October 17

October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 75 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Wednesday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Thursday or Friday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Tuesday or Sunday (56).

Events

• 456 – Battle of Placentia: Ricimer, supported by Majorian (comes domesticorum), defeats the Roman usurper Avitus near Piacenza (Northern Italy) .
• 1091 – London tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London.
• 1346 – Battle of Neville's Cross: King David II of Scotland is captured by the English near Durham, and imprisoned in the Tower of London for eleven years.
• 1448 – Second Battle of Kosovo, where the mainly Hungarian army led by John Hunyadi is defeated by an Ottoman army led by Sultan Murad II.
• 1456 – The University of Greifswald is established, making it the second oldest university in northern Europe (also for a period the oldest in Sweden, and Prussia).
• 1558 – Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, is founded.
• 1604 – Kepler's Supernova: German astronomer Johannes Kepler observes a supernova in the constellation Ophiuchus.
• 1610 – French king Louis XIII is crowned in Reims Cathedral.
• 1660 – Nine regicides, the men who signed the death warrant of Charles I, are hanged, drawn and quartered.
• 1662 – Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to France for 40,000 pounds.
• 1771 – Premiere in Milan of the opera Ascanio in Alba, composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, age 15.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: British General John Burgoyne surrenders his army at Saratoga, New York.
• 1781 – American Revolutionary War: British General Charles, Earl Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown.
• 1800 – Britain takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao.
• 1806 – Former leader of the Haitian Revolution, Emperor Jacques I of Haiti is assassinated after an oppressive rule.
• 1814 – Eight people die in the London Beer Flood.
• 1827 – Bellini's third opera, Il pirata, is premiered at Teatro alla Scala di Milano
• 1860 – First The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open).
• 1861 – Nineteen people are killed in the Cullin-la-ringo massacre, the deadliest massacre of Europeans by aborigines in Australian history.
• 1888 – Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie).
• 1905 – The October Manifesto issued by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (October 30th in the Gregorian calendar).
• 1907 – Guglielmo Marconi's company begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada and Clifden, Ireland.
• 1912 – Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War.
• 1917 – First British bombing of Germany in World War I.
• 1918 – Haitian rebels attack the barracks of the Gendarmerie of Haiti, igniting the Second Caco War
• 1919 – RCA is incorporated as the Radio Corporation of America.
• 1931 – Al Capone is convicted of income tax evasion.
• 1933 – Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States.
• 1940 – The body of Communist propagandist Willi Münzenberg found in South France, starting a never-resolved mystery.
• 1941 – World War II: a German submarine attacks an American ship for the first time in the war.
• 1941 – German troops execute the male population of the villages Kerdyllia in Serres, Greece.
• 1943 – The Burma Railway (Burma–Thailand Railway) is completed.
• 1943 – The Holocaust: Sobibór extermination camp is closed.
• 1945 – A massive number of people, headed by CGT, gather in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, Argentina to demand Juan Perón's release. It calls "el día de la lealtad peronista" (peronista loyalty day)
• 1945 – Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens becomes Prime Minister of Greece between the pull-out of the German occupation force in 1944 and the return of King Georgios II to Greece.
• 1956 – The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield,in Cumbria, England.
• 1956 – Donald Byrne and Bobby Fischer play a famous chess game called The Game of the Century. Fischer beat Byrne and wins a Brilliancy prize.
• 1961 – Scores of Algerian protesters (some claim up to 400) are massacred by the Paris police at the instigation of former Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Prefecture of Police.
• 1965 – The 1964–65 New York World's Fair closes after a two-year run. More than 51 million people had attended the event.
• 1966 – A fire at a building in New York City kills 12 firefighters, the fire department's deadliest day until the September 11, 2001 attacks.
• 1970 – Montreal: Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte was murdered by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
• 1973 – OPEC imposes an oil embargo against a number of Western countries, considered to have helped Israel in its war against Egypt and Syria.
• 1977 – German Autumn: Four days after it is hijacked, Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu, Somalia, where a team of German GSG 9 commandos later rescues all remaining hostages on board.
• 1979 – Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1979 – The Department of Education Organization Act is signed into law creating the US Department of Education and US Department of Health and Human Services.
• 1980 – As part of the Holy See–United Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican
• 1989 – The 6.9 Mw Loma Prieta earthquake shakes the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Sixty-three people were killed.
• 1989 – Peaceful Revolution: The East German Politburo votes to remove Erich Honecker from his role as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.
• 1992 – Having gone to the wrong house for a Halloween party, Japanese exchange student Yoshihiro Hattori is shot and killed by the homeowner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
• 1994 – Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov is assassinated while investigating corruption in the armed forces.
• 2000 – Train crash at Hatfield, north of London, leading to collapse of Railtrack.
• 2001 – Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi becomes the first Israeli minister to be assassinated in a terrorist attack.
• 2003 – The pinnacle is fitted on the roof of Taipei 101, a 101-floor skyscraper in Taipei, allowing it to surpass the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur by 56 metres (184 ft) and become the world's tallest highrise.

Births

• 1253 – Ivo of Kermartin, French priest and saint (d. 1303)
• 1577 – Cristofano Allori, Italian painter (d. 1621)
• 1577 – Dmitry Pozharsky, Russian prince (d. 1642)
• 1582 – Johann Gerhard, German theologian and academic (d. 1637)
• 1587 – Nathan Field, English dramatist and actor (d. 1620)
• 1623 – Francis Turretin, Swiss-Italian minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1687)
• 1688 – Domenico Zipoli, Italian missionary and composer (d. 1726)
• 1711 – Jupiter Hammon, American poet (d. 1806)
• 1719 – Jacques Cazotte, French author and academic (d. 1792)
• 1720 – Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini, Italian harpsichord player and composer (d. 1795)
• 1725 – John Wilkes, English journalist and politician (d. 1797)
• 1729 – Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny, French composer and academic (d. 1817)
• 1760 – Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French economist and philosopher (d. 1825)
• 1810 – Adolphe-Félix Cals, French painter (d. 1880)
• 1811 – Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-American pastor and educator (d. 1876)
• 1813 – Georg Büchner, German-Swiss poet and playwright (d. 1837)
• 1814 – Yakiv Holovatsky, Ukrainian historian, scholar, and poet (d. 1888)
• 1817 – Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian philosopher and scholar (d. 1898)
• 1845 – John J. Gardner, American politician (d. 1921)
• 1853 – Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (d. 1920)
• 1859 – Childe Hassam, American painter and illustrator (d. 1935)
• 1864 – Elinor Glyn, English author, screenwriter, and producer (d. 1943)
• 1865 – James Rudolph Garfield, American lawyer and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1950)
• 1881 – Maria Dulęba, Polish actress (d. 1959)
• 1886 – Spring Byington, American actress (d. 1971)
• 1890 – Roy Kilner, English cricketer (d. 1928)
• 1892 – Theodor Eicke, German SS general (d. 1943)
• 1892 – Herbert Howells, English organist, composer, and educator (d. 1983)
• 1898 – Shinichi Suzuki, Japanese violinist and educator (d. 1998)
• 1898 – Simon Vestdijk, Dutch author and poet (d. 1971)
• 1900 – Jean Arthur, American actress (d. 1991)
• 1902 – Irene Ryan, American actress (d. 1973)
• 1903 – Nathanael West, American author and screenwriter (d. 1940)
• 1906 – Paul Derringer, American baseball player (d. 1987)
• 1908 – Hjördis Petterson, Swedish actress (d. 1988)
• 1908 – Wally Prigg, Australian rugby league player (d. 1980)
• 1908 – Red Rolfe, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1969)
• 1909 – Cozy Cole, American drummer (d. 1981)
• 1910 – Ester Wier, American author (d. 2000)
• 1912 – Pope John Paul I (d. 1978)
• 1912 – Theodore Marier, American composer and educator, founded the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (d. 2001)
• 1912 – Jack Owens, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1982)
• 1913 – Faik Türün, Turkish general (d. 2003)
• 1914 – Jerry Siegel, American author and illustrator (d. 1996)
• 1915 – Arthur Miller, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 2005)
• 1917 – Adele Stimmel Chase, American painter and sculptor (d. 2000)
• 1917 – Martin Donnelly, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-American author and playwright (d. 1991)
• 1917 – Marsha Hunt, American actress and singer
• 1917 – Norman Leyden, American composer and conductor (d. 2014)
• 1918 – Rita Hayworth, American actress, singer and dancer (d. 1987)
• 1918 – Ralph Wilson, American businessman, founded the Buffalo Bills (d. 2014)
• 1919 – Isaak Markovich Khalatnikov, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic
• 1920 – Montgomery Clift, American actor (d. 1966)
• 1920 – Miguel Delibes, Spanish journalist and author (d. 2010)
• 1921 – George Mackay Brown, Scottish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Priscilla Buckley, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
• 1921 – Maria Gorokhovskaya, Russian-Israeli gymnast (d. 2001)
• 1921 – Tom Poston, American actor and comedian (d. 2007)
• 1922 – Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Pierre Juneau, Canadian broadcaster and politician, co-founded the Montreal World Film Festival (d. 2012)
• 1923 – Barney Kessel, American guitarist and composer (d. 2004)
• 1923 – Charles McClendon, American football player and coach (d. 2001)
• 1924 – Don Coryell, American football player and coach (d. 2010)
• 1924 – Anton Geiser, Croatian SS officer (d. 2012)
• 1925 – Harry Carpenter, English sportscaster (d. 2010)
• 1926 – Julie Adams, American actress
• 1926 – Beverly Garland, American actress (d. 2008)
• 1926 – Roberto Lippi, Italian race car driver (d. 2011)
• 1929 – Mário Wilson, Mozambican footballer and manager
• 1930 – Ismail Akbay, Turkish physicist and engineer (d. 2003)
• 1930 – Robert Atkins, American physician and cardiologist, created the Atkins diet (d. 2003)
• 1930 – Jimmy Breslin, American journalist and author
• 1931 – Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian author and playwright (d. 2012)
• 1933 – William Anders, Hong Kong-American general and astronaut
• 1933 – The Singing Nun, Belgian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and nun (d. 1985)
• 1934 – Alan Garner, English author and playwright
• 1934 – Johnny Haynes, English-Scottish footballer (d. 2005)
• 1934 – Rico Rodriguez, American trombonist (d. 2015)
• 1935 – Sydney Chapman, English architect and politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Michael Eavis, English farmer, founded the Glastonbury Festival
• 1936 – Sathima Bea Benjamin, South African singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Hiroo Kanamori, Japanese-American seismologist and academic
• 1937 – Paxton Whitehead, English actor
• 1938 – Evel Knievel, American motorcycle rider and stuntman (d. 2007)
• 1938 – Les Murray, Australian anthologist, poet, and critic
• 1939 – Oliver Rackham, English botanist and academic
• 1940 – Stephen Kovacevich, American pianist and conductor
• 1940 – Jim Smith, English footballer and manager
• 1940 – Peter Stringfellow, English businessman
• 1941 – Earl Thomas Conley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1941 – Jim Seals, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and violinist
• 1942 – Steve Jones, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1946 – Ronni Chasen, American publicist (d. 2010)
• 1946 – Michael Hossack, American drummer (d. 2012)
• 1946 – Cameron Mackintosh, English producer and manager
• 1946 – Adam Michnik, Polish journalist and historian
• 1946 – Drusilla Modjeska, English-Australian author and critic
• 1946 – Bob Seagren, American pole vaulter
• 1947 – Gene Green, American lawyer and politician
• 1947 – Michael McKean, American singer-songwriter, actor, and director
• 1947 – Robert Post, American educator and academic
• 1948 – Robert Jordan, American soldier and author (d. 2007)
• 1948 – Margot Kidder, Canadian-American actress
• 1948 – Michael Lynch, American sociologist and academic
• 1948 – George Wendt, American actor
• 1948 – Akira Kushida, Japanese singer
• 1949 – Owen Arthur, Barbadian economist and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Barbados
• 1950 – Philippe Barbarin, French cardinal
• 1950 – Howard Rollins, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1951 – Annie Borckink, Dutch speed skater
• 1951 – Roger Pontare, Swedish singer
• 1951 – Shari Ulrich, American-Canadian singer-songwriter and violinist
• 1953 – Joseph Bowie, American trombonist and bandleader
• 1954 – Carlos Buhler, American mountaineer
• 1955 – Georgios Alogoskoufis, Greek economist, academic, and politician, Greek Minister of Finance
• 1956 – Fran Cosmo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1956 – Mae Jemison, American physician, academic, and astronaut
• 1956 – Pat McCrory, American businessman and politician, 74th Governor of North Carolina
• 1957 – Lawrence Bender, American actor and producer
• 1957 – Steve McMichael, American football player, wrestler, and sportscaster
• 1957 – Vincent Van Patten, American tennis player and actor
• 1958 – Howard Alden, American guitarist
• 1958 – Alan Jackson, American singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Craig Murray, British diplomat
• 1959 – Ron Drummond, American author and scholar
• 1959 – Francisco Flores Pérez, Salvadorian politician, President of El Salvador (d. 2016)
• 1959 – Russell Gilbert, Australian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1959 – Mark Peel, Australian historian and academic
• 1959 – Richard Roeper, American journalist and critic
• 1960 – Guy Henry, English actor
• 1960 – Rob Marshall, American director, producer, and choreographer
• 1960 – Bernie Nolan, Irish singer (d. 2013)
• 1960 – Philippe Sands, American lawyer and academic
• 1961 – David Means, American short story writer
• 1962 – Mike Judge, American animator, director, screenwriter, producer and actor
• 1963 – Sergio Goycochea, Argentinian footballer and journalist
• 1963 – Norm Macdonald, Canadian actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
• 1963 – Toby Young, English journalist and academic
• 1964 – Gregg Wallace, English television presenter
• 1965 – Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1966 – Shaun Edwards, English rugby player and coach
• 1966 – Danny Ferry, American basketball player and manager
• 1966 – Mark Gatiss, English actor, screenwriter, and author
• 1966 – Tommy Kendall, American race car driver and sportscaster
• 1967 – Simon Segars, English businessman
• 1967 – Nathalie Tauziat, French tennis player
• 1968 – Graeme Le Saux, English footballer and sportscaster
• 1968 – Ziggy Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter, guitarist, and voice actor
• 1968 – David Robertson, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1969 – Ernie Els, South African golfer and sportscaster
• 1969 – Wyclef Jean, Haitian-American rapper, producer, and actor
• 1969 – Rick Mercer, Canadian comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1970 – Anil Kumble, Indian cricketer
• 1970 – John Mabry, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1970 – Blues Saraceno, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1971 – Chris Kirkpatrick, American singer-songwriter and dancer
• 1971 – Kim Ljung, Norwegian singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1972 – Eminem, American rapper, producer, and actor
• 1972 – Joe McEwing, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1972 – Tarkan, German-born Turkish pop singer
• 1973 – Andrea Tarozzi, Italian footballer and coach
• 1974 – Ariel Levy, American journalist and author
• 1974 – Matthew Macfadyen, English actor
• 1974 – Janne Puurtinen, Finnish keyboard player
• 1974 – John Rocker, American baseball player
• 1974 – Dhondup Wangchen, Chinese director and producer
• 1975 – Francis Bouillon, American-Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Vina Morales, Filipino actress and singer
• 1976 – Sebastián Abreu, Uruguayan footballer
• 1976 – Rena Inoue, Japanese-American figure skater
• 1976 – Nil Karaibrahimgil, Turkish singer-songwriter
• 1976 – Kevin Maher, English-Irish footballer and coach
• 1977 – Dudu Aouate, Israeli footballer
• 1977 – Alimi Ballard, American actor and producer
• 1977 – Bryan Bertino, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1977 – Ryan McGinley, American photographer
• 1977 – André Villas-Boas, Portuguese footballer and manager
• 1978 – Jerry Flannery, Irish rugby player and coach
• 1978 – Chuka Umunna, English lawyer and politician
• 1979 – Marcela Bovio, Mexican singer-songwriter and violinist
• 1979 – Alexandros Nikolaidis, Greek martial artist
• 1979 – Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish race car driver
• 1979 – Kostas Tsartsaris, Greek basketball player
• 1980 – Alessandro Piccolo, Italian race car driver
• 1980 – Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistani cricketer
• 1980 – Yekaterina Gamova, Russian volleyball player
• 1981 – Tsubasa Imai, Japanese singer, actor, and dancer
• 1982 – Nick Riewoldt, Australian footballer
• 1983 – Milica Brozovic, Serbian-Russian figure skater
• 1983 – Felicity Jones, English actress
• 1983 – Toshihiro Matsushita, Japanese footballer
• 1983 – Riki Miura, Japanese actor
• 1983 – Junichi Miyashita, Japanese swimmer
• 1983 – Ivan Saenko, Russian footballer
• 1983 – Mitch Talbot, American baseball player
• 1983 – Vitali Teleš, Estonian footballer
• 1984 – Jared Tallent, Australian race walker
• 1984 – Randall Munroe, American author and illustrator
• 1984 – Luke Rockhold, American mixed martial artist
• 1984 – Anja Eline Skybakmoen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and bandleader
• 1985 – Carlos González, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1985 – Max Irons, English actor
• 1985 – Collins John, Dutch footballer
• 1985 – Baran Kosari, Iranian actress
• 1985 – Tomokazu Nagira, Japanese footballer
• 1986 – Aija Brumermane, Latvian basketball player
• 1986 – Yannick Ponsero, French figure skater
• 1987 – Bea Alonzo, Filipino actress and singer
• 1987 – Jarosław Fojut, Polish footballer
• 1987 – Hideto Takahashi, Japanese footballer
• 1988 – Yuko Oshima, Japanese singer and actress
• 1989 – Oleksandr Isakov, Ukrainian swimmer
• 1990 – Paolo Campinoti, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Saki Kumagai, Japanese footballer
• 1990 – Patrick Lambie, South African rugby player
• 1990 – Arisa Murata, Japanese skier
• 1991 – Brenda Asnicar, Argentinian actress, singer, and dancer

Deaths

• 33 – Agrippina the Elder, Roman wife of Germanicus (b. 14 BC)
• 532 – Pope Boniface II
• 866 – Al-Musta'in, Abbasid caliph (b. 836)
• 1575 – Gaspar Cervantes de Gaeta, Spanish cardinal (b. 1511)
• 1586 – Philip Sidney, English courtier, poet, and general (b. 1554)
• 1587 – Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1541)
• 1616 – John Pitts, English priest and scholar (b. 1560)
• 1660 – Adrian Scrope, English colonel and politician (b. 1601)
• 1673 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer of England (b. 1630)
• 1757 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (b. 1683)
• 1776 – Pierre François le Courayer, French-English theologian and author (b. 1681)
• 1780 – William Cookworthy, English pharmacist and minister (b. 1705)
• 1786 – Johann Ludwig Aberli, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1723)
• 1806 – Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian commander and politician, Governor-General of Haiti (b. 1758)
• 1836 – Orest Kiprensky, Russian painter (b. 1782)
• 1837 – Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1778)
• 1849 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1810)
• 1868 – Laura Secord, Canadian war heroine (b. 1775)
• 1887 – Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist and chemist (b. 1824)
• 1889 – Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (b. 1828)
• 1893 – Patrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta, French general and politician, 3rd President of France (b. 1808)
• 1910 – Julia Ward Howe, American poet and songwriter (b. 1819)
• 1918 – Malak Hifni Nasif, Egyptian poet and author (b. 1886)
• 1928 – Frank Dicksee, English painter and illustrator (b. 1853)
• 1931 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist and academic (b. 1884)
• 1937 – J. Bruce Ismay, English businessman (b. 1862)
• 1938 – Karl Kautsky, Czech-German journalist, philosopher, and theoretician (b. 1854)
• 1956 – Anne Crawford, Israeli-English actress (b. 1920)
• 1958 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer (b. 1896)
• 1958 – Charlie Townsend, English cricketer and lawyer (b. 1876)
• 1962 – Natalia Goncharova, Russian painter, costume designer, and set designer (b. 1882)
• 1963 – Jacques Hadamard, French mathematician and academic (b. 1865)
• 1965 – Bart King, American cricketer (b. 1873)
• 1966 – Sidney Hatch, American runner and soldier (b. 1883)
• 1966 – Wieland Wagner, German director and manager (b. 1917)
• 1967 – Puyi, Chinese emperor (b. 1906)
• 1970 – Pierre Laporte, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1921)
• 1970 – Vola Vale, American actress (b. 1897)
• 1970 – Quincy Wright, American political scientist and academic (b. 1890)
• 1972 – Turk Broda, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1914)
• 1972 – George, Crown Prince of Serbia (b. 1887)
• 1972 – Billy Williams, American singer (b. 1910)
• 1973 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (b. 1926)
• 1978 – George Clark, American racing driver (b. 1890)
• 1978 – Giovanni Gronchi, Italian educator, soldier, and politician, 3rd President of the Italian Republic (b. 1887)
• 1979 – S. J. Perelman, American humorist and screenwriter (b. 1904)
• 1979 – John Stuart, Scottish-English actor (b. 1898)
• 1981 – Kannadasan Indian author, poet, and songwriter (b. 1927)
• 1981 – Albert Cohen, Greek-Swiss civil servant and author (b. 1895)
• 1981 – Lina Tsaldari, Greek politician (b. 1887)
• 1983 – Raymond Aron, French sociologist, political scientist, and philosopher (b. 1905)
• 1987 – Abdul Malek Ukil, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
• 1991 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and actor (b. 1919)
• 1992 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist, academic, and politician (b. 1912)
• 1992 – Orestis Laskos, Greek actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
• 1993 – Criss Oliva, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1963)
• 1996 – Chris Acland, English musician & drummer of Lush (b. 1966)
• 1997 – Larry Jennings, American magician and author (b. 1933)
• 1998 – Joan Hickson, English actress (b. 1906)
• 1998 – Hakim Said, Pakistani scholar and politician, 20th Governor of Sindh (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Nicholas Metropolis, Greek-American mathematician and physicist (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Leo Nomellini, Italian-American football player and wrestler (b. 1924)
• 2000 – Joachim Nielsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1964)
• 2001 – Jay Livingston, American singer-songwriter (b. 1915)
• 2001 – Micheline Ostermeyer, French shot putter, discus thrower, and pianist (b. 1922)
• 2001 – Rehavam Ze'evi, Israeli historian, general, and politician, Tourism Minister of Israel (b. 1926)
• 2002 – Derek Bell, Irish harpist and composer (b. 1935)
• 2002 – Aileen Riggin, American swimmer and diver (b. 1906)
• 2004 – Uzi Hitman, Israeli singer-songwriter (b. 1952)
• 2005 – Ba Jin, Chinese author (b. 1904)
• 2006 – Daniel Emilfork, Chilean-French actor (b. 1924)
• 2006 – Christopher Glenn, American journalist (b. 1938)
• 2007 – Joey Bishop, American actor and talk show host (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Suzy Covey, American scholar and academic (b. 1939)
• 2008 – Urmas Ott, Estonian journalist and author (b. 1955)
• 2008 – Levi Stubbs, American singer (b. 1936)
• 2008 – Ben Weider, Canadian businessman, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (b. 1923)
• 2009 – Norma Fox Mazer, American author and educator (b. 1931)
• 2009 – Vic Mizzy, American composer (b. 1916)
• 2011 – Carl Lindner, Jr., American businessman (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Milija Aleksic, English-South African footballer (b. 1951)
• 2012 – Émile Allais, French skier (b. 1912)
• 2012 – Henry Friedlander, German-American historian and author (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Stanford R. Ovshinsky, American scientist and businessman, co-founded Energy Conversion Devices (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Kōji Wakamatsu, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Mother Antonia, American-Mexican nun and activist (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Terry Fogerty, English rugby player and coach (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Arthur Maxwell House, Canadian neurologist and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Lou Scheimer, American animator, producer, and voice actor, co-founded the Filmation Company (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Rene Simpson, Canadian-American tennis player (b. 1966)
• 2014 – Edwards Barham, American farmer and politician (b. 1937)
• 2014 – Masaru Emoto, Japanese author and activist (b. 1943)
• 2014 – Tom Shaw, American bishop (b. 1945)
• 2014 – Berndt von Staden, German diplomat, German Ambassador to the United States (b. 1919)
• 2015 – Danièle Delorme, French actress and producer (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Howard Kendall, English footballer and manager (b. 1946)
• 2015 – Anne-Marie Lizin, Belgian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
• 2015 – Tom Smith, American businessman and politician (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Andrew of Crete
  • Catervus
  • François-Isidore Gagelin (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)
  • Ignatius of Antioch
  • Marguerite Marie Alacoque (formerly)
  • Rule of Andrew
  • Richard Gwyn
  • October 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Dessalines Day (Haiti)
• Digital Society Day (India)
• Edge Day (International observance, Straight Edge Movement)
• International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
• Loyalty Day (Argentina)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to October 17.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day