On This Day — 17 February

2016

Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.

February 2016 Ankara bombing

2015

Eighteen people are killed and 78 injured in a stampede at a Mardi Gras parade in Haiti.

2015 Haiti Carnival stampede

2011

Arab Spring: Libyan protests against Muammar Gaddafi's regime begin.

Arab Spring

2011

Arab Spring: In Bahrain, security forces launch a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama; the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.

Bahrain

2008

Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.

Kosovo

2006

A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.

2006 Southern Leyte mudslide

1996

In Philadelphia, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.

Philadelphia

1996

NASA's Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.

NASA

1996

The 8.2 Mw  Biak earthquake shakes the Papua province of eastern Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A large tsunami followed, leaving 166 people dead or missing and 423 injured.

1996 Biak earthquake

1995

The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a ceasefire brokered by the UN.

Cenepa War

1992

First Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops massacre more than 20 Azerbaijani civilians during the Capture of Garadaghly.

First Nagorno-Karabakh War

1991

Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 crashes during takeoff from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, killing both pilots, the aircraft's only occupants.

Ryan International Airlines Flight 590

1980

First winter ascent of Mount Everest by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.

Mount Everest

1979

The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.

Sino-Vietnamese War

1978

The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30 others, all Protestants.

The Troubles

1974

Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.

1974 White House helicopter incident

1972

Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.

Volkswagen Beetle

1970

The family of Jeffrey R. MacDonald, United States Army captain, is found murdered in their home in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Eventually, MacDonald himself was charged with and convicted of the murder of his pregnant wife and two daughters.

Jeffrey R. MacDonald

1969

American aquanaut Berry L. Cannon dies of carbon dioxide poisoning while attempting to repair a leak in the SEALAB III underwater habitat. The SEALAB project was subsequently abandoned.

Berry L. Cannon

1966

Aeroflot Flight 065 crashes during take-off from Sheremetyevo International Airport, killing 21.

Aeroflot Flight 065

1965

Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the crewed Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the "Sea of Tranquility" would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.

Ranger program

1964

In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.

Wesberry v. Sanders

1964

Gabonese president Léon M'ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.

Léon M'ba

1959

Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.

Project Vanguard

1959

A Turkish Airlines Vickers Viscount crashes near Gatwick Airport, killing 14; Turkish prime minister Adnan Menderes survives the crash.

Turkish Airlines

1949

Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.

Chaim Weizmann

1948

The Al-Waziri coup briefly ousts the ruling Hamidaddin dynasty of Yemen; Imam Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din is killed.

Al-Waziri coup

1944

World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.

World War II

1944

World War II: Operation Hailstone begins: U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk Lagoon, Japan's main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.

Operation Hailstone

1919

The Ukrainian People's Republic asks the Entente and the United States for help fighting the Bolsheviks.

Ukrainian People's Republic

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.

Armory Show

1905

Russian Revolution of 1905: Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia is assassinated in the Moscow Kremlin by Socialist Revolutionary Ivan Kalyayev.

Russian Revolution of 1905

1865

American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.

Columbia, South Carolina

1864

American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.

American Civil War

1863

A group of citizens of Geneva found an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Geneva

1859

Cochinchina Campaign: The French Navy captures the Citadel of Saigon, a fortress manned by 1,000 Nguyễn dynasty soldiers, en route to conquering Saigon and other regions of southern Viet Nam.

Cochinchina campaign

1854

The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.

Orange Free State

1838

In the Weenen massacre, hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.

Weenen massacre

1819

The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.

United States House of Representatives

1814

War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormant.

War of the Sixth Coalition

1801

United States presidential election: A tie in the Electoral College 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.

1800 United States presidential election

1753

In Sweden, February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.

March 1

1739

The Battle of Vasai commences as the Marathas move to invade Portuguese-occupied territory.

Battle of Vasai

1676

Sixteen men of Pascual de Iriate's expedition are lost at Evangelistas Islets at the western end of the Strait of Magellan.

Antonio de Vea expedition

1674

An earthquake strikes the Indonesian island of Ambon. It triggers a 100 m (330 ft) megatsunami which drowns over 2,300 people.

1674 Ambon earthquake and megatsunami

1621

Myles Standish is appointed as first military commander of the English Plymouth Colony in North America.

Myles Standish

1616

Nurhaci proclaims himself Khan of the Later Jin, precursor to the Qing Dynasty.

Nurhaci

1600

On his way to be burned at the stake for heresy, at Campo de' Fiori in Rome, the philosopher Giordano Bruno has a wooden vise put on his tongue to prevent him continuing to speak.

Campo de' Fiori

1500

Duke Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein and King John of Denmark attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.

Frederick I of Denmark

1411

Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.

Ottoman Interregnum

1370

Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.

Northern Crusades