What Happened on January 17

Significant Events

  • 1773 Captain James Cook becomes 1st to cross Antarctic Circle (66° 33' S)
  • 1873 A group of Modoc warriors defeats the United States Army in the First Battle of the Stronghold, a part of the Modoc War.
  • 1912 Captain Robert Scott's expedition arrives at the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen
  • 1941 Kuomintang forces under orders from Chiang Kai-shek open fire at communist forces, resuming the Chinese Civil War after World War II
  • 1946 United Nations Security Council holds its 1st meeting
  • 1991 Operation Desert Storm begins, with US-led coalition forces bombing Iraq, during the Gulf War
More Historical Events

January 17 in Film & TV

  • 1984 Supreme Court rules (5-4) oks private use of home VCRs to tape TV programs for later viewing does not violate federal copyright laws

January 17 in Music

January 17 in Sport

  • 1916 Rodman Wanamaker organises a lunch to discuss forming a golfers association (later the PGA) at the Taplow Club, Martinique Hotel, New York City

Did You Know?

First day Prohibition comes into effect in the US as a result of the 18th amendment

On January 17, 1920

Famous Birthdays

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Would You Believe?

Doomsday Clock set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea's 1st nuclear test

On January 17, 2007

Famous Weddings

  • 38 BC Roman Republican Leader Octavian, later Augustus 1st Roman Emperor, marries Livia Drusilla
  • 1827 Religious leader Joseph Smith Jr (21) weds church group movement leader Emma Smith (22) in South Bainbridge, New York
  • 1926 Comedian George Burns marries comedienne Gracie Allen
  • 1946 Actor John Wayne (38) weds actress Esperanza Baur in Long Beach, California
  • 1955 Murderer Charles Manson (20) weds waitress Rosalie Jean Willis (17)

Famous Divorces

  • 1990 NFL coach Jimmy Johnson (46) divorces Linda Kay Cooper after 26 years of marriage
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Famous Deaths

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January in History