June 17 in History

Historical Events on June 17

1775 American Revolutionary War: Colonists inflict heavy casualties on British forces while losing the Battle of Bunker Hill.

1861 American Civil War: Battle of Vienna, Virginia.

1900 Boxer Rebellion: Allied Western and Japanese forces capture the Taku Forts in Tianjin, China.

1930 U.S. President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act into law.

1944 Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic.

1963 The United States Supreme Court rules 8-1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against requiring the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer in public schools.

1972 Watergate scandal: Five White House operatives are arrested for burgling the offices of the Democratic National Committee, in an attempt by some members of the Republican party to illegally wiretap the opposition.

1991 Apartheid: The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.

1992 A "joint understanding" agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II).

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Famous Birthdays on June 17

1943 Newt Gingrich

1973 Leander Paes

1980 Venus Williams

1987 Kendrick Lamar

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Famous Deaths on June 17

1797 Mohammad Khan Qajar

1952 Jack Parsons (rocket engineer)

2012 Rodney King

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