1917: On this day in history

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Home: On this Day: 1917

Famous birthdays, deaths and events of 1917

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Birthdays

January 1 - Jule Gregory Charney, American meteorologist (d. 1981)
January 1 - Albert Mol, Dutch actor (d. 2004)
January 2 - Vera Zorina, German dancer (d. 2003)
January 3 - General Vernon Walters, U.S. military officer
January 3 - Roger W. Straus, Jr.
January 5 - Wieland Wagner, German stage director (d. 1966)
January 5 - Jane Wyman, American actress (d. 2007)
January 5 - Francis L. Kellogg, U.S. diplomat and prominent socialite (d. 2006)
January 6 - Koo Chen-fu, Chinese negotiator (d. 2005)
January 7 - Ulysses Kay, American composer (d. 1995)
January 10 - Jerry Wexler, American record producer (d. 2008)
January 11 - John Robarts, Canadian politician
January 12 - Walter Hendl, American conductor (d. 2007)
January 12 - Jimmy Skinner, Canadian hockey coach (d. 2007)
January 12 - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian spiritualist (d. 2008)
January 14 - Billy Butterfield, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1988)
January 16 - Carl Karcher, founded the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain (d. 2008)
January 17 - M. G. Ramachandran, Indian politician
January 17 - Ramón Cardemil, Chilean huaso (d. 2007)
January 18 - Wang Yung-ching, Taiwanese businessman
January 19 - John Raitt, American singer and actor (d. 2005)
January 24 - Ernest Borgnine, American actor
January 25 - Ilya Prigogine, Russian scientist Nobel Laureate (d. 2003)
January 25 - Jânio Quadros, Brazilian politician (d. 1992)
January 30 - Paul Frère, Belgian racing driver and motorsport journalist d. 2008)
February 4 - Yahya Khan, President of Pakistan (d. 1980)
February 6 - Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hungarian-born actress
February 11 - T. Nagi Reddy, Indian revolutionary (d. 1976)
February 11 - Sidney Sheldon, American author (d. 2007)
February 12 - Raizo Matsuno, Japanese politician (d. 2006)
February 14 - Herbert A. Hauptman, American mathematician
February 17 - Abdur Rahman Badawi, Egyptian philosopher (d. 2002)
February 17 - Guillermo González Camarena, Mexican inventor (d. 1965)
February 19 - Carson McCullers, American author (d. 1967)
February 21 - Lucille Bremer, American actress (d. 1996)
February 22 - Jane Bowles, American playwright (d. 1973)
February 25 - Anthony Burgess, English author (d. 1993)
February 27 - John Connally, American politician (d. 1993)
March 1 - Robert Lowell, American poet (d. 1977)
March 2 - Desi Arnaz, Cuban-born American actor and bandleader (d. 1986)
March 2 - Jim Konstanty, American baseball player (d. 1976)
March 2 - David Goodis, American writer (d. 1967)
March 3 - Sameera Moussa, Egyptian nuclear scientist (d. 1952)
March 4 - Clyde McCullough, American baseball player (d. 1982)
March 6 - Will Eisner, American illustrator and cartoonist (d. 2005)
March 6 - Frankie Howerd, English comedian (d. 1992)
March 7 - Lee Young, American jazz drummer and singer
March 10 - Frank Perconte, American sergeant from Easy Company during WWII.
March 16 - Samael Aun Weor, Colombian writer (d. 1977)
March 18 - Frederika of Hanover, queen of the Hellenes (d. 1981)
March 19 - Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist (d. 1950)
March 19 - Laszlo Szabo, Hungarian chess player (d. 1998)
March 20 - Vera Lynn, English actress and singer
March 21 - Frank Hardy, Australian author (d. 1994)
March 22 - Virginia Grey, American actress (d. 2004)
March 24 - John Kendrew, British molecular biologist
March 24 - Constantine Andreou, Greek-Brazilian artist (d. 2007)
March 26 - Rufus Thomas, American musician (d. 2001)
March 27 - Cyrus Vance, American politician (d. 2002)
March 29 - Man o' War, American thoroughbred racehorse (d. 1947)
April 1 - Melville Shavelson, American film director
April 2 - Dabbs Greer, American actor (d. 2007)
April 2 - Lou Monte, American singer (d. 1989)
April 5 - Robert Bloch, American author (d. 1994)
April 7 - R.G. Armstrong, American actor
April 9 - Johannes Bobrowski, German lyricist and writer (d. 1965)
April 9 - Brad Dexter, American actor (d. 2002)
April 10 - Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist
April 11 - Danny Gallivan, Canadian radio and television sportscaster (d. 1993)
April 11 - David Westheimer, American novelist (d. 2005)
April 12 - Helen Forrest, American singer (d. 1999)
April 13 - Robert O. Anderson, American businessman (d. 2007)
April 14 - Marvin Miller, American labor activist
April 14 - Valerie Hobson, British actress (d. 1998)
April 15 - Hans Conried, American actor (d. 1982)
April 15 - James Kee, American politician (d. 1989)
April 16 - Barry Nelson, American actor (d. 2007)
April 17 - Bill Clements, American politician
April 18 - Ty LaForest, Canadian baseball player (d. 1947)
April 18 - Frederika of Hanover, Queen Consort of Greece (d. 1981)
April 23 - Dorian Leigh, American supermodel (d. 2008)
April 25 - Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (d. 1996)
April 26 - Sal Maglie, American baseball player (d. 1992)
April 26 - I.M. Pei, Chinese-born architect
April 29 - Celeste Holm, American actress
May 1 - John Beradino, American actor and baseball player (d. 1996)
May 1 - Danielle Darrieux, French singer and actress
May 1 - Ahron Soloveichik, Orthodox Jewish rabbi
May 2 - Albert Castelyns, Belgian water polo player and bobsledder
May 3 - Betty Comden, American lyricist (d. 2006)
May 6 - Kal Mann, American lyricist (d. 2001)
May 7 - David Tomlinson, English film actor (d. 2000)
May 12 - Frank Clair, Canadian football coach (d. 2005)
May 14 - Lou Harrison, American composer (d. 2003)
May 16 - Juan Rulfo, Mexican novelist (d. 1986)
May 16 - James C. Murray, American politician (d. 1999)
May 16 - George Gaynes, American actor
May 20 - Guy Favreau, French Canadian lawyer (d. 1967)
May 20 - Bergur Sigurbjörnsson, Icelandic politician (d. 2005)
May 21 - Raymond Burr, American actor (d. 1993)
May 22 - Georg Tintner, Austrian-born conductor (d. 1999)
May 22 - Nathan Davis, American actor
May 22 - Daniel Nagrin, American modern dancer and choreographer
May 23 - Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008)
May 25 - Theodore Hesburgh, American educator and theologian
May 25 - Steve Cochran, American actor (d. 1965)
May 26 - Eva Szorenyi, Hungarian actress
May 28 - Papa John Creech, American musician (d. 1994)
May 29 - John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States (d. 1963)
June 1 - William S. Knowles, American chemist
June 2 - Heinz Sielmann, German photographer and filmmaker (d. 2006)
June 3 - Leo Gorcey, American actor (d. 1969)
June 4 - Robert Merrill, American baritone (d. 2004)
June 6 - Kirk Kerkorian, American businessman
June 7 - Gwendolyn Brooks, American poet (d. 2000)
June 7 - Dean Martin, American actor (d. 1995)
June 8 - Byron White, American athlete and Supreme Court Justice (d. 2002)
June 11 - Joseph B. Wirthlin, LDS apostle
June 13 - Teddy Turner, comedian (d. 1992)
June 14 - Atle Selberg, Norwegian mathematician
June 15 - John Fenn, American chemist
June 15 - Lash La Rue, American actor (d. 1996)
June 15 - Michalis Genitsaris, Greek singer and composer (d. 2005)
June 16 - Katherine Graham, American publisher (d. 2001)
June 16 - Aurelio Lampredi, Italian mechanical engineer (Ferrari; d. 1989)
June 16 - Irving Penn, American photographer
June 17 - Atle Selberg, Norwegian mathematician (d. 2007)
June 18 - Richard Boone, American actor (d. 1981)
June 18 - Arthur Tremblay, Canadian politician (d. 1996)
June 19 - Joshua Nkomo, Vice President of Zimbabwe (d. 1999)
June 20 - Igor Śmiałowski, Polish actor (d. 2006)
June 28 - Katherine Rawls, American swimming champion (d. 1982)
June 30 - Susan Hayward, American actress (d. 1975)
June 30 - Lena Horne, American actress and singer
July 1 - Humphry Osmond, British psychiatrist (d. 2004)
July 2 - Murry Wilson, American musician and producer (The Beach Boys) (d. 1973)
July 3 - João Saldanha, Brazilian journalist and football manager (d. 1990)
July 4 - Manolete, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1947)
July 6 - Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand running coach (d. 2004)
July 7 - Fidel Sánchez Hernández, Salvadoran politician (d. 2003)
July 8 - Faye Emerson, American actress (d. 1983)
July 10 - Don Herbert, American television host (d. 2007)
July 10 - Hugh Alexander, American baseball player (d. 2000)
July 12 - Andrew Wyeth, American artist
July 17 - Phyllis Diller, American comedian
July 17 - Red Sovine, American country music singer (d. 1980)
July 17 - Lou Boudreau, Major League baseball player and manager (d. 2001)
July 18 - Henri Salvador, French singer (d. 2008)
July 19 - William Scranton, American politician
July 24 - Robert Farnon, Canadian-born conductor
July 24 - Jack Moroney, Australian cricketer (d. 1999)
July 25 - Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 1990)
July 27 - Bourvil, French actor (d. 1970)
August 3 - Les Elgart, American jazz trumpeter and bandleader (d. 1995)
August 6 - Robert Mitchum, American actor (d. 1997)
August 13 - Sid Gordon, American baseball player (d. 1975)
August 15 - Jack Lynch, Irish politician
August 15 - Oscar Romero, El Salvador Roman catholic priest (d. 1980)
August 18 - Caspar Weinberger, American politician (d. 2006)
August 22 - John Lee Hooker, American musician (d. 2001)
August 23 - Tex Williams, American singer (d. 1985)
August 24 - Dennis James, American game show host (d. 1997)
August 25 - Mel Ferrer, Cuban-American actor
August 27 - Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player (d. 1986)
August 28 - Jack Kirby, American comic book artist (d. 1994)
August 29 - Isabel Sanford, American actress (d. 2004)
August 30 - Denis Healey, British politician
September 2 - Cleveland Amory, American author (d. 1998)
September 2 - Laurindo Almeida, Brazilian guitarist (d. 1995)
September 4 - Henry Ford II, American industrialist (d. 1987)
September 5 - Sören Nordin, Swedish harness racing driver and trainer (d. 2008)
September 6 - Philipp von Boeselager, German Wehrmacht officer
September 6 - George Mann, England cricketer (d. 2001)
September 7 - John Cornforth, Australian chemist
September 9 - Rolf Wenkhaus, German actor (d. 1942)
September 10 - Miguel Serrano, Chilean author and diplomat
September 11 - Ferdinand Marcos, 10th President of the Philippines (d. 1989)
September 11 - Jessica Mitford, British writer (d. 1996)
September 11 - Herbert Lom, Czech-born British film actor
September 11 - Daniel Wildenstein, French art dealer and racehorse owner (d. 2001)
September 11 - Donald Blakeslee, American aviator (d. 2008)
September 12 - Pierre Sévigny, Canadian politician (d. 2004)
September 13 - Robert Ward, American composer
September 18 - June Foray, American voice actress
September 18 - Francis Parker Yockey, American author (d. 1960)
September 20 - Red Auerbach, American basketball coach (d. 2006)
September 20 - Fernando Rey, Spanish-born actor (d. 1994)
September 21 - Phyllis Nicolson, British mathematician (d. 1968)
September 25 - Phil Rizzuto, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2007)
September 25 - Johnny Sain, American baseball player (d. 2006)
September 26 - Réal Caouette, French Canadian politician (d. 1976)
September 27 - Louis Auchincloss, American novelist
September 27 - William T. Orr, American television producer (d. 2002)
September 30 - Park Chunghee, President of South Korea (d. 1979)
September 30 - Buddy Rich, American big band drummer (d. 1987)
October 2 - Christian de Duve, English-born biologist
October 2 - Charles Drake, American actor (d. 1994)
October 5 - Allen Ludden, American television game show host (d. 1981)
October 6 - Fannie Lou Hamer, American civil rights activist (d. 1977)
October 7 - June Allyson, American actress (d. 2006)
October 8 - Billy Conn, American boxer (d. 1993)
October 8 - Walter Lord, American author (d. 2002)
October 8 - Danny Murtaugh, American baseball player (d. 1976)
October 8 - Rodney Robert Porter, English biochemist
October 10 - Thelonious Monk, American jazz pianist (d. 1982)
October 12 - Roque Máspoli, Uruguayan footballer (d. 2004)
October 13 - George Virl Osmond, Osmond family patriarch (d. 2007)
October 13 - Burr Tillstrom, American puppeteer (d. 1985)
October 15 - Jan Miner, American actress (d. 2004)
October 15 - Arthur Schlesinger Jr., American historian and political commentator (d. 2007)
October 16 - Alice Pearce, American actress (d. 1966)
October 17 - Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-born American novelist (d. 1991)
October 20 - Jean-Pierre Melville, French director (d. 1973)
October 21 - Dizzy Gillespie, American musician (d. 1993)
October 22 - Joan Fontaine, American actress
October 25 - Lee MacPhail, American baseball manager and league executive
October 27 - Augustine Harris, British Bishop of Middlesbrough (d. 2007)
October 27 - Oliver Tambo, South African freedom fighter (d. 1993)
October 28 - Jack Soo, American actor (d. 1979)
October 29 - Eddie Constantine, American actor/singer (d. 1993)
October 30 - Bobby Bragan, American baseball player
October 30 - Nikolai Vasilievich Ogarkov, Soviet field marshal (d. 1994)
October 30 - Maurice Trintignant, French race car driver (d. 2005)
October 31 - Thomas Hill, Canadian actor
November 5 - Jacqueline Auriol, French aviatrix (d. 2000)
November 5 - Banarsi Das Gupta, Indian former Chief Minister of Haryana (d. 2007)
November 12 - Jo Stafford, American singer (d. 2008)
November 13 - Robert Sterling, American actor (d. 2006)
November 18 - Pedro Infante, Mexican actor and singer (d. 1957)
November 19 - Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India (d. 1984)
November 20 - Robert Byrd, American politician
November 20 - Bobby Locke, South African golfer (d. 1987)
November 22 - Andrew Fielding Huxley, British scientist
November 24 - Howard Duff, American actor (d. 1990)
November 27 - Buffalo Bob Smith, American television host (d. 1998)
November 29 - Merle Travis, American singer (d. 1983)
December 1 - Marty Marion, American baseball player and manager
December 2 - Sylvia Syms, American jazz singer (d. 1992)
December 5 - Ken Downing, English racing driver (d. 2004)
December 6 - Kamal Jumblatt, leader of the Lebanese Druze (d. 1977)
December 6 - Irv Robbins, Canadian-American entrepreneur (d. 2008)
December 9 - James Angleton, head of counterintelligence for the CIA (d. 1987)
December 9 - James Rainwater, American physicist
December 10 - Sultan Yahya Petra, King of Malaysia (d. 1979)
December 13 - John Hart, American actor
December 14 - C.-H. Hermansson, Swedish communist leader
December 14 - June Taylor, American choreographer (d. 2004)
December 14 - Elyse Knox, American actress
December 15 - Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, linguist and writer of Pakistan (d. 2005)
December 16 - Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Sindhi scholar
December 16 - Sir Arthur C. Clarke, English writer (d. 2008)
December 18 - Ossie Davis, American actor and activist (d. 2005)
December 20 - David Bohm, American-born physicist
December 21 - Heinrich Böll, German writer and Nobel laureate (d. 1985)
December 21 - Sophie Masloff, American politician
December 22 - Gene Rayburn, American game show host (d. 1999)
December 24 - Kim Jong-suk, Wife of Kim Il-sung
December 27 - Onni Palaste, Finnish writer
December 29 - Tom Bradley, American politician (d. 1998)
December 29 - Ramanand Sagar, Indian film director (d. 2005)
December 30 - Seymour Melman, American industrial engineer (d. 2004)

Deaths

January 2 - Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist (b. 1832)
January 10 - William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, American frontiersman (b. 1846)
January 16 - George Dewey, U.S. admiral (b. 1837)
February 5 - Jaber II Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1860)
February 10 - John William Waterhouse, Italian-born artist (b. 1849)
February 11 - Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician (b. 1872)
February 16 - Octave Mirbeau, French writer (b. 1848)
March 8 - Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German aircraft manufacturer (b. 1838)
March 17 - Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (b. 1838)
March 25 - Elizabeth Storrs Mead, American educator (b. 1832)
March 25 - Spyridon Samaras, Greek composer (b. 1861)
March 31 - Emil Adolf von Behring, German physician
April 1 - Scott Joplin, American musician and composer (b. 1868)
April 9 - James Hope Moulton, British scholar of Classical Greek (b. 1863)
April 14 - Ludovich Lazarus Zamenhof, Polish creator of Esperanto (b. 1859)
April 18 - Vladimir Serbsky, Russian psychiatrist (b. 1858)
May 17 - Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke, ruler of Sarawak (b. 1829)
May 20 - Philipp von Ferrary, Italian philatelist (b. 1850)
May 20 - Valentine Fleming, Scottish politician (b. 1887)
May 25 - Maksim Bahdanovič, Belarusian poet (b. 1891)
June 12 - Teresa Carreño, Venezuelan pianist (b. 1853)
June 15 - Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian physicist (b. 1867)
June 27 - Karl Allmenroder, German World War I Ace (b. 1896)
July 8 - Tom Thomson, Canadian painter (b. 1877)
July 14 - Octave Lapize, French cyclist (b. 1887)
July 16 - Philipp Scharwenka, Polish-German composer (b. 1847)
July 27 - Emil Theodor Kocher, Swiss surgeon
July 31 - Francis Ledwidge, Irish poet (b. 1881)
July 31 - Hedd Wyn, Welsh poet (b. 1887)
August 1 - Frank Little, American labor organizer (lynched) (b. 1879)
August 3 - Ferdinand Georg Frobenius, German mathematician (b. 1849)
August 7 - Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning, first pilot to land his aircraft on a moving ship. (b. 1891)
August 13 - Eduard Buchner, German chemist
August 15 - Thomas J. Higgins, decorated Union Army soldier (b. 1831)
August 20 - Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist
September 5 - Marian Smoluchowski, Polish physicist (b. 1872)
September 11 - Georges Guynemer, French aviator (b. 1894)
September 23 - Werner Voss, German World War I pilot (b. 1897)
September 25 - Thomas Ashe, Irish revolutionary (b. 1885)
September 27 - Edgar Degas, French painter (b. 1834)
October 13 - Florence La Badie, American actress
October 15 - Mata Hari, Dutch dancer and spy (b. 1876)
October 22 - Bob Fitzsimmons, English boxer (b. 1863)
October 27 - Arthur Rhys Davids, English pilot (b. 1897)
October 28 - Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, (b. 1831)
October 30 - Talbot Mercer Papineau, (b. 1883)
November 3 - Léon Bloy, French novelist and essayist (b. 1846)
November 8 - Colin Blythe, English cricketer (b. 1879)
November 10 - Harry Trott, Australian cricketer (b. 1866)
November 11 - Liliuokalani of Hawaii, Queen of Hawaii (b. 1838)
November 15 - Émile Durkheim, French sociologist (b. 1858)
November 17 - Auguste Rodin, French sculptor (b. 1840)
November 22 - Teoberto Maler, German-born explorer (b. 1842)
December 7 - Léon Minkus, German/Czech Composer and violinist (b. March 23
December 8 - Mendele Moykher Sforim, Russian writer (b. 1836)
December 10 - Sir Mackenzie Bowell, fifth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1823)
December 17 - Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, English physician (b. 1836)
December 17 - Frank Gotch, American professional wrestler (b. 1878)
December 20 - Lucien Petit-Breton, Argentine-French cyclist (b. 1882)
December 22 - Mother Cabrini, first American citizen canonized by the Catholic Church (b. 1850
December 28 - Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian World War One flying ace (b. 1892)

Events

January 2 - The Royal Bank of Canada takes over the Quebec Bank.
January 9 - World War I: the Battle of Rafa occurs near the Egyptian border with Palestine.
January 11 - The Kingsland munitions factory explosion occurs as a result of sabotage.
January 17 - The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.
January 19 - German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann sends the Zimmermann Telegram to Mexico, proposing a German-Mexican alliance against the United States.
January 19 - Silvertown explosion: 73 are killed and 400 injured in an explosion in a munitions plant in London.
January 22 - World War I: President Woodrow Wilson calls for "peace without victory" in Europe.
January 25 - The Danish West Indies is sold to the United States for $25 million.
January 28 - Municipally owned streetcars take to the streets of San Francisco, California.
January 31 - World War I: Germany announces its U-boats will engage in unrestricted submarine warfare.
February 3 - World War I: The United States breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany a day after the former announced a new policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
February 5 - The current constitution of Mexico is adopted, establishing a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
February 5 - The Congress of the United States passes a law, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, banning most Asian immigration to the United States.
February 23 - First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution.
February 24 - World War I: The U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if that country declares war on the United States.
February 26 - The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first ever jazz record for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York.
March 1 - U.S. government releases the plaintext of the Zimmermann Telegram to the public.
March 2 - The enactment of the Jones-Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
March 2 - (Old Style)
March 4 - Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.
March 4 - Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia's renunciation of the throne is made public, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia publicly issues his abdication manifesto. The victory of the February Revolution.
March 8 - Riots and strikes break out in St. Petersburg, Russia, marking the start of the Russian Revolution.
March 8 - The U.S. Senate votes to limit filibusters by adopting the cloture rule.
March 10 - Batangas was formally founded as one of the Philippines's earliest encomiendas.
March 11 - World War I: Baghdad falls to the Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Stanley Maude.
March 15 - Czar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the Russian throne and his brother the Grand Duke becomes Tsar.
March 17 - Delta Phi Epsilon is founded at New York University Law School.
March 25 - The Georgian Orthodox Church restores its autocephaly abolished by Imperial Russia in 1811.
March 26 - World War I: First Battle of Gaza
March 31 - The United States takes possession of the Danish West Indies after paying $25 million to Denmark, and renames the territory the United States Virgin Islands.
April 2 - World War I: U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.
April 2 - The first woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress, Jeannette Rankin, takes her seat as a representative from Montana.
April 3 - Vladimir Lenin arrives in Russia from exile, marking the beginning of Bolshevik leadership in the Russian Revolution.
April 6 - World War I: The United States declares war on Germany (see President Woodrow Wilson's address to Congress).
April 9 - World War I: The Battle of Arras
April 12 - World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.
April 16 - Vladimir Lenin returns to Petrograd from exile in Finland.
May 18 - World War I: The Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription.
May 21 - The Great Atlanta fire of 1917 takes place.
May 26 - A powerful F4 tornado rips Mattoon, Illinois apart, killing 101 people and injuring 689. It was the world's longest-lasting tornado, lasting for over 7 hours and traveling 293 miles, spreading death and destruction along its path.
May 30 - Alexander I becomes king of Greece.
June 4 - The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded: Laura E. Richards, Maude H. Elliott, and Florence Hall receive the first Pulitzer for biography (for Julia Ward Howe). Jean Jules Jusserand receives the first Pulitzer for history for his work With Americans of Past and Present Days. Herbert B. Swope receives the first Pulitzer for journalism for his work for the New York World.
June 5 - World War I: Conscription begins in the United States as "Army registration day."
June 7 - World War I: Battle of Messines
June 11 - King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father Constantine I abdicated under pressure by allied armies occupying Athens.
June 13 - World War I: the deadliest German air raid on London during World War I is carried out by Gotha G bombers and results in 162 deaths, including 46 children, and 432 injuries.
June 23 - In a game against the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox pitcher Ernie Shore retires 26 batters in a row after replacing Babe Ruth, who had been ejected for punching the umpire.
June 26 - the first U.S. troops arrive in France to fight alongside Britain, France, Italy, and Russia against Germany, and Austria-Hungary in World War I.
July 2 - The East St. Louis Riots end.
July 6 - World War I: Arabian troops led by Lawrence of Arabia and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Turks during the Arab Revolt.
July 7 - Russian Revolution: Prince Georgy Yevgenyevich Lvov forms Provisional Government in Russia after the deposing of the Tsar Nicholas II.
July 12 - The Bisbee Deportation occurs as vigilantes kidnap and deport nearly 1,300 striking miners and others from Bisbee, Arizona.
July 17 - King George V of the United Kingdom issues a Proclamation stating that the male line descendants of the British royal family will bear the surname Windsor.
July 20 - World War I: The Corfu Declaration, which leads to the creation of the post-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, is signed by the Yugoslav Committee and Kingdom of Serbia.
July 25 - Sir Thomas Whyte introduces the first income tax in Canada as a "temporary" measure (lowest bracket is 4% and highest is 25%).
July 27 - The Allies reach the Yser Canal at the Battle of Passchendaele.
August 6 - World War I: Battle of Mărăşeşti between the Romanian and German armies begins.
August 18 - A Great Fire in Thessaloniki, Greece destroys 32% of the city leaving 70,000 individuals homeless.
August 28 - Ten suffragists are arrested when picketing the White House.
September 14 - Russia is officially proclaimed a republic.
September 20 - Paraguay becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
October 12 - The First Battle of Passchendaele, (today's Passendale).
October 13 - The "Miracle of the Sun" is witnessed by an estimated 70,000 people in the Cova da Iria in Fátima, Portugal.
October 15 - World War I: At Vincennes outside of Paris, Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by firing squad for spying for the German Empire.
October 17 - First British bombing of Germany in World War I.
October 19 - Love Field in Dallas, Texas is opened.
October 23 - Lenin calls for the October Revolution.
October 24 - Battle of Caporetto starts on the Austro-Italian front of World War I
October 24 - The day of the October revolution, The Red Revolution.
October 25 - Traditionally understood date of the October Revolution, involving the capture of the Winter Palace, Petrograd, Russia.
October 26 - World War I: Battle of Caporetto; Italy suffers a catastrophic defeat at the forces of Austria-Hungary and Germany.
October 26 - World War I:Brazil declared in state of war with Central Powers.
October 31 - World War I: Battle of Beersheba
November 2 - The Balfour Declaration proclaims British support for the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" with the clear understanding "that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities".
November 5 - October Revolution: In Tallinn, Estonia, Communist leader Jaan Anwelt leads revolutionaries in overthrowing the Provisional Government (As Estonia and Russia are still using the Julian Calendar, subsequent period references show an October 23 date).
November 5 - St. Tikhon of Moscow is elected the Patriarch of Moscow and of the Russian Orthodox Church.
November 6 - World War I: Third Battle of Ypres ends: After three months of fierce fighting, Canadian forces take Passchendaele in Belgium.
November 7 - Russian Revolution: In Petrograd, Russia, Bolshevik leaders Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky lead revolutionaries in overthrowing the Provisional Government (As Russia was still using the Julian Calendar, subsequent period references show the date as October 25).
November 7 - World War I: Third Battle of Gaza ends: British forces capture Gaza from the Ottoman Empire.
November 8 - The People's Commissars give authority to Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Joseph Stalin.
November 9 - Joseph Stalin enters the provisional government of the USSR.
November 18 - Sigma Alpha Rho, a Jewish high school fraternity, is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
November 20 - World War I: Battle of Cambrai begins
November 20 - Ukraine is declared a republic.
November 24 - Nine police officers and one civilian are killed when a bomb explodes at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin police headquarters building.
November 26 - The National Hockey League is formed, with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas as its first teams.
December 3 - After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, the Quebec Bridge opens to traffic.
December 6 - Finland declares independence from Russia.
December 6 - Halifax Explosion: In Canada, a munitions explosion kills more than 1900 people and destroys part of the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
December 7 - World War I: The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary.
December 9 - In Palestine, Field Marshal Edmund Allenby captures Jerusalem.
December 11 - British General Edmund Allenby enters Jerusalem on foot; declares martial law.
December 12 - In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys.
December 15 - World War I: An armistice is reached between the new Bolshevik government and the Central Powers.
December 20 - Cheka, the first Soviet secret police, is founded.

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This page uses material from the Wikipedia article "1917".