October 17

October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 75 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 539 BC – Cyrus the Great marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost 70 years of exile. Cyrus allows the Jews to return to Yehud Medinata and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
• 456 – Battle of Placentia: Ricimer, supported by Majorian (comes domesticorum), defeats the Roman usurper Avitus near Piacenza (Northern Italy) .
• 1091 – London Tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London.
• 1346 – Battle of Neville's Cross: King David II of Scotland is captured by the English near Durham, and imprisoned in the Tower of London for eleven years.
• 1448 – Second Battle of Kosovo, where the mainly Hungarian army led by John Hunyadi is defeated by an Ottoman army led by Sultan Murad II.
• 1456 – The University of Greifswald is established, making it the second oldest university in northern Europe (also for a period the oldest in Sweden, and Prussia).
• 1558 – Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, is founded.
• 1604 – Kepler's Star: German astronomer Johannes Kepler observes a supernova in the constellation Ophiuchus.
• 1610 – French king Louis XIII is crowned in Rheims.
• 1660 – Nine regicides, the men who signed the death warrant of Charles I, are hanged, drawn and quartered.
• 1662 – Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to France for 40,000 pounds.
• 1771 – Premiere in Milan of the opera Ascanio in Alba, composed by Wolfgang Mozart, age 15.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: British General John Burgoyne surrenders his army at Saratoga, New York.
• 1781 – American Revolutionary War: British General Lord Charles Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown.
• 1800 – Britain takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao.
• 1806 – Former leader of the Haitian Revolution, Emperor Jacques I of Haiti is assassinated after an oppressive rule.
• 1860 – First The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open).
• 1861 – 19 people are killed in the Cullin-La-Ringo massacre, the deadliest massacre of Europeans by aborigines in Australian history.
• 1888 – Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie).
• 1905 – The October Manifesto issued by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
• 1907 – Guglielmo Marconi's company begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada and Clifden, Ireland.
• 1912 – Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War.
• 1917 – First British bombing of Germany in World War I.
• 1919 – RCA is incorporated as the Radio Corporation of America.
• 1931 – Al Capone convicted of income tax evasion.
• 1933 – Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States.
• 1941 – For the first time in World War II, a German submarine attacks an American ship.
• 1941 – German troops execute the male population of the villages Kerdyllia in Serres, Greece.
• 1943 – Burma Railway (Burma-Thailand Railway) is completed.
• 1943 – The Holocaust: Sobibor extermination camp is closed.
• 1945 – A massive number of people, headed by CGT, gather in the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina to demand Juan Peron's release. It calls "el día de la lealtad peronista" (peronista loyalty day)
• 1945 – Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens becomes Prime Minister of Greece between the pull-out of the German occupation force in 1944 and the return of King Georgios II to Greece.
• 1956 – The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield,in Cumbria, England.
• 1956 – Donald Byrne and Bobby Fischer play a famous chess game called The Game of the Century. Fischer beat Byrne and wins a Brilliancy prize.
• 1961 – Scores of Algerian protesters (some claim up to 400) are massacred by the Paris police at the instigation of former Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Prefecture of Police.
• 1964 – Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies opens the artificial Lake Burley Griffin in the middle of the capital Canberra.
• 1965 – The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair closes after a two year run. More than 51 million people had attended the two-year event.
• 1966 – A fire at a building in New York City kills 12 firefighters, the fire department's deadliest day until the September 11, 2001 attacks.
• 1966 – Botswana and Lesotho join the United Nations.
• 1970 – Montreal, Quebec: Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte murdered by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
• 1973 – OPEC starts an oil embargo against a number of western countries, considered to have helped Israel in its war against Syria.
• 1977 – German Autumn: Four days after it is hijacked, Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu, Somalia, where a team of German GSG 9 commandos later rescues all remaining hostages on board.
• 1979 – Mother Teresa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1979 – The Department of Education Organization Act is signed into law creating the US Department of Education and US Department of Health and Human Services.
• 1980 – As part of the Holy See – United Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican
• 1989 – 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (7.1 on the Richter scale) hits the San Francisco Bay Area and causes 57 deaths directly (and 6 indirectly).
• 1992 – Having gone to the wrong house for a Halloween party, Japanese exchange student Yoshihiro Hattori is shot and killed by the homeowner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
• 1994 – Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov is assassinated while investigating corruption in the armed forces.
• 2000 – Train crash at Hatfield, north of London, leading to collapse of Railtrack.
• 2001 – Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi became the first Israeli minister to be assassinated in a terrorist attack.
• 2003 – The pinnacle is fitted on the roof of Taipei 101, a 101-floor skyscraper in Taipei, allowing it to surpass the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur by 56 metres (184 ft) and become the world's tallest highrise.

Births

• 1253 – Ivo of Kermartin, French priest and saint (d. 1303)
• 1577 – Cristofano Allori, Italian painter (d. 1621)
• 1577 – Dmitry Pozharsky, Russian prince (d. 1642)
• 1582 – Johann Gerhard, German theologian (d. 1637)
• 1623 – Francis Turretin, Swiss-Italian theologian (d. 1687)
• 1688 – Domenico Zipoli, Italian missionary and composer (d. 1726)
• 1711 – Jupiter Hammon, American poet (d. 1806)
• 1719 – Jacques Cazotte, French author (d. 1792)
• 1720 – Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini, Italian composer (d. 1795)
• 1725 – John Wilkes, English journalist and politician (d. 1797)
• 1729 – Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny, French composer (d. 1817)
• 1760 – Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French economist and philosopher (d. 1825)
• 1811 – Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-American pastor (d. 1876)
• 1813 – Georg Büchner, German-Swiss poet and playwright (d. 1837)
• 1814 – Yakiv Holovatsky, Ukrainian historian, scholar, and poet (d. 1888)
• 1817 – Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian philosopher and scholar (d. 1898)
• 1853 – Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (d. 1920)
• 1864 – Elinor Glyn, English author, screenwriter, and producer (d. 1943)
• 1865 – James Rudolph Garfield, American lawyer and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1950)
• 1883 – Thaddeus Shideler, American hurdler (d. 1966)
• 1886 – Spring Byington, American actress and singer (d. 1971)
• 1890 – Roy Kilner, English cricketer (d. 1928)
• 1892 – Theodor Eicke, German general (d. 1943)
• 1892 – Herbert Howells, English organist, composer, and educator (d. 1983)
• 1898 – Shinichi Suzuki, Japanese violinist and educator (d. 1998)
• 1898 – Simon Vestdijk, Dutch author and poet (d. 1971)
• 1900 – Jean Arthur, American actress and singer (d. 1991)
• 1902 – Irene Ryan, American actress (d. 1973)
• 1903 – Nathanael West, American author and screenwriter (d. 1940)
• 1906 – Paul Derringer, American baseball player (d. 1987)
• 1908 – Red Rolfe, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1969)
• 1909 – Cozy Cole, American drummer (d. 1981)
• 1910 – Ester Wier, American author (d. 2000)
• 1912 – Pope John Paul I (d. 1978)
• 1912 – Theodore Marier, American composer and educator, founder of the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (d. 2001)
• 1912 – Jack Owens, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1982)
• 1914 – Jerry Siegel, American author and illustrator (d. 1996)
• 1915 – Arthur Miller, American playwright (d. 2005)
• 1917 – Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-American author and playwright (d. 1991)
• 1917 – Marsha Hunt, American actress and singer
• 1918 – Rita Hayworth, American actress, singer, dancer, and producer (d. 1987)
• 1918 – Ralph Wilson, American businessman, founded the Buffalo Bills
• 1919 – Isaak Markovich Khalatnikov, Ukrainian-Russian physicist
• 1920 – Montgomery Clift, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1966)
• 1920 – Miguel Delibes, Spanish journalist and author (d. 2010)
• 1921 – George Mackay Brown, Scottish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Priscilla Buckley, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
• 1921 – Maria Gorokhovskaya, Ukrainian-Israeli gymnast (d. 2001)
• 1921 – Tom Poston, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1922 – Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Pierre Juneau, Canadian broadcaster and politician, co-founded the Montreal World Film Festival (d. 2012)
• 1923 – Barney Kessel, American guitarist and composer (d. 2004)
• 1923 – Charles McClendon, American football player and coach (d. 2001)
• 1924 – Don Coryell, American football player and coach (d. 2010)
• 1924 – Anton Geiser, Croatian SS officer (d. 2012)
• 1925 – Harry Carpenter, English sportscaster (d. 2010)
• 1926 – Julie Adams, American actress
• 1926 – Beverly Garland, American actress (d. 2008)
• 1929 – Mário Wilson, Mozambican footballer and manager
• 1930 – Robert Atkins, American physician and cardiologist, created the Atkins diet (d. 2003)
• 1930 – Jimmy Breslin, American journalist and author
• 1931 – Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian author and playwright (d. 2012)
• 1933 – William Anders, Hong Kong-American general and astronaut
• 1933 – The Singing Nun, Belgian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and nun (d. 1985)
• 1934 – Johnny Haynes, English-Scottish footballer (d. 2005)
• 1934 – Rico Rodriguez, American trombonist
• 1935 – Sydney Chapman, English architect and politician
• 1936 – Sathima Bea Benjamin, South African singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Hiroo Kanamori, Japanese-American seismologist
• 1937 – Paxton Whitehead, English actor
• 1938 – Evel Knievel, American motorcycle rider and stuntman (d. 2007)
• 1938 – Les Murray, Australian anthologist, poet, and critic
• 1940 – Stephen Kovacevich, American pianist and conductor
• 1940 – Jim Smith, English footballer and manager
• 1940 – Peter Stringfellow, English businessman
• 1941 – Earl Thomas Conley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1942 – Steve Jones, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1946 – Ronni Chasen, American publicist (d. 2010)
• 1946 – Michael Hossack, American drummer (The Doobie Brothers) (d. 2012)
• 1946 – Cameron Mackintosh, English producer and manager
• 1946 – Adam Michnik, Polish journalist and historian
• 1946 – Drusilla Modjeska, English-Australian author and critic
• 1946 – Bob Seagren, American pole vaulter
• 1947 – Simi Garewal, Indian actress and director
• 1947 – Gene Green, American lawyer and politician
• 1947 – Michael McKean, American singer-songwriter, actor, and director
• 1948 – Robert Jordan, American author (d. 2007)
• 1948 – Margot Kidder, Canadian-American actress
• 1948 – George Wendt, American actor
• 1949 – Owen Arthur, Barbadian economist and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Barbados
• 1950 – Philippe Barbarin, French cardinal
• 1950 – Howard Rollins, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1951 – Annie Borckink, Dutch speed skater
• 1951 – Roger Pontare, Swedish singer
• 1951 – Shari Ulrich, American-Canadian singer-songwriter and violinist (Hometown Band, The Pied Pumkin, and UHF)
• 1953 – Joseph Bowie, American trombonist (Defunkt and Black Artists Group)
• 1954 – Carlos Buhler, American mountaineer
• 1955 – George Alogoskoufis, Greek economist, academic, and politician, Greek Minister of Finance
• 1955 – Smita Patil, Indian actress (d. 1986)
• 1956 – Fran Cosmo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Boston and Orion the Hunter)
• 1956 – Mae Jemison, American physician and astronaut
• 1956 – Pat McCrory, American politician, 74th Governor of North Carolina
• 1957 – Lawrence Bender, American actor and producer
• 1957 – Steve McMichael, American football player, wrestler, and sportscaster
• 1957 – Vincent Van Patten, American tennis player and actor
• 1958 – Alan Jackson, American singer-songwriter
• 1959 – Ron Drummond, American author and scholar
• 1959 – Russell Gilbert, Australian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1959 – Mark Peel, Australian historian and academic
• 1959 – Richard Roeper, American journalist and critic
• 1960 – Guy Henry, English actor
• 1960 – Rob Marshall, American director, producer, and choreographer
• 1960 – Bernie Nolan, Irish singer and actress (The Nolans) (d. 2013)
• 1962 – Mike Judge, American animator, director, screenwriter, producer and actor
• 1963 – Sergio Goycochea, Argentinian footballer and journalist
• 1963 – Norm Macdonald, Canadian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1965 – Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1966 – Danny Ferry, American basketball player and manager
• 1966 – Mark Gatiss, English actor, screenwriter, and author
• 1966 – Tommy Kendall, American race car driver
• 1967 – René Dif, Danish singer and actor (Aqua)
• 1967 – Kim Seung-jun, South Korean voice actor
• 1968 – Ziggy Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter, guitarist, and voice actor (Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers)
• 1968 – David Robertson, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1969 – Ernie Els, South African golfer
• 1969 – Wyclef Jean, Haitian-American rapper, producer, and actor (Fugees)
• 1969 – Wood Harris, American actor
• 1969 – Rick Mercer, Canadian comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1970 – Anil Kumble, Indian cricketer
• 1970 – John Mabry, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1970 – Shauna O'Brien, American model and actress
• 1970 – Blues Saraceno, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Poison)
• 1971 – Chris Kirkpatrick, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor ('N Sync)
• 1971 – Kim Ljung, Norwegian singer-songwriter and bass player (Seigmen and Zeromancer)
• 1972 – Eminem, American rapper, producer, and actor (D12, Outsidaz, and Bad Meets Evil)
• 1972 – Musashi, Japanese martial artist and kick-boxer
• 1972 – Tarkan, German-Turkish singer-songwriter and producer
• 1972 – Sharon Leal, American actress and singer
• 1972 – Joe McEwing, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1973 – Andrea Tarozzi, Italian footballer
• 1974 – Ariel Levy, American journalist and author
• 1974 – Matthew Macfadyen, English actor
• 1974 – Janne Puurtinen, Finnish keyboard player (HIM)
• 1974 – John Rocker, American baseball player
• 1974 – Dhondup Wangchen, Chinese director and producer
• 1975 – Janne Aikala, Finnish murder victim (d. 1986)
• 1975 – Francis Bouillon, American-Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Vina Morales, Filipino actress and singer
• 1976 – Sebastián Abreu, Uruguayan footballer
• 1976 – Rena Inoue, Japanese-American figure skater
• 1976 – Kevin Maher, English-Irish footballer
• 1977 – Dudu Aouate, Israeli footballer
• 1977 – Alimi Ballard, American actor
• 1977 – Bryan Bertino, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1977 – André Villas-Boas, Portuguese footballer and manager
• 1978 – Jerry Flannery, Irish rugby player and coach
• 1978 – Erin Karpluk, Canadian actress
• 1978 – Andrew Lawrence, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1979 – Marcela Bovio, Mexican singer-songwriter and violinist (Stream of Passion and Elfonía)
• 1979 – Alexandros Nikolaidis, Greek martial artist
• 1979 – Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish race car driver
• 1979 – Kostas Tsartsaris, Greek basketball player
• 1980 – Yekaterina Gamova, Russian volleyball player
• 1980 – Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistani cricketer
• 1980 – Alessandro Piccolo, Italian race car driver
• 1981 – Tsubasa Imai, Japanese singer, actor, and dancer (Tackey & Tsubasa)
• 1982 – Nick Riewoldt, Australian footballer
• 1983 – Daniel Booko, American actor
• 1983 – Milica Brozovic, Serbian-Russian figure skater
• 1983 – Felicity Jones, English actress
• 1983 – Toshihiro Matsushita, Japanese footballer
• 1983 – Junichi Miyashita, Japanese swimmer
• 1983 – Ivan Saenko, Russian footballer
• 1983 – Mitch Talbot, American baseball player
• 1983 – Vitali Teleš, Estonian footballer
• 1984 – Jelle Klaasen, Dutch darts player
• 1984 – Chris Lowell, American actor
• 1984 – Randall Munroe, American illustrator
• 1985 – Carlos González, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1985 – Max Irons, English actor
• 1985 – Collins John, Dutch footballer
• 1985 – Baran Kosari, Iranian actress
• 1985 – Tomokazu Nagira, Japanese footballer
• 1986 – Aija Brumermane, Latvian basketball player
• 1986 – Yannick Ponsero, French figure skater
• 1987 – Bea Alonzo, Filipino actress and singer
• 1987 – Jarosław Fojut, Polish footballer
• 1987 – Hideto Takahashi, Japanese footballer
• 1988 – Christina Crawford, American wrestler and dancer
• 1988 – Tori Matsuzaka, Japanese actor
• 1988 – Yuko Oshima, Japanese singer and actress (AKB48 and Not Yet)
• 1989 – Oleksandr Isakov, Ukrainian swimmer
• 1990 – Bianca Bree, Belgian-American actress and producer
• 1990 – Paolo Campinoti, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Saki Kumagai, Japanese footballer
• 1990 – Patrick Lambie, South African rugby player
• 1990 – Arisa Murata, Japanese skier
• 1992 – Sam Concepcion, Filipino singer, dancer, and actor
• 1992 – Nanami Sakuraba, Japanese actress and singer
• 1992 – Jacob Artist, American actor, singer, and dancer

Deaths

• 33 – Agrippina the Elder, Roman wife of Germanicus (b. 14 BC)
• 532 – Pope Boniface II
• 1575 – Gaspar Cervantes de Gaeta, Spanish cardinal (b. 1511)
• 1586 – Philip Sidney, English courtier and general (b. 1554)
• 1587 – Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1541)
• 1616 – John Pitts, English priest and scholar (b. 1560)
• 1660 – Adrian Scrope, English colonel (b. 1601)
• 1673 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurers of England (b. 1630)
• 1757 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist (b. 1683)
• 1776 – Pierre François le Courayer, French-English theologian (b. 1681)
• 1780 – William Cookworthy, English pharmacist and minister (b. 1705)
• 1786 – Johann Ludwig Aberli, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1723)
• 1806 – Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian commander and politician, Governor-General of Haiti (b. 1758)
• 1836 – Orest Kiprensky, Russian painter (b. 1782)
• 1837 – Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1778)
• 1849 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1810)
• 1868 – Laura Secord, Canadian war heroine (b. 1775)
• 1887 – Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist and chemist (b. 1824)
• 1889 – Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (b. 1828)
• 1893 – Patrice de Mac-Mahon, Duke of Magenta, French general and politician, 3rd President of France (b. 1808)
• 1910 – Julia Ward Howe, American poet and songwriter (b. 1819)
• 1928 – Frank Dicksee, English painter and illustrator (b. 1853)
• 1931 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist (b. 1884)
• 1937 – J. Bruce Ismay, English businessman (b. 1862)
• 1938 – Karl Kautsky, Czech-German journalist, philosopher, and theoretician (b. 1854)
• 1956 – Anne Crawford, Israeli-English actress (b. 1920)
• 1958 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer (b. 1896)
• 1958 – Charlie Townsend, English cricketer (b. 1876)
• 1962 – Natalia Goncharova, Russian painter, costume designer, and set designer (b. 1882)
• 1963 – Jacques Hadamard, French mathematician (b. 1865)
• 1965 – Bart King, Filipino cricketer (b. 1873)
• 1966 – Sidney Hatch, American runner (b. 1883)
• 1966 – Wieland Wagner, German director and manager (b. 1917)
• 1967 – Puyi, Chinese emperor (b. 1906)
• 1970 – Pierre Laporte, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1921)
• 1970 – Vola Vale, American actress (b. 1897)
• 1970 – Quincy Wright, American political scientist and academic (b. 1890)
• 1972 – Turk Broda, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1914)
• 1972 – George, Crown Prince of Serbia (b. 1887)
• 1972 – Billy Williams, American singer (The Charioteers) (b. 1910)
• 1973 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (b. 1926)
• 1978 – Giovanni Gronchi, Italian politician, 3rd President of the Italian Republic (b. 1887)
• 1979 – S. J. Perelman, American author and screenwriter (b. 1904)
• 1979 – John Stuart, Scottish-English actor (b. 1898)
• 1981 – Kannadasan Indian author, poet, and songwriter (b. 1927)
• 1981 – Albert Cohen, Greek-Swiss civil servant and author (b. 1895)
• 1981 – Lina Tsaldari, Greek politician (b. 1887)
• 1983 – Raymond Aron, French sociologist, political scientist, and philosopher (b. 1905)
• 1987 – Abdul Malek Ukil, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
• 1991 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and actor (b. 1919)
• 1992 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist, academic, and politician (b. 1912)
• 1992 – Orestis Laskos, Greek actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
• 1993 – Criss Oliva, American guitarist and songwriter (Savatage) (b. 1963)
• 1996 – Chris Acland, English drummer (Lush) (b. 1966)
• 1997 – Larry Jennings, American magician (b. 1933)
• 1998 – Joan Hickson, English actress (b. 1906)
• 1998 – Hakim Said, Pakistani scholar and politician, 20th Governor of Sindh (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Nicholas Metropolis, Greek-American mathematician and physicist (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Leo Nomellini, Italian-American football player and wrestler (b. 1924)
• 2000 – Joachim Nielsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1964)
• 2001 – Jay Livingston, American singer-songwriter (b. 1915)
• 2001 – Micheline Ostermeyer, French shot putter, discus thrower, and pianist (b. 1922)
• 2001 – Rehavam Ze'evi, Israeli historian, general, and politician (b. 1926)
• 2002 – Derek Bell, Irish pianist and songwriter (The Chieftains) (b. 1935)
• 2002 – Aileen Riggin, American swimmer (b. 1906)
• 2004 – Uzi Hitman, Israeli singer-songwriter (b. 1952)
• 2005 – Ba Jin, Chinese author (b. 1904)
• 2006 – Daniel Emilfork, Chilean-French actor (b. 1924)
• 2006 – Christopher Glenn, American journalist (b. 1938)
• 2007 – Joey Bishop, American actor and talk show host (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Suzy Covey, American scholar and academic (b. 1939)
• 2008 – Urmas Ott, Estonian journalist and author (b. 1955)
• 2008 – Levi Stubbs, American singer and actor (Four Tops) (b. 1936)
• 2008 – Ben Weider, Canadian businessman, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (b. 1923)
• 2009 – Norma Fox Mazer, American author and educator (b. 1931)
• 2009 – Vic Mizzy, American composer (b. 1916)
• 2011 – Carl Lindner, Jr., American businessman (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Milija Aleksic, English-South African footballer (b. 1951)
• 2012 – Émile Allais, French skier (b. 1912)
• 2012 – Henry Friedlander, German-American historian and author (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Bandya Kakade, Indian footballer (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Stanford R. Ovshinsky, American scientist and businessman, co-founded Energy Conversion Devices (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Kōji Wakamatsu, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Mother Antonia, American-Mexican nun and activist (b. 1926)
• 2013 – George A. Blair, American water-skier and businessman (b. 1915)
• 2013 – Terry Fogerty, English rugby player and coach (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Giant George, American dog (b. 2005)
• 2013 – Arthur Maxwell House, Canadian neurologist and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Lou Scheimer, American animator, producer, and voice actor, co-founded the Filmation Company (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Rene Simpson, Canadian-American tennis player (b. 1966)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Andrew of Crete
  • Catervus
  • Ignatius of Antioch
  • Marguerite Marie Alacoque (formerly)
  • Rule of Andrew
  • Richard Gwyn
  • October 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Dessalines Day (Haiti)
• International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (International)
• Loyalty Day (Argentina)

Organizations

• October 17th Movement, organization renamed to The Feminists

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to October 17.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada