October 17
| 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. | |
| 1994 | Dmitry Kholodov, a Russian journalist, assassinated while investigating corruption in the armed forces; his murkier began a series of killings of journalists in Russia. | |
| 2001 | Rehavam Ze’evi, Israeli tourism minister and founder of the right-wing Moledet party, assassinated by a member of the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); he was the first Israeli minister ever assassinated. | |
| 2003 | Taipei 101 is completed in Taipei, becoming the world’s tallest high-rise. | |
Born on October 17
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| 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, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, author and columnist. | |
| 1938 | Evel Knievel, U.S. daredevil motorcycle stunt man. | |
| 1942 | Gary Puckett, singer, songwriter; lead singer of Gary Puckett & The Union Gap ("Woman, Woman"; "Young Girl"). | |
| 1946 | Michael Hossack, drummer for the Doobie Brothers band | |
| 1946 | Adam Michnik, Polish historian and editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wybocza, Poland’s largest newspaper; named Europe’s Man of the Year by La Viemagazine (1989). | |
| 1948 | Margo Kidder, actress; best known for playing Lois Lane in four Supermanmovies between 1978 and 1987. | |
| 1958 | Alan Jackson, country singer with over 60 million records sold worldwide; his many awards include 2 Grammys and 16 Country Music Association awards; "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning"; "Don’t Rock the Jukebox." | |
| 1960 | Rob Marshall, theater and film director, choreographer; awards include 4 Emmys and an Academy Award for Best Picture (Chicago, 2002). | |
| 1968 | Ziggy Marley, Jamaican musician, leader of Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers; oldest son of reggae great Bob Marley. | |
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