17 August History
- 1743 - By the Treaty of Abo, Sweden cedes southeast Finland to Russia, ending Sweden's failed war with Russia.
- 1812 - Napoleon Bonaparte's army defeats the Russians at the Battle of Smolensk during the Russian retreat to Moscow.
- 1833 - The first steam ship to cross the Atlantic entirely on its own power, the Canadian ship Royal William, begins her journey from Nova Scotia to The Isle of Wight.
- 1863 - Union gunboats attack Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, for the first time.
- 1942 - Marine Raiders attack Makin Island in the Gilbert Islands from two submarines.
- 1943 - Allied forces complete the conquest of Sicily.
- 1944 - The mayor of Paris, Pierre Charles Tattinger, meets with the German commander Dietrich von Choltitz to protest the explosives being deployed throughout the city.
- 1945 - Upon hearing confirmation that Japan has surrendered, Sukarno proclaims Indonesia's independence.
- 1960 - American Francis Gary Powers pleads guilty at his Moscow trial for spying over the Soviet Union in a U-2 plane.
- 1978 - Three Americans complete the first crossing of the Atlantic in a balloon.
- 1987 - 93-year-old Rudolf Hess, former Nazi leader and deputy of Hitler, is found hanged to death in Spandau Prison.
- 1988 - Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq is killed in an airplane crash suspected of being an assassination.
- 1998 - President Bill Clinton admits to the American public that he had affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
17 August Birthdays
- 1786 - Davy Crockett, American frontiersman and politician who died in the defense of the Alamo.
- 1882 - Samuel Goldwyn, American movie mogul who helped start MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer).
- 1887 - Marcus Garvey, Jamaican-born black nationalist who advocated the departure of African-Americans back to Africa.
- 1890 - Harry Hopkins, who organized the Works Projects Administration under President Roosevelt.
- 1892 - Mae West, American actress in burlesque, vaudeville, Broadway and movies.
- 1923 - Larry Rovers, painter and sculptor.
- 1932 - John (Red) Kerr, basketball coach.
- 1943 - Robert DeNiro, American actor, won oscars for his roles in The Godfather Part II and Raging Bull.