On This Day: 17 April

17 April in world history

• 2014NASA announced the discovery of Kepler-186f, the first exoplanet with a radius similar to Earth's discovered in the habitable zone of another star.
• 1998Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-90, the final Spacelab mission.
• 1986An alleged state of war lasting 335 years between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly is declared over.
• 1984Metropolitan Police officer Yvonne Fletcher was shot and killed while on duty during a protest outside the Libyan embassy in London, resulting in an 11-day police siege of the building and a breakdown of Libya–United Kingdom relations.
• 1982Constitution Act, 1982 Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.
• 1975The Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh, the capital of the Khmer Republic, ending the Cambodian Civil War and establishing the socialist state of Democratic Kampuchea.
• 1969Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of the assassination of U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy.
• 1964Jerrie Mock completes the first around-the-world airplane flight by a woman. Her solo flight in the Spirit of Columbus, which took 29+1⁄2 days, took off and landed at the Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio.
• 1961Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of Cuban exiles financed and trained by the CIA lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro.
• 1925The Communist Party of Korea (CPK) was founded in Japanese-ruled Korea (Chōsen) in Keijō (now Seoul) by Kim Yong-bom and Pak Hon-yong.
• 1912Russian troops open fire on striking goldfield workers in northeast Siberia, killing at least 150.
• 1905The Supreme Court of the United States decides Lochner v. New York, which holds that the "right to free contract" is implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
• 1895The Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan is signed. This marks the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtian province, Taiwan and the
• 1863American Civil War: Grierson's Raid begins: Troops under Union Army Colonel Benjamin Grierson attack central Mississippi.
• 1809Napoleonic Wars: After a three-day chase, the French ship D'Hautpoul was captured off Puerto Rico by a British squadron under Alexander Cochrane.
• 1797French Revolutionary Wars: British forces commanded by Lieutenant-General Ralph Abercromby invaded the Spanish colonial port of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• 1783The Mechanical Turk, a fraudulent chess-playing "machine" by Wolfgang von Kempelen that was secretly controlled by a hidden human, began a tour of Europe.
• 1362Lithuanian Crusade: After a month-long siege, the Teutonic Order captured and destroyed Kaunas Castle, which was defended by troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Born on 17 April

• 1966Vikram, Indian actor and singerIndia
• 1952Joe Alaskey, American voice actor (died 2016)
• 1942Dnyaneshwar Agashe, Indian businessman and cricketer (died 2009)India
• 1916Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, world's first female prime minister (died 2000)
• 1868Zdeňka Wiedermannová-Motyčková, Moravian educator (died 1915)
• 1756Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian commander (died 1805)India

Died on 17 April

• 2018Barbara Bush, American political matriarch and literacy advocate, First Lady of the United States (1989–1993), and Second Lady of the United States (1981–1989) (born 1925)
• 2013V. S. Ramadevi, Indian politician, 13th Governor of Karnataka (born 1934)India
• 1997Chaim Herzog, Israeli general, lawyer, and politician, 6th President of Israel (born 1918)
• 1975Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of India (born 1888)India

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 17 April in history?

2014: NASA announced the discovery of Kepler-186f, the first exoplanet with a radius similar to Earth's discovered in the habitable zone of another star. 1998: Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-90, the final Spacelab mission. 1986: An alleged state of war lasting 335 years between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly is declared over. 1984: Metropolitan Police officer Yvonne Fletcher was shot and killed while on duty during a protest outside the Libyan embassy in London, resulting in an 11-day police siege of the building and a breakdown of Libya–United Kingdom relations.

Which famous people were born on 17 April?

Vikram, Indian actor and singer (1966); Joe Alaskey, American voice actor (died 2016) (1952); Dnyaneshwar Agashe, Indian businessman and cricketer (died 2009) (1942); Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, world's first female prime minister (died 2000) (1916).

Which day is observed on 17 April?

Evacuation Day (Syria), celebrates the recognition of the independence of Syria from France in 1946.; FAO Day (Iraq); Flag Day (American Samoa); Malbec World Day; Women's Day (Gabon).