130 things happened on 17 January, from 38 BC to 2025. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1773 · 253 years ago
On his second great voyage, Captain James Cook sailed HMS Resolution south of the Antarctic Circle. It was the first ship ever known to do so. Cook had been sent to find out whether a huge southern continent, called Terra Australis, really existed. He proved …
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
During the English Civil War, Parliament voted to stop all talks with King Charles I. MPs had heard that the king was making a deal with the Scots. Oliver Cromwell argued strongly against any more talks, and the vote was carried by 141 to 91. It set the scene for the second part of the Civil War.
UK story
On his second great voyage, Captain James Cook sailed HMS Resolution south of the Antarctic Circle. It was the first ship ever known to do so. Cook had been sent to find out whether a huge southern continent, called Terra Australis, really existed. He proved it was not where people expected, but he predicted that land lay beyond the ice.
UK story
British explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott and four companions reached the South Pole. There they discovered that a Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen had got there about five weeks earlier. Sadly, none of Scott's party survived the long journey back, but their journals and photographs were later found. Scott's expedition also carried out a large programme of scientific work in Antarctica.
UK story
The United Nations Security Council held its very first meeting at Church House, Westminster, in London. The United Nations had been created after the Second World War, taking over from the League of Nations. The Security Council's main job is to help keep peace and security around the world. The United Kingdom is one of its five permanent members.
UK story
During the French Wars of Religion, Henry IV of France declares war on Spain.
UK story
American Revolutionary War: Battle of Cowpens: Continental troops under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeat British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the battle in South Carolina.
UK story
The United Kingdom signs the Sand River Convention with the South African Republic.
UK story
A British force defeats a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.
Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano left Madeira in his ship La Dauphine, sailing west for the King of France. He hoped to find a sea route to the Pacific Ocean. Instead he became the first European known to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between Florida and New Brunswick. On the way he visited New York Bay.
El Yunque, a tropical rainforest in the mountains of Puerto Rico, was protected as the Luquillo Forest Reserve. By then, most of Puerto Rico's original forests had been cut or burned down. These mountains held the island's last areas of untouched forest. The reserve became a national forest in 1906, and it is now looked after by the United States Forest Service.
The Cherry Orchard, the last play by Russian writer Anton Chekhov, was performed for the first time at the Moscow Art Theatre. It was directed by Konstantin Stanislavski. Chekhov called the play a comedy, but Stanislavski treated it as a tragedy, and directors have long struggled with how to stage it. Chekhov, who was also a doctor, is seen as one of the greatest writers of all time.
The United States paid Denmark 25 million dollars for its Caribbean colony, the Danish West Indies. The islands became the United States Virgin Islands. They include the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John and Saint Thomas, plus about 50 smaller islands. Christopher Columbus is thought to have been the first European to see the islands, in 1493, and he gave them their name.
Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey.
Gregory XI, the last Avignon pope, entered Rome after a four-month journey from Avignon, returning the papacy to its original city.
Representatives of Catherine de' Medici, the regent of France, drew up the Edict of Saint-Germain, providing limited tolerance to the Protestant Huguenots.
The Second Ormonde Peace creates an alliance between the Irish Royalists and Confederates during the War of the Three Kingdoms. The coalition was then decisively defeated during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.
Mexican War of Independence: In the Battle of Calderón Bridge, a heavily outnumbered Spanish force of 6,000 troops defeats nearly 100,000 Mexican revolutionaries.
A group of Modoc warriors defeats the United States Army in the First Battle of the Stronghold, part of the Modoc War.
Lorrin A. Thurston and the Citizens' Committee of Public Safety led the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the government of Queen Liliʻuokalani (pictured).
The United States takes possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.
Russia defeats Ottoman Turkey in the Battle of Sarikamish during the Caucasus Campaign of World War I.
Finnish Civil War: The first serious battles take place between the Red Guards and the White Guard.
The Volstead Act went into effect, beginning the prohibition of alcohol in the United States.
Franco-Thai War: Vichy French forces inflict a decisive defeat over the Royal Thai Navy.
World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis captures the 200-ton sailing vessel Agios Stefanos and mans her with part of her crew.
World War II: Australian troops advanced along the northern part of Bougainville Island (in present-day Papua New Guinea) and began fighting Japanese forces in the Battle of Tsimba Ridge.
Indonesian National Revolution: The Renville Agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesian republicans was ratified, in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to resolve disputes arising from the Linggadjati Agreement of 1946.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 79 relating to arms control is adopted.
Three days before leaving office, U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered a farewell speech to the nation, in which he warned about the dangers of the military–industrial complex.
President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos lifts martial law eight years and five months after declaring it.
The Czech Republic applies for membership in the European Union.
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station: A Delta II carrying the GPS IIR-1 satellite explodes 13 seconds after launch, dropping 250 tons of burning rocket remains around the launch pad.
In Little Saigon, California, a series of protests began when the owner of a video rental store displayed an image of Ho Chi Minh.
Former cyclist Lance Armstrong confesses to his doping in an airing of Oprah's Next Chapter.
President Barack Obama announces the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement intended to limit Iran's nuclear program.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Captain Cook's ship is the first to cross the Antarctic Circle”?
A: 1773. 1773 — that’s 253 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “Captain Scott's team reaches the South Pole”?
A: 1912. 1912 — that’s 114 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
A: Captain Cook's ship is the first to cross the Antarctic Circle. 1773: Captain Cook's ship is the first to cross the Antarctic Circle · 1912: Captain Scott's team reaches the South Pole · 1946: The UN Security Council meets for the first time, in London Find it on the page
“The UN Security Council meets for the first time, in London” happened in 1946. How many years ago was that?
A: 80 years. 2026 − 1946 = 80. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 17 January.
Benjamin Franklin was an American printer, scientist, inventor and statesman. He was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and helped to write the Declaration of Independence. His studies of electricity made him a major figure in science, and his inventions include the lightning rod and bifocal glasses. He also charted and named the Gulf Stream, a powerful ocean current.
UK story
Anne Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the youngest of the famous Brontë sisters. She grew up in Haworth, Yorkshire, with her sisters Charlotte and Emily, who also became writers. At first the sisters published under made-up names, Anne's being Acton Bell. Her novels Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall are now seen as classics of English literature.
Well-known people who died on 17 January.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 17 January somewhere in the world.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “January 17” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.