What Happened on August 17
Significant Events
- 1590 Governor of Roanoke Island colony, John White, returns from England to find no trace of the colonists he had left there 3 years earlier [or Aug 18, 1591]
- 1903 Joe Pulitzer donates $1 million to Columbia University & begins the Pulitzer Prizes in America
- 1945 Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta declare Indonesia (Dutch East Indies) independent from the Netherlands
- 1945 Korea is divided into North and South Korea along the 38th parallel
- 1947 The Radcliffe Line, the border between Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan is revealed
- 1998 Monica Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony he had an "improper physical relationship" with the intern and on the same day admits before the nation he "misled people" about the relationship
August 17 in Film & TV
- 1979 Monty Python's "Life of Brian" directed by Terry Jones, starring Graham Chapman & John Cleese premieres
August 17 in Music
- 1876 Richard Wagner's opera "Götterdämmerung" premieres in Bayreuth
August 17 in Sport
- 1933 Lou Gehrig plays record 1,308th consecutive game
Did You Know?
Projection in Paris of the very first animated cartoon, Fantasmagorie realized by Émile Cohl
On August 17, 1908
Famous Birthdays
Davy Crockett
(1786 - 1836)
Mae West
(1893 - 1980)
Ted Hughes
(1930 - 1998)
Robert De Niro
75 Years Old
Guillermo Vilas
66 Years Old
Sean Penn
58 Years Old
Would You Believe?
Baseball player Richie Ashburn fouls and hits fan Alice Roth twice in the same game at bat playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, 1st hit breaks her nose, 2nd one hits her while she is on the stretcher
On August 17, 1957
Famous Weddings
- 1498 Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander IV, 1st man to resign the cardinalate marries Charlotte d'Albret of Navarre
- 1950 Short story writer Dorothy Parker (57) weds screenwriter Alan Campbell (46)
- 1962 Actor Jack Lemmon (37) weds actress/model Felicia Farr (29) in Paris, France
- 1964 Bruce Lee (23), Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor, weds Linda Emery (19), teacher
- 1989 Director Kathryn Bigelow (38) weds fellow director James Cameron (35)
Famous Divorces
- 2008 Genesis drummer and vocalist Phil Collins (57) divorces Swiss-born Orianne Cevey (35) after six years of marriage
Frederick the Great
José de San Martín
Rudolf HessAugust in History
Ship Of Gold Sails Into Oblivion
A frigate with more than 150 souls on board, as well as nearly three tons of gold, sailed out of Melbourne on this day – never to be seen again.
August 12, 1853
America's Last Public Hanging
The last man to be publicly hanged in the United States met his fate on this day in history. It was a squalid affair watched by about 10,000 people.
August 14, 1936
First Faltering Steps of Jane Eyre
With hope, pride – and some subterfuge – Charlotte Brontë sent her hefty manuscript of Jane Eyre to publishers in London on this day, then crossed her fingers.
August 15, 1847
A Kiss For Adolf Hitler
A woman spectator leaned over and kissed Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Olympic Games on this day. Hitler pretended to be amused, but his guards were to suffer.
August 15, 1936