What Happened on December 17?

All

events

births

deaths

holidays

EVENTS ON DECEMBER 17

Vogue (magazine)

Year: 1892

First issue of Vogue is published.

Pittsburgh

Year: 1896

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Schenley Park Casino, which was the first multi-purpose arena with the technology to create an artificial ice surface in North America, is destroyed in a fire.

Symphony No. 8 (Schubert)

Year: 1865

First performance of the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert.

American Civil War

Year: 1862

American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.

Great Fire of New York

Year: 1835

The second Great Fire of New York destroys 53,000 square metres (13 acres) of New York City's Financial District.

Fire in the Winter Palace

Year: 1837

A fire in the Winter Palace of Saint Petersburg kills 30 guards.

Wright brothers

Year: 1903

The Wright brothers make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Ugyen Wangchuck

Year: 1907

Ugyen Wangchuck is crowned first King of Bhutan.

1933 NFL Championship Game

Year: 1933

The first NFL Championship Game is played at Wrigley Field in Chicago between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears. The Bears won 23–21.

Douglas DC-3

Year: 1935

First flight of the Douglas DC-3.

BIRTHS ON DECEMBER 17

Calvin Waller

Year of birth: 1937

Calvin Waller, American general (died 1996)

John Kennedy Toole

Year of birth: 1937

John Kennedy Toole, American novelist (died 1969)

Pope Francis

Year of birth: 1936

Pope Francis (died 2025)

Tommy Steele

Year of birth: 1936

Tommy Steele, English singer, guitarist, and actor

Cal Ripken Sr.

Year of birth: 1935

Cal Ripken Sr., American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 1999)

Kerry Packer

Year of birth: 1937

Kerry Packer, Australian businessman, founded World Series Cricket (died 2005)

Art Neville

Year of birth: 1937

Art Neville, American singer and keyboard player (died 2019)

María Elena Velasco

Year of birth: 1940

María Elena Velasco, Mexican actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (died 2015)

Kåre Valebrokk

Year of birth: 1940

Kåre Valebrokk, Norwegian journalist (died 2013)

James Booker

Year of birth: 1939

James Booker, American pianist (died 1983)

DEATHS ON DECEMBER 17

Thomas Mitchell (actor)

Year of death: 1962

Thomas Mitchell, American actor (born 1892)

Victor Hess

Year of death: 1964

Victor Francis Hess, Austrian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1883)

Harold Holt

Year of death: 1967

Harold Holt, Australian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Australia (born 1908)

Don Ellis

Year of death: 1978

Don Ellis, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (born 1934)

Dorothy L. Sayers

Year of death: 1957

Dorothy L. Sayers, English author, poet, and playwright (born 1893)

Eddie Acuff

Year of death: 1956

Eddie Acuff, American actor (born 1903)

13th Dalai Lama

Year of death: 1933

13th Dalai Lama (born 1876)

Lizette Woodworth Reese

Year of death: 1935

Lizette Woodworth Reese, American poet (born 1856)

Alicia Boole Stott

Year of death: 1940

Alicia Boole Stott, Anglo-Irish mathematician and academic (born 1860)

Christos Tsigiridis

Year of death: 1947

Christos Tsigiridis, Greek engineer (born 1877)

HOLIDAYS ON DECEMBER 17

December 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: December 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

Flag of Kurdistan

Kurdish Flag Day (Global Kurdish population)

Daniel (biblical figure)

Christian feast day: Daniel the Prophet

Wivina (abbess)

Christian feast day: Wivina

Josep Manyanet i Vives

Christian feast day: Josep Manyanet i Vives

Lazarus of Bethany

Christian feast day: Lazarus of Bethany (local commemoration in Cuba)

O Antiphons

Christian feast day: O Sapientia

Olympias the Deaconess

Christian feast day: Olympias the Deaconess

Pan American Aviation Day

Pan American Aviation Day (United States)

December