October 17

October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 75 days remain until the end of the year.

• 690 – Empress Wu Zetian establishes the Zhou Dynasty of China.^[1]
• 1091 – London tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London.
• 1346 – The English capture King David II of Scotland at Neville's Cross and imprison him for eleven years.
• 1448 – An Ottoman army defeats a Hungarian army at the Second Battle of Kosovo.
• 1456 – The University of Greifswald is established as the second oldest university in northern Europe.
• 1534 – Anti-Catholic posters appear in Paris and other cities supporting Huldrych Zwingli's position on the Mass.
• 1558 – Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, is founded.

• 1604 – Kepler's Supernova is observed in the constellation of Ophiuchus.
• 1610 – French king Louis XIII is crowned in Reims Cathedral.
• 1660 – The nine regicides who signed the death warrant of Charles I of England are hanged, drawn and quartered.
• 1662 – Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to Louis XIV of France for 40,000 pounds.
• 1713 – Great Northern War: Russia defeats Sweden in the Battle of Kostianvirta in Pälkäne.^[2]
• 1771 – Premiere in Milan of the opera Ascanio in Alba, composed by Mozart at age 15.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: British General John Burgoyne surrenders his army at Saratoga, New York.
• 1781 – American Revolutionary War: British General Charles, Earl Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown.
• 1800 – War of the Second Coalition: Britain takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao.
• 1806 – Former leader of the Haitian Revolution, Emperor Jacques I, is assassinated after an oppressive rule.
• 1811 – The silver deposits of Agua Amarga are discovered in Chile becoming in the following years instrumental for the Patriots to finance the Chilean War of Independence.^[3]
• 1814 – Eight people die in the London Beer Flood.
• 1850 – Riots start, which lead to a massacre in Aleppo.^[4]
• 1860 – First The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open).
• 1861 – Aboriginal Australians kill nineteen Europeans in the Cullin-la-ringo massacre.

• 1907 – Marconi begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service.
• 1912 – Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War.
• 1919 – Leeds United F.C. founded at Salem Chapel, Holbeck after the winding up of Leeds City F.C. for making illegal payments to players during World War I^[5]
• 1931 – Al Capone is convicted of income tax evasion.
• 1933 – Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States.
• 1940 – The body of Communist propagandist Willi Münzenberg is found in South France, starting a never-resolved mystery.
• 1941 – World War II: The USS Kearny becomes the first U.S. Navy vessel to be torpedoed by a U-boat.
• 1943 – The Burma Railway (Burma–Thailand Railway) is completed.
• 1943 – Nazi Holocaust in Poland: Sobibór extermination camp is closed.
• 1945 – A large demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, demands Juan Perón's release.
• 1952 – Indonesian Army elements surrounded the Merdeka Palace demanding President Sukarno disband the Provisional People's Representative Council.^[6]
• 1956 – The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield, England.
• 1961 – Directed by their chief Maurice Papon, Paris police massacre scores of Algerian protesters.
• 1961 – The first attempt of the apartheid analogy by Ahmad Shukeiri.^{[7][8][9][10]}
• 1965 – The 1964–65 New York World's Fair closes after two years and more than 51 million attendees.
• 1966 – The 23rd Street Fire in New York City kills 12 firefighters.
• 1969 – The Caravaggio painting Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence is stolen from the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo.^[11]
• 1970 – FLQ terrorists murder Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte.
• 1973 – OPEC imposes an oil embargo against countries they deem to have helped Israel in the Yom Kippur War.
• 1977 – The hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu. The remaining hostages are later rescued.
• 1979 – Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1979 – The Department of Education Organization Act creates the U.S. Department of Education.
• 1980 – As part of the Holy See–United Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican.
• 1988 – Uganda Airlines Flight 775 crashes at Rome–Fiumicino International Airport, in Rome, Italy, killing 33 people.^[12]
• 1989 – The 6.9 M_w Loma Prieta earthquake shakes the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast, killing 63.
• 1989 – The East German Politburo votes to remove Erich Honecker from his role as General Secretary.
• 1991 – Rudrapur bombings by Sikh separatists, who explode two bombs, during a Ramlila Hindu celebration in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, killing 41 people.^[13][14][15]
• 1992 – Having gone to the wrong house, Japanese student Yoshihiro Hattori is killed by the homeowner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
• 1994 – Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov is assassinated while investigating corruption in the armed forces.
• 2000 – The Hatfield rail crash leads to the collapse of Railtrack.
• 2001 – Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi is assassinated by Hamdi Quran, a member of the PFLP, thus becoming the highest-ranking Israeli to be killed by a Palestinian.

• 2004 – A fire that lasted over 15 hours destroyed almost one third of the East Tower of the Parque Central Urban Complex in Caracas, Venezuela.^[16]
• 2017 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the last foothold of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Raqqa, marking the end of the Battle of Raqqa.^[17][18]
• 2018 – The recreational use of cannabis is legalized in Canada.
• 2018 – A mass shooting and bombing at Kerch Polytechnic College in Crimea kills 21 people including the attacker and injures 70 others.^[19]
• 2019 – Drug dealers in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico force the government to back down on an arrest.^[20]
• 2019 – The 17 October Revolution starts in Lebanon.^[21]
• 2023 – An explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza kills hundreds of Palestinians during the Israel–Hamas war.^[22]

• 503 – Lý Nam Đế, first emperor of Vietnam (d. 548)
• 1253 – Ivo of Kermartin, French priest and saint (d. 1303)
• 1493 – Bartolommeo Bandinelli, Italian sculptor (d. 1560)
• 1500 – Alonso de Orozco Mena, Spanish Roman Catholic priest (d. 1591)
• 1538 – Irene di Spilimbergo, Italian Renaissance poet and painter (d. 1559)^[23]
• 1577 – Cristofano Allori, Italian painter (d. 1621)
• 1577 – Dmitry Pozharsky, Russian prince (d. 1642)
• 1582 – Johann Gerhard, German theologian and academic (d. 1637)
• 1587 – Nathan Field, English dramatist and actor (d. 1620)

• 1623 – Francis Turretin, Swiss-Italian minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1687)
• 1629 – Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias (d. 1646)
• 1688 – Domenico Zipoli, Italian missionary and composer (d. 1726)
• 1711 – Jupiter Hammon, American poet (d. 1806)
• 1719 – Jacques Cazotte, French author and academic (d. 1792)
• 1720 – Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini, Italian harpsichord player and composer (d. 1795)^[24]
• 1725 – John Wilkes, English journalist and politician (d. 1797)
• 1729 – Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny, French composer and academic (d. 1817)
• 1735 – Franz Xaver Feuchtmayer the Younger, German Baroque artist (d. 1803)
• 1759 – Andrey Voronikhin, Russian architect and painter (d. 1814)
• 1760 – Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French economist and philosopher (d. 1825)
• 1768 – Sophie von Dönhoff, morganatic spouse by bigamy to King Frederick William II of Prussia (d. 1838)
• 1779 – Louis Charles, French prince of the blood (d. 1808)
• 1779 – José Andrés Pacheco de Melo, Argentine statesman and priest (d. approx. 1820)
• 1780 – Richard Mentor Johnson, American politician, ninth Vice President of the United States (d. 1850)
• 1781 – Johann Friedrich Meckel, German anatomist (d. 1833)
• 1784 – Fructuoso Rivera, first president of Uruguay (d. 1854)
• 1785 – Christen Smith, Norwegian scientist (d. 1816)
• 1792 – John Bowring, English polyglot and governor of Hong Kong (d. 1826)
• 1797 – Juan Lavalle, Argentine politician (d. 1841)
• 1803 – Ferenc Deák, Hungarian politician (d. 1876)
• 1810 – Adolphe-Félix Cals, French painter (d. 1880)
• 1811 – Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-American pastor and educator (d. 1876)
• 1813 – Georg Büchner, German-Swiss poet and playwright (d. 1837)
• 1814 – Yakiv Holovatsky, Ukrainian historian, scholar, and poet (d. 1888)
• 1817 – Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian philosopher and scholar (d. 1898)
• 1821 – Alexander Gardner, Scottish photographer (d. 1882)
• 1828 – Aureliano Maestre de San Juan, Spanish scientist (d. 1890)
• 1833 – José E. Días, Paraguayan general (d. 1867)
• 1835 – Louis-Léon Cugnot, French sculptor (d. 1894)
• 1835 – Paul Haenlein, German mechanical engineer (d. 1905)
• 1840 – André Gill, French caricaturist (d. 1885)
• 1844 – Gustave Schlumberger, French historian (d. 1929)
• 1845 – John J. Gardner, American politician (d. 1921)
• 1853 – Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (d. 1920)
• 1859 – Childe Hassam, American painter and illustrator (d. 1935)
• 1860 – Henry Campbell Black, founder of Black's Law Dictionary (d. 1927)
• 1864 – Elinor Glyn, English author, screenwriter, and producer (d. 1943)
• 1865 – James Rudolph Garfield, American lawyer and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1950)
• 1867 – Josep Puig i Cadafalch, Catalan architect who designed the Casa Martí (d. 1956)
• 1871 – Segundo de Chomón, Spanish cinematographer, director, and screenwriter (d. 1929)
• 1876 – Hippolyte Aucouturier, French road cyclist (d. 1944)
• 1878 – Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, Spanish politician and 17th Duke of Alba (d. 1953)
• 1880 – Jesús Reyes Ferreira, Mexican artist and art collector (d. 1977)
• 1881 – Maria Dulęba, Polish actress (d. 1959)
• 1882 – Haritina Korotkevich, Russian war heroine (d. 1904)^[25]
• 1883 – Alexander Neill, Scottish educator (d. 1973)
• 1883 – Thaddeus Shideler, American hurdler (d. 1966)
• 1886 – Spring Byington, American actress (d. 1971)
• 1889 – Mikha'il Na'ima, Lebanese author (d. 1988)
• 1890 – Roy Kilner, English cricketer (d. 1928)
• 1892 – Theodor Eicke, German SS general (d. 1943)
• 1892 – Herbert Howells, English organist, composer, and educator (d. 1983)
• 1893 – Raffaele Bendandi, Italian clockmaker and seismologist (d. 1979)
• 1894 – Prince René, Italian Prince of Denmark (d. 1962)
• 1894 – Pablo de Rokha, Chilean poet (d. 1968)
• 1895 – Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes, President of Guatemala (1958–1963) (d. 1982)
• 1895 – Doris Humphrey, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1958)
• 1896 – Roman Petrovich, Russian prince (d. 1978)
• 1898 – Shinichi Suzuki, Japanese violinist and educator (d. 1998)^[26]
• 1898 – Eileen Sedgwick, American actress (d. 1991)
• 1898 – Simon Vestdijk, Dutch author and poet (d. 1971)
• 1900 – C. C. van Asch van Wijck, Dutch artist and sculptor (d. 1932)
• 1900 – Jean Arthur, American actress (d. 1991)
• 1900 – Yvor Winters, American critic and poet (d. 1968)

• 1901 – Emma Gamboa Alvarado, Costa Rican educator (d. 1973)^[27]
• 1902 – Irene Ryan, American actress (d. 1973)
• 1903 – Andrei Grechko, Soviet general (d. 1976)
• 1903 – Nathanael West, American author and screenwriter (d. 1940)^[28]
• 1905 – Leopoldo Benites, Ecuadorian diplomat 28th president of the United Nations General Assembly (d. 1996)
• 1906 – Paul Derringer, American baseball player (d. 1987)
• 1906 – Andrey Tikhonov, Soviet mathematician (d. 1993)
• 1907 – John Marley, American actor (d. 1984)
• 1908 – Kenji Miyamoto, Japanese politician (d. 2007)
• 1908 – Hjördis Petterson, Swedish actress (d. 1988)
• 1908 – Wally Prigg, Australian rugby league player (d. 1980)
• 1908 – Red Rolfe, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1969)
• 1909 – Cozy Cole, American drummer (d. 1981)
• 1909 – Leopoldo Panero, Spanish poet (d. 1962)
• 1909 – Joaquín Satrústegui, Spanish lawyer and politician (d. 1992)
• 1910 – Marina Núñez del Prado, Bolivian sculptor (d. 1995)^[29]
• 1910 – Ester Wier, American author (d. 2000)
• 1912 – Pope John Paul I (d. 1978)^[30]
• 1912 – Theodore Marier, American composer and educator, founded the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (d. 2001)
• 1912 – Jack Owens, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1982)
• 1913 – Robert Lowery, American actor (d. 1971)
• 1913 – Marian Marsh, Trinidadian-American actress and environmentalist (d. 2006)
• 1913 – Faik Türün, Turkish general (d. 2003)
• 1914 – Jerry Siegel, American author and illustrator (d. 1996)
• 1915 – Arthur Miller, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 2005)^[30]
• 1916 – José López Rega, Argentinean politician (d. 1989)
• 1917 – Alfred Benlloch Llorach, Spanish inventor (d. 2013)
• 1917 – Martin Donnelly, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Marsha Hunt, American actress and singer (d. 2022)
• 1917 – Aimo Koivunen, Finnish soldier and corporal (d. 1989)^[31]
• 1917 – Norman Leyden, American composer and conductor (d. 2014)
• 1917 – Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-American author and playwright (d. 1991)
• 1917 – Adele Stimmel Chase, American painter and sculptor (d. 2000)
• 1918 – Rita Hayworth, American actress, singer and dancer (d. 1987)^[30]
• 1918 – Luis Alberto Solari, Uruguayan artist (d. 1993)
• 1918 – Ralph Wilson, American businessman, founded the Buffalo Bills (d. 2014)
• 1919 – Isaak Khalatnikov, Ukrainian-Russian theoretical physicist and academic (d. 2021)
• 1919 – Violet Milstead, Canadian World War II aviator and bush pilot (d. 2014)
• 1919 – Zhao Ziyang, Chinese politician (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Montgomery Clift, American actor (d. 1966)
• 1920 – Miguel Delibes, Spanish journalist and author (d. 2010)
• 1920 – Zully Moreno, Argentine actress (d. 1999)
• 1921 – Priscilla Buckley, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
• 1921 – Maria Gorokhovskaya, Russian-Israeli gymnast (d. 2001)^[32]
• 1921 – George Mackay Brown, Scottish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Tom Poston, American actor and comedian (d. 2007)
• 1922 – Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Pierre Juneau, Canadian broadcaster and politician, co-founded the Montreal World Film Festival (d. 2012)
• 1923 – Barney Kessel, American guitarist and composer (d. 2004)
• 1923 – Charles McClendon, American football player and coach (d. 2001)
• 1924 – Don Coryell, American football player and coach (d. 2010)^[30]
• 1924 – Anton Geiser, Croatian SS officer (d. 2012)
• 1924 – Giacomo Mari, Italian footballer (d. 1991)
• 1924 – Rolando Panerai, Italian baritone (d. 2019)
• 1925 – Harry Carpenter, English sportscaster (d. 2010)
• 1926 – Julie Adams, American actress (d. 2019)^[33]
• 1926 – Beverly Garland, American actress (d. 2008)
• 1926 – Roberto Lippi, Italian race car driver (d. 2011)
• 1928 – Santiago Stevenson, Panamanian singer and minister (d. 2007)
• 1928 – Alejandro Végh Villegas, Uruguayan politician (d. 2017)
• 1929 – Mário Wilson, Mozambican footballer and manager (d. 2016)
• 1930 – Ismail Akbay, Turkish physicist and engineer (d. 2003)
• 1930 – Robert Atkins, American physician and cardiologist, created the Atkins diet (d. 2003)^[30]
• 1931 – José Alencar, Brazilian businessman and politician (d. 2011)
• 1932 – Paul Anderson, American weightlifter (d. 1994)
• 1931 – Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian author and playwright (d. 2012)
• 1931 – Anatoly Pristavkin, Russian writer (d. 2008)
• 1933 – William Anders, Hong Kong-American general and astronaut (d. 2024)^[30]
• 1933 – The Singing Nun, Belgian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and nun (d. 1985)
• 1934 – Alan Garner, English author and playwright
• 1934 – Johnny Haynes, English-Scottish footballer (d. 2005)
• 1934 – Rico Rodriguez, Jamaican trombonist (d. 2015)
• 1935 – Sydney Chapman, English architect and politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Michael Eavis, English farmer, founded the Glastonbury Festival
• 1935 – Carlos Pairetti, Argentine racing driver (d. 2022)
• 1936 – Sathima Bea Benjamin, South African singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Hiroo Kanamori, Japanese-American seismologist and academic
• 1936 – Santiago Navarro, Spanish basketball player (d. 1993)
• 1936 – Bert Nievera, Filipino-American singer (d. 2018)
• 1937 – José María Álvarez del Manzano, Spanish politician
• 1937 – Aida Navarro, Venezuelan mezzo-soprano
• 1937 – Renato Prada Oropeza, Bolivian-Mexican scientist (d. 2011)
• 1937 – Paxton Whitehead, English actor (d. 2023)
• 1938 – António Calvário, Portuguese singer and artist
• 1938 – Evel Knievel, American motorcycle rider and stuntman (d. 2007)^[30]
• 1938 – Les Murray, Australian anthologist, poet, and critic (d. 2019)
• 1939 – Oliver Rackham, English botanist and academic (d. 2015)
• 1940 – Stephen Kovacevich, American pianist and conductor
• 1940 – Jim Smith, English footballer and manager (d. 2019)
• 1940 – Peter Stringfellow, English businessman (d. 2018)
• 1941 – Earl Thomas Conley, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
• 1941 – Paul Ellison, American musician
• 1941 – Jim Seals, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and violinist (d. 2022)^[30]
• 1942 – Steve Jones, American basketball player and sportscaster (d. 2017)
• 1942 – Gary Puckett, American pop singer-songwriter and guitarist^[34]
• 1943 – Ignacio Rupérez, Spanish diplomat and journalist (d. 2015)
• 1944 – Ángel Cristo, Spanish circus performer (d. 2010)
• 1946 – Ronni Chasen, American publicist (d. 2010)
• 1946 – Michael Hossack, American drummer (d. 2012)
• 1946 – Manuel "Flaco" Ibáñez, Mexican actor and comedian
• 1946 – Akira Kushida, Japanese vocalist
• 1946 – Cameron Mackintosh, English producer and manager
• 1946 – Adam Michnik, Polish journalist and historian
• 1946 – Julio Miranda, Argentine politician (d. 2021)
• 1946 – Drusilla Modjeska, English-Australian author and critic
• 1946 – Daniela Payssé, Uruguayan politician (d. 2018)
• 1946 – José Perramón, Spanish handball player
• 1946 – Jaime Ravinet, Chilean politician
• 1946 – Bob Seagren, American pole vaulter^[30]
• 1946 – Rüdiger Wittig, German geobotanist and ecologist
• 1947 – Omar Azziman, adviser to the King of Morocco
• 1947 – Gene Green, American lawyer and politician
• 1947 – Michael McKean, American singer-songwriter, actor, and director^[34]
• 1947 – Robert Post, American educator and academic
• 1948 – Osvaldo Castro, Chilean footballer
• 1948 – Robert Jordan, American soldier and author (d. 2007)
• 1948 – Margot Kidder, Canadian-American actress (d. 2018)^[30]
• 1948 – George Wendt, American actor and comedian^[34]
• 1949 – Owen Arthur, Barbadian economist and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Barbados (d. 2020)
• 1949 – Bill Hudson, American musician and actor^[34]
• 1950 – Philippe Barbarin, French cardinal
• 1950 – Sandra Reemer, Indo-Dutch singer (d. 2017)
• 1950 – Howard Rollins, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1951 – Dirk Beheydt, Belgian footballer
• 1951 – Annie Borckink, Dutch speed skater
• 1951 – Roger Pontare, Swedish singer
• 1951 – Shari Ulrich, American-Canadian singer-songwriter and violinist
• 1953 – Joseph Bowie, American trombonist and bandleader
• 1953 – Domenico Penzo, Italian footballer
• 1954 – Carlos Buhler, American mountaineer
• 1955 – Georgios Alogoskoufis, Greek economist, academic, and politician, Greek Minister of Finance
• 1955 – Mike Bratz, American basketball player
• 1956 – Fran Cosmo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1956 – Mae Jemison, American physician, academic, and astronaut^[30]
• 1956 – Pat McCrory, American businessman and politician, 74th Governor of North Carolina
• 1956 – Ken Morrow, American ice hockey player and executive^[35]
• 1956 – Stephen Palumbi, American academic and author
• 1957 – Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Greek folk singer
• 1957 – Nelson Barrera, Mexican baseball player (d. 2002)
• 1957 – Lawrence Bender, American actor and producer
• 1957 – Antonio Galdo, Italian journalist
• 1957 – Steve McMichael, American football player, wrestler, and sportscaster
• 1957 – Pino Palladino, Welsh bassist
• 1957 – Vincent Van Patten, American tennis player and actor
• 1958 – Howard Alden, American guitarist
• 1958 – Alan Jackson, American singer-songwriter^[34]
• 1958 – Sandra Mozarowsky, Spanish actress (d. 1977)
• 1958 – Craig Murray, British diplomat
• 1959 – Mustafa Aberchán, Spanish politician
• 1959 – Ron Drummond, American author and scholar
• 1959 – Francisco Flores Pérez, Salvadorian politician, President of El Salvador (d. 2016)
• 1959 – Russell Gilbert, Australian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1959 – Eugenio Hernández Flores, Mexican politician
• 1959 – Norm Macdonald, Canadian actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2021)^[30]
• 1959 – Mark Peel, Australian historian and academic
• 1959 – Richard Roeper, American journalist and critic
• 1960 – Guy Henry, English actor
• 1960 – Rob Marshall, American director, producer, and choreographer
• 1960 – Bernie Nolan, Irish singer (d. 2013)
• 1960 – Philippe Sands, American lawyer and academic
• 1961 – David Means, American short story writer
• 1962 – Glenn Braggs, American baseball player
• 1962 – Jay Humphries, American basketball player
• 1962 – Mike Judge, American animator, director, screenwriter, producer and actor^[34]
• 1963 – Sergio Goycochea, Argentinian footballer and journalist
• 1963 – Toby Young, English journalist and academic
• 1964 – Margarita Liborio Arrazola, Mexican politician
• 1964 – Gregg Wallace, English television presenter
• 1965 – Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1965 – Rhys Muldoon, Australian actor
• 1966 – Shaun Edwards, English rugby player and coach
• 1966 – Danny Ferry, American basketball player and manager
• 1966 – Mark Gatiss, English actor, screenwriter and novelist^[34]
• 1966 – Tommy Kendall, American race car driver and sportscaster
• 1967 – René Dif, Danish musician^[34]
• 1967 – Pedro González Vera, Chilean footballer
• 1967 – Simon Segars, English businessman
• 1967 – Nathalie Tauziat, French tennis player
• 1968 – Alejandra Ávalos, Mexican artist
• 1968 – Graeme Le Saux, English footballer and sportscaster
• 1968 – Ziggy Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter, guitarist, and voice actor^[34]
• 1968 – David Robertson, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1969 – Ernie Els, South African golfer and sportscaster^[30]
• 1969 – Jesús Ángel García, Spanish racewalker^[36]
• 1969 – Wood Harris, American actor^[34]
• 1969 – Wyclef Jean, Haitian-American rapper, producer, and actor^[34]
• 1969 – Rick Mercer, Canadian comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1970 – Anil Kumble, Indian cricketer
• 1970 – John Mabry, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1970 – J. C. MacKenzie, Canadian actor
• 1971 – Chris Kirkpatrick, American singer-songwriter and dancer^[34]
• 1971 – Kim Ljung, Norwegian singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1971 – Martin Heinrich, American politician
• 1971 – Derrick Plourde, American drummer (d. 2005)
• 1971 – Blues Saraceno, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1972 – Eminem, American rapper, producer, and actor^[34]
• 1972 – Sharon Leal, American actress^[34]
• 1972 – Musashi, Japanese karateka and kickboxer
• 1972 – Tarkan, German-Turkish singer
• 1973 – Rubén Garcés, Panamanian basketball player
• 1973 – Andrea Tarozzi, Italian footballer and coach
• 1974 – Ariel Levy, American journalist and author
• 1974 – Matthew Macfadyen, English actor
• 1974 – Obdulio Ávila Mayo, Mexican politician
• 1974 – Bárbara Paz, Brazilian actress
• 1974 – Janne Puurtinen, Finnish keyboard player
• 1974 – John Rocker, American baseball player
• 1974 – Darío Sala, Argentine footballer
• 1974 – Gabriel Silberstein, Chilean tennis player
• 1974 – Dhondup Wangchen, Chinese director and producer
• 1975 – Jericó Abramo Masso, Mexican politician
• 1975 – Francis Bouillon, American-Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Vina Morales, Filipino actress and singer
• 1976 – Sebastián Abreu, Uruguayan footballer
• 1976 – Seth Etherton, American baseball player
• 1976 – Carlos Loret de Mola, Mexican journalist
• 1976 – Kevin Maher, English-Irish footballer and coach
• 1977 – Dudu Aouate, Israeli footballer^[37]
• 1977 – Alimi Ballard, American actor and producer
• 1977 – Bryan Bertino, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1977 – Walter Calderón, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1977 – Marko Antonio Cortés Mendoza, Mexican politician
• 1977 – Ryan McGinley, American photographer
• 1977 – André Villas-Boas, Portuguese footballer and manager
• 1978 – Jerry Flannery, Irish rugby player and coach
• 1978 – Pablo Iglesias Turrión, Spanish politician
• 1978 – Erin Karpluk, Canadian actress
• 1978 – Chuka Umunna, English lawyer and politician
• 1979 – Marcela Bovio, Mexican singer-songwriter and violinist
• 1979 – Alexandros Nikolaidis, Greek martial artist (d. 2022)
• 1979 – Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish race car driver
• 1979 – Kostas Tsartsaris, Greek basketball player
• 1980 – Yekaterina Gamova, Russian volleyball player
• 1980 – Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistani cricketer
• 1980 – Isaac Mina, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1980 – Angel Parker, American actress
• 1980 – Alessandro Piccolo, Italian race car driver
• 1980 – Justin Shenkarow, American actor
• 1981 – Horacio Cervantes, Mexican footballer
• 1981 – Kurumi Enomoto, Japanese singer-songwriter
• 1981 – Holly Holm, American mixed martial artist^[30]
• 1981 – Tsubasa Imai, Japanese singer, actor, and dancer
• 1981 – Ben Rothwell, American mixed-martial artist
• 1982 – Rubén Ramírez, Argentine footballer
• 1982 – Nick Riewoldt, Australian footballer
• 1982 – Marion Rolland, French skier
• 1983 – Michelle Ang, New Zealander actress
• 1983 – Milica Brozovic, Serbian-Russian figure skater
• 1983 – Felicity Jones, English actress^[34]
• 1983 – Toshihiro Matsushita, Japanese footballer
• 1983 – Riki Miura, Japanese actor
• 1983 – Junichi Miyashita, Japanese swimmer
• 1983 – Ivan Saenko, Russian footballer
• 1983 – Mitch Talbot, American baseball player
• 1983 – Vitali Teleš, Estonian footballer
• 1984 – Sami Lepistö, Finnish ice hockey player^[38]
• 1984 – Chris Lowell, American actor^[34]
• 1984 – Giovanni Marchese, Italian footballer
• 1984 – Randall Munroe, American author and illustrator
• 1984 – Luke Rockhold, American mixed martial artist
• 1984 – Anja Eline Skybakmoen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and bandleader
• 1984 – Gottfrid Svartholm, Swedish computer specialist
• 1984 – Jared Tallent, Australian race walker
• 1985 – Carlos González, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1985 – Max Irons, English-Irish actor^[30]
• 1985 – Collins John, Dutch footballer
• 1985 – Tomokazu Nagira, Japanese footballer
• 1986 – Alexandre Bonnet, French footballer
• 1986 – Antoni Bou, Spanish motorcyclist
• 1986 – Aija Brumermane, Latvian basketball player
• 1986 – Constant Djakpa, Ivorian footballer
• 1986 – Yannick Ponsero, French figure skater
• 1986 – Nicolás Richotti, Argentine basketball player
• 1987 – Bea Alonzo, Filipino actress and singer
• 1987 – Jarosław Fojut, Polish footballer
• 1987 – Elliot Grandin, French footballer
• 1987 – Hideto Takahashi, Japanese footballer
• 1988 – Sergiy Gladyr, Ukrainian basketball player
• 1988 – Tori Matsuzaka, Japanese actor and model
• 1988 – Marina Salas, Spanish actress
• 1989 – Débora García, Spanish footballer
• 1989 – Oleksandr Isakov, Ukrainian swimmer
• 1989 – Sophie Luck, Australian actress
• 1989 – Charles Oliveira, Brazilian mixed martial artist^[39]
• 1989 – David Timor, Spanish footballer
• 1990 – Paolo Campinoti, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Maica García Godoy, Spanish water polo player
• 1990 – Ronald González Tabilo, Chilean footballer
• 1990 – Saki Kumagai, Japanese footballer
• 1990 – Patrick Lambie, South African rugby player
• 1991 – Brenda Asnicar, Argentine actress
• 1992 – Jacob Artist, American actor, singer, and dancer^[30]
• 1992 – Sam Concepcion, Filipino musician and dancer
• 1992 – Anthony Gill, American basketball player^[40]
• 1992 – Keerthy Suresh, Indian actress
• 1993 – Kenneth Omeruo, Nigerian footballer
• 1993 – Vincent Poirier, French basketball player^[41]
• 1995 – Jamal Adams, American football player^[42]
• 1995 – Ha-seong Kim, South Korean baseball player^[43]
• 1996 – Jake DeBrusk, Canadian ice hockey player^[44]
• 1997 – Robert Williams III, American basketball player^[45]
• 2001 – Thomas Strudwick, British motorcycle road racer
• 2002 – Matthew Knies, American professional ice hockey player^[46]

• AD 33 – Agrippina the Elder, Roman wife of Germanicus (b. 14 BC)
• 532 – Pope Boniface II
• 866 – Al-Musta'in, Abbasid caliph (b. 836)
• 1271 – Steinvör Sighvatsdóttir, Icelandic aristocrat and poet
• 1277 – Beatrice of Falkenburg, German queen consort (b. c. 1254)
• 1346 – John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray
• 1346 – Maurice de Moravia, Earl of Strathearn
• 1456 – Nicolas Grenon, French composer (b. 1375)
• 1485 – John Scott of Scott's Hall, Warden of the Cinque Ports
• 1528 – Hernando Alonso, Spanish conquistador, first Jew executed in the New World^[47]
• 1552 – Andreas Osiander, German Protestant theologian (b. 1498)
• 1575 – Gaspar Cervantes de Gaeta, Spanish cardinal (b. 1511)
• 1586 – Philip Sidney, English courtier, poet, and general (b. 1554)
• 1587 – Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1541)

• 1616 – John Pitts, English priest and scholar (b. 1560)
• 1660 – Adrian Scrope, English colonel and politician (b. 1601)
• 1673 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer of England (b. 1630)
• 1690 – Margaret Mary Alacoque, French mystic (b. 1647)
• 1757 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (b. 1683)
• 1776 – Pierre François le Courayer, French-English theologian and author (b. 1681)
• 1780 – William Cookworthy, English pharmacist and minister (b. 1705)
• 1781 – Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, English admiral (b. 1705)^[48]
• 1786 – Johann Ludwig Aberli, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1723)
• 1806 – Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian commander and politician, Governor-General of Haiti (b. 1758)
• 1836 – Orest Kiprensky, Russian painter (b. 1782)
• 1837 – Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1778)
• 1849 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1810)
• 1868 – Laura Secord, Canadian war heroine (b. 1775)
• 1887 – Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist and chemist (b. 1824)
• 1889 – Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (b. 1828)
• 1893 – Patrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta, French general and politician, 3rd President of France (b. 1808)

• 1910 – Julia Ward Howe, American poet and songwriter (b. 1819)
• 1918 – Malak Hifni Nasif, Egyptian poet and author (b. 1886)
• 1920 – Michael Fitzgerald (Irish republican) died on Hunger Strike (b. 1881)^[49]
• 1928 – Frank Dicksee, English painter and illustrator (b. 1853)
• 1931 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist and academic (b. 1884)
• 1937 – J. Bruce Ismay, English businessman (b. 1862)
• 1938 – Karl Kautsky, Czech-German journalist, philosopher, and theoretician (b. 1854)
• 1948 – Royal Cortissoz, American art critic (b. 1869)
• 1955 – Dimitrios Maximos, Greek banker and politician (b. 1873)
• 1956 – Anne Crawford, Israeli-English actress (b. 1920)
• 1957 – Wilhelmina Hay Abbott, Scottish suffragist and feminist (b. 1884)^[50]
• 1958 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer (b. 1896)
• 1958 – Charlie Townsend, English cricketer and lawyer (b. 1876)
• 1962 – Natalia Goncharova, Russian painter, costume designer, and set designer (b. 1882)^[51]
• 1963 – Jacques Hadamard, French mathematician and academic (b. 1865)
• 1965 – Bart King, American cricketer (b. 1873)
• 1966 – Sidney Hatch, American runner and soldier (b. 1883)
• 1966 – Wieland Wagner, German director and manager (b. 1917)
• 1967 – Puyi, Chinese emperor (b. 1906)
• 1970 – Pierre Laporte, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1921)
• 1970 – Vola Vale, American actress (b. 1897)
• 1970 – Quincy Wright, American political scientist and academic (b. 1890)
• 1972 – Turk Broda, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1914)
• 1972 – George, Crown Prince of Serbia (b. 1887)
• 1973 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (b. 1926)
• 1978 – George Clark, American race car driver (b. 1890)
• 1978 – Giovanni Gronchi, Italian educator, soldier, and politician, 3rd President of the Italian Republic (b. 1887)
• 1979 – S. J. Perelman, American humorist and screenwriter (b. 1904)
• 1979 – John Stuart, Scottish-English actor (b. 1898)
• 1979 – Eugenio Mendoza, Venezuelan business tycoon (b. 1909)
• 1981 – Kannadasan Indian author, poet, and songwriter (b. 1927)
• 1981 – Albert Cohen, Greek-Swiss civil servant and author (b. 1895)
• 1981 – Lina Tsaldari, Greek politician (b. 1887)
• 1983 – Raymond Aron, French sociologist, political scientist, and philosopher (b. 1905)
• 1987 – Abdul Malek Ukil, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
• 1991 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and actor (b. 1919)
• 1992 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist, academic, and politician (b. 1912)
• 1992 – Orestis Laskos, Greek actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
• 1993 – Criss Oliva, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1963)
• 1996 – Chris Acland, English musician and drummer of Lush (b. 1966)
• 1997 – Larry Jennings, American magician and author (b. 1933)
• 1998 – Joan Hickson, English actress (b. 1906)
• 1998 – Hakim Said, Pakistani scholar and politician, 20th Governor of Sindh (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Nicholas Metropolis, Greek-American mathematician and physicist (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Leo Nomellini, Italian-American football player and wrestler (b. 1924)
• 2000 – Joachim Nielsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1964)
• 2001 – Jay Livingston, American singer-songwriter (b. 1915)
• 2001 – Micheline Ostermeyer, French shot putter, discus thrower, and pianist (b. 1922)
• 2001 – Rehavam Ze'evi, Israeli historian, general, and politician, Tourism Minister of Israel (b. 1926)
• 2002 – Derek Bell, Irish harpist and composer (b. 1935)
• 2004 – Uzi Hitman, Israeli singer-songwriter (b. 1952)
• 2006 – Daniel Emilfork, Chilean-French actor (b. 1924)
• 2006 – Christopher Glenn, American journalist (b. 1938)
• 2007 – Joey Bishop, American actor and talk show host (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Suzy Covey, American scholar and academic (b. 1939)
• 2008 – Urmas Ott, Estonian journalist and author (b. 1955)
• 2008 – Levi Stubbs, American singer (b. 1936)
• 2008 – Ben Weider, Canadian businessman, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (b. 1923)
• 2009 – Norma Fox Mazer, American author and educator (b. 1931)
• 2009 – Vic Mizzy, American composer (b. 1916)
• 2011 – Carl Lindner, Jr., American businessman (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Milija Aleksic, English-South African footballer (b. 1951)
• 2012 – Émile Allais, French skier (b. 1912)
• 2012 – Henry Friedlander, German-American historian and author (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Stanford R. Ovshinsky, American scientist and businessman, co-founded Energy Conversion Devices (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Kōji Wakamatsu, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Mother Antonia, American-Mexican nun and activist (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Terry Fogerty, English rugby player and coach (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Arthur Maxwell House, Canadian neurologist and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Lou Scheimer, American animator, producer, and voice actor, co-founded the Filmation Company (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Rene Simpson, Canadian-American tennis player (b. 1966)
• 2014 – Edwards Barham, American farmer and politician (b. 1937)
• 2014 – Masaru Emoto, Japanese author and activist (b. 1943)
• 2014 – Tom Shaw, American bishop (b. 1945)
• 2014 – Berndt von Staden, German diplomat, German Ambassador to the United States (b. 1919)
• 2015 – Danièle Delorme, French actress and producer (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Howard Kendall, English footballer and manager (b. 1946)
• 2015 – Anne-Marie Lizin, Belgian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
• 2015 – Tom Smith, American businessman and politician (b. 1947)
• 2017 – Gord Downie, Canadian musician (b. 1964)^[52]
• 2019 – Elijah Cummings, American politician and civil rights advocate (b. 1951)^[53]
• 2024 – Mitzi Gaynor, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1931)^[54]
• 2024 – Toshiyuki Nishida, Japanese actor (b. 1947)^[55]
• 2024 – Andrew Schally, Polish-American endocrinologist (b. 1926)^[56]

• Christian feast day:
  • Andrew of Crete
  • Anstrudis
  • Catervus
  • Ethelred and Ethelberht
  • Florentius of Orange
  • François-Isidore Gagelin (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)
  • Hosea
  • Ignatius of Antioch
  • John the Short (John Colobus)
  • Marguerite Marie Alacoque (pre-1969 calendar, Visitadines)
  • Nothhelm
  • Rule of Andrew
  • Richard Gwyn
  • Victor of Capua
  • October 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• International Day for the Eradication of Poverty^[57]
• Loyalty Day (Argentina)
• National Police Day (Thailand)
• National Heroes Day (Somaliland)^[58]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to October 17.

• "On This Day". BBC.
• The New York Times: On This Day
• "Historical Events on October 17". OnThisDay.com.