Historical events on April 17
APRIL 17, 1951
The Peak District was designated the first national park in the United Kingdom.
The Peak District is an upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends
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APRIL 17, 2014
NASA announced the discovery of Kepler-186f (pictured), the first exoplanet with a radius similar to Earth's discovered in the habitable zone of another star.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space
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APRIL 17, 1986
Having supposedly been at war for 335 years without a single shot having been fired and no casualties incurred, the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly declared peace.
The Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War was an alleged state of war between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly.
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APRIL 17, 1080
Canute IV became King of Denmark upon the death of his brother Harald III.
Canute IV, later known as Canute the Holy or Saint Canute, was King of Denmark from 1080 until 1086. Canute was an
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APRIL 17, 1907
Minas Geraes (pictured), the first of three Brazilian dreadnought battleships, was laid down, sparking a vastly expensive South American naval arms race with Argentina and Chile.
Minas Geraes, spelled Minas Gerais in some sources, was a dreadnought battleship of the Brazilian Navy. Named in honor of the state
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APRIL 17, 1809
Napoleonic Wars: After a three-day chase, the French ship D'Hautpoul was captured off Puerto Rico by a British squadron under Alexander Cochrane.
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a global series of conflicts fought between the French First Republic (1803–1804)/First French Empire (1804–1815) under the
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APRIL 17, 1984
Metropolitan Police officer Yvonne Fletcher was shot and killed while on duty during a protest outside the Libyan embassy in London, resulting in an 11-day police siege of the building and a breakdown of Libya–United Kingdom relations.
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police, or simply the Met, is the territorial police
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APRIL 17, 1362
Lithuanian Crusade: After a month-long siege, forces of the Teutonic Order captured and destroyed Kaunas Castle (reconstruction pictured), which was defended by troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
The Lithuanian Crusade was a series of campaigns by the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order under the pretext of forcibly Christianizing
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APRIL 17, 1975
The Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh, the capital of the Khmer Republic, ending the Cambodian Civil War and establishing the socialist state of Democratic Kampuchea.
The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension
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APRIL 17, 1971
Ustaše-affiliated Croatian separatists attacked the Yugoslav embassy in Stockholm, fatally shooting the ambassador, Vladimir Rolović.
The Ustaše, also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between
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APRIL 17, 1973
George Lucas began writing a 13-page film treatment that later formed the basis of Star Wars.
George Walton Lucas Jr. is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and founded Lucasfilm,
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APRIL 17, 1797
French Revolutionary Wars: British forces commanded by Lieutenant-General Ralph Abercromby invaded the Spanish colonial port of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802.
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APRIL 17, 1783
The Mechanical Turk, a fraudulent chess-playing "machine" by Wolfgang von Kempelen that was secretly controlled by a hidden human, began a tour of Europe.
The Mechanical Turk, also known as the Automaton Chess Player, or simply The Turk, was a fraudulent chess-playing machine constructed in 1770,
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APRIL 17, 1969
Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of the assassination of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan is a Palestinian-Jordanian man who assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a younger brother of American president John F. Kennedy
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