Historical events that happened today, October 17th!

Here are some of the great historical events that happened today, October 17th, in history!

1244	The Sixth Crusade ends when an Egyptian-Khwarismian force almost annihilates the Frankish army at Gaza.
1346	English forces defeat the Scots under David II during the Battle of Neville’s Cross, Scotland.
1529	Henry VIII of England strips Thomas Wolsey of his office for failing to secure an annulment of his marriage.
1691	Maine and Plymouth are incorporated in Massachusetts.
1777	British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American troops in Saratoga, N.Y., in a turning point of the Revolutionary War.
1815	Napoleon Bonaparte arrives at the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, where he has been banished by the Allies.
1849	Composer and pianist Frederic Chopin dies in Paris of tuberculosis at the age of 39.
1863	General Ulysses S. Grant is named overall Union Commander of the West.
1877	Brigadier General Alfred Terry meets with Sitting Bull in Canada to discuss the Indians’ return to the United States.
1913	Zeppelin LII explodes over London, killing 28.
1919	The Radio Corporation of America was created.
1931	Mobster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
1933	Due to rising anti-Semitism and anti-intellectualism in Hitler’s Germany, Albert Einstein immigrates to the United States. He makes his new home in Princeton, N.J.
1941	The U.S. destroyer Kearney is damaged by a German U-boat torpedo off Iceland; 11 Americans are killed.
1945	Col. Juan Peron staged a coup, becoming absolute ruler of Argentina.
1956	The nuclear power station Calder Hall is opened in Britain. Calder Hall is the first nuclear station to feed an appreciable amount of power into a civilian network.
1957	French author Albert Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.
1972	Peace talks between Pathet Lao and Royal Lao government begin in Vietnam.
1973	Arab oil-producing nations announced they would cut back oil exports to Western nations and Japan; the result was a total embargo that lasted until March 1974.
1979	Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on behalf of the destitute in Calcutta.
1987	First lady Nancy Reagan underwent a modified radical mastectomy.
1989	The worst earthquake in 82 years strikes San Francisco bay area minutes before the start of a World Series game there. The earthquake registers 6.9 on the Richter scale–67 are killed and damage is estimated at $10 billion.
2007	President George W. Bush, raising Beijing’s ire, presented the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal and urged Chinese leaders to welcome the monk to Beijing.

Today’s historical facts are from various sites including, but not limited too: the History Channel, The New York Times, WHG Historynet.com, HistoryOrb.com, and On This Day blogs from my blogroll.

 

Historical events that happened today, October 17th!