April 17th

April 17th is the 107th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (108th in leap years). There are 258 days remaining.

Events

• 1492 - Spain and Christopher Columbus sign a contract for him to sail to Asia to get spices
• 1521 - Martin Luther is excommunicated
• 1524 - Giovanni da Verrazano reaches New York harbor.
• 1861 - Virginia secedes from the Union
• 1865 - Mary Surratt is arrested as a conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
• 1906 - San Francisco earthquake
• 1924 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios is formed
• 1941 - World War II: Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany
• 1961 - Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba begins.
• 1964 - Ford Motor Company unveils the Mustang car.
• 1964 - Jerrie Mock becomes the first woman to circumnavigate the world by air
• 1969 - Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.
• 1969 - Czechoslovak Communist Party chairman Alexander Dubcek is deposed.
• 1970 - Apollo 13 spacecraft returns with all crew aboard and safe
• 1975 - Cambodia falls to the Khmer Rouge
• 1982 - Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada
• 1984 - WPC Yvonne Fletcher is killed by automatic gunfire fire from Libyan People's Bureau in central London. She had been policing a small demonstration outside the embassy. Ten other people are wounded. The events lead to a 11 day siege of the building.
• 2002 - Four Canadian infantrymen are killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire from two U.S. F-16s

Births

• 1598 - Giovanni Riccioli, astronomer († 1671)
• 1837 - J.P. Morgan, financier, art collector, philanthropist († 1913)
• 1852 - Cap Anson, Baseball Hall of Famer († 1922)
• 1882 - Artur Schnabel, pianist († 1951)
• 1885 - Isak Dinesen, author († 1962)
• 1893 - Irene Castle, dancer († 1969)
• 1894 - Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet politician and Premier 1958-1964 († 1971)
• 1897 - Thornton Wilder, dramatist and narrator († 1975)
• 1903 - Morgan Taylor, American athlete
• 1915 - Joe Foss, soldier, politician († 2003)
• 1918 - William Holden, actor († 1981)
• 1923 - Lindsay Anderson, director († 1994)
• 1923 - Harry Reasoner, journalist († 1991)
• 1929 - James Last, band leader
• 1934 - Don Kirshner, television producer, composer
• 1940 - Anja Silja, soprano
• 1948 - Jan Hammer, composer
• 1951 - Olivia Hussey, actress
• 1954 - Blackbyrd McKnight, musician (P Funk)
• 1954 - Riccardo Patrese, racing driver
• 1957 - Nick Hornby, author
• 1961 - Boomer Esiason, American football player
• 1967 - Marquis Grissom, baseball player
• 1967 - Liz Phair, musician
• 1972 - Jennifer Garner, actress
• 1985 - Justin McOmie, evangelist

Deaths

• 1761 - Thomas Bayes mathematician (* 1702)
• 1790 - Benjamin Franklin, politician, inventor, diplomat, printer (* 1706)
• 1843 - Samuel Morey, American inventor
• 1891 - Alexander Mackenzie, second Prime Minister of Canada (* 1822)
• 1942 - Jean Perrin physicist (* 1870)
• 1960 - Eddie Cochran, musician
• 1990 - Reverend Ralph Abernathy, civil rights activist
• 1998 - Linda McCartney, activist, musician
• 1999 - Señor Wences, Spanish ventriloquist

Holidays and observances

April 16 - April 18 - March 17 - May 17 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December