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. |
