17 August
Notable Births
Nastasja Schunk
b. 2003
German tennis player
The Kid Laroi
b. 2003
Australian singer (born 2003)
Lil Pump
b. 2000
American rapper (born 2000)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
b. 1998
Japanese baseball player (born 1998)
Jake Virtanen
b. 1996
Canadian ice hockey player
Gracie Gold
b. 1995
American figure skater (b. 1995)
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
b. 1995
New Zealand international rugby league footballer
Phoebe Bridgers
b. 1994
American musician (born 1994)
Jack Conklin
b. 1994
American football player (born 1994)
Taissa Farmiga
b. 1994
American actress (born 1994)
Ederson (footballer, born 1993)
b. 1993
Brazilian footballer (born 1993)
Sarah Sjöström
b. 1993
Swedish swimmer (born 1993)
Xie Zhenye
b. 1993
Chinese sprinter (born 1993)
Saraya Bevis
b. 1992
British professional wrestler (born 1992)
Alex Elisala
b. 1992
New Zealand rugby league footballer
Chanel Mata'utia
b. 1992
Samoan/Australian rugby league footballer
Maru Teferi
b. 1992
Israeli marathon runner (born 1992)
Austin Butler
b. 1991
American actor (born 1991)
Lil B
b. 1989
American rapper (born 1989)
Rachel Corsie
b. 1989
Scottish footballer (born 1989)
Notable Deaths
Terence Stamp
d. 2025
English actor (1938–2025)
Virginia Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie
d. 2024
British countess (1933–2024)
Silvio Santos
d. 2024
Brazilian television host and media mogul (1930–2024)
Arthur Hiller
d. 2016
Canadian film and television director (1923–2016)
Yvonne Craig
d. 2015
American actress (1937–2015)
Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder
d. 2015
László Paskai
d. 2015
Hungarian cardinal
Børre Knudsen
d. 2014
Wolfgang Leonhard
d. 2014
German political author and historian
Sophie Masloff
d. 2014
American mayor (1917–2014)
Miodrag Pavlović
d. 2014
Serbian writer (1928–2014)
Pierre Vassiliu
d. 2014
Musical artist
Odilia Dank
d. 2013
American politician
Jack Harshman
d. 2013
American baseball player (1927–2013)
John Hollander
d. 2013
American poet
Gus Winckel
d. 2013
Dutch World War II hero
Aase Bjerkholt
d. 2012
Norwegian politician (1915–2012)
Francesco Cossiga
d. 2010
President of Italy from 1985 to 1992
Franco Sensi
d. 2008
Italian businessman (1926–2008)
Bill Deedes
d. 2007
British politician (1913–2007)
On This Day in History
All 71 ›2019
A bomb explodes at a wedding in Kabul killing 63 people and leaving 182 injured.
17 August 2019 Kabul bombing
2017
Barcelona attacks: A van is driven into pedestrians in La Rambla, killing 14 and injuring at least 100.
2017 Barcelona attacks
2015
A bomb explodes near the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand, killing at least 19 people and injuring 123 others.
2015 Bangkok bombing
2009
An accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam in Khakassia, Russia, kills 75 and shuts down the hydroelectric power station, leading to widespread power failure in the local area.
Sayano-Shushenskaya power station accident
2008
American swimmer Michael Phelps becomes the first person to win eight gold medals at one Olympic Games.
Michael Phelps
2005
The first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of Israeli disengagement from Gaza, starts.
Israeli settlement
2005
Over 500 bombs are set off by terrorists at 300 locations in 63 out of the 64 districts of Bangladesh.
2005 Bangladesh bombings
2004
The National Assembly of Serbia unanimously adopts new state symbols for Serbia: Bože pravde becomes the new anthem and the coat of arms is adopted for the whole country.
National Assembly (Serbia)
1999
The 7.6 Mw İzmit earthquake shakes northwestern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving 17,118–17,127 dead and 43,953–50,000 injured.
1999 İzmit earthquake
1998
Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky; later that same day he admits before the nation that he "misled people" about the relationship.
Clinton–Lewinsky scandal
1991
Strathfield massacre: In Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, taxi driver Wade Frankum shoots and kills seven people and injures six others before turning the gun on himself.
Strathfield massacre
1988
President of Pakistan Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel are killed in a plane crash.
Zia-ul-Haq
1985
The 1985–86 Hormel strike begins in Austin, Minnesota.
1985–1986 Hormel strike
1978
Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey, France near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Presque Isle, Maine.
Double Eagle II
1977
The Soviet icebreaker Arktika becomes the first surface ship to reach the North Pole.
Arktika (1972 icebreaker)
1976
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake hits off the coast of Mindanao, Philippines, triggering a destructive tsunami, killing between 5,000 and 8,000 people and leaving more than 90,000 homeless.
1976 Moro Gulf earthquake
1970
Soviet Union Venera program: Venera 7 launched. It will become the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet (Venus).
Venera program
1969
Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the U.S. Gulf Coast, killing 256 and causing $1.42 billion in damage.
Saffir–Simpson scale
1962
Peter Fechter is shot and bleeds to death while trying to cross the new Berlin Wall.
Killing of Peter Fechter
1960
Aeroflot Flight 036 crashes in Soviet Ukraine, killing 34.
Aeroflot Flight 036