What Happened on August 17
Historical 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 Korea is divided into North and South Korea along the 38th parallel
- 1945 Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta declare Indonesia (Dutch East Indies) independent from the Netherlands
- 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
- More Historical Events
Aug 17 in Film & TV
- 1979 "Monty Python's Life of Brian" directed by Terry Jones, starring Graham Chapman, Mickael Palin, & John Cleese, premieres in US theaters
Aug 17 in Music
- 1876 Richard Wagner's opera "Götterdämmerung" premieres in Bayreuth
Aug 17 in Sport
- 1933 MLB player 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
Menelik II
Marcus Garvey
Mae West
Leslie Groves
Robert De Niro
Lil PumpWould 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 and model Felicia Farr (29) in Paris, France
Famous Divorces
- 2008 Genesis drummer and vocalist Phil Collins (57) divorces Swiss-born Orianne Cevey (35) after six years of marriage
More Weddings & Divorces
Frederick the Great
José de San Martín
Ira Gershwin
Rudolf HessArticles, Photos and Quiz
Why The King Became a Party Pooper
A man who tried to impress his king on this day with one of the most lavish and extravagant parties of all time, ended up spending the rest of his life in jail.
August 17, 1661
Weekly Quiz for August 12-18
Test your knowledge of historical events and famous people in our multi-choice, weekly history quiz for August 12-18. Then challenge your friends!
