July 17th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history 

On this day in 180, six inhabitants of Scillium in Northern Africa were executed for being Christians. This is the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world. In 1203 on this day, Venetians conquered (and inevitably plundered the wealth of) Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, as Emperor Alexius III fled. The Dauphin was crowned King of France on this day in 1429. 

The Champ de Mars massacre took place on this day in 1791 during the French Revolution, as members of the French National Guard, under the command of General Lafayette, opened fire on a crowd of republican protesters at the Champ de Mars in Paris. The estimates of those killed range from 12 to up to 50. The Marquis de Lafayette had previously been a revered and respected figure in France during the Revolution, but his reputation never truly recovered after this event.

Napoleon surrendered to the British at Rochefort. Cecil Rhodes became the premiere of the Cape Colony. The Spaniards surrendered to the United States at Santiago, Cuba. Today marked the first meeting of the Potsdam Conference between Churchill, Stalin and Truman, to discuss post-war plans. Israel got Nazareth. South Korea proclaimed it's new constitution.  Disneyland opened on this date. The Monkeys had a concert in New York, with Jimi Hendrix as their opening act. "Yellow Submarine" premiered in London. There was a military coup in Bolivia. Ronald Reagan formerly accepted the Republican nomination for President in 1980. Foreshadowing Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Saddam Hussein claimed that Kuwait had stolen oil from his country.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in 180, six inhabitants of Scillium in Northern Africa were executed for being Christians. This is the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world.

• 561 - John III begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Pelagius I

855 - St Leo IV ends his reign as Catholic Pope

• 1054 - Emperor Henry III crowns his son Henry IV king 

1070 - Arnulf III the Hapless becomes earl of Flanders

• In 1203 on this day, Venetians conquered (and inevitably plundered the wealth of) Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, as Emperor Alexius III fled.

1245 - Pope bans emperor Frederik II Hohenstaufen for 3rd time

1393 - Osmanen occupy Turnovo, Bulgaria

Royal France

• The Dauphin was crowned King of France on this day in 1429. 

• 1453 - First battle at Castillon: French beat English troops

1473 - Charles the Stout conquerors Nijmegen

1509 - Venice recaptures Padua

• 1549 - Jews are expelled from Ghent Belgium

1552 - Siena drives Spanish troops out of Verdun

1583 - Spanish and Walloon troops conquer Dunkerk

• 1585 - English secret service discovers Anthony Babingtons murder plot against queen Elizabeth I

1596 - At 10:30AM Dutch explorer Willem Barents arrives at Novaya Zemlya

1603 - Sir Walter Ralegh arrested

1686 - A meeting takes place at Lüneburg between several Protestant powers in order to discuss the formation of an 'evangelical' league of defence, called the 'Confederatio Militiae Evangelicae', against the Catholic League. English Monarch Queen Elizabeth IEnglish Monarch Queen Elizabeth I

1712 - England, Portugal and France sign ceasefire [or 19th]

1727 - Simon van Slingelandt appointed Dutch pension advisor

1740 - Prospero Lambertini chosen Pope Benedictus XIV

1762 - Catherine II becomes tsar of Russia upon the murder of Peter III

• 1774 - Capt Cook arrives at New Hebrides (Vanuata)

1775 - First military hospital approved




Jul 17, 1776: Congress learns of war of words

On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress learns of General George Washington's refusal to accept a dispatch from British General William Howe and his brother, Admiral Richard Viscount Howe, opening peace negotiations, because it failed to use the title "general." In response, Congress proclaimed that the commander in chief acted "with a dignity becoming his station," and directed all American commanders to receive only letters addressed to them "in the characters they respectively sustain."  

The Howe brothers had assembled the largest European force ever to land in the Americas on Staten Island, New York, while Congress was voting their approval of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in early July 1776. The commander in chief of the Continental Army, General George Washington, had spent the spring of 1776 moving his 19,000 men from Boston to New York, where they would confront 30,000 under the charge of the Howe brothers.  

The Howes had the authority to use their overwhelming force to put down the colonial rebellion, but they also had permission to readmit the former colonies to the British empire and pardon those who had led the revolt. Of their two options, the Howes preferred the latter. Thus, the brothers wrote to Washington, inviting him to enter into negotiations with them as representatives of the crown. However, they could not use Washington's title, "general," as to do so would have given legitimacy to the rebel army the British denied had the right to exist. Washington would neither excuse the affront nor open the letter.  

Washington's decision forced the Howes to fight. The British took Long Island, but allowed the Continentals to evacuate to Manhattan following the Battle of Brooklyn Heights on August 27, 1776. Hoping that the Patriots now appreciated their overwhelming strength and charity, the British began informal negotiations with members of Congress on Staten Island. The Patriots, however, withdrew from the talks when the British refused to recognize their independence.

1788 - Russian fleet destroys Swedish

Statue of the Marquis de Lafayette on the exterior of the Louvre on the Rue de Rivoli, Paris

• The Champ de Mars massacre took place on this day in 1791 during the French Revolution, as members of the French National Guard, under the command of General Lafayette, opened fire on a crowd of republican protesters at the Champ de Mars in Paris. The estimates of those killed range from 12 to up to 50. The Marquis de Lafayette had previously been a revered and respected figure in France during the Revolution, but his reputation never truly recovered after this event.

1794 - The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia, dedicated

1794 - Richard Allen organizes Philadelphia's Bethel African Meth Episcopal Church

1821 - Spain cedes Florida to US

1841 - British humor magazine "Punch" 1st published

1850 - Harvard Observatory takes 1st photograph of a star (Vega)

1856 - The Great Train Wreck of 1856 between Camp Hill and Fort Washington, Pennsylvania kills over 60 people. 

• 1861 - Congress authorizes paper money

1861 - Manassas, VA Gen Beauregard requests reinforcements for his 22,000 men, Gen Johnston is ordered to Manassas

1862 - Naval Engagement at Pascagoula River MS: USS Potomac Expedition

1862 - US army authorized to accept blacks as laborers

1862 - United army officially divides corps

1862 - R John Hunt Morgan:Cynthiana, KY CS24 US17 Skirmish at Columbia, TN

• 1863 - Battle of Honey Springs - largest battle in Indian Territory

1864 - CSA President Davis replaces Gen Joe Johnston with John Bell Hood

1866 - Italian fleet under adm Persano capture Austrian Fort Lissa

1867 - 1st US dental school, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, established

1879 - 1st railroad opens in Hawaii

• 1890 - Cecil Rhodes becomes premier of Cape colony



• 1897 - 1st ship arrives in Seattle carrying gold from Yukon

• 1898 - Spanish American War - Spaniards surrender to US at Santiago Cuba

1911 - Overthrown shah of Persia Mohammed Ali lands on Astrabad with army

1912 - IAF (Intl Amateur Athletic Federation) forms in Sweden

1914 - Giants outfielder Red Murray is knocked unconscious by lightning after catching a flyball, ending 21 inning game, Giants win 3-1

1915 - Italian offensive at Isonzo

1917 - British Royal family changes its name from Hanover to Windsor

July 17, 1917: Fighting in the streets of Petrograd, Russia

On this day in 1917, a three-day stretch of fighting in the streets peaks in Petrograd after the provisional government falls temporarily amid anger and frustration within and outside the army due to the continuing hardships caused by Russia's participation in World War I.

Despite devastating losses on the Eastern Front in 1916, the provisional Russian government–which succeeded to power after the abdication of Czar Nicholas II in March–had rejected all calls for peace. Alexander Kerensky, appointed minister of war in the spring of 1917, was determined to reinvigorate the Russian war effort, installing the victorious General Alexei Brusilov as commander in chief of the Russian forces and making plans to go back on the offensive within months. The disintegration and despair within the army continued, however, as some 30,000 deserters were reported from the front every day. At Kerensky's command, Brusilov launched another major offensive on July 1, the same day a massive peace demonstration was held in Petrograd.

Though the new offensive resulted in heavy losses for the Russians, it was at home where the provisional government received its greatest threat. On July 15, 1917, an uprising in Petrograd encouraged by Leon Trotsky, an official of the Bolshevik Party–the radical socialist movement led by Vladimir Lenin, recently returned from exile due to German help–succeeded in briefly toppling the provisional government. The Bolsheviks saw their opportunity and attempted to seize power in Petrograd, as fighting broke out in the streets. The violence peaked on July 17. The following day, officers loyal to the provisional government destroyed the offices of the Bolshevik newspaper, Pravda. Lenin, sensing the time was not yet ripe for revolution, went into hiding–albeit temporarily–and Kerensky took charge, restoring order and continuing his efforts to salvage the Russian war effort.

Months later, however, Lenin emerged again, as the Bolsheviks succeeded in wresting power in Russia from the army in November amid massive strikes and rebellions in the streets; almost immediately after taking power, the Bolsheviks moved towards an armistice with the Central Powers, ending Russia's involvement in World War I.

1919 - Finland adopts constitution


1922 - Curacao harbor workers begin strike under Felix Chacuto



1925 - Tris Speaker, is 5th to get 3,000 hits

1926 - Paavo Nurmi walks world record 4x1500m (16:11.4)

• 1929 - USSR drops diplomatic relations with China

1933 - After successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Lithuanian research aircraft Lituanica crashes in Europe under mysterious circumstances.


1935 - Variety's famous headline "Sticks Nix Hick Pix"

1936 - Carl Hubbell begins winning streak, beating Pittsburgh 6-0

1936 - Military uprising under Gen Franco/begins Spanish civil war

1938 - Douglas (Wrong Way) Corrigan leaves NY for LA, wound up in Ireland


1942 - 3' of rain falls on Pennsylvania, flooding kills 15

1942 - Estimated 34.5" (87.5 cm) of rainfall, Smethport, Pa (state record)

1942 - Transport nr 6 departs with French Jews to nazi-Germany

1943 - RAF bombs Germany rocket base Peenemunde

1944 - 2 ammunition ships explodes at Port Chicago, California kills 322

1944 - Russian troops cross river Bug/march into Poland

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Statue of soldier, author and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, London

1945 - Potsdam Conference (FDR, Stalin, Churchill) holds 1st meeting

• 1945 - U.S. President Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill began meeting at Potsdam in the final Allied summit of World War II. During the meeting Stalin made the comment that "Hitler had escaped."   

July 17, 1945: Potsdam Conference convenes

On this day in 1945, the conference of Allied victors at Potsdam, outside of Berlin, begins, with U.S. President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin in attendance.

The issues at hand for the Big Three and their staffs were the administration of a defeated Germany; the postwar borders of Poland; the occupation of Austria; the Soviet Union's "place" in Eastern Europe; war reparations; and the continuing war in the Pacific. Various disputes broke out almost immediately, especially over the Soviet Union's demand that the western border of Poland extend into German territory, granting Poland a zone of occupation. But the four zones of occupation that had been worked out at the Yalta Conference in February were finally agreed upon, to be created in both Germany and Austria and to be controlled by the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. A council composed of representatives of the four great powers was also established to determine the fate of Germany and Austria as nations. The council was to pursue the Five D's: demilitarization, denazification, decentralization, deindustrialization, and democratization. It was also agreed that unconditional surrender would be demanded of Japan, despite a warning by the Japanese emperor that such a demand would be resisted.

Unlike previous Allied conferences, Potsdam was marked by suspicion and defensiveness on the part of the participants. Now that the war was over in the West, each nation was more concerned with its own long-term interests than that of its partners. Winston Churchill in particular was greatly suspicious of Joseph Stalin's agenda for the Soviet Union's role in Eastern Europe. Stalin refused to negotiate the future of those Eastern European nations now occupied by Soviet forces. When Churchill was informed that an election had ousted his Conservative Party from power, and that Labor's Clement Attlee was now prime minister, he returned to London. With Churchill gone from the final negotiations of the conference, the Iron Curtain could be heard descending across Eastern Europe.

• 1948 - Israeli army captures Nazareth

• 1948 - Proclamation of constitution of Republic of (South) Korea

• 1950 - Indonesian troops land on Buru, South-Molukka

• 1951 - King Leopold III of Belgium gives up throne to son Boudouin I

1951 - Western New England College in Springfield, Massachusetts is chartered.

• 1952 - Shah of Persia named Ghavam Sultaneh premier

1954 - First major league game where majority of team is black (Dodgers)

1954 - Construction begins on Disneyland. . .

1954 - Theodor Heuss re-elected president of West Germany

1955 - Disneyland opens its doors in rural Orange County

1955 - Arco Idaho becomes 1st US city lit by nuclear power

1955 - Disneyland televises its grand opening in Anaheim, California.

• 1958 - King Hussein declares himself head of Jordan/Iraqi federation



1958 - US performs atmospheric nuclear Test at Enwetak

1959 - 2,000 ft long by 1,300 foot wide section of ridge falls into Madis

1959 - Dr Leakey discovers oldest human skull (600,000 years old)

• 1959 - Tibet abolishes serfdom

1959 - River Canyon extending man-made Lake Hebgen by 5 miles. (Montana)



• 1962 - East Berliner Peter Fechter flees over Berlin Wall

1962 - Robert White in X-15 sets altitude record of 108 km (354,300 ft)

1962 - Senate rejects medicare for aged

1962 - US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site

1963 - Telstar soccer team forms in Ijmuiden

1964 - Don Campbell sets record for turbine vehicle, 690.91 kph (429.31 mph)

1964 - Great Britain performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site



1966 - Pioneer 7 launched

1967 - Monkees perform at Forest Hills NY, Jimi Hendrix is opening act

1967 - Race riots in Cairo Illinois

    

• 1968 - Beatle's animated film "Yellow Submarine" premieres in London

1968 - Revolt in Iraq 

1970 - 30,000 attend Randall's Island Rock Festival, NYC

1971 - Kathy Whitworth/Judy Kimball wins LPGA Four-Ball Golf Championship

1972 - 1st 2 women begin training as FBI agents at Quantico

• 1973 - Military coup in Afghanistan; King Mohammad Zahir Shah flees

1974 - 1st quadrophonic studio in UK is open by Moody Blues

1974 - Bob Gibson becomes 2nd pitcher to strike-out 3,000 (Cesar Geronimo)

1974 - France performs nuclear Test at Muruora Island


• 1974 - John Lennon is ordered to leave US in 60 days

1975 - Apollo 18 and Soyuz 19 make 1st US/USSR linkup in space

1975 - Ringo Starr and Maureen Cox divorce

• 1976 - 21st modern Olympic games opens in Montreal

1976 - Indonesian president Suharto annexes East Timor

1976 - The opening of the Summer Olympics is marred by 25 African teams boycotting the New Zealand team.

1978 - NY Yank manager Billy Martin & Reggie Jackson fight in dug out

1978 - Reggie Jackson refusal to bunt causes mgr Billy Martin to suspend him

1979 - 50th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 7-6 at Kingdome, Seattle

1979 - All star MVP: Dave Parker (Pittsburgh Pirates)

1979 - David Gower 200* in England score of 5-633 v India at Edgbaston

• 1979 - Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza flees to Miami



1979 - Simone Veil becomes chairman of European Parliament

• 1980 - Bolivian military coup; general Garcia Meza becomes president

1980 - Ronald Reagan formally accepts Republican nomination for president

1980 - Zenko Suzuki becomes premier of Japan

1981 - "This is Burlesque" closes at Princess Theater NYC after 28 perfs

1981 - Humbar Estuary Bridge, UK, world's longest span (1.4 km), opens

1981 - Israeli bombers destroy PLO/al-Fatah headquarters in Beirut

1981 - Lobby Walkways at KC's Hyatt Regency collapse 114 die, 200 injured

1981 - USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1981 - Fulton County (Atlanta) grand jury indicts Wayne B William 23 year old photographers, for murder of 2 of 28 blacks killed in Atlanta


1983 - Beth Daniel wins LPGA McDonald's Kids Golf Classic

1984 - Pierre Mauroy resigns as premier of France

1984 - Soyuz T-12 carries 3 cosmonauts to space station Salyut 7

1986 - Emmy 13th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 7th time

1987 - "Les Miserables," opens at Imperial Theatre, Tokyo

1987 - 10 teens die in Guadalupe River flood (Comfort, Tx)

1987 - Don Mattingly is 2nd to hit HRs in 7 straight AL games (en route to 8)

1987 - Dow Jones closes above 2,500 (2,510.04) for 1st time

• 1987 - Iran & France breaks diplomatic relations


1988 - 117th British Golf Open: Seve Ballesteros shoots 273 at Royal Lytham

1988 - 4 Billion tv-viewers watch Mandela's 70th Birthday Tribute

1988 - Colleen Walker wins LPGA Boston Five Golf Classic

1988 - Florence Griffith Joyner of USA sets 100m woman's record (10.49)

1988 - Highest temperature ever recorded in San Francisco, 103°F (39°C)

1989 - 1st Test flight of US stealth-bomber

1989 - Paul McCartney releases "This One"

1989 - Reds reliever Kent Tekulve retires after 1,070 appearances

• 1990 - Hussein's Revolutionary Day speech claims Kuwait stole oil from Iraq

1990 - NY Yankee Deion Sanders hits an inside park homer

1990 - Minnesota Twins become 1st team to turn 2 triple plays in a game but lose to Boston Red Sox 1-0

1992 - Slovak parliament asks for self rule

1993 - Graeme Obree bicycles world record time, 51,596 km

Picture of the FIFA World Cup Trophy, which presented to the champions of the World Cup tournament.

1994 - Brazil defeated Italy in a shoot out, for their 4th soccer world cup

1994 - French youngster (4) becomes Buddhist Lama Tulkou Kalou Rinpoche


1995 - Forbes Mag announces Bill Gates is the richest man in world ($12.9B) 1996 - 230 people die when TWA 800 crashes outside of NYC

1996 - TWA Flight 800: Off the coast of Long Island, New York, a Paris-bound TWA Boeing 747 explodes, killing all 230 on board.

1997 - STS 94 (Columbia 23), lands

1998 - Russia buries Tsar Nicholas II & family, 80 years after they died

2005 - Tiger Woods wins his 10th major winning The British Open Championship by 5 strokes. Woods becomes only the second golfer, after Jack Nicklaus, to win each major more than once

2007 - TAM Airlines (TAM Linhas Aéreas) Flight 3054 crashes upon landing during rain in São Paulo. This is Brazil's deadliest aviation accident to date with an estimated 199 deaths.

2009 - Jakarta double bombings at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels killed 9 people including 4 foreigners.

2012 - 17 people are wounded in a bar shooting in Tuscaloosa, Alabama




1212 - The Moslems were crushed in the Spanish crusade.   1453 - France defeated England at Castillon, France, which ended the 100 Years' War.   1785 - France limited the importation of goods from Britain.   1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte surrendered to the British at Rochefort, France.   1821 - Spain ceded Florida to the U.S.   1862 - National cemeteries were authorized by the U.S. government.   1866 - Authorization was given to build a tunnel beneath the Chicago River. The three-year project cost $512,709.   1867 - Harvard School of Dental Medicine was established in Boston, MA. It was the first dental school in the U.S.   1898 - U.S. troops under General William R. Shafter took Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War.   1917 - The British royal family adopted the Windsor name.   1920 - Sinclair Lewis finished his novel "Main Street."   1941 - The longest hitting streak in baseball history ended when the Cleveland Indians pitchers held New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio hitless for the first time in 57 games.   1941 - Brigadier General Soervell directed Architect G. Edwin Bergstrom to have basic plans and architectural perspectives for an office building that could house 40,000 War Department employees on his desk by the following Monday morning. The building became known as the Pentagon.   

1945 - U.S. President Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill began meeting at Potsdam in the final Allied summit of World War II. During the meeting Stalin made the comment that "Hitler had escaped."   

1946 - Chinese communists opened a drive against the Nationalist army on the Yangtze River.   1950 - The television show "The Colgate Comedy Hour" debuted featuring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.   1954 - The Brooklyn Dodgers made history as the first team with a majority of black players.   1955 - Disneyland opened in Anaheim, CA.   1960 - Francis Gary Powers pled guilty to spying charges in a Moscow court after his U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union.   1966 - Ho Chi Minh ordered a partial mobilization of North Vietnam forces to defend against American air strikes.   1975 - An Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit. It was the first link up between the U.S. and Soviet Union.   1979 - Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza resigned and fled to Miami in exile. (Florida)   1986 - The largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history took place when LTV Corporation asked for court protection from more than 20,000 creditors. LTV Corp. had debts in excess of $4 billion.   1987 - Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and rear Admiral John Poindexter begin testifying to Congress at the "Iran-Contra" hearings.   1995 - The Nasdaq composite stock index rose above 1,000 for the first time.   1997 - After 117 years, the Woolworth Corp. closed its last 400 stores.   1998 - Biologists reported that they had deciphered the genome (genetic map) of the syphilis bacterium.




1821 Spain ceded Florida to the United States. 1898 Spain surrendered to the United States at Santiago, Cuba, ending the Spanish-American War. 1917 The British royal family changed its name from the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor amid anti-German senitment during World War I. 1938 "Wrong Way Corrigan" took off from New York, purportedly aiming for California and landing in Ireland. 1945 President Harry Truman, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill meet at the opening of the Potsdam Conference. 1955 Disneyland opened in Anaheim, Calif. 1975 The American Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft linked up for the first time. 1998 The last Russian Czar Nicholas II was buried 80 years after he and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/jul17.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory