Date·Lore

On This Day · The 198th day of the year

July 17

July 17 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1453 and 2014. Battle of Castillon: The last battle of the Hundred Years' War, the French under Jean Bureau defeat the English under the Earl of Shrewsbury, who is killed in the battle in Gascony.

♋ZodiacCancer ◈BirthstoneRuby ❀Birth flowerLarkspur

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on July 17?

July 17 is the 198th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1453 and 2014. Famous people born on July 17 include Angela Merkel, Georges Lemaître and Matti Nykänen.

The shape of the day

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Timor-Leste — July 17 carries the weight of round numbers. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.

Cancer is the sign for July 17 — read more on the Cancer page, or see July's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on July 17

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Game Donkey Kong Bananza
  • Game Fretless: The Wrath of Riffson
  • Game Off The Grid
  • Game Blue Protocol: Star Resonance
  • Game The Drifter
  • Game He is Coming
  • Game The Necromancer's Tale
  • Game The Wandering Village
  • Game Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact

2024

  • Game Nobody Wants to Die
  • Game Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1453

    Battle of Castillon

    Battle of Castillon: The last battle of the Hundred Years' War, the French under Jean Bureau defeat the English under the Earl of Shrewsbury, who is killed in the battle in Gascony.

  2. 1821

    Spain

    The Kingdom of Spain cedes the territory of Florida to the United States.

  3. 1918

    RMS Carpathia

    The RMS Carpathia is sunk off Ireland by the German SM U-55; five lives are lost.

  4. 1919

    Finland

    The form of government in the Republic of Finland is officially confirmed. For this reason, July 17 is known as the Day of Democracy (Kansanvallan päivä) in Finland.

  5. 1944

    Port Chicago disaster

    Port Chicago disaster: Near the San Francisco Bay, two ships laden with ammunition for the war explode in Port Chicago, California, killing 320.

  6. 1976

    Timor-Leste

    East Timor is annexed and becomes the 27th province of Indonesia.

  7. 1994

    Brazil national football team

    Brazil win their fourth World Cup title, defeating Italy 3–2 on penalties.

  8. 1996

    TWA Flight 800

    TWA Flight 800: Off the coast of Long Island, New York, a Paris-bound TWA Boeing 747 explodes, killing all 230 on board.

  9. 2007

    TAM Airlines Flight 3054

    TAM Airlines Flight 3054, an Airbus A320, crashes into a warehouse after landing too fast and missing the end of the São Paulo–Congonhas Airport runway, killing 199 people.

  10. 2014

    Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

    Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777, crashes near the border of Ukraine and Russia after being shot down. All 298 people on board are killed.

Famous birthday twins

Born on July 17

Angela Merkel

b. 1954

German chemist and politician, Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021.

Georges Lemaître

b. 1894

Belgian priest, astronomer, and cosmologist

Matti Nykänen

b. 1963

Finnish ski jumper and singer

Mike Vogel

b. 1979

American actor

Wong Kar-wai

b. 1958

Chinese director, producer, and screenwriter

John Jacob Astor

b. 1763

German-American businessman and philanthropist

Letsie III

b. 1963

of Lesotho

Erwin Bauer

b. 1912

German race car driver

Deaths

  • 2025Felix Baumgartner
  • 2007TAM Airlines Flight 3054
  • 1995Juan Manuel Fangio
  • 1967John Coltrane
  • 1960Maud Menten
  • 1588Mimar Sinan

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Alexius of Rome (Western Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Andrew Zorard
  • —Christian feast day: Cynehelm
  • —Christian feast day: Cynllo
  • —Christian feast day: Inácio de Azevedo
  • —Christian feast day: Jadwiga of Poland
  • —Christian feast day: Magnus Felix Ennodius
  • —Christian feast day: Marcellina

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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