1128
898 years ago
UK story
Former Empress Matilda, daughter and designated heiress of king Henry I of England, marries Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou.
On this day: 17 June
139 things happened on 17 June, from AD 656 to 2021. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
In the UK 9
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
1497
529 years ago
UK story
Battle of Deptford Bridge: Forces under King Henry VII defeat troops led by Michael An Gof.
1579
447 years ago
UK story
Explorer Francis Drake landed in a region of present-day California, naming it New Albion and claiming it for England.
1767
259 years ago
UK story
Samuel Wallis, a British sea captain, sights Tahiti and is considered the first European to reach the island.
1775
251 years ago
UK story
American Revolutionary War: British forces took Bunker Hill outside of Boston, Massachusetts.
1794
232 years ago
1795
231 years ago
UK story
French Revolutionary Wars: Off the coast of Brittany, a Royal Navy squadron commanded by William Cornwallis (pictured) fended off a numerically superior French Navy fleet.
1843
183 years ago
UK story
The Wairau Affray, the first serious clash of arms between Māori and British settlers in the New Zealand Wars, takes place.
1940
86 years ago
UK story
World War II: The British Army's 11th Hussars assault and take Fort Capuzzo in Libya from Italian forces.
Around the world 33
1242
784 years ago
Following the Disputation of Paris, twenty-four carriage loads of Jewish religious manuscripts are burnt in Paris.
1300
726 years ago
Turku Cathedral is consecrated by Bishop Magnus I in the city of Turku (Swedish: Åbo).
1397
629 years ago
The kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway formed the Kalmar Union, a personal union under Eric of Pomerania.
1596
430 years ago
The Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz discovers the Arctic archipelago of Spitsbergen.
1665
361 years ago
Battle of Montes Claros: Portugal definitively secures independence from Spain in the last battle of the Portuguese Restoration War.
1673
353 years ago
French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet reach the Mississippi River and become the first Europeans to make a detailed account of its course.
1773
253 years ago
Cúcuta, Colombia, is founded by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar.
1789
237 years ago
In France, the Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly.
1839
187 years ago
In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaii Catholic Church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace are established as a result.
1861
165 years ago
American Civil War: The Battle of Vienna, Virginia, took place, which involved one of the world's first military movements of troops by train.
1863
163 years ago
American Civil War: Battle of Aldie in the Gettysburg campaign.
1876
150 years ago
American Indian Wars: Battle of the Rosebud: One thousand five hundred Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse beat back General George Crook's forces at Rosebud Creek in Montana Territory.
1877
149 years ago
American Indian Wars: Battle of White Bird Canyon: The Nez Perce defeat the U.S. Cavalry at White Bird Canyon in the Idaho Territory.
1885
141 years ago
The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.
1898
128 years ago
The United States Navy Hospital Corps is established.
1901
125 years ago
The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT.
1910
116 years ago
Aurel Vlaicu pilots an A. Vlaicu nr. 1 on its first flight.
1913
113 years ago
In Detroit, autoworkers for car manufacturer Studebaker went on strike in the American auto industry's first major strike action.
1922
104 years ago
Portuguese naval aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral complete the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic.
1930
96 years ago
U.S. president Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act into law.
1932
94 years ago
Bonus Army: Around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits.
1940
86 years ago
The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union.
1944
82 years ago
Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic.
1952
74 years ago
Guatemalan Revolution: The Guatemalan Congress passed Decree 900, redistributing unused land greater than 224 acres (0.91 km2) in area to local peasants.
1953
73 years ago
Cold War: East Germany Workers Uprising: In East Germany, the Soviet Union orders a division of troops into East Berlin to quell a rebellion.
1960
66 years ago
The Nez Perce tribe is awarded $4 million for 7 million acres (28,000 km2) of land undervalued at four cents/acre in the 1863 treaty.
1963
63 years ago
The United States Supreme Court rules 8–1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against requiring the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer in public schools.
1967
59 years ago
Nuclear weapons testing: China announces a successful test of its first thermonuclear weapon.
1985
41 years ago
Space Shuttle program: STS-51-G mission: Space Shuttle Discovery launches carrying Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the first Arab and first Muslim in space, as a payload specialist.
1991
35 years ago
Apartheid: The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.
1992
34 years ago
A "joint understanding" agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. president George Bush and Russian president Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II).
2009
17 years ago
Following a petition, the liberal progressive Czech Pirate Party was officially registered as a political party.
2021
5 years ago
Juneteenth National Independence Day is signed into law by President Joe Biden, to become the first federal holiday established since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
Quick quiz
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
-
In which year did this happen: “Explorer Francis Drake landed in a region of present-day California, naming it”?
- 1239
- 1990
- 1579
Show the answer
C: 1579. 1579 — that’s 447 years ago. Find it on the page
-
In which year did this happen: “American Revolutionary War: British forces took Bunker Hill outside of Boston”?
- 1843
- 1579
- 1775
Show the answer
C: 1775. 1775 — that’s 251 years ago. Find it on the page
-
Which of these happened first?
- French Revolutionary Wars: Off the coast of Brittany, a Royal Navy squadron
- Explorer Francis Drake landed in a region of present-day California, naming it
- American Revolutionary War: British forces took Bunker Hill outside of Boston
Show the answer
B: Explorer Francis Drake landed in a region of present-day California, naming it. 1795: French Revolutionary Wars: Off the coast of Brittany, a Royal Navy squadron · 1579: Explorer Francis Drake landed in a region of present-day California, naming it · 1775: American Revolutionary War: British forces took Bunker Hill outside of Boston Find it on the page
-
“French Revolutionary Wars: Off the coast of Brittany, a Royal Navy squadron” happened in 1795. How many years ago was that?
- 241 years
- 231 years
- 221 years
Show the answer
B: 231 years. 2026 − 1795 = 231. Find it on the page
Born on this day 37
Famous people whose birthday is 17 June.
- 1882 Igor Stravinsky — Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1971) Read more about Igor Stravinsky on Wikipedia
- 1239 Edward I — English king (died 1307) UK Read more about Edward I on Wikipedia
- 1990 Jordan Henderson — English footballer UK Read more about Jordan Henderson on Wikipedia
- 1832 William Crookes — English chemist and physicist (died 1919) UK Read more about William Crookes on Wikipedia
- 1936 Ken Loach — English director, producer, and screenwriter UK Read more about Ken Loach on Wikipedia
- 1980 Venus Williams — American tennis player Read more about Venus Williams on Wikipedia
- 1945 Ken Livingstone — English politician, 1st Mayor of London UK Read more about Ken Livingstone on Wikipedia
- 1800 William Parsons — 3rd Earl of Rosse, English-Irish astronomer and politician (died 1867) UK Read more about William Parsons on Wikipedia
- 1976 Scott Adkins — English actor and martial artist UK Read more about Scott Adkins on Wikipedia
- 1898 M. C. Escher — Dutch illustrator (died 1972) Read more about M. C. Escher on Wikipedia
- 1982 Jodie Whittaker — English actress UK Read more about Jodie Whittaker on Wikipedia
- 1942 Mohamed ElBaradei — Egyptian politician, Vice President of Egypt, Nobel Prize laureate Read more about Mohamed ElBaradei on Wikipedia
- 1682 Charles XII — Swedish king (died 1718) Read more about Charles XII on Wikipedia
- 1818 Charles Gounod — French composer and academic (died 1893) Read more about Charles Gounod on Wikipedia
- 1929 Tigran Petrosian — Armenian chess player (died 1984) Read more about Tigran Petrosian on Wikipedia
- 1987 Kendrick Lamar — American rapper Read more about Kendrick Lamar on Wikipedia
- 1982 Arthur Darvill — English actor UK Read more about Arthur Darvill on Wikipedia
- 1888 Heinz Guderian — German general (died 1954) Read more about Heinz Guderian on Wikipedia
- 1983 Lee Ryan — English singer/actor UK Read more about Lee Ryan on Wikipedia
- 1960 Thomas Haden Church — American actor Read more about Thomas Haden Church on Wikipedia
- 1571 Thomas Mun — English writer on economics (died 1641) UK Read more about Thomas Mun on Wikipedia
- 1945 Eddy Merckx — Belgian cyclist and sportscaster Read more about Eddy Merckx on Wikipedia
- 1920 François Jacob — French biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013) Read more about François Jacob on Wikipedia
- 1704 John Kay — English engineer, invented the Flying shuttle (died 1780) UK Read more about John Kay on Wikipedia
- 1986 Helen Glover — English rower UK Read more about Helen Glover on Wikipedia
- 1919 Beryl Reid — English actress (died 1996) UK Read more about Beryl Reid on Wikipedia
- 1867 Flora Finch — English-American actress (died 1940) UK Read more about Flora Finch on Wikipedia
- 1898 Harry Patch — English soldier and firefighter (died 2009) UK Read more about Harry Patch on Wikipedia
- 1988 Shaun MacDonald — Welsh footballer UK Read more about Shaun MacDonald on Wikipedia
- 1778 Gregory Blaxland — English-Australian explorer (died 1853) UK Read more about Gregory Blaxland on Wikipedia
- 1932 Derek Ibbotson — English runner (died 2017) UK Read more about Derek Ibbotson on Wikipedia
- 1867 John Robert Gregg — Irish-born American educator, publisher, and humanitarian (died 1948) UK Read more about John Robert Gregg on Wikipedia
- 1944 Chris Spedding — English singer-songwriter and guitarist UK Read more about Chris Spedding on Wikipedia
- 1963 Greg Kinnear — American actor, television presenter, and producer Read more about Greg Kinnear on Wikipedia
- 1995 Clément Lenglet — French footballer Read more about Clément Lenglet on Wikipedia
- 1982 Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa — Brazilian footballer Read more about Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa on Wikipedia
- 1971 Paulina Rubio — Mexican pop singer Read more about Paulina Rubio on Wikipedia
Remembering 22
Well-known people who died on 17 June.
- 1719 Joseph Addison — English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician (born 1672) UK Read more about Joseph Addison on Wikipedia
- 2019 Mohamed Morsi — Egyptian professor and politician, first elected president of Egypt after Egyptian revolution (born 1951) Read more about Mohamed Morsi on Wikipedia
- AD 656 Uthman — caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate (born 579) Read more about Uthman on Wikipedia
- 1940 Arthur Harden — English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1865) UK Read more about Arthur Harden on Wikipedia
- 2015 Süleyman Demirel — Turkish engineer and politician, 9th President of Turkey (born 1924) Read more about Süleyman Demirel on Wikipedia
- 1898 Edward Burne-Jones — English soldier and painter (born 1833) UK Read more about Edward Burne-Jones on Wikipedia
- 1696 John III Sobieski — Polish king (born 1629) Read more about John III Sobieski on Wikipedia
- 2009 Ralf Dahrendorf — German-English sociologist and politician (born 1929) UK Read more about Ralf Dahrendorf on Wikipedia
- 1996 Thomas Kuhn — American historian and philosopher (born 1922) Read more about Thomas Kuhn on Wikipedia
- AD 676 Adeodatus — pope of the Catholic Church Read more about Adeodatus on Wikipedia
- 2021 Kenneth Kaunda — Zambian educator and politician, first president of Zambia (born 1924) Read more about Kenneth Kaunda on Wikipedia
- 1631 Mumtaz Mahal — Mughal princess (born 1593) Read more about Mumtaz Mahal on Wikipedia
- 1839 Lord William Bentinck — English general and politician, 14th Governor-General of India (born 1774) UK Read more about Lord William Bentinck on Wikipedia
- 1025 Bolesław I the Brave — Polish king (born 967) Read more about Bolesław I the Brave on Wikipedia
- 1957 Dorothy Richardson — English journalist and author (born 1873) UK Read more about Dorothy Richardson on Wikipedia
- 1981 Richard O'Connor — Indian-English general (born 1889) UK Read more about Richard O'Connor on Wikipedia
- 1999 Basil Hume — English cardinal (born 1923) UK Read more about Basil Hume on Wikipedia
- 2008 Cyd Charisse — American actress and dancer (born 1922) Read more about Cyd Charisse on Wikipedia
- 2002 Fritz Walter — German footballer (born 1920) Read more about Fritz Walter on Wikipedia
- 1219 David of Scotland — 8th Earl of Huntingdon UK Read more about David of Scotland on Wikipedia
- 2013 Michael Baigent — New Zealand-English theorist and author (born 1948) UK Read more about Michael Baigent on Wikipedia
- 1694 Philip Howard — English cardinal (born 1629) UK Read more about Philip Howard on Wikipedia
Special days 14
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 17 June somewhere in the world.
- Father's Day (El Salvador, Guatemala) Read more about Father's Day on Wikipedia
- World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (international) Read more about World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on Wikipedia
- Icelandic National Day, celebrates the independence of Iceland from Kingdom of Denmark in 1944. Read more about Icelandic National Day on Wikipedia
- Zemla Intifada Day (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) Read more about Zemla Intifada on Wikipedia
- Occupation of the Latvian Republic Day (Latvia) Read more about Occupation of the Latvian Republic Day on Wikipedia
- Christian saints’ and feast days: Samuel and Henrietta Barnett (Church of England), Botolph (England and Scandinavia), Albert Chmielowski, Theresa of Portugal, Hervé, Rainerius, Hypatius of Bithynia (Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches), June 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics), Gondulphus of Berry.
For older readers 24 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history
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.
- 1940 Second World War: RMS Lancastria was sunk by German aircraft near Saint-Nazaire, France, causing thousands of fatalities in Britain's worst maritime disaster. Read more about RMS Lancastria on Wikipedia
- 1919 Hundreds of Canadian soldiers rioted in Epsom, England, leading to the death of a British police officer. Read more about Epsom riot on Wikipedia
- AD 653 Pope Martin I (pictured) was arrested in the Lateran Palace, Rome, and taken to Constantinople. Read more about Pope Martin I on Wikipedia
- 1900 Boxer Rebellion: Allied naval forces captured the Taku Forts from Qing China after a brief but bloody battle. Read more about Boxer Rebellion on Wikipedia
- 1631 Mumtaz Mahal (pictured), wife of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, died in childbirth; Jahan spent the next seventeen years constructing her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal. Read more about Mumtaz Mahal on Wikipedia
- 2015 A white supremacist committed a mass shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine people during a prayer service. Read more about White supremacy on Wikipedia
- 1971 U.S. president Richard Nixon in a televised press conference calls drug abuse "America's public enemy number one", starting the war on drugs. Read more about Richard Nixon on Wikipedia
- 2017 Wildfires erupted across central Portugal, eventually causing the deaths of 66 people. Read more about June 2017 Portugal wildfires on Wikipedia
- 1972 Five men were arrested for attempted burglary on the offices of the Democratic National Committee, igniting the Watergate scandal that ultimately led to the resignation of US president Richard Nixon more than two years later. Read more about Watergate complex on Wikipedia
- 1462 Hungarian–Ottoman Wars: Wallachian forces led by Vlad Dracula attacked an Ottoman camp at night in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Sultan Mehmed II. Read more about Hungarian–Ottoman Wars on Wikipedia
- AD 656 After a prolonged siege by rebels who demand his abdication, caliph Uthman is assassinated as the rebels enter his palace. Read more about Uthman on Wikipedia
- 1963 Riots broke out in Saigon one day after the signing of the Joint Communiqué, an attempt to resolve the Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam. Read more about Joint Communiqué (Vietnam) on Wikipedia
- 1795 The burghers of Swellendam expel the Dutch East India Company magistrate and declare a republic. Read more about Dutch East India Company on Wikipedia
- 1994 Following a televised low-speed highway chase, O. J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Read more about O. J. Simpson on Wikipedia
- 1900 Born: Martin Bormann, German politician (died 1945) Read more about Martin Bormann on Wikipedia
- 1939 Last public guillotining in France: Eugen Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is executed in Versailles outside the Saint-Pierre prison. Read more about Eugen Weidmann on Wikipedia
- 1987 With the death of the last individual of the species, the dusky seaside sparrow becomes extinct. Read more about Dusky seaside sparrow on Wikipedia
- 1948 United Air Lines Flight 624, a Douglas DC-6, crashes near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, killing all 43 people on board. Read more about United Air Lines Flight 624 on Wikipedia
- 1933 Union Station massacre: In Kansas City, Missouri, four FBI agents and captured fugitive Frank Nash are gunned down by gangsters attempting to free Nash. Read more about Kansas City massacre on Wikipedia
- 1958 The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, in the process of being built to connect Vancouver and North Vancouver (Canada), collapses into the Burrard Inlet killing 18 ironworkers and injuring others. Read more about Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing on Wikipedia
- 1989 Interflug Flight 102 crashes during a rejected takeoff from Berlin Schönefeld Airport, killing 21 people. Read more about Interflug Flight 102 on Wikipedia
- 1929 The town of Murchison, New Zealand is rocked by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killing 17. At the time it was New Zealand's worst natural disaster. Read more about 1929 Murchison earthquake on Wikipedia
- 1831 The steam locomotive Best Friend of Charleston causes the first boiler explosion caused by a steam locomotive. Read more about Best Friend of Charleston on Wikipedia
- — National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Forest Fires (Portugal) Read more about June 2017 Portugal wildfires on Wikipedia
Where these facts come from
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 “June 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.