17 October History
- 1244 - The Sixth Crusade ends when an Egyptian-Khwarismian force almost annihilates the Frankish army at Gaza.
- 1529 - Henry VIII of England strips Thomas Wolsey of his office for failing to secure an annulment of his marriage.
- 1346 - English forces defeat the Scots under David II during the Battle of Neville's Cross, Scotland.
- 1691 - Maine and Plymouth are incorporated in Massachusetts.
- 1777 - British Maj. Gen. John Burgoyne surrenders 5,000 men at Saratoga, N.Y.
- 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte arrives at the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, where he has been banished by the Allies.
- 1849 - Composer and pianist Frederic Chopin dies in Paris of tuberculosis at the age of 39.
- 1863 - General Ulysses S. Grant is named overall Union Commander of the West.
- 1877 - Brigadier General Alfred Terry meets with Sitting Bull in Canada to discuss the Indians' return to the United States.
- 1913 - Zeppelin LII explodes over London, killing 28.
- 1933 - Due to rising anti-Semitism and anti-intellectualism in Hitler's Germany, Albert Einstein immigrates to the United States. He makes his new home in Princeton, N.J.
- 1941 - The U.S. destroyer Kearney is damaged by a German U-boat torpedo off Iceland; 11 Americans are killed.
- 1956 - The nuclear power station Calder Hall is opened in Britain. Calder Hall is the first nuclear station to feed an appreciable amount of power into a civilian network.
- 1972 - Peace talks between Pathet Lao and Royal Lao government begin in Vietnam.
- 1989 - The worst earthquake in 82 years strikes San Francisco bay area minutes before the start of a World Series game there. The earthquake registers 6.9 on the Richter scale–67 are killed and damage is estimated at $10 billion.
17 October Birthdays
- 1821 - Alexander Gardner, American photographer who documented the Civil War and the West.
- 1859 - Childe Hassam, American impressionist painter and illustrator.
- 1895 - Doris Humphrey, modern dance choreographer.
- 1903 - Nathaneal West, novelist and screenwriter (Miss Lonely Hearts, The Day of the Locust).
- 1915 - Arthur Miller, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (Death of a Salesman, A View from the Bridge).
- 1918 - Rita Hayworth, film actress.
- 1930 - Jimmy Breslin, columnist and novelist.
- 1938 - Evel Knievel, U.S. daredevil motorcycle stunt man