On this day in History . Apr. 17

• 0069 - After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes Roman Emperor.
• 0326 - Alexander dies. Patriarch of Alexandria
• 0487 - Proclus dies (b. 0412). Greek philosopher.
• 0593 - Emperor Jomei was born. Emperor of Japan.
• 1080 - King Harald III of Denmark dies (b. 1041).
• 1397 - Geoffrey Chaucer tells the Canterbury Tales for the first time at the court of Richard II. Chaucer scholars have also identified this date (in 1387) as when the book's pilgrimage to Canterbury starts.
• 1427 - John IV, Duke of Brabant dies (b. 1403)
• 1496 - O navegador Cristóvão Colombo obteve financiamento do Rei Fernando de Espanha para a sua célebre viagem.
• 1498 - Vasco da Gama avista Calicute e com isso descobre o caminho marítimo para a Índia.
• 1521 - Martin Luther speaks to the assembly at the Diet of Worms, refusing to recant his teachings.
• 1524 - Giovanni da Verrazano reaches New York harbor.
• 1539 - George, Duke of Saxony dies (b. 1471)
• 1573 - Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria was born (d. 1651)
• 1574 - Joachim Camerarius dies (b. 1500). German classical scholar.
• 1586 - John Ford was born. English dramatist.
• 1598 - Giovanni Riccioli was born (d. 1671). Italian astronomer.
• 1683 - Nascimento de Johann David Heinichen. Compositor alemão.
• 1695 - Sor Juana dies. Mexican writer
• 1696 -Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné dies (b. 1626). French writer.
• 1710 - Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan was born (d. 1767). British Freemason.
• 1711 - Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor dies (b. 1678)
• 1734 - Taksin was born (d. 1782). King of Thailand.
• 1742 - Arvid Horn dies (b. 1664). Swedish statesman.
• 1761 - Thomas Bayes dies. English mathematician.
• 1764 - Johann Mattheson dies (b. 1681). German composer.
• 1790 - Benjamin Franklin dies (b. 1706). American politician, inventor, diplomat, and printer.
• 1794 - Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius was born (d. 1868). German botanist.
• 1799 - Richard Jupp dies (b. 1728). English architect.
• 1825 - A França reconhece a independência do Haiti.
• 1837 - J.P. Morgan was born (d. 1913). American financier, art collector, philanthropist.
• 1842 - Maurice Rouvier was born (d. 1911). French statesman.
• 1843 - Samuel Morey dies (b. 1762). American inventor.
• 1861 - American Civil War: Virginia secedes from the Union.
• 1863 - Augustus Edward Hough Love was born (d. 5 Jun 1940). British geophysicist and mathematician who discovered a major type of earthquake wave that was subsequently named for him.
• 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Plymouth begins – Confederate forces attack Plymouth, North Carolina.
• 1865 - Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo assume o cargo de primeiro-ministro de Portugal.
• 1865 - Mary Surratt is arrested as a conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
• 1866 - Ernest Starling was born (d. 1927). British physiologist.
• 1882 - Artur Schnabel was born. Austrian pianist.
• 1890 - Art Acord was born (d. 1931). American actor and rodeo rider.
• 1891 - Alexander Mackenzie dies (b. 1822). Second Prime Minister of Canada
• 1893 - Morte da poetisa norte-americana Lucy Larcom.
• 1894 - Nikita Khrushchev was born (d. 1971). Premier of the Soviet Union
• 1895 - The Treaty of Maguan (also as Treaty of Shimonoseki) between China and Japan is signed. This marks the end of the first Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtien province, Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands to Japan.
• 1897 - Thornton Wilder was born (d. 1975). American dramatist.
• 1899 - Sir Vincent (Brian) Wigglesworth was born (d.11 Feb 1994). English entomologist who pioneered in the study of insect physiology; he was particularly respected for his research into the role of hormones in insect growth, metamorphosis, and reproduction and for his insights into simple mechanisms, such as how insects walk upside down.
• 1902 - Jaime Torres Bodet was born (d. 1974). Mexican writer, politician, and diplomat
• 1903 - Gregor Piatigorsky was born (d. 1976). Russian cellist.
• 1903 - Morgan Taylor was born (d. 1975). American athlete.
• 1903 - Nicolas Nabokov was born. American composer.
• 1904 - Brazil: Bangu Atlético Clube (RJ) is founded
• 1915 - Joe Foss was born (d. 2003). American soldier and politician
• 1916 - Helenio Herrera was born (d. 1997). French footballer player and manager.
• 1916 - Nasceu a natural do Sri Lanka Sirimavo Bandaranaike, primeira mulher a ocupar o cargo de primeiro-ministro.
• 1917 - Bill Clements was born. Governor of Texas
• 1918 - William Holden, was born (d. 1981). American actor.
• 1924 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios is formed from a merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and the Louis B. Mayer Company.
• 1925 - Charles Yanofsky was born. American geneticist who demonstrated the colinearity of gene and protein structures.
• 1929 - James Last was born. Band leader and conductor.
• 1929 - Odete Lara was born. Brazilian actress.
• 1934 - Don Kirshner was born. American television producer and composer
  1935 - Sun Myung Moon has a vision of Jesus Christ who tells him to complete his mission from almost 2000 years ago.
• 1936 - Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck dies (b. 1873). Dutch prime minister.
• 1937 - Daffy Duck debuts in Warner Bros' short Porky's Duck Hunt.
• 1938 - Ben Barnes was born. Lieutenant Governor of Texas.
• 1940 - Anja Silja was born. German soprano.
• 1941 - World War II: The Kingdom of Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany.
• 1941 - Al Bowlly dies (b. 1899). British dance band vocalist.
• 1942 - POW French General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Festung Königstein.
• 1942 - Luís Noronha Costa was born. Portuguese painter.
• 1942 - Jean Perrin dies (b. 1870). French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1943 - Na cidade do México, Jacques Monard é sentenciado a 20 anos de prisão pelo assassinato de Trotsky, um dos líderes da Revolução Russa de 1917 que se exilou no México.
• 1944 - J.T. Hearne dies (b. 1867). English cricketer.
• 1945 - Tropas russas iniciam o ataque em grande escala contra Berlim (II Guerra Mundial).
• 1946 - Georges J.F. Kohler was born (d. 1 Mar 1995). German immunologist who in 1984, with César Milstein and Niels K. Jerne, received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work in developing the technique for producing monoclonal antibodies.
• 1946 - Juan Bautista Sacasa dies. President of Nicarágua (1932-1936)
• 1947 - Linda Martin was born. Irish singer and Eurovision Song Contest winner
• 1948 - Jan Hammer was born. Czech composer
• 1950 - Bruce McNall was born. American former NHL team owner
• 1951 - Olivia Hussey was born. Argentine-born actress
• 1952 - Zeljko Raznatovic was born. Serbian Warlord.
• 1954 - Louise Cardoso was born. Brazilian actress.
• 1954 - Riccardo Patrese was born. Italian race car driver.
• 1954 - Michael Sembello was born. American musician
• 1957 - Nick Hornby was born. English author
• 1959 - Sean Bean was born in Sheffiels, Yorkshire. English actor
• 1960 - Eddie Cochran dies (b. 1938). American musician.
• 1961 - Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of CIA-financed and -trained Cuban refugees lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro / Ocorreu o fracasso americano da Baía dos Porcos.
• 1961 - Boomer Esiason was born. American football player.
• 1962 - Henrique Pires was born. Brazilian actor and producer.
• 1963 - O general Tito tornou-se Presidente da Jugoslávia.
• 1963 - Joel Murray was born. American actor .
• 1964 - Maynard James Keenan was born. American singer (Tool and A Perfect Circle)
• 1964 - The Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Mustang at the New York World's Fair.
• 1964 - Jerrie Mock becomes the first woman to circumnavigate the world by air.
• 1967 - Marquis Grissom was born. Baseball player.
• 1967 - Liz Phair was born. American musician and songwriter.
• 1967 - Red Allen dies (b. 1908). American jazz trumpeter.
• 1969 - Czechoslovak Communist Party chairman Alexander Dubček is deposed.
• 1969 - Começo da Crise Académica de 1969, com greve às aulas e boicote aos exames de Junho, provocada pela prisão pela PIDE de Alberto Martins, presidente da Direcção-Geral da Associação Académica de Coimbra, por pretender usar a palavra na cerimónia de inauguração do novo Edifício das Matemáticas da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Coimbra, presidida pelo Presidente da República, Américo Tomaz. O ministro da Educação Nacional, José Hermano Saraiva, encerrará temporariamente a Universidade.
• 1969 - Henry Ian Cusick was born. Peruvian-born actor.
• 1969 - Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.
• 1969 - Czechoslovak Communist Party chairman Alexander Dubček is deposed.
• 1970 - Apollo program: The ill-fated Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely.
• 1971 - Proclamação da República Democrática de Bangladesh .
• 1972 - Muttiah Muralitharan was born. Sri Lankan cricket player
• 1972 - Tony Boselli was born. American football player
• 1972 - Jennifer Garner was born. American actress
• 1974 - Victoria Beckham was born. English singer
• 1974 - Mikael Åkerfeldt was born. Swedish singer and guitarist (Opeth)
• 1974 - Victoria Adams was born. Singer.
• 1975 - Cambodian Civil War ends: The Khmer Rouge captures the capital Phnom Penh and Cambodian government forces surrender.
• 1975 - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan dies (b. 1888). Indian philosopher.
• 1976 - During his unsuccessful re-election bid, U.S. President Gerald Ford appears as himself on Saturday Night Live.
• 1977 - William Cardinal Conway dies (b. 1913). Northern Irish clergyman.
• 1977 - Sizzla was born. Jamaican dancehall artist
• 1977 - Chad Hedrick was born. American speed skater
• 1977 - William Cardinal Conway dies (b. 1913). Northern Irish clergyman.
• 1978 - Jordan Hill was born. American singer.
• 1982 - Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.
• 1983 - Incidente diplomático retém por 50 dias no Brasil 4 aviões líbios com armas para a Nicarágua .
• 1984 - Svenn Thorkild Stray assume o cargo de primeiro-ministro da Noruega.
• 1984 - Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher is killed by automatic gunfire coming from the Libyan People's Bureau in central London. She had been policing a small demonstration outside the embassy. Ten other people are wounded. The events lead to an 11-day siege of the building.
• 1986 - Treaty signed, ending Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly.
• 1986 - Nasce Luis Filipe dos Santos Semana, natural de Gondomar. "Profissional" de jogos de computador.
• 1988 - Louise Nevelson dies (b. 1900). American sculptor.
• 1988 - Ankit Modh dies (b. 1900). American Super Hero.
• 1989 - Adolfo Simões Müller dies (b. 1909). Portuguese writer.
• 1990 - Reverend Ralph Abernathy dies (b. 1936). American civil rights activist.
• 1991 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for the first time ever gaining 17.58 to 3,004.46.
• 1994 - Roger Wolcott Sperry dies (b. 1913). American neurobiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• 1998 - Nasa lança missão espacial STS-90 (retorna em 03 Mai 1998).
• 1998 - Linda McCartney dies (b. 1941). American photographer, activist, and musician.
• 2001 - Barry Bonds becomes the 17th member of the 500 home run club at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, California.
• 2002 - Four Canadian Forces soldiers are killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire from two U.S. Air Force F-16s, the first deaths in a combat zone for Canada since the Korean War.
• 2002 - Portugal e Brasil empatam (1 x 1) em jogo amigável de futebol.
• 2003 - Terramoto de 6,6 graus na escala Richter em Qinghai - China.
• 2003 - Earl King dies (b. 1934). American R&B musician and songwriter .
• 2003 - Dr. Robert Atkins dies (b. 1930). American diet doctor.
• 2003 - Paul Getty dies (b. 1932). American-born philanthropist.
• 2004 - Míssil disparado de helicóptero israelita mata o líder do Hamas, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi.
• 2004 - José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero é empossado Primeiro Ministro da Espanha pelo rei Juan Carlos
• 2004 - Edmond Pidoux dies (b. 1908). Swiss writer.
• 2004 - Soundarya dies (b. 1971). Indian actress.
• Feast day of saints Anicetus (d. 0166) and Stephen Harding (d. 1134)