12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 6 Deaths for August 17, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1807 – Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat (later known as Clermont) begins its first successful trip up the Hudson River.
- 1862 – Dakota War of 1862 begins in Minnesota as Dakota warriors attack settlers, leading to hundreds of deaths.
- 1943 – World War II: Allied forces complete the conquest of Sicily, launching the invasion of mainland Italy.
- 1945 – Indonesian leaders Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaim independence from the Netherlands.
- 1960 – Gabon gains independence from France.
- 1962 – The Beatles replace drummer Pete Best with Ringo Starr.
- 1978 – First successful transatlantic balloon flight ends as Double Eagle II lands in France after 137 hours.
- 1982 – The first compact discs (CDs) are released to the public in Germany.
- 1988 – Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq is killed in a plane crash.
- 1998 – President Bill Clinton admits in a taped testimony that he had an “improper physical relationship” with Monica Lewinsky.
- 2008 – American swimmer Michael Phelps wins his eighth gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, breaking Mark Spitz’s 1972 record.
- 2017 – A van drives into crowds on La Rambla in Barcelona, killing 13 and injuring more than 100 in a terrorist attack.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1943 – Robert De Niro, actor known for Raging Bull and The Godfather Part II (82)
- 1953 – Herta Müller, Romanian-born German author and Nobel laureate (72)
- 1957 – Belinda Carlisle, singer (lead vocalist of the Go-Go’s) (68)
- 1960 – Sean Penn, actor and filmmaker (Mystic River, Milk) (65)
- 1969 – Donnie Wahlberg, singer (New Kids on the Block), actor (Blue Bloods) (56)
- 1977 – Thierry Henry, French footballer and World Cup champion (48)
- 1980 – Koji Uehara, Japanese MLB pitcher and World Series champion (45)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1786 – Frederick the Great, King of Prussia and military strategist (74)
- 1915 – Leo Frank, American factory superintendent lynched in Georgia (31)
- 1949 – Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind (48)
- 1983 – Ira Gershwin, American lyricist (Rhapsody in Blue, I Got Rhythm) (86)
- 1987 – Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy in Nazi Germany, dies by suicide in prison (93)
- 2008 – Ronnie Drew, Irish folk musician and founding member of The Dubliners (73)
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