17 July 1665

A Friday in history

Weekday

Friday

Season

Summer (N. Hemisphere)

Century

17th century

Records

371

  1. 2014

    Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

    Source
  2. 2007

    TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overran the runway at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo, Brazil, killing 199 people.

    Source
  3. 1996

    TWA Flight 800 exploded in mid-air and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York.

    Source
  4. 1994

    Brazil won the FIFA World Cup final against Italy 3–2 on penalties, following a 0–0 draw after extra time.

    Source
  5. 1992

    The Manchester Metrolink, the first modern street-running light-rail system in the United Kingdom, was officially opened.

    Source
  6. 1968

    Led by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (pictured), the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party overthrew Iraqi president Abdul Rahman Arif in a bloodless coup.

    Source
  7. 1948

    In Olympia, Greece, the Summer Olympics torch relay, nicknamed the "relay of peace", began.

    Source
  8. 1944

    Laden with munitions for World War II, two ships exploded at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California, killing 320 people and injuring more than 400 others.

    Source
  9. 1936

    Nationalist military officers launch a coup d'état against the Spanish Republic, beginning the Spanish Civil War

    Source
  10. 1918

    RMS Carpathia, which had rescued survivors of the 1912 Titanic sinking, was sunk by a German U-boat with the loss of five crew.

    Source
  11. 1918

    Russian Revolution: Tsar Nicholas II and his family (pictured) were murdered by Bolsheviks at Yekaterinburg.

    Source
  12. 1863

    The New Zealand Wars resumed as British forces led by General Duncan Cameron began the invasion of the Waikato.

    Source
  13. 1862

    The garrotting and robbery of James Pilkington, a British member of Parliament, led to a moral panic in London.

    Source
  14. 1850

    William Cranch Bond and John Adams Whipple took a daguerreotype of Vega, the first astrophotograph of a star other than the Sun.

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  15. 1771

    Dene men who were acting as guides to Samuel Hearne on his exploration of the Coppermine River in present-day Nunavut, Canada, massacred a group of about twenty Copper Inuit.

    Source
  16. 1453

    The Battle of Castillon, the last engagement of the Hundred Years' War, ended with the English losing all holdings in France except the Pale of Calais.

    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.