October 17th
What Happened on the day you were born on This day in History
For Those With Birthdays 17th October or looking for specific year these years are Included on this date 1927, 1931, 1933, 1937, 1943, 1947, 1952, 1956, 1961, 1965, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1998,2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, Born This Day,
World 1973 Kuwait Oil Embargo 17th October, 1973 : Members of OPEC announced an oil embargo and that they would discontinue all oil shipments to those countries that supported Israel in its war against Syria and would decrease oil production by 5 per cent a month until Israel gave up all territory it seized in the 1967 war and restores the rights of the Palestinian refugees. As oil prices rose American consumers sought out more fuel efficient cars mostly from Japanese car makers whose cars gave nearly twice the miles per gallon as the existing American built cars did.

U.S. 1907 U.S.A. Telegraph 17th October, 1907 : The first commercial wireless telegraph is sent over the Atlantic Ocean.

U.S. 1927 U.S.A. Air Mail 17th October, 1927 : With the increase in air mail traffic the post office is encouraging people to use the service more by making it easy with a flat rate of 10 cents for letters weighing less than 1/2 ounce to anywhere in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom. All that is needed is to include the word Air Mail next to the 10 cent stamp and put into any post box and the post office will do the rest .

U.S. 1931 U.S.A. Al Capone 17th October, 1931 : Scarface Al Capone well known gangster is found guilty of income tax evasion. One week later he was sentenced to 11 years in prison and a fine of $50,000.
Scar Face Al Capone Public Domain Photo

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U.S. 1933 U.S.A. Dr. Albert Einstein 17th October, 1933 : Dr. Albert Einstein and his wife fleeing from Nazi Germany arrive in Princeton, New Jersey, where he will continue his scientific work at the Institute of Advanced Study.
Dr. Albert Einstein Public Domain Photo
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Einstein1921_by_F_Schmutzer_4.jpg

U.S. 1937 U.S.A. Poultry Farmer Protection 17th October, 1937 : The federal farm and administration is again stepping in to protect poultry farmers by offering to buy fresh and storage eggs ,in the spring of this year following the purchase of $2,000,000 of eggs they managed to help poultry farmers survive .

U.S. 1943 Thailand Thailand to Burma Railway Completed 17th October, 1943 : The 415-km Thailand Burma railroad ( Death Railway ) between Bangkok, Thailand and Rangoon, Burma is completed, during the construction of the railway approximately 13,000 prisoners of war and 100,000 civilians died due to the living and working conditions with most dying due to malnutrition, and diseases like cholera, malaria, and dysentery. Part of the railway was “The Bridge on the River Kwai” which was later made into a movie.

Burma 1947 Burma Independence 17th October, 1947: Britain and Burma signed an agreement today giving Burma full independence outside of the British Commonwealth if it chooses. This ends 300 years of British Rule over the country.

U.S. 1947 U.S.A. Fire 17th October, 1947: A major fire in Maine caused more than a couple of hundred thousand acres of land along with several hundred of homes and at least a few hundred cottages were destroyed before it ended on November 14.

U.S. 1952 U.S.A. Mechanical Heart 17th October, 1952: The worlds first successful use of a mechanical heart on July 3rd during a heart operation was announced today, it kept a mans blood going through his body for a total of 50 minutes and he is still alive and well today.



UK 1956 UK Sellafield Nuclear Power Station 17th October, 1956 : Queen Elizabeth II officialy opens Sellafield Nuclear Power Station although the power station had been providing electricity to the National Grid since 27th August 1956.

France 1961 France Algerian Independence 17th October, 1961: Paris police shoot and kill more than 200 Algerians marching in the city in support of peace talks to end their country's war of independence against France.

U.S. 1965 U.S.A. Worlds Fair 17th October, 1965 : The New York World's Fair ended which had started in 1964.
New York Worlds Fair 1964 to 1965 Domain Photo
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Mexico 1968 Mexico Black Power Salute Olympics 17th October, 1968 : Two black athletes make the Black Power Salute " when they bow and raise a black gloved hand as the American National Anthem played during the victory ceremony for the 200m final in Mexico" as a silent protest against racial discrimination in the United during the Mexico Olympics Ceremony. On the 17th they were both sent home by the U.S.A. national team and many were upset that politics had been bought into the Olympics.
Black Power Salute Olympics Domain Photo
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carlos-Smith.jpg

Scotland 1978 Scotland Grey Seal Cull 17th October, 1978 : The Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior spends two weeks trailing the Norwegian boat Kvitungen preventing the start of the Grey Seal cull. And public opinion forces the Scottish Secretary Brian Millan to reduce the cull from 4,600 Grey Seal to 2,000 and local fisherman will perform the cull not the Norwegan boat.

India 1979 India Mother Teresa 17th October, 1979 : Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on behalf of the poor and destitute in Calcutta
Mother Teresa Domain Photo
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U.S. 1989 U.S.A. Earthquake San Francisco 17th October, 1989 : A major earthquake registering 6.9 on the Richter scale hit the San Francisco Bay Area today causing the evacuation of 60,000 fans from Candlestick Park waiting for Game Three of the World Series to begin. The earthquake caused the death of nine people and injured hundreds more in the San Fransisco area.

U.S. 1992 U.S.A. Dylan Concert 17th October, 1992 : A concert to celebrate Bob Dylan and his 30 years of music bought fans from around the country to New York last night. But when Sinead O'Connor appeared on stage she was booed off stage . The reason the crowd gave her such a hard time was because this is the first public appearance since she was on "Saturday Night Live " on October 3rd where she ripped up a photograph of the Pope

UK 1994 England Taxi World Record 17th October, 1994: A world record is set by a British taxi driver Jeremy Levine after completing a round-trip journey to Cape Town South Africa of 26,691 miles. His passengers Mark Aylett and Carlos Aresse paid 40,000 pounds .

Norway 1998 Norway Nobel Peace Prize 17th October, 1998 : David Trimble a Protestant and John Hume a Catholic are joint winners of this years Nobel Peace prize for helping to create a lasting peace in Northern Ireland .

Nigeria 1998 Nigeria Pipeline Explosion 17th October, 1998 : A pipeline explosion in Jesse, Nigeria, kills 700 people with the resulting fire burning for nearly a week. It is believed that the explosion was caused by local towns people tapping into the pipeline to steal oil but because the fire and explosion incinerated every person close by, the reason for the explosion was never fully explained.

UK 2000 England Hatfield Rail Crash 17th October, 2000 : A high speed passenger train derails just north of London at Hatfield leaving 4 dead.

Taiwan 2003 Taiwan Taipei 101 17th October, 2003 : Taipei 101 become the World's tallest highrise building at 1,671 feet after the pinnacle is fitted on the roof. The definition of tallest building in the world is disputed because of disputes over what and what not should be included.
Mother Teresa Domain Photo
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Taipei101.portrait.altonthompson.jpg

U.S. 2006 U.S.A. Population Reaches 300 million 17th October, 2006 : The United States population reaches 300 million ( current population estimate 305,468,000 )
This Day In History For Tomorrow October 18th Day After October 19th Or You Can Use Our Calendar at the top of the page to find the day or month you are looking for

Italy 2006 Italy Train Crash Rome 17th October, 2006 : Two metro trains crashed at Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II station in Rome when one hit the back of another. One person died as a result of the crash while 110 people were injured.

Burma 2007 Burma More Arrests 17th October, 2007 : Following the uprising in Burma / Myanmar squashed by the ruling junta, governments around the world continue to protest, Burma's leaders appear to remain defiant and are continueing to round up those suspected of involvement.

U.S.A. 2009 U.S.A. H1N1 virus / Swine Flue Vaccine 17th October, 2009 : As the number of reported deaths from the H1N1 virus (swine flu) increases, US officials have warned of delays in the delivery of swine flu vaccine. ( update 2010 ) Swine flu was a major concern in the United States and around the world in October and November of 2009 with concerns that the flu could kill millions, but luckily it was not as deadly as many feared.

United States 2011 United States Spaceport America Opens 17th October, 2011 : Richard Branson opens the world's first commercial spaceport, Spaceport America, in the U.S. state of New Mexico, Plans are underway for flights to begin in just two years from the spaceport.

Uruguay
2012 Uruguay Uruguay Legalizes Abortion

17th October, 2012 : Uruguay became the second Latin American country to legalize abortion. The law would allow all women to have an abortion within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. Women wishing to seek an abortion in the country would have to see a panel of experts and explain why they wanted an abortion and would then have to wait a few days before they could make their final decision.