17 April 1967

A Monday in history

Weekday

Monday

Season

Spring (N. Hemisphere)

Century

20th century

Records

375

  1. 2014

    NASA announced the discovery of Kepler-186f, the first exoplanet with a radius similar to Earth's discovered in the habitable zone of another star.

    Source
  2. 2013

    An ammonium nitrate explosion occurred at a fertilizer company facility in West, Texas, U.S., killing 15 people and injuring 160 others.

    Source
  3. 2006

    A Palestinian suicide bomber detonated explosives in a restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 11 people and injuring 70 others.

    Source
  4. 1986

    The Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly declared peace, having hypothetically been at war for 335 years without a single shot being fired and no casualties incurred.

    Source
  5. 1984

    Metropolitan Police officer Yvonne Fletcher was shot and killed while on duty during a protest outside the Libyan embassy in London, resulting in an 11-day police siege of the building and a breakdown of Libya–United Kingdom relations.

    Source
  6. 1975

    The Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh, the capital of the Khmer Republic, ending the Cambodian Civil War and establishing the socialist state of Democratic Kampuchea.

    Source
  7. 1973

    George Lucas began writing a 13-page film treatment that later formed the basis of Star Wars.

    Source
  8. 1969

    Czechoslovak Communist Party chairman Alexander Dubček was deposed.

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  9. 1969

    Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of the assassination of U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy.

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  10. 1951

    The Peak District was designated the first national park in the United Kingdom.

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  11. 1942

    World War II: Captured French general Henri Giraud escaped from German captivity in the Königstein Castle.

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  12. 1907

    Minas Geraes (pictured), the first of three Brazilian dreadnought battleships, was laid down, sparking a vastly expensive South American naval arms race with Argentina and Chile.

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  13. 1809

    Napoleonic Wars: After a three-day chase, the French ship D'Hautpoul was captured off Puerto Rico by a British squadron under Alexander Cochrane.

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  14. 1797

    French Revolutionary Wars: British forces commanded by Lieutenant-General Ralph Abercromby invaded the Spanish colonial port of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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  15. 1783

    The Mechanical Turk (pictured), a fraudulent chess-playing "machine" by Wolfgang von Kempelen that was secretly controlled by a hidden human, began a tour of Europe.

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  16. 1362

    Lithuanian Crusade: After a month-long siege, the Teutonic Order captured and destroyed Kaunas Castle, which was defended by troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

    Source
  17. 1080

    Canute IV became King of Denmark upon the death of his brother Harald III.

    Source

Photo archive

24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.

What was life like?

Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.

Sources & fact check

Every claim is traced to primary sources, archives, universities and the press — with an explicit confidence rating. Dossiers are generated once and cached permanently.