Editing August 17 (section)

==Events==
===Pre-1600===
* [[310]] &ndash; [[Pope Eusebius]] dies, possibly from a [[hunger strike]], shortly after being banished by the Emperor [[Maxentius]] to [[Sicilia (Roman province)|Sicily]].
* [[682]] &ndash; [[Pope Leo II]] begins his pontificate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Saint Leo II {{!}} pope |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Leo-II |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=28 October 2020}}</ref>
* [[986]] &ndash; [[Byzantine–Bulgarian wars]]: [[Battle of the Gates of Trajan]]: The [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarians]] under the [[Cometopuli dynasty|Comitopuli]] [[Samuel of Bulgaria|Samuel]] and [[Aron (noble)|Aron]] defeat the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] forces at the [[Gate of Trajan]], with [[Byzantine Emperor]] [[Basil&nbsp;II]] barely escaping.
*[[1186]] &ndash; [[Georgenberg Pact]]: [[Ottokar IV, Duke of Styria]] and [[Leopold V, Duke of Austria]] sign a heritage agreement in which Ottokar gives his duchy to Leopold and to his son [[Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg)|Frederick]] under the stipulation that Austria and Styria would henceforth remain undivided.
*[[1386]] &ndash; [[Karl Topia]], the ruler of [[Princedom of Albania]] forges an alliance with the [[Republic of Venice]], committing to participate in all wars of the Republic and receiving coastal protection against the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] in return.
*[[1424]] &ndash; [[Hundred Years' War]]: [[Battle of Verneuil]]: An English force under [[John, Duke of Bedford]] defeats a larger French army under [[Jean II, Duke of Alençon]], [[John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan|John Stewart]], and [[Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas|Earl Archibald of Douglas]].
*[[1488]] &ndash; [[List of bishops of Turku#Catholic bishops of Turku (Åbo, Aboa)|Konrad Bitz]], the [[Archdiocese of Turku|Bishop of Turku]], marks the date of his preface to ''[[Missale Aboense]]'', the oldest known book of [[Finland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.europeana.eu/fi/item/92002/BibliographicResource_1000093325379_source|title=Missale Aboense|publisher=Europeana|access-date=8 January 2023}}</ref>
*[[1498]] &ndash; [[Cesare Borgia]], son of [[Pope Alexander VI]], becomes the first person in history to resign the [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinalate]]; later that same day, King [[Louis XII of France]] names him [[Duke of Valentinois]].
*[[1549]] &ndash; [[Battle of Sampford Courtenay]]: The [[Prayer Book Rebellion]] is quashed in [[Kingdom of England|England]].
*[[1560]] &ndash; The [[Catholic Church]] is overthrown and [[Protestantism]] is [[Scottish Reformation Parliament|established]] as the national religion in [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]].
*[[1585]] &ndash; [[Eighty Years' War]]: [[Siege of Antwerp (1584–85)|Siege of Antwerp]]: [[Antwerp]] is captured by [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] forces under [[Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma]], who orders [[Protestants]] to leave the city and as a result over half of the 100,000 inhabitants flee to the [[Dutch Republic|northern provinces]].
*  1585   &ndash; A first group of colonists sent by [[Sir Walter Raleigh]] under the charge of [[Ralph Lane]] lands in the [[New World]] to create [[Roanoke Colony]] on [[Roanoke Island]], off the coast of present-day [[North Carolina]].
*[[1597]] &ndash; [[Islands Voyage]]: [[Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex]], and Sir [[Walter Raleigh]] set sail on an expedition to the [[Azores]].

===1601–1900===
*[[1668]] &ndash; The magnitude 8.0 [[1668 North Anatolia earthquake|North Anatolia earthquake]] causes 8,000 deaths in northern [[Anatolia]], [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name="USGS">{{Cite web |url=http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/historical.php/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090825081330/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/historical.php/ |archive-date=25 August 2009|title=Historic Worldwide Earthquakes |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|access-date=27 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="Zabci_etal_2011">{{Cite journal |last1=Zabci |first1=C. |last2=Akyüz |first2=H. S. |last3=Karabacak |first3=V. |last4=Sançar |first4=T. |last5=Altunel |first5=E. |last6=Gürsoy |first6=H. |last7=Tatar |first7=O. |year=2011 |title=Palaeoearthquakes on the Kelkit Valley Segment of the North Anatolian Fault, Turkey: Implications for the Surface Rupture of the Historical 17 August 1668 Anatolian Earthquake |url=http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/earth/issues/yer-11-20-4/yer-20-4-4-0910-48.pdf |journal=Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences |volume=20 |pages=411–427 |access-date=27 September 2021 |archive-date=26 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926193329/https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/earth/issues/yer-11-20-4/yer-20-4-4-0910-48.pdf }}</ref>
*[[1717]] &ndash; [[Austro-Turkish War of 1716–18]]: The month-long [[Siege of Belgrade (1717)|Siege of Belgrade]] ends with [[Prince Eugene of Savoy]]'s [[Habsburg monarchy|Austrian]] troops capturing the city from the [[Ottoman Empire]].
*[[1723]] &ndash; [[Ioan Giurgiu Patachi]] becomes [[Bishop of Făgăraș]] and is festively installed in his position at the St. Nicolas Cathedral in [[Făgăraș]], after being formally confirmed earlier by [[Pope Clement XI]].
*[[1740]] &ndash; [[Pope Benedict XIV]], previously known as Prospero Lambertini, succeeds [[Clement XII]] as the 247th Pope.
*[[1784]] &ndash; Classical composer [[Luigi Boccherini]] receives a pay rise of 12,000 [[Spanish real|reals]] from his employer, the [[Infante Luis, Count of Chinchón]].
*[[1798]] &ndash; The [[Vietnam]]ese Catholics report a [[Marian apparition]] in [[Quảng Trị]], an event which is called [[Our Lady of La Vang]].
*[[1807]] &ndash; [[Robert Fulton]]'s ''[[North River Steamboat]]'' leaves New York City for [[Albany, New York]], on the [[Hudson River]], inaugurating the first commercial [[steamboat]] service in the world.
*[[1808]] &ndash; The [[Finnish War]]: The [[Battle of Alavus]] is fought.<ref>{{cite book|title=När riket sprängdes: fälttågen i Finland och Västerbotten, 1808-1809 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DNPRAAAAMAAJ |first=Eirik |last=Hornborg |language=sv |year=1955|publisher=P. A. Norstedts och Söners Förlag |location=[[Stockholm]]}}</ref>
*[[1827]] &ndash; Dutch King [[William I of the Netherlands|William I]] and [[Pope Leo XII]] sign concord.
*[[1836]] &ndash; [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British parliament]] [[Marriage Act 1836|accepts]] registration of births, marriages and deaths.
*[[1862]] &ndash; [[American Indian Wars]]: The [[Dakota War of 1862]] begins in [[Minnesota]] as [[Dakota people|Dakota]] warriors attack white settlements along the [[Minnesota River]].
*  1862   &ndash; [[American Civil War]]: Major General [[J. E. B. Stuart]] is assigned command of all the cavalry of the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[Army of Northern Virginia]].
*[[1863]] &ndash; American Civil War: In [[Charleston, South Carolina]], [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] batteries and ships bombard Confederate-held [[Fort Sumter]].
*[[1864]] &ndash; American Civil War: [[Battle of Gainesville]]: Confederate forces defeat Union troops near [[Gainesville, Florida]].
*[[1866]] &ndash; The [[Grand Duchy of Baden]] announces its withdrawal from the [[German Confederation]] and signs a [[History of Baden-Württemberg|treaty of peace and alliance]] with [[Prussia]].
*[[1876]] &ndash; [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Götterdämmerung]]'', the last opera in his ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen|Ring]]''cycle, premieres at the [[Bayreuth Festspielhaus]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 May 2012 |title=Götterdämmerung: Performance History |url=http://opera.stanford.edu/Wagner/Gotterdammerung/history.html |access-date=17 August 2022 |website=OperaGlass}}</ref>
*[[1883]] &ndash; The first public performance of the [[Dominican Republic]]'s [[national anthem]], ''[[National Anthem of the Dominican Republic|Himno Nacional]]''.
*[[1896]] &ndash; [[Bridget Driscoll]] became the first recorded case of a pedestrian killed in a collision with a motor car in the United Kingdom.

===1901–present===
*[[1914]] &ndash; [[World War I]]: [[Battle of Stallupönen]]: The German army of [[General officer|General]] [[Hermann von François]] defeats the Russian force commanded by [[Paul von Rennenkampf]] near modern-day [[Nesterov]], Russia.
*[[1915]] &ndash; Jewish American [[Leo Frank]] is [[lynching|lynched]] in [[Marietta, Georgia|Marietta, Georgia, USA]] after his death sentence is commuted by Governor [[John M. Slaton|John Slaton]]. 
*  1915   &ndash; A [[1915 Galveston hurricane|Category 4 hurricane]] hits [[Galveston, Texas]] with winds at {{convert|135|mph|km/h}}.
*[[1916]] &ndash; World War I: [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]] signs a [[Treaty of Bucharest (1916)|secret treaty]] with the [[Allies of World War I|Entente Powers]]. According to the treaty, Romania agreed to join the war on the Allied side.
*[[1918]] &ndash; [[Bolshevik]] revolutionary leader [[Moisei Uritsky]] is assassinated.
*[[1942]] &ndash; [[World War II]]: [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]] [[Makin Island raid|raid]] the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]]-held Pacific island of Makin. 
*[[1943]] &ndash; World War II: The U.S. [[Eighth Air Force]] suffers the loss of 60 bombers on the [[Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission]].
*  1943   &ndash; World War II: The [[U.S. Seventh Army]] under General [[George S. Patton]] arrives in [[Messina]], Italy, followed several hours later by the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British 8th Army]] under Field Marshal [[Bernard Montgomery]], thus completing the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[Allied invasion of Sicily|conquest of Sicily]].
*  1943   &ndash; World War II: [[Quebec Conference, 1943|First Québec Conference]] of [[Winston Churchill]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] begins.
*  1943   &ndash; World War II: The [[Royal Air Force]] begins [[Operation Hydra (1943)|Operation Hydra]], the first air raid of the [[Operation Crossbow]] [[Strategic bombing during World War II|strategic bombing campaign]] against Germany's [[V-weapons|V-weapon program]].
*[[1945]] &ndash; [[Sukarno]] and [[Mohammad Hatta]] [[Proclamation of Indonesian Independence|proclaim the independence]] of [[Indonesia]], igniting the [[Indonesian National Revolution]] against the [[Dutch Empire]].
*  1945   &ndash; The novella ''[[Animal Farm]]'' by [[George Orwell]] is first published.
*  1945   &ndash; [[Evacuation of Manchukuo]]: At Talitzou by the [[China-North Korea border|Sino-Korean border]], [[Puyi]], then the Kangde Emperor of [[Manchukuo]], [[Evacuation of Manchukuo#The fate of Manchukuo|formally renounces the imperial throne, dissolves the state, and cedes its territory]] to the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Behr | first = Edward | year = 1977 | title = The Last Emperor | publisher = Bantam | isbn = 0-553-34474-9 | pages = 262–263 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/lastemperor00behr }}</ref>
*[[1947]] &ndash; The [[Radcliffe Line]], the border between the [[Dominion of India|Dominions of India]] and [[Dominion of Pakistan|Pakistan]], is revealed.
*[[1949]] &ndash; The 6.7 {{M|s}} [[1949 Karlıova earthquake|Karlıova earthquake]] shakes eastern [[Turkey]] with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of X (''Extreme''), leaving 320–450 dead.<ref name="USGS"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.koeri.boun.edu.tr/sismo/2/deprem-bilgileri/buyuk-depremler/|title=Bogazici University Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute National Earthquake Monitoring Center (NEMC) List of major earthquakes 1900–2004|publisher=[[Boğaziçi University]]|language=Turkish|access-date=27 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sQUzDAAAQBAJ|title=Asian Law in Disasters: Toward a Human-Centered Recovery |author=Yuka Kaneko |author2=Katsumi Matsuoka |author3=Toshihisa Toyoda |publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2016|isbn=978-1-317-39684-0|access-date=27 September 2021}}</ref>
*[[1949]] &ndash; [[Matsukawa derailment]]: Unknown saboteurs cause a [[Tōhoku Main Line|passenger train]] to derail and overturn in [[Fukushima Prefecture]], [[Japan]], killing three crew members and igniting a political firestorm between the [[Japanese Communist Party]] and the [[Occupation of Japan|government of Occupied Japan]] that will eventually lead to the [[Red Purge|Japanese Red Purge]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Chalmers | first = Johnson | year = 1972 | pages = 118–119 | title = Conspiracy at Matsukawa | publisher = University of California Press | isbn = 0-520-02063-4 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/conspiracyatmats0000john }}</ref>
*[[1953]] &ndash; First meeting of [[Narcotics Anonymous]] takes place, in [[Southern California]].
*[[1955]] &ndash; [[Hurricane Diane]] made landfall near [[Wilmington, North Carolina]], and it went on to cause major floods and kill more than 184 people.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Gordon E. Dunn|author2=Walter R. Davis|author3=Paul L. Moore|title=Hurricanes of 1955|pages=319|publisher=United States Weather Bureau|access-date=2013-02-13|date=December 1955|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/083/mwr-083-12-0315.pdf|journal=Monthly Weather Review|volume=83|issue=12|doi=10.1175/1520-0493(1955)083<0315:HO>2.0.CO;2|bibcode = 1955MWRv...83..315D|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026210422/http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/083/mwr-083-12-0315.pdf|archive-date=2007-10-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|author=Edward N. Rappaport|author2=Jose Fernandez-Partagas|author3=Jack Beven|date=1997-04-22|title=The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492&ndash; 1996|publisher=National Hurricane Center|access-date=2013-02-03|chapter-url=https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastdeadlyapp1.shtml?|chapter=Appendix 1: Cyclones with 25+ deaths}}</ref>
*[[1958]] &ndash; ''[[Pioneer 0]]'', America's first attempt at lunar orbit, is launched using the first Thor-Able rocket and fails. Notable as one of the first attempted launches beyond Earth orbit by any country.
*[[1959]] &ndash; [[Quake Lake]] is formed by the magnitude 7.2 [[1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake]] near [[Hebgen Lake]] in [[Montana]].
*[[1960]] &ndash; [[Aeroflot Flight 036]] crashes in [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Soviet Ukraine]], killing 34.<ref name="asn">{{cite web |title=Wednesday 17 August 1960 |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19600817-0 |access-date=29 October 2019 |website=aviation-safety.net |publisher=Aviation Safety Network}}</ref>
*[[1962]] &ndash; [[Killing of Peter Fechter|Peter Fechter]] is shot and bleeds to death while [[List of deaths at the Berlin Wall|trying to cross the new Berlin Wall]].
*[[1969]] &ndash; [[Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale|Category 5]] [[Hurricane Camille]] hits the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|U.S. Gulf Coast]], killing 256 and causing $1.42&nbsp;billion in damage.
*[[1970]] &ndash; Soviet Union [[Venera]] program: ''[[Venera 7]]'' launched. It will become the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet ([[Venus]]).
*[[1976]] &ndash; A [[1976 Moro Gulf earthquake|magnitude 7.9 earthquake]] hits off the coast of [[Mindanao]], [[Philippines]], triggering a destructive tsunami, killing between 5,000 and 8,000 people and leaving more than 90,000 homeless.<ref>{{cite book|title=Catalog of Tsunamis in the Pacific 1969–1982|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=umZ--INFYEEC&pg=PA103|author=Staff of the Academy of Sciences of the USS|publisher=Diane Pub|isbn=978-0-7881393-1-4|pages=103, 104|date=1997}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ringsurf.com/online/2412-tsunamis_through_history.html|title=Tsunami &#124; Tsunami History &#124; Tsunami Devastation &#124; Tsunami Tragedy|website=www.ringsurf.com}}</ref>
*[[1977]] &ndash; The Soviet icebreaker ''[[Arktika (1972 icebreaker)|Arktika]]'' becomes the first surface ship to reach the [[North Pole]].
*[[1978]] &ndash; ''[[Double Eagle II]]'' becomes first [[balloon (aeronautics)|balloon]] to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in [[Miserey]], France near Paris, 137 hours after leaving [[Presque Isle, Maine]].
*[[1985]] &ndash; The [[1985–86 Hormel strike]] begins in [[Austin, Minnesota]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hormel Strike, 1985–1986 {{!}} MNopedia|url=https://www.mnopedia.org/event/hormel-strike-1985-1986|access-date=2021-05-18|website=www.mnopedia.org}}</ref>
*[[1988]] &ndash; President of Pakistan [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq]] and U.S. Ambassador [[Arnold Lewis Raphel|Arnold Raphel]] are killed in a [[Death and state funeral of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|plane crash]].
*[[1991]] &ndash; [[Strathfield massacre]]: In Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, taxi driver Wade Frankum shoots seven people and injures six others before turning the gun on himself.
*[[1998]] &ndash; [[Lewinsky scandal]]: US President [[Bill Clinton]] admits in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with [[White House]] intern [[Monica Lewinsky]]; later that same day he admits before the nation that he "misled people" about the relationship.
*[[1999]] &ndash; The 7.6 {{M|w}} [[1999 İzmit earthquake|İzmit earthquake]] shakes northwestern [[Turkey]] with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of IX (''Violent''), leaving 17,118–17,127 dead and 43,953–50,000 injured.
*[[2004]] &ndash; The [[National Assembly of Serbia]] unanimously adopts new state symbols for [[Serbia]]: [[Bože pravde]] becomes the new anthem and the [[Coat of arms of Serbia|coat of arms]] is adopted for the whole country.
*[[2005]] &ndash; The first forced evacuation of [[Israeli settlement|settler]]s, as part of [[Israeli disengagement from Gaza]], starts.
*  2005   &ndash; Over 500 bombs are [[2005 Bangladesh bombings|set off by terrorists]] at 300 locations in 63 out of the 64 districts of [[Bangladesh]].
*[[2008]] &ndash; American swimmer [[Michael Phelps]] becomes the first person to win eight gold medals at one Olympic Games.
*[[2009]] &ndash; [[2009 Sayano-Shushenskaya power station accident|An accident]] at the [[Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam]] in [[Khakassia]], Russia, kills 75 and shuts down the hydroelectric power station, leading to widespread power failure in the local area.
*[[2015]] &ndash; A [[2015 Bangkok bombing|bomb explodes]] near the [[Erawan Shrine]] in [[Bangkok]], Thailand, killing at least 19 people and injuring 123 others.
*[[2017]] &ndash; [[2017 Barcelona attacks|Barcelona attacks]]: A van is driven into pedestrians in La Rambla, killing 14 and injuring at least 100.
*[[2019]] &ndash; [[17 August 2019 Kabul bombing|A bomb explodes at a wedding in Kabul]] killing 63 people and leaving 182 injured.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/dozens-feared-dead-or-injured-in-explosion-at-wedding-hall-in-kabul-afghanistan-11787995|title=Bomb blast at wedding party in Kabul, Afghanistan kills 63 and injures 182 more|date=18 August 2019|work=Sky News|access-date=19 August 2019}}</ref>