October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in Leap years). There are 75 days remaining.
- 1346 - King David II of Scotland captured by Edward III of England at Calais
- 1469 - Ferdinand II of Aragon marries Isabella of Castile. Their marriage leads to the unification of Aragon and Castile in a single country, Spain
- 1777 - American troops defeat the British in the Battle of Saratoga
- 1781 - General Charles Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, Virginia
- 1800 - England takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao
- 1815 - Napoleon arrives at Saint Helena
- 1860 - First British golf open
- 1888 - Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph[?] (the first movie)
- 1912 - Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War
- 1917 - First British bombing of Germany in World War I
- 1918 - Yugoslavia declared a republic
- 1931 - Al Capone convicted of income tax evasion[?]
- 1933 - Albert Einstein, fleeing Nazi Germany, moves to the US
- 1941 - For the first time in World War II, a German submarine attacks an American ship
- 1945 - After a coup, Juan Peron becomes dictator of Argentina
- 1961 - 200 Algerian protesters are massacred by the Paris police
- 1967 - Premiere of the musical Hair on Broadway
- 1970 - Anwar Sadat becomes president of Egypt
- 1970 - Montreal, Quebec: Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte murdered by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
- 1973 - OPEC starts an oil embargo against a number of western countries, considered to have helped Israel in its war against Syria
- 1979 - Mother Teresa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1979 - The Department of Education Organization Act[?] is signed into law creating the United States Department of Education and United States Department of Health and Human Services. Both replace the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
- 1989 - Loma Prieta earthquake (7.1 on the Richter scale[?]) hits the San Francisco Bay Area
- 1994 - Draft peace treaty between Israel and Jordan
- 1994 - Peace treaty between the government of Angola and UNITA rebels
- 1563 - Jodocus Hondius[?], cartographer
- 1711 - Jupiter Hammond[?], poet
- 1864 - Elinor Glyn[?], writer (+ 1943)
- 1898 - Simon Vestdijk[?], writer
- 1900 - Jean Arthur, actress (+ 1991)
- 1902 - Irene Ryan[?], actress (+ 1973)
- 1903 - Nathanael West[?], writer (+ 1940)
- 1912 - Pope John Paul I, religious leader (+ 1978)
- 1914 - Jerry Siegel[?], cartoonist (+ 1998)
- 1915 - Arthur Miller, playwright
- 1918 - Rita Hayworth[?], actress (+ 1987)
- 1920 - Montgomery Clift, actor (+ 1966)
- 1921 - Tom Poston[?], actor, comedian
- 1930 - Jimmy Breslin[?], writer
- 1938 - Evel Knievel, professional daredevil
- 1940 - James Seals[?], musician
- 1942 - Gary Puckett[?], musician
- 1946 - Bob Seagren[?], pole vaulter, actor
- 1946 - Sir Cameron Mackintosh[?], stage producer, director
- 1947 - Michael McKean, actor, comedian
- 1948 - Margot Kidder, actress
- 1948 - George Wendt[?], actor
- 1950 - Howard Rollins[?], actor (+ 1996)
- 1956 - Mae Jemison, astronaut
- 1958 - Alan Jackson, country music performer
- 1962 - Mike Judge[?], cartoonist, writer
- 1968 - Ziggy Marley, reggae musician
- 1971 - Chris Kirkpatrick[?], singer
- 1972 - Eminem, rap music performer
- 1972 - Wyclef Jean[?], singer
See Also:
October 16 - October 18 - September 17 - November 17 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December