JUNE 17

• 1579 - Sir Francis Drake claims California for England
• 1775 - American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Bunker Hill is fought
• 1776 - American invasion of Quebec ends
• 1856 - The United States Republican Party holds its first political convention, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (they will eventually nominate John C. Fremont as their first Presidential candidate)
• 1885 - The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor
• 1903 - Roald Amundsen commences first east-west navigation of the Northwest Passage
• 1930 - President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff into law
• 1944 - Iceland becomes independent
• 1953 - Workers Uprising in East Germany
• 1972 - Watergate scandal: Five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee
• 1976 - China tests its first hydrogen bomb
• 1982 - The body of "God's Banker", Roberto Calvi is found hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London
• 1994 - O. J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his wife and a friend of hers

Births

• 1239 - King Edward I of England (+ 1307)
• 1703 - John Wesley, theologian, founder of Methodists (+ 1791)
• 1810 - Ferdinand Freiligrath (+ 1876)
• 1818 - Charles Gounod, composer (+ 1893)
• 1832 - Sir William Crookes, physicist, chemist (+ 1919)
• 1881 - Tommy Burns, World Heavyweight Boxing Champion (+ 1955)
• 1882 - Igor Stravinsky, composer (+ 1971)
• 1898 - M. C. Escher, artist (+ 1972)
• 1900 - Martin Bormann, Nazi official (+ 1945)
• 1904 - Ralph Bellamy, actor (+ 1991)
• 1907 - Charles Eames, American designer and architect (+ 1978)
• 1910 - Red Foley, country musician (+ 1968)
• 1914 - John Hersey, author (+ 1993)
• 1917 - Lena Horne, singer
• 1917 - Dean Martin, singer (+ 1995)
• 1923 - Elroy 'Crazylegs' Hirsch, American football star
• 1943 - Newt Gingrich, American politician
• 1945 - Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London
• 1945 - Eddy Merckx, Belgian cycling champion
• 1946 - Barry Manilow, musician
• 1946 - Peter Rosei, writer
• 1958 - Jello Biafra, musician, politician
• 1964 - Michael Gross, swimmer
• 1966 - Jason Patric, actor
• 1980 - Venus Williams, tennis player

Deaths

• 1696 - John III Sobieski, king of Poland
• 1898 - Edward Burne-Jones, English artist (* 1833)
• 1961 - Jeff Chandler, actor
• 1986 - Kate Smith, singer
• 1996 - Thomas Kuhn, philosopher
• 2002 - Fritz Walter, football player
• 2002 - Willie Davenport, athlete

Holidays and observances

See Also:

June 16 - June 18 - May 17 - July 17 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December