October 17 in History

Historical Events on October 17

1777 American Revolutionary War: British General John Burgoyne surrenders his army at Saratoga, New York.

1806 Former leader of the Haitian Revolution, Emperor Jacques I of Haiti is assassinated after an oppressive rule.

1912 Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War.

1933 Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States.

1941 World War II: a German submarine attacks an American ship for the first time in the war.

1943 The Holocaust in Poland: Sobibór extermination camp is closed.

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.

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.

All Events

Famous Birthdays on October 17

1817 Syed Ahmad Khan

1956 Pat McCrory

1972 Eminem

1979 Kimi Räikkönen

All Births

Famous Deaths on October 17

1849 Frédéric Chopin

1868 Laura Secord

2017 Gord Downie

All Deaths

Choose Another Date