Historical events on August 17
AUGUST 17, 1560
The Scottish Reformation Parliament approved a Protestant confession of faith, initiating the Scottish Reformation and disestablishing Catholicism as the national religion.
The Scottish Reformation Parliament was the assembly elected in 1560 that passed legislation leading to the establishment of the Church of Scotland.
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AUGUST 17, 1876
The premiere of Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner (pictured) closed the first Bayreuth Festival.
Götterdämmerung, WWV 86D, is the last of the four epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. It
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AUGUST 17, 986
Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: The Bulgarians defeated Byzantine forces at the Battle of the Gates of Trajan near present-day Ihtiman, with Emperor Basil II barely escaping.
The Byzantine–Bulgarian wars were a series of conflicts fought between the Byzantine Empire and Bulgaria which began after the Bulgars conquered parts
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AUGUST 17, 1915
American Jew Leo Frank was lynched by a mob of prominent citizens in Marietta, Georgia, for the alleged murder of a 13-year-old girl.
American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll
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AUGUST 17, 1916
World War I: Romania signed a secret treaty with the Entente Powers, agreeing to enter the war in return for promised territory in Austria-Hungary.
World War I or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the
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AUGUST 17, 2008
Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal of the Beijing Summer Olympics, the most golds by any person at a single games.
Michael Fred Phelps II is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time
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AUGUST 17, 1668
An earthquake struck the North Anatolia region, killing over 8,000 people.
Northern Anatolia was struck by a large earthquake on 17 August 1668 in the late morning. It had an estimated magnitude in
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AUGUST 17, 1907
Pike Place Market, one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the U.S. and a popular tourist attraction, opened in Seattle, Washington.
Pike Place Market is a public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of
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AUGUST 17, 1915
A category 4 hurricane made landfall in Galveston, Texas, leaving at least 275 people dead and causing $50 million in damage.
The 1915 Galveston hurricane was a tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage in the Galveston area in August 1915. Widespread damage was also
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AUGUST 17, 1945
Animal Farm, George Orwell's satirical allegory of Soviet totalitarianism, was first published.
Animal Farm is a satirical allegorical novella, in the form of a beast fable, by George Orwell, first published in England on
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AUGUST 17, 1943
Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt met in a highly secret military conference (pictured) held in Quebec City.
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from
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AUGUST 17, 1950
Korean War: Forty-two American prisoners of war were massacred by the Korean People's Army on a hill above Waegwan, South Korea.
The Korean War was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea and South Korea and their allies. North
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AUGUST 17, 1959
American musician Miles Davis released Kind of Blue, which became one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed jazz recordings of all time.
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in
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AUGUST 17, 1914
World War I: Ignoring orders to retreat, Hermann von François led a successful counterattack defending East Prussia at the Battle of Stallupönen and scored the first German victory in the Eastern Front.
World War I or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the
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AUGUST 17, 1676
Scanian War: Swedish forces defeated Danish troops at the Battle of Halmstad.
The Scanian War was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from
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AUGUST 17, 1943
World War II: The Royal Air Force began a strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany's V-weapon programme by attacking the Peenemünde Army Research Center.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all
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AUGUST 17, 1945
The independence of Indonesia was proclaimed by Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta , igniting a revolution against the Dutch Empire.
The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence was read at 10:00 Tokyo Standard Time on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked
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