Historical Events on March 17

  • 1776: After Generals George Washington and Henry Knox strategically place artillery pieces overlooking the city of Boston, British forces evacuate the city. This hereby ends the Siege of Boston.
  • 1780: The Continental Army is given a holiday by General George Washington during the American Revolution.
  • 1891: The SS Utopia and the HMS Anson collide in the Bay of Gibraltar. The SS Utopia sinks and over 560 people are killed as a result.
  • 1921: The March Constitution is adopted by the Second Polish Republic.
  • 1939: The Battle of Nanchang begins between Chinese forces and Japanese forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
  • 1941: United States’ President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially opens the National Gallery of Art in the nation’s capital – Washington, D.C.
  • 1942: Jew from the Lvov Ghetto are put to death using gas at the Belzec Death Camp in eastern Poland.
  • 1957: Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and over 20 other people are killed in a plane crash that takes place in Cebu, Philippines.
  • 1958: The U.S launches the Vanguard I satellite on this day.
  • 1960: United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a National Security directive that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
  • 1966: A missing American H-Bomb is discovered off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea by the DSV Alvin submarine.
  • 1970: Fourteen officers are charged by the U.S Army for suppressing information that is related to the My Lai Massacre.
  • 1985: Serial Killer Richard “Night Stalker” Ramirez murders 2 people in Los Angeles.

Famous Birthdays on March 17

  • American activist Bayard Rustin is born in 1912.
  • American actress Patricia Breslin is born in 1931.
  • English author Penelope Lively is born in 1933.
  • American biologist Fred T. Mackenzie is born in 1935.
  • American actor Kurt Russel is born in 1951.
  • English actress Lesley-Anne Down is born in 1954.
  • American actress and singer, Vicki Lewis is born in 1960.