On This Day: 17 February

17 February in world history

• 2016Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.
• 2011Arab Spring: Bahraini security forces killed four protesters in a pre-dawn raid at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama, while the "Day of Rage" took place in Libya with nationwide protests against Muammar Gaddafi's government.
• 1996An earthquake with a moment magnitude of 8.2 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent) occurred in the New Guinea Trench, which generated a tsunami that killed 108 people.
• 1996NASA'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.
• 1996In Philadelphia, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
• 1995The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a ceasefire brokered by the UN.
• 1978The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army carried out a bombing of a restaurant near Belfast, Northern Ireland, killing twelve people and injuring thirty others.
• 1974Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
• 1965Project 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
• 1964Gabonese military officers overthrew President Léon M'ba, but French forces, honouring a 1960 treaty, forcibly reinstated him two days later.
• 1959Vanguard 2, the first weather satellite, was launched to measure cloud cover distribution.
• 1959A Turkish Airlines Vickers Viscount crashes near Gatwick Airport, killing 14; Turkish prime minister Adnan Menderes survives the crash.
• 1944World War II: The U.S. Navy began Operation Hailstone, a massive naval air and surface attack against the Japanese naval and air base at Chuuk Lagoon in the Caroline Islands.
• 1905Russian Revolution of 1905: Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia is assassinated in the Moscow Kremlin by Socialist Revolutionary Ivan Kalyayev.
• 1865American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
• 1838Great Trek: Zulu impis massacred about 532 Voortrekkers, Khoekhoe, and Basuto near present-day Weenen, South Africa.
• 1801United 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.
• 1621Myles Standish was elected the first commander of the militia of Plymouth Colony.

Born on 17 February

• 1904Hans Morgenthau, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (died 1980)
• 1899Jibanananda Das, Bangladeshi-Indian poet and author (died 1954)India
• 1890Ronald Fisher, English-Australian statistician, biologist, and geneticist (died 1962)
• 1881Mary Carson Breckinridge, American nurse midwife, founded Frontier Nursing Service (died 1965)
• 1836Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (died 1870)
• 1028Al-Juwayni, Persian scholar and imam (died 1085)

Died on 17 February

• 2006Ray Barretto, American drummer (born 1929)
• 1988Karpoori Thakur, Indian educator and politician, 11th Chief Minister of Bihar (born 1924)India
• 1986Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (born 1895)India
• 1966Hans Hofmann, German-American painter (born 1880)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 17 February in history?

2016: Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others. 2011: Arab Spring: Bahraini security forces killed four protesters in a pre-dawn raid at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama, while the "Day of Rage" took place in Libya with nationwide protests against Muammar Gaddafi's government. 1996: An earthquake with a moment magnitude of 8.2 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent) occurred in the New Guinea Trench, which generated a tsunami that killed 108 people. 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.

Which famous people were born on 17 February?

Hans Morgenthau, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (died 1980) (1904); Jibanananda Das, Bangladeshi-Indian poet and author (died 1954) (1899); Ronald Fisher, English-Australian statistician, biologist, and geneticist (died 1962) (1890); Mary Carson Breckinridge, American nurse midwife, founded Frontier Nursing Service (died 1965) (1881).

Which day is observed on 17 February?

Independence Day, celebrates the independence declaration of Kosovo in 2008, still partially recognized.; Revolution Day (Libya).