On This Day: 17 December

17 December in Indian history

• 1928Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru assassinate British police officer James Saunders in Lahore, Punjab, to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police. The three were executed in 1931.India
• 1927Indian revolutionary Rajendra Lahiri is hanged in Gonda jail, Uttar Pradesh, India, two days before the scheduled date.India
• 1398Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud's armies in Delhi are defeated by Timur.India

17 December in world history

• 2010Arab Spring: Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor in Sidi Bouzid, set himself on fire in protest against police harassment, triggering the Tunisian revolution.
• 2003SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.
• 1997Aerosvit Flight 241: A Yakovlev Yak-42 crashes into the Pierian Mountains near Thessaloniki Airport in Thessaloniki, Greece, killing all 70 people on board.
• 1989Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.
• 1989Romanian Revolution: Protests continue in Timișoara, Romania, with rioters breaking into the Romanian Communist Party's District Committee building and attempting to set it on fire.
• 1983The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a car bomb outside Harrods in London, killing six people and injuring about 90 others.
• 1981American Brigadier General James L. Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigades in Verona, Italy.
• 1951The Civil Rights Congress presented a document to the United Nations Genocide Convention charging the United States government with genocide against African Americans.
• 1944Nazi troops under Joachim Peiper killed unarmed prisoners of war, captured during the Battle of the Bulge, with machine guns near Malmedy, Belgium.
• 1939World War II: After sustaining moderate damage in the Battle of the River Plate two days earlier, the German cruiser Graf Spee was scuttled by its commander, Hans Langsdorff, to avoid its internment by Uruguay.
• 1926A coup d'état by the Lithuanian military replaced the democratically elected President Kazys Grinius with Antanas Smetona.
• 1918About 1,000 demonstrators marched on Government House in Darwin, Australia, where they burned an effigy of Administrator John Gilruth and demanded his resignation.
• 1862American Civil War: Union General Ulysses S. Grant issued General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
• 1807Napoleonic Wars: France issues the Milan Decree, which confirms the Continental System.
• 1777American Revolution: France formally recognizes the United States.

Born on 17 December

• 1980Suzy Batkovic, Australian basketball player
• 1951Ken Hitchcock, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1914Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer (died 2005)India
• 1905Mohammad Hidayatullah, 11th Chief Justice of India, and politician, sixth Vice President of India (died 1992)India
• 1616Roger L'Estrange, English pamphleteer and author (died 1704)
• 1556Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, poet in Mughal Empire (died 1627)India

Died on 17 December

• 2014Oleh Lysheha, Ukrainian poet and playwright (born 1949)
• 2003Otto Graham, American football player and coach (born 1921)
• 1927Rajendra Lahiri, Indian activist (born 1892)India
• 1833Kaspar Hauser, German feral child (born 1812?)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 17 December in history?

2010: Arab Spring: Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor in Sidi Bouzid, set himself on fire in protest against police harassment, triggering the Tunisian revolution. 2003: SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight. 1997: Aerosvit Flight 241: A Yakovlev Yak-42 crashes into the Pierian Mountains near Thessaloniki Airport in Thessaloniki, Greece, killing all 70 people on board. 1989: Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.

What happened on 17 December in Indian history?

1928: Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru assassinate British police officer James Saunders in Lahore, Punjab, to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police. The three were executed in 1931. 1927: Indian revolutionary Rajendra Lahiri is hanged in Gonda jail, Uttar Pradesh, India, two days before the scheduled date. 1398: Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud's armies in Delhi are defeated by Timur.

Which famous people were born on 17 December?

Suzy Batkovic, Australian basketball player (1980); Ken Hitchcock, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (1951); Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer (died 2005) (1914); Mohammad Hidayatullah, 11th Chief Justice of India, and politician, sixth Vice President of India (died 1992) (1905).

Which day is observed on 17 December?

Accession Day (Bahrain); International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers; Kurdish Flag Day (Global Kurdish population); National Day (Bhutan); Pan American Aviation Day (United States).