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!
On this day in 546 during the Gothic War (535-554), the Ostrogoths of King Totila conquered Rome by bribing the Byzantine garrison. In 1777 on this day during the American War for Independence, France formally recognized the United States. On that same day, George Washington's Army returned to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. France issued the Milan Decree, which confirmed the Continental System, on this day in 1807. In 1819 on this day, Congress of Angostura established Colombia's independence from Spain. "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens was published on this day in 1843. It was on this day in 1903 that the Wright brothers managed to get the first airplane to fly. This was a busy day in 1914 during World War I. Austrian troops defeated Russians in Limanova, Poland, on this day in 1914. On that same day, Great Britain declared Egypt a protectorate, Finally on this day in 1914, Jews were expelled from Tel Aviv by Ottoman authorities. South Africa received a mandate by the League of Nations over South West Africa (present day Namibia) during 1920. South Africa would continue to rule over South West Africa for many decades, including almost the entire span of the apartheid era. On this day in 1944 during World War II, U.S. Major General Henry C. Pratt issued Public Proclamation No. 21, declaring that, effective January 2, 1945, Japanese American "evacuees" from the West Coast could return to their homes. This ended the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. OPEC raised oil prices by 18% on this day in 1978. In 1991 on this day, Yeltsin supporters of Russian President Boris Yeltsin announced that the Soviet Union will cease to exist by New Year's Eve (two weeks away). On this day in 2002, Congo's government, opposition parties and rebels signed a peace agreement that ended four years of civil war.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
• 283 - St Gaius begins his reign as Catholic Pope
• On this day in 546 during the Gothic War (535-554), the Ostrogoths of King Totila conquered Rome by bribing the Byzantine garrison.
• 546 - Gothic War (535-554): The Ostrogoths of King Totila conquer Rome by bribing the Byzantine garrison.
• 920 - Romanos I is crowned as co-emperor of the underage Emperor Constantine VII.
• 942 - Assassination of William I Longsword, 2nd Duke of Normandy.
• 1398 - Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud's armies in Delhi are defeated by Timur.
• 1526 - Ferdinand of Austria chosen as King of Bohemia
• 1526 - Pope Clemens VII publishes degree Cum ad zero - forms Inquisition
• 1531 - Pope Clement VII establishes a parallel body to the Inquisition in Lisbon, Portugal.
• 1538 - Pope Paul III excommunicated England's King Henry VIII
• 1572 - Spanish army begins fires in Haarlem Netherlands
• 1586 - Emperor Go-Yozei becomes Emperor of Japan.
• 1587 - The Earl Leicester's army leaves Netherlands
• 1637 - Shimabara Rebellion: Japanese peasants led by Amakusa Shiro rise against daimyo Matsukura Shigeharu.
• 1638 - French/Swedish troops occupy Breisach on the Rhine
• 1718 - France, Britain and Austria declare war on Spain.
• 1728 - Congregation Shearith Israel of NY purchases a lot on Mill Street in lower Manhattan, to build NY's 1st synagogue
• 1745 - Bonnie Prince Charlie's army retreats to Scotland
• In 1777 on this day during the American War for Independence, France formally recognized the United States. On that same day, George Washington's Army returned to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
Dec 17, 1777: France formally recognizes the United States
On this day in 1777, the French foreign minister, Charles Gravier, count of Vergennes, officially acknowledges the United States as an independent nation. News of the Continental Army's overwhelming victory against the British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga gave Benjamin Franklin new leverage in his efforts to rally French support for the American rebels. Although the victory occurred in October, news did not reach France until December 4th.
Franklin had quickly mustered French support upon his arrival in December 1776. France's humiliating loss of North America to the British in the Seven Years' War made the French eager to see an American victory. However, the French king was reluctant to back the rebels openly. Instead, in May 1776, Louis XVI sent unofficial aid to the Continental forces and the playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais helped Franklin organize private assistance for the American cause.
Franklin, who often wore a fur cap, captured the imagination of Parisians as an American man of nature and his well-known social charms stirred French passions for all things American. He was the toast of Parisian society, enchanting salons with his wide-ranging knowledge, social graces and witty repartee. Nevertheless, he was not allowed to appear at court.
It took the impressive and long-awaited victory at Saratoga to convince Louis that the American rebels had some hope of defeating the British empire. His enthusiasm for the victory paired with the foreign minister's concern that the loss of Philadelphia to the British would lead Congress to surrender, gave Franklin two influential allies with two powerful--if opposing--reasons for officially backing the American cause. A formal treaty of alliance followed on February 6, 1778.
On this day in 1777, the French foreign minister, Charles Gravier, count of Vergennes, officially acknowledges the United States as an independent nation. News of the Continental Army's overwhelming victory against the British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga gave Benjamin Franklin new leverage in his efforts to rally French support for the American rebels. Although the victory occurred in October, news did not reach France until December 4th.
Franklin had quickly mustered French support upon his arrival in December 1776. France's humiliating loss of North America to the British in the Seven Years' War made the French eager to see an American victory. However, the French king was reluctant to back the rebels openly. Instead, in May 1776, Louis XVI sent unofficial aid to the Continental forces and the playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais helped Franklin organize private assistance for the American cause.
Franklin, who often wore a fur cap, captured the imagination of Parisians as an American man of nature and his well-known social charms stirred French passions for all things American. He was the toast of Parisian society, enchanting salons with his wide-ranging knowledge, social graces and witty repartee. Nevertheless, he was not allowed to appear at court.
It took the impressive and long-awaited victory at Saratoga to convince Louis that the American rebels had some hope of defeating the British empire. His enthusiasm for the victory paired with the foreign minister's concern that the loss of Philadelphia to the British would lead Congress to surrender, gave Franklin two influential allies with two powerful--if opposing--reasons for officially backing the American cause. A formal treaty of alliance followed on February 6, 1778.
1777 France formally recognizes the United States HISTORY.com Editors Published: November 13, 2009 Last Updated: May 27, 2025
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/december-17/france-formally-recognizes-the-united-states
• 1788 - Russian army of Grigorij Potemkin occupies Ocharov
• 1790 - Aztec calendar stone discovered in Mexico City
• 1791 - NYC traffic regulation creates 1st 1-way street
• 1792 - Opening of 1st legislative assembly of Lower Canada in Quebec city
• 1798 - 1st impeachment trial against a US senator (Wm Blount, TN) begins
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The flag of France since the days of the French Revolution.
• France issued the Milan Decree, which confirmed the Continental System, on this day in 1807.
• 1819 - Congress of Angostura establishes Colombia's independence from Spain
In 1819 on this day, Congress of Angostura established Colombia's indep
endence from Spain.
• 1821 - Kentucky abolishes debtors' prisons
Pictures of the statue of Simón Bolívar just outside of Central Park in New York City.
1830 - South American patriot Simon Bolivar died in Colombia.
British Botanist Charles Darwin
• 1832 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin sails in Strait Le Maire
Bust of English novelist Charles Dickens
• "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens was published on this day in 1843.
1852 - 1st Hawaiian cavalry organized
1860 - Anaheim Township created in Los Angeles County
1862 - Gen US Grant issues order #11, expelling Jews from Tennessee
The Franz Schubert Monument at Stadtpark, Vienna
• 1865 - Franz Schubert's "Unfinished Symphony" premieres
• 1875 - Violent bread riots in Montreal
• 1885 - France declares Madagascar a protectorate
1887 - Georges Feydeau's "Tailleur Pour Dames" premieres in Paris
Bust of Russian Romantic era composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
• 1892 - Tchaikovski's ballet "Casse-noisette" premieres in St Petersburg
1893 - Russia ratifies Double Alliance with France
1894 - Cricket day 3 1T Aus v Eng Eng 325 all out, 261 behind on 1st inn
• 1895 - Anti-Saloon League of America formed, Washington, DC
1895 - George Brownell patents a machine to make paper twine (Mass)
1900 - 1st prize of 100,00 francs offered for communications with extraterrestrials. Martians excluded-considered too easy
1900 - New Ellis Island Immigration station completed costing $1.5 million
Composer Franz SchubertComposer Franz Schubert 1902 - Frank Wedekind's "Der Erdgeist" premieres in Berlin
1903 - At 10:35 AM, 1st sustained motorized aircraft flight (Orville Wright)
It was on this day in 1903 at 10:35 AM that the Wright brothers managed to get the first airplane to fly.
Dec 17, 1903: First airplane flies
Near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft. Orville piloted the gasoline-powered, propeller-driven biplane, which stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet on its inaugural flight.
Orville and Wilbur Wright grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and developed an interest in aviation after learning of the glider flights of the German engineer Otto Lilienthal in the 1890s. Unlike their older brothers, Orville and Wilbur did not attend college, but they possessed extraordinary technical ability and a sophisticated approach to solving problems in mechanical design. They built printing presses and in 1892 opened a bicycle sales and repair shop. Soon, they were building their own bicycles, and this experience, combined with profits from their various businesses, allowed them to pursue actively their dream of building the world's first airplane.
After exhaustively researching other engineers' efforts to build a heavier-than-air, controlled aircraft, the Wright brothers wrote the U.S. Weather Bureau inquiring about a suitable place to conduct glider tests. They settled on Kitty Hawk, an isolated village on North Carolina's Outer Banks, which offered steady winds and sand dunes from which to glide and land softly. Their first glider, tested in 1900, performed poorly, but a new design, tested in 1901, was more successful. Later that year, they built a wind tunnel where they tested nearly 200 wings and airframes of different shapes and designs. The brothers' systematic experimentations paid off--they flew hundreds of successful flights in their 1902 glider at Kill Devils Hills near Kitty Hawk. Their biplane glider featured a steering system, based on a movable rudder, that solved the problem of controlled flight. They were now ready for powered flight.
In Dayton, they designed a 12-horsepower internal combustion engine with the assistance of machinist Charles Taylor and built a new aircraft to house it. They transported their aircraft in pieces to Kitty Hawk in the autumn of 1903, assembled it, made a few further tests, and on December 14 Orville made the first attempt at powered flight. The engine stalled during take-off and the plane was damaged, and they spent three days repairing it. Then at 10:35 a.m. on December 17, in front of five witnesses, the aircraft ran down a monorail track and into the air, staying aloft for 12 seconds and flying 120 feet. The modern aviation age was born. Three more tests were made that day, with Wilbur and Orville alternately flying the airplane. Wilbur flew the last flight, covering 852 feet in 59 seconds.
During the next few years, the Wright brothers further developed their airplanes but kept a low profile about their successes in order to secure patents and contracts for their flying machines. By 1905, their aircraft could perform complex maneuvers and remain aloft for up to 39 minutes at a time. In 1908, they traveled to France and made their first public flights, arousing widespread public excitement. In 1909, the U.S. Army's Signal Corps purchased a specially constructed plane, and the brothers founded the Wright Company to build and market their aircraft. Wilbur Wright died of typhoid fever in 1912; Orville lived until 1948.
The historic Wright brothers' aircraft of 1903 is on permanent display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
DEC 17 1903 First airplane flies by HISTORY.com Editors Print Collector/Getty Images Published: November 24, 2009 Last Updated: December 12, 2025:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/december-17/first-airplane-flies
1907 - Ugyen Wangchuck became 1st hereditary king of Bhutan
1909 - Leopold II, king of Belgium, buried in Brussels
This was a busy day in 1914 during World War I. Austrian troops defeated Russians in Limanova, Poland, on this day in 1914. On that same day, Great Britain declared Egypt a protectorate, Finally on this day in 1914, Jews were expelled from Tel Aviv by Ottoman authorities.
1919 - Austria parliament approves 8-hour day
1920 - AL votes to let spitball pitchers to continue using it
1920 - British Empire receives League of Nations mandate to Nauru
1920 - Japan receives League of Nations mandate over Pacific islands
Flag of South Africa during the apartheid era
• South Africa received a mandate by the League of Nations over South West Africa (present day Namibia) on this day in 1920. South Africa would continue to rule over South West Africa for many decades, including almost the entire span of the apartheid era.
• 1922 - Last British troops leave Irish Free State
• 1923 - Greek king George II overthrown by army/republic
1924 - 1st US diesel electric locomotive enters service, Bronx, NY
Aviator Orville WrightAviator Orville Wright 1925 - Col William "Billy" Mitchell court-martialed for insubordination
• 1925 - Russia & Turkey sign non-aggresion pact
• 1926 - German Marx government falls due to cooperation with red army
• 1926 - Lithuanian military state under gen Augustine Woldemaras
• 1926 - Antanas Smetona assumes power in Lithuania as the 1926 coup d'état is successful.
1927 - Bradman scores 118 on 1st-class cricket debut, 188 mins 8 fours
1927 - US sub 'S-4' sinks after collision kills all 34 aboard
1927 - Victoria score 793 against Queensland, Bill Ponsford 437
1928 - John McGraw backs NL Pres John Heydler's designated hitter idea
1932 - Cards trade Jim Bottomley to Reds for Estel Crabtree & Ownie Carroll
1933 - B H Valentine scores 133 on Test Cricket debut, Eng v India at Bombay
1933 - Lala Amarnath scores century on Test Cricket debut (went on to 118)
1933 - Spain's 2nd government of Lerroux forms
1933 - NFL starts official stats as Bears beat Giants 23-21 in champ game
1935 - First flight of the Douglas DC-3 airplane.
1936 - Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen & dummy Charlie McCarthy, appear on TV
1938 - Utrecht Central Station destroyed by fire
1939 - German pocket battleship Graf Spee scuttled by its crew off Uruguay
1940 - British troops occupy Sollum, Egypt
1941 - Dutch & Australian troops lands on Portuguese Timor
1941 - German submarine U-31 sunk
German WWII Field Marshal Erwin RommelGerman WWII Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
• 1941 - German troops led by Rommel begin retreating in North Africa
• 1941 - World War II: Beginning of the Siege of Sebastopol.
• 1942 - Allies in London sentence German war criminals
• 1943 - Transport 63 departs with French Jews to nazi-Germany
1944 - Green Bay Packers win NFL championship
1944 - M-Ocean View streetcar resumes service & is extended to Market St
• On this day in 1944 during World War II, U.S. Major General Henry C. Pratt issued Public Proclamation No. 21, declaring that, effective January 2, 1945, Japanese American "evacuees" from the West Coast could return to their homes. This ended the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Dec 17, 1944: U.S. approves end to internment of Japanese Americans
During World War II, U.S. Major General Henry C. Pratt issues Public Proclamation No. 21, declaring that, effective January 2, 1945, Japanese American "evacuees" from the West Coast could return to their homes.
On February 19, 1942, 10 weeks after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the removal of any or all people from military areas "as deemed necessary or desirable." The military in turn defined the entire West Coast, home to the majority of Americans of Japanese ancestry or citizenship, as a military area. By June, more than 110,000 Japanese Americans were relocated to remote internment camps built by the U.S. military in scattered locations around the country. For the next two and a half years, many of these Japanese Americans endured extremely difficult living conditions and poor treatment by their military guards.
During the course of World War II, 10 Americans were convicted of spying for Japan, but not one of them was of Japanese ancestry. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill to recompense each surviving internee with a tax-free check for $20,000 and an apology from the U.S. government.
1944 U.S. approves end to internment of Japanese Americans HISTORY.com Editors Published: February 09, 2010 Last Updated: May 28, 2025:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/december-17/u-s-approves-end-to-internment-of-japanese-americans
• 1944 - US Army announces end of excluding Japanese-Americans from West Coast, detainees released.
1944 - US destroyers sink in storm off Philippines, 790 killed
1946 - Bradman & Barnes complete 405 run 5th wkt stand, score 234 ea
1946 - US V-2 rocket reaches 183 km, White Sands Proving Grounds, NM
1947 - NY struck by a blizzard, resulting with 27" of snow
1947 - WEWS TV channel 5 in Cleveland, OH (ABC) begins broadcasting
1949 - "Regina" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 86 performances
• 1949 - Burma recognizes People's Republic of China
1951 - Dutch Communist Party members forbidden to be civil servants
1953 - Dmitri Shostakovitch' 10th Symphony, premieres in Leningrad
1953 - FCC approves RCA's black & white-compatible color TV specifications
1954 - 1st fully automated railroad freight yard (Gary, Indiana)
1954 - WEAU TV channel 13 in Eau Claire, WI (NBC) begins broadcasting
• 1957 - US successfully test-fires Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile
1959 - "On The Beach" is 1st film to premiere on both sides of Iron Curtain
1959 - 1st movie opening simultaneously in major cities (On The Beach)
1960 - "La Plume de Ma Tante" closes at Royale Theater NYC after 835 perfs
1960 - "Take Me Along" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 448 performances
1960 - Pablo Casals' oratorio "El Pesebrio" premieres
1961 - Disgruntled employee set fire to a circus tent in Niteroi Brazil
1961 - India seizes Goa & 2 other Portuguese colonies
1961 - Niteroi Circus of Rio de Janeiro catches fire; 323 die
• 1962 - Beatles 1st British TV appearance (People & Places)
• 1962 - Current constitution of Monaco promulgated
1963 - Tsjoi Doo Sun forms government in South Korea
Flag of Germany (formerly West Germany during the Cold War)
Flag of East Germany
• 1963 - West & East Berlin sign accord about travel rules
Actress Judy GarlandActress Judy Garland
• 1965 - Astrodome opens, 1st event is Judy Garland & Supremes concert
• 1965 - British government proclaims ends oil-embargo against Rhodesia
1965 - David Levy begins his search for comets
1965 - Dutch government shuts Limburgs coal mine
1965 - Largest newspaper-Sunday NY Times at 946 pages (50 cents)
• 1969 - USAF closes Project Blue Book, concluding no evidence of extraterrestrial spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings
• 1970 - Gdansk, Poland shipworkers strike
1970 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1970 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
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• 1970 - Polish 1970 protests: In Gdynia, soldiers fire at workers emerging from trains, killing dozens.
1971 - "Diamonds are Forever" premieres in US
• 1971 - Cease fire between India & Pakistan in Kashmir
1971 - Radio Bangladesh begins transmitting
1972 - New line of control agreed to in Kashmir between India & Pakistan
• 1973 - Arabs terrorists shoot passengers on Boeing 737 to Kuwait
1975 - John Paul Stevens appointed to Supreme Court
1975 - Lynette Fromme sentenced to life for attempt on Pres Ford's life
1976 - Superstation WTBS in Atlanta went national
1977 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
OPEC raised oil prices by 18% on this day in 1978.
• 1978 - OPEC raises oil prices 18%
• 1978 - Referendum approves new constitution of Rwanda
1978 - The Workers Party of Jamaica is founded by Trevor Munroe.
1979 - Budweiser rocket car reaches 1190 kph (record for wheeled vehicle)
1980 - Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1980 - Mauritania provisional constitution published
• 1981 - Members of Red Brigades kidnap Brig Gen James L Dozier
• 1983 - Bomb attack on Harrod's war house in London, 5 killed, 94 injured
1983 - Disco in Madrid catches fire; 83 die
1983 - The IRA bombs Harrods Department Store in London, killing six people.
1984 - NJ Devils 1st penalty shot-Rocky Trottier scores against Edmonton
1984 - NJ Devils 1st shutout, Glenn Resch makes 42 saves beat Minn, 2-0
1986 - US Congress forms "Irangate" committee
1986 - Mrs Davina Thompson makse medical history by having the 1st heart, lung & liver transplant (Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England)
• 1987 - Czechoslovak party leader Gustav Husak resigns
1988 - USS Tennessee, 1st sub to carry Trident 2 missiles, commissioned
1988 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1989 - 78th Davis Cup: Germany beats Sweden in Stuttgart (3-2)
The flag of Brazil.
• 1989 - Brazil elects conservative Fernando Collor de Mello as president
1989 - The longest-running American sitcom The Simpsons had its debut.
1990 - KTBN, Salt Lake City Utah, begins shortwave radio transmissions
The flag of the USSR (Soviet Union)
• In 1991 on this day, Yeltsin supporters of Russian President Boris Yeltsin announced that the Soviet Union will cease to exist by New Year's Eve (two weeks away).
Dec 17, 1991: Yeltsin supporters announce Soviet Union will cease to exist by New Year's Eve
After a long meeting between Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin, a spokesman for the latter announces that the Soviet Union will officially cease to exist on or before New Year's Eve. Yeltsin declared that, "There will be no more red flag." It was a rather anti-climactic culmination of events leading toward the dismantling of the Soviet Union.
Despite its dramatic implications, the announcement inspired mostly yawns and skeptical jokes from a Russian population weary from months of political intrigue and instability and a crumbling economy. For many people, the Soviet Union had already disintegrated. The various Russian republics had already declared their independence; in a few days they would meet and form the Commonwealth of Independent States. Gorbachev's power was steadily ebbing: a coup attempt the previous August had already nearly toppled him. Yeltsin, on the other hand, was busily planning the takeover of Soviet facilities and the symbolic lowering of the Soviet hammer-and-sickle to be replaced by the flag of Russia. Even Gorbachev seemed to accept the inevitable, taking time off from his less and less meaningful job to have a photo op with the rock group Scorpions.
It was all a rather unexciting end to the nation President Ronald Reagan once called "the evil empire."
After a long meeting between Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin, a spokesman for the latter announces that the Soviet Union will officially cease to exist on or before New Year's Eve. Yeltsin declared that, "There will be no more red flag." It was a rather anti-climactic culmination of events leading toward the dismantling of the Soviet Union.
Despite its dramatic implications, the announcement inspired mostly yawns and skeptical jokes from a Russian population weary from months of political intrigue and instability and a crumbling economy. For many people, the Soviet Union had already disintegrated. The various Russian republics had already declared their independence; in a few days they would meet and form the Commonwealth of Independent States. Gorbachev's power was steadily ebbing: a coup attempt the previous August had already nearly toppled him. Yeltsin, on the other hand, was busily planning the takeover of Soviet facilities and the symbolic lowering of the Soviet hammer-and-sickle to be replaced by the flag of Russia. Even Gorbachev seemed to accept the inevitable, taking time off from his less and less meaningful job to have a photo op with the rock group Scorpions.
It was all a rather unexciting end to the nation President Ronald Reagan once called "the evil empire."
1991 Boris Yeltsin announces the Soviet Union will cease to exist by New Year’s Eve HISTORY.com Editors Published: November 13, 2009 Last Updated: February 18, 2025:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/december-17/yeltsin-supporters-announce-soviet-union-will-cease-to-exist-by-new-years-eve
1991 - Cleveland Cavaliers beat Miami Heat 148-80, by record 68 pts
1991 - NBA's most lopsided game Cleveland beats Miami 148-80
• 1991 - Patrick Manning becomes premier of Trinidad & Tobago
1991 - Soap opera "One Life To Live" airs its 6,000th episode
1992 - "Christmas Carol" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 22 performances
• 1992 - Gen Suwa finds tooth of 4.4 million year old Australopithecus ramidus
• 1993 - Bangladesh moslem call for murder of feminist Taslima Nasrin
• 1992 - Israel deported over 400 Palestinians to Lebanese territory in an unprecedented mass expulsion of suspected militants.
• 1992 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari signed the North American Free Trade Agreement.
• 1996 - Peruvian guerrillas took hundreds of people hostage at the Japanese embassy in Lima. The siege ended on April 22, 1997, with a commando raid that resulted in the deaths of all the rebels, two commandos and one hostage.
Bust of Bill Clinton in front of the Arkansas Governor's Mansion in Little Rock
• 1997 - U.S. President Clinton signed the No Electronic Theft Act. The act removed protection from individuals who claimed that they took no direct financial gains from stealing copyrighted works and downloading them from the Internet.
Flag of the United Nations
• 1999 - The United Nations General Assembly passes resolution 54/134 designating November 25 as the annual International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women.
2003 - The Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend Maxine Carr is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
2003 - SpaceShipOne flight 11P, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first supersonic flight.
2005 - Anti-WTO protesters riot in Wan Chai, Hong Kong
2007 - Republic of Lakotah asserts independence from the United States
2012 - 17 people are killed and 70 are injured by a blast in a market in the Khyber Agency, Pakistan
• 2012 - 10 girls collecting firewood are killed by a mine blast in east Afghanistan
• 2012 - 18 people drown after an overloaded boat sinks in Cotonou, Benin
2012 - NASA completes a successful mission to map the Moon’s gravity field
1791 - A traffic regulation in New York City established the first street to go "One Way." 1895 - George L. Brownell received a patent for his paper-twine machine. 1903 - The first successful gasoline-powered airplane flight took place near Kitty Hawk, NC. Orville and Wilbur Wright made the flight. 1925 - Col. William "Billy" Mitchell was convicted of insubordination at his court-martial. 1936 - The "The Rudy Vallee Show" debuted on NBC. 1939 - The German pocket battleship Graf Spee was scuttled by its crew, bringing the World War II Battle of the Rio de la Plata off Uruguay to an end. 1944 - The U.S. Army announced the end of its policy of excluding Japanese-Americans from the West Coast which ensured that Japanese-Americans were released from detention camps. 1953 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided to approve RCA’s color television specifications. 1957 - The United States successfully test-fired the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time. 1959 - The film "On the Beach" premiered in New York City and in 17 other cities. It was the first motion picture to debut simultaneously in major cities around the world. 1969 - Television history was made when Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki Budinger were married on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson. 1973 - Thirty-one people were killed at Rome airport when Arab guerillas hijacked a German airliner. 1975 - Lynette Fromme was sentenced to life in prison for her attempt on the life of U.S. President Ford. 1976 - WTCG-TV, Atlanta, GA, changed its call letters to WTBS, and was uplinked via satellite. The station became the first commercial TV station to cover the entire U.S. 1978 - OPEC decided to raise oil prices by 14.5% by the end of 1979. 1979 - Arthur McDuffie, a black insurance executive, was fatally beaten after a police chase in Miami, FL. Four white police officers were later acquitted of charges stemming from McDuffie's death. 1986 - Wayne "Danke Schoen" Newton won a $19.2 million suit against NBC News. NBC had aired reports claiming a link between Newton and mob figures. The reports were proven to be false. 1986 - Davina Thompson became the world's first recipient of a heart, lungs, and liver transplant. 1986 - Eugene Hasefus was pardoned and then released by Nicaragua. He had been convicted of running guns to the Contras. . 1996 - The Red Cross pulled all but a few of its western staff out of Chechnya after six foreign aid workers were killed by masked gunmen. 1998 - U.S. House Speaker-designate Bob Livingston admitted he'd had extramarital affairs. 2000 - Terrell Owens (San Francisco 49ers) caught an NFL-record 20 passes for 283 yards and a touchdown against the Chicago Bears. The previous record was held by Tom Fears (Los Angeles Rams) with 18 catches on December 3, 1950, against the Green Bay Packers. Owens also broke Jerry Rice's franchise record of 16 receptions set in 1994 against the Los Angeles Rams. 2002 - U.S. President George W. Bush ordered the Pentagon to have ready for use within two years a system for protecting American territory, troops and allies from ballistic missile attacks. 2002 - McDonald's Corp. warned that they would report its first quarterly loss in its 47-year history. 2002 - The insurance and finance company Conseco Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection. It was the third-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. 2002 - Congo's government, opposition parties and rebels signed a peace agreement that ended four years of civil war. 2004 - U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law the largest overhaul of U.S. intelligence gathering in 50 years. The bill aimed to tighten borders and aviation security. It also created a federal counterterrorism center and a new intelligence director.
1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first flight in a heavier-than-air plane at Kitty Hawk, N.C. 1944 The U.S. Army announced the end of its policy of holding Japanese-Americans in internment camps, allowing "evacuees" to return home. 1969 The U.S. Air Force ended its "Project Blue Book" and concluded that there was no evidence of extraterrestrial activity behind UFO sightings. 1992 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed by U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
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/dec17.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
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