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On this day in History Archives
 
At PaulsQuiz.com we aim to provide you with as much information as we possibly can. That's why we have built our On This Day in History section, to do just that. Our database is forever growing, we're adding more and more events from history to help you write your quiz questions.

Simply enter a date using the drop-down boxes below and click the 'Go' button to display events from the past that ocurred on that day.
 

 
17 February, 2008
Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.
17 February, 2006
Over 1,000 people perished and buried alive in the town of St. Bernard in Southern Leyte, Philippines mudslide.
17 February, 2003
The London Congestion Charge scheme begins.
17 February, 1996
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
17 February, 1995
Colin Ferguson is convicted of six counts of murder for the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shootings and later receives a 200+ year sentence.
17 February, 1995
The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a cease-fire brokered by the UN.
17 February, 1992
A court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin sentences serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to life in prison.
17 February, 1979
The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
17 February, 1974
Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House with a stolen helicopter.
17 February, 1972
Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle model exceed those of Ford Model-T.
17 February, 1968
In Springfield, Massachusetts the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
17 February, 1964
In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
17 February, 1962
A storm kills more than 300 people in Hamburg, West Germany.
17 February, 1959
Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2 - The first weather satellite launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
17 February, 1958
Pope Pius XII declares Saint Clare of Assisi (1193~1253) the patron saint of television.
17 February, 1957
A fire at a home for the elderly in Warrenton, Missouri kills 72 people.
17 February, 1947
The Voice of America begins to transmit radio broadcasts into the Soviet Union.
17 February, 1944
World War II: Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
17 February, 1944
World War II: Operation Hailstone begins. U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk (Chuuk), Japans main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
17 February, 1936
The worlds first superhero, The Phantom, makes his first appearance in comics.
17 February, 1933
The magazine Newsweek is published for the first time.
17 February, 1933
The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.
17 February, 1925
Harold Ross and Jane Grant found The New Yorker magazine; the debut issue is dated February 21, 1925.
17 February, 1924
In Miami, Florida, Johnny Weissmuller sets a new world record in the 100-yard freestyle swimming competition with a time of 52-2/5 seconds.
17 February, 1913
The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
17 February, 1904
Madama Butterfly premiers at La Scala in Milan.
17 February, 1871
The victorious Prussian Army parades though Paris, France after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
17 February, 1867
The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.
17 February, 1865
American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
17 February, 1864
American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
17 February, 1854
The British recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
17 February, 1819
The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise.
17 February, 1814
Battle of Mormans.
17 February, 1801
An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
17 February, 1753
February 17 is followed by March 1 as Sweden moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
17 February, 1621
Myles Standish is appointed as first commander of Plymouth colony.
17 February, 1600
Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de Fiori in Rome, charged of heresy.
17 February, 1500
Battle of Hemmingstedt.
17 February, 763
Shi Chaoyis head is delivered to Changan, ending the An Shi Rebellion.

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