What are the important events that happened on July 17? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

July 17: Facts & Myths About This Day

July 17 is the 198^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 167 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is July 4, 2025 – a Thursday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 1,752,710,400 seconds 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 ‘hectaenneacontaoctagon’ day.

Cancer is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Ruby is the modern birthstone for this month. Ruby is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 215 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 4,591 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

July 17 Historical Events

• 1771 –
  Bloody Falls Massacre: Chipewyan chief Matonabbee, travelling as the guide to Samuel Hearne on his Arctic overland journey, massacres a group of unsuspecting Inuit.
• 1794 –
  The sixteen Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne are executed 10 days prior to the end of the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror.
• 1867 –
  Harvard School of Dental Medicine was established in Boston. It was the first dental school in the U.S.
• 1918 –
  The RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued the 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic, is sunk off Ireland by the German SMU U-55; 5 lives are lost.
• 1933 –
  After successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Lithuanian research aircraft Lituanica crashes in Europe under mysterious circumstances.
• 1962 –
  Nuclear weapons testing: The “Small Boy” test shot Little Feller I becomes the last atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada Test Site.
• 1968 –
  A revolution occurs in Iraq when Abdul Rahman Arif is overthrown and the Ba'ath Party is installed as the governing power in Iraq with Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as the new Iraqi President.
• 1976 –
  The opening of the Summer Olympics in Montreal is marred by 25 African teams boycotting the New Zealand team.
• 1979 –
  Nicaraguan president General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees to Miami, Florida.
• 1981 –
  The opening of the Humber Bridge by HM The Queen in England.

Who were born on July 17?

• 1744 –
  Elbridge Gerry, 5th Vice President of the United States (d. 1814)
• 1889 –
  Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author (Perry Mason) (d. 1970)
• 1917 –
  Red Sovine, American country music singer (d. 1980)
• 1933 –
  Tony Pithey, South African Cricketer (d. 2006)
• 1948 –
  Jan Gangelhoff, American whistleblower (d. 2005)
• 1954 –
  Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
• 1960 –
  Mark Burnett, English-born television producer
• 1963 –
  Regina Belle, Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter
• 1971 –
  Calbert Cheaney, American basketball player
• 1978 –
  Noah Lennox, American musician

Who died on July 17?

• 1531 –
  Hosokawa Takakuni, Japanese military commander (b. 1484)
• 1709 –
  Robert Bolling, English settler in Virginia (b. 1646)
• 1790 –
  Adam Smith, Scottish economist and philosopher (b. 1723)
• 1791 –
  Martin Dobrizhoffer, Austrian Jesuit missionary (b. 1717)
• 1845 –
  Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1764)
• 1878 –
  Aleardo Aleardi, Italian poet (b. 1812)
• 1918 –
  Family of Emperor Nicholas II Alexandrovich (b. 1868): Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna (b. 1899)
• 1961 –
  Ty Cobb, baseball player (b. 1886)
• 2005 –
  Edward Heath, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)
• 2009 –
  Leszek Kołakowski, Polish philosopher (b. 1927)