4%B1%C3%A7daro%C4%9Flu)
- 1953 Bill Pullman, American actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Pullman)
- 1969 Laurie Holden, American actress and model [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_Holden)
- 1974 Giovanni Ribisi, American actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Ribisi)
- 1974 Sarah Paulson, American actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Paulson)
- 1975 Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milla_Jovovich)
- 1978 Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxer and politician [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manny_Pacquiao)
- 1987 Chelsea Manning, American soldier and intelligence analyst [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Manning)
- 1988 Yann Sommer, Swiss footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yann_Sommer)
- 1989 André Ayew, Ghanaian footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Ayew)
- 1998 Martin Ødegaard, Norwegian footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_%C3%98degaard)

## Died on December 17

- 1187 Pope Gregory VIII (born 1100) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_VIII)
- 1273 Rumi, Persian jurist, theologian, and poet (born 1207) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi)
- 1830 Simón Bolívar, Venezuelan general and politician, second President of Venezuela (born 1783) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n_Bol%C3%ADvar)
- 1847 Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma (born 1791) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Louise%2C_Duchess_of_Parma)
- 1907 William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Irish-Scottish physicist and engineer (born 1824) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Kelvin)
- 1909 Leopold II of Belgium (born 1835) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II_of_Belgium)
- 1933 13th Dalai Lama (born 1876) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_Dalai_Lama)
- 1957 Dorothy L. Sayers, English author, poet, and playwright (born 1893) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_L._Sayers)
- 1962 Thomas Mitchell, American actor (born 1892) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Mitchell_(actor))
- 1964 Victor Francis Hess, Austrian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1883) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Hess)
- 1967 Harold Holt, Australian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Australia (born 1908) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Holt)
- 1987 Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian-American author and poet (born 1903) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marguerite_Yourcenar)
- 2009 Jennifer Jones, American actress (born 1919) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Jones)
- 2011 Kim Jong-il, North Korean commander and politician, second Supreme Leader of North Korea (born 1941) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong_Il)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast day: Daniel the Prophet [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_(biblical_figure))
- Christian feast day: Josep Manyanet i Vives [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josep_Manyanet_i_Vives)
- Christian feast day: Lazarus of Bethany (local commemoration in Cuba) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_of_Bethany)
- Christian feast day: O Sapientia [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Antiphons)
- Christian feast day: Olympias the Deaconess [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympias_the_Deaconess)
- Christian feast day: Wivina [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wivina_(abbess))
- Christian feast day: Sturm [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sturm)
- Christian feast day: December 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_17_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Accession Day (Bahrain) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Bahrain)
- International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_to_End_Violence_Against_Sex_Workers)
- Kurdish Flag Day (Global Kurdish population) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Kurdistan)
- National Day (Bhutan) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Bhutan)
- Pan American Aviation Day (United States) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_American_Aviation_Day)
- Wright Brothers Day, a United States federal observance by Presidential proclamation [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_proclamation)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “December 17”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_17) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/December 17”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/December_17) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“December 17”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_17) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_17?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for December 17 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 27 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. The 1903 entry stays as well, and comes first in the one-line summary: we keep a short list, checked by hand, of widely known events that Wikipedia's editors leave out of their selection, usually because the article carries a maintenance notice. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## December 17 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Thursday | 2026-W51 | 🌓 First Quarter |
| 2027 | Friday | 2027-W50 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2028 | Sunday | 2028-W50 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2029 | Monday | 2029-W51 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2030 | Tuesday | 2030-W51 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on December 17

None of the 28 countries we track has a public holiday on December 17 in 2026 or 2027.

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← December 16](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/december-16/) · [December 18 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/december-18/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/december-17/