Editing 1917 (section)

=== December ===
{{main|December 1917}}
* [[December]] &ndash; [[Annie Besant]] becomes president of the [[Indian National Congress]].
* [[December 3]] &ndash; After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, the [[Quebec Bridge]] opens to traffic (the bridge partially collapsed on [[August 29]], 1907 and [[September 11]], 1916).
[[File:Senate1917.jpg|thumb|The [[Senate of Finland]] in 1917]]
* [[December 6]]
** The [[Senate of Finland]] officially declares the [[Independence of Finland|country's independence]] from [[Russian Empire|Russia]]. 
** [[Halifax Explosion]]: Two freighters collide in [[Halifax Harbour]] at [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], and cause a huge explosion that kills at least 1,963 people, injures 9,000 and destroys part of the city (the biggest man-made explosion in recorded history until the [[Trinity (nuclear test)|Trinity]] [[nuclear weapons testing|nuclear test]] in 1945).
** WWI: [[U.S. Navy]] [[destroyer]] {{USS|Jacob Jones|DD-61|6}} is torpedoed and sunk in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] south west of the British Isles by German submarine {{SMU|U-53||2}}, killing 66 crew in the first significant American naval loss of the war,<ref>{{cite DANFS|author=[[Naval History & Heritage Command]]|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/j/jacob-jones-i.html|title=Jacob Jones|short=on|access-date=2025-01-09}}</ref> the first ever U.S. destroyer loss to an enemy.
* [[December 9]] &ndash; WWI:
** [[Battle of Jerusalem (1917)|Battle of Jerusalem]]: The British [[Egyptian Expeditionary Force]] accepts the surrender of [[Jerusalem]] by the mayor, [[Hussein al-Husayni]], following the effective defeat of the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]]-German [[Yildirim Army Group]].
** The [[Kingdom of Romania]] signs the [[Armistice of Focșani]] with the [[Central Powers]].
* [[December 11]] &ndash; WWI: General [[Edmund Allenby]] leads units of the British [[Egyptian Expeditionary Force]] into [[Jerusalem]] on foot through, the [[Jaffa Gate]].
* [[December 17]] &ndash; The ''[[Raad van Vlaanderen (World War I)|Raad van Vlaanderen]]'' proclaims the independence of [[Flanders]] from German-occupied Belgium.
* [[December 20]] (N.S.) ([[December 7]], O.S.) &ndash; The [[Cheka]], a predecessor to the [[KGB]], is established in Russia.
* [[December 23]] (N.S.) ([[December 10]], O.S.) &ndash; A local plebiscite supports transferring [[Narva]] and [[Ivangorod]] (''Jaanilinn'') from the [[Petrograd Governorate]], to the [[Autonomous Governorate of Estonia]].
* [[December 25]] &ndash; [[Jesse Lynch Williams]]'s ''[[Why Marry?]]'', the first play to win a [[Pulitzer Prize]], opens at the [[Astor Theatre, New York City]].
* [[December 26]] &ndash; United States President [[Woodrow Wilson]] uses the Federal Possession and Control Act to place most U.S. railroads under the [[United States Railroad Administration]], hoping to transport troops and materials for the war effort more efficiently.
* [[December 30]] &ndash; WWI: The British [[Egyptian Expeditionary Force]] secures the victory at the [[Battle of Jerusalem (1917)#Defence of Jerusalem|Battle of Jerusalem]], by successfully defending Jerusalem from numerous counterattacks by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]]-German [[Yildirim Army Group]].