What are the important events that happened on December 17? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
December 17: Facts & Myths About This Day
December 17 is the 352nd day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 14 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 4, 2024 – a Tuesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 481,776 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘trihectapentacontadigon’ day.
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Sagittarius is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Turquoise is the modern birthstone for this month. Onyx is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 43 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,379 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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December 17 Historical Events
- 1538 –Pope Paul III excommunicates Henry VIII of England.
- 1600 –Marriage of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici.
- 1718 –Great Britain declares war on Spain.
- 1928 –Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru assassinate British police officer James Saunders in Lahore, Punjab to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police. The three were executed in 1931.
- 1957 –The United States successfully launches the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- 1960 –Troops loyal to Haile Selassie I in Ethiopia crush the coup that began December 13, returning power to their leader upon his return from Brazil. Haile Selassie absolves his son of any guilt.
- 1967 –Prime Minister of Australia Harold Holt disappears while swimming near Portsea, Victoria and is presumed drowned.
- 1983 –The IRA bombs Harrods Department Store in London, killing six people.
- 1989 –Romanian Revolution: Protests continue in Timişoara with rioters breaking into the Romanian Communist Party’s District Committee building and attempting to set it on fire.
- 2005 –Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicate the throne as King of Bhutan.
Who were born on December 17?
- 1853 –Émile Roux, French physician (d. 1933)
- 1887 –Empress Hermine Reuss of Germany (d. 1947)
- 1923 –Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian (d. 2006)
- 1934 –Ray Wilson, English footballer
- 1953 –Barry Livingston, American actor
- 1968 –Andrey Golovatiuk, Russian politician
- 1980 –Eli Pariser, American political blogger and activist
- 1983 –Bryan Jurynec, American ice hockey player
- 1984 –Andrew Davies, English footballer
- 1989 –Taylor York, American rock guitarist
Who died on December 17?
- 1195 –Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut (b. 1150)
- 1833 –Kaspar Hauser, German foundling (b. 1812)
- 1847 –Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, second wife of Napoleon (b. 1791)
- 1929 –Manuel Gomes da Costa, Portuguese politician (b. 1863)
- 1964 –Victor Franz Hess, Austrian-born American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1883)
- 1967 –Harold Holt, Australian politician (b. 1908)
- 1967 –Jack Perrin, American actor (b. 1896)
- 1981 –Ada Kramm, Norwegian actress (b. 1899)
- 2003 –Otto Graham, American football player (b. 1921)
- 2005 –Jack Anderson, American journalist (b. 1922)
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