142 things happened on 17 October, from AD 33 to 2019. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1662 · 364 years ago
King Charles II of England sold Dunkirk, a town on the French coast, and the nearby Fort-Mardyck to his cousin, King Louis XIV of France. The date was 17 October in the old calendar England used then, which was 27 October in the newer calendar. Charles had be…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
A powerful tornado struck the heart of London. It is the earliest reported tornado in England. Experts think it may have been a T8 on the TORRO scale, which would make it one of the strongest tornadoes ever recorded in the British Isles. However, this estimate is based on reports written about 30 years after it happened.
UK story
King David II of Scotland invaded England to help his ally, France, but he was captured at the Battle of Neville's Cross. Scotland and France had an agreement called the Auld Alliance, made in 1295, to stand together against England. At the time, England and France were fighting the Hundred Years' War.
UK story
King Charles II of England sold Dunkirk, a town on the French coast, and the nearby Fort-Mardyck to his cousin, King Louis XIV of France. The date was 17 October in the old calendar England used then, which was 27 October in the newer calendar. Charles had become King of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1660, when the monarchy was restored.
UK story
British general John Burgoyne surrendered to the Americans, ending his Saratoga campaign. The American victory later helped persuade France to join the war on the American side. The American Revolutionary War, also called the American War of Independence, lasted from 1775 to 1783. American forces led by George Washington eventually defeated the British Army.
UK story
The first Open Championship was played at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. It is the oldest golf tournament in the world and one of the four 'majors', the most important competitions in men's golf. At first it was held at Prestwick every year. Later it began to move between famous seaside golf courses, known as links, around the UK.
UK story
The Marconi Company began the first commercial wireless service across the Atlantic Ocean, sending messages without wires for paying customers. The company was British and had been founded in 1897 by the Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi. It was a pioneer of long-distance wireless communication and of broadcasting, and it became one of the UK's most successful manufacturing companies.
UK story
Leeds United Football Club was founded at Salem Chapel in Holbeck, Leeds. It replaced Leeds City, the city's leading club before the First World War. Leeds City had been shut down earlier in 1919 after breaking wartime rules by paying its players. Leeds United is based in West Yorkshire and has played in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.
UK story
Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the first commercial nuclear power station, at the site now called Sellafield on the coast of Cumbria in England. Nuclear power stations make electricity using energy released by splitting atoms. Electricity was made at the site from 1956 until 2003. The site is now mainly used for dealing with nuclear waste and safely taking apart old nuclear equipment.
UK story
American Revolutionary War: British General Charles, Earl Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown.
UK story
War of the Second Coalition: Britain takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao.
UK story
As part of the Holy See–United Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican.
German astronomer Johannes Kepler began studying a very bright object that had appeared in the constellation Ophiuchus. It was a supernova, the explosion of a star, inside our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Now called Kepler's Supernova, it is the most recent supernova in the Milky Way definitely seen with the naked eye. Kepler is also famous for his laws of planetary motion.
Ascanio in Alba, an opera written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when he was only 15, was performed for the first time in Milan. Empress Maria Theresa had asked for it to celebrate the wedding of her son, Archduke Ferdinand Karl. Mozart went on to complete more than 800 works. He is seen as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music.
Empress Wu Zetian establishes the Zhou Dynasty of China.
An Ottoman army defeats a Hungarian army at the Second Battle of Kosovo.
The University of Greifswald is established as the second oldest university in northern Europe.
Anti-Catholic posters appear in Paris and other cities supporting Huldrych Zwingli's position on the Mass.
Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, is founded.
French king Louis XIII is crowned in Reims Cathedral.
Great Northern War: Russia defeats Sweden in the Battle of Kostianvirta in Pälkäne.
Treaty of Campo Formio is signed between France and Austria, ending the War of the First Coalition.
The silver deposits of Agua Amarga are discovered in Chile becoming in the following years instrumental for the Patriots to finance the Chilean War of Independence.
Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War.
The body of Communist propagandist Willi Münzenberg is found in South France, starting a never-resolved mystery.
The Burma Railway (Burma–Thailand Railway) is completed.
A large demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, demands Juan Perón's release.
Indonesian Army elements surrounded the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, demanding that President Sukarno disband the Provisional People's Representative Council.
The first attempt of the apartheid analogy by Ahmad Shukeiri.
Prime Minister Robert Menzies inaugurated the artificial Lake Burley Griffin (pictured) in the centre of the Australian capital Canberra.
The 1964–65 New York World's Fair closes after two years and more than 51 million attendees.
Yom Kippur War: Egyptian forces retreated from the Battle of the Chinese Farm, allowing Israeli forces to build their first bridge across the Suez Canal.
OPEC imposes an oil embargo against countries they deem to have helped Israel in the Yom Kippur War.
'Salem's Lot, an American vampire novel by Stephen King, is published.
Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Department of Education Organization Act creates the U.S. Department of Education.
The East German Politburo votes to remove Erich Honecker from his role as General Secretary.
A fire that lasted over 15 hours destroyed almost one third of the East Tower of the Parque Central Urban Complex in Caracas, Venezuela.
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the last foothold of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Raqqa, marking the end of the Battle of Raqqa.
The recreational use of cannabis is legalized in Canada.
The 17 October Revolution starts in Lebanon.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “King David II of Scotland is captured at Neville's Cross”?
C: 1346. 1346 — that’s 680 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “British general John Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga”?
B: 1777. 1777 — that’s 249 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
C: King David II of Scotland is captured at Neville's Cross. 1777: British general John Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga · 1860: The first Open Championship in golf is played in Scotland · 1346: King David II of Scotland is captured at Neville's Cross Find it on the page
“The first Open Championship in golf is played in Scotland” happened in 1860. How many years ago was that?
C: 166 years. 2026 − 1860 = 166. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 17 October.
UK story
A. S. Neill was a Scottish teacher and author. In 1924 he founded Summerhill, a school based on the idea that children should be free from being forced by adults, and where the whole school community helps to run things. Earlier, he was head teacher at Gretna Green Village School. His first book was a diary of his life there.
Well-known people who died on 17 October.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 17 October 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 “October 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.