July 17 in History

Historical Events on July 17

1762 Catherine II becomes tsar of Russia upon the murder of Peter III of Russia.

1918 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his immediate family and retainers are executed by Bolshevik Chekists at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

1936 Spanish Civil War: An Armed Forces rebellion against the recently elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain starts the civil war.

1944 World War II: Napalm incendiary bombs are dropped for the first time by American P-38 pilots on a fuel depot at Coutances, near Saint-Lô, France.

1944 World War II: At Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery.[1] in Normandy Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was strafed by allied aircraft while returning to his headquarters.

1945 World War II: The main three leaders of the Allied nations, Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin, meet in the German city of Potsdam to decide the future of a defeated Germany.

1979 Nicaraguan dictator General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees to Miami, Florida, United States.

2001 Concorde is brought back into service nearly a year after the July 2000 crash.

2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777, crashes near the border of Ukraine and Russia after being shot down. All 298 people on board are killed.

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Famous Birthdays on July 17

1899 James Cagney

1939 Ali Khamenei

1947 Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

1954 Angela Merkel

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Famous Deaths on July 17

1918 Nikolai II of Russia

1946 Draža Mihailović

2005 Edward Heath

2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

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