Summary of the Day ✨ 17 December (17/12)
The United States and Cuba restored diplomatic relations after 54 years of estrangement, while Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in Tunisia ignited the Arab Spring revolution that spread across the Middle East; elsewhere, a shipping disaster off Lebanon claimed 44 lives and thousands of animals.
Historical Events 📜
- 2014: The United States and Cuba re-establish diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961.
- 2010: Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire. This act became the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring.
- 2009: MV Danny F II sinks off the coast of Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of 44 people and over 28,000 animals.
- 2005: Anti-World Trade Organization protesters riot in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.
- 2005: Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicates the throne as King of Bhutan.
- 2003: The Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend, Maxine Carr, is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
- 2003: SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.
- 2003: Sex work rights activists establish December 17 (or “D17”) as International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers to memorialize victims of a serial killer who targeted prostitutes, and highlight State violence against sex workers by police and others.
- 2002: Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years.
- 1997: Peruvian internal conflict: Fourteen members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement provoke a hostage crisis by taking over the Japanese embassy in Lima.
- 1997: Aerosvit Flight 241: A Yakovlev Yak-42 crashes into the Pierian Mountains near Thessaloniki Airport in Thessaloniki, Greece, killing all 70 people on board.
- 1989: Romanian Revolution: Protests continue in Timișoara, Romania, with rioters breaking into the Romanian Communist Party’s District Committee building and attempting to set it on fire.
- 1989: Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.
- 1989: The Simpsons premieres on television with the episode “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”.
- 1983: Provisional IRA members detonate a car bomb at Harrods Department Store in London. Three police officers and three civilians are killed.
Famous Births 👶
- 2002: Castello Lukeba, French footballer
- 2000: Wesley Fofana, French footballer
- 1999: Holly Humberstone, English singer-songwriter
- 1999: Mirei Sasaki, Japanese singer, model, and actress
- 1998: Jasmine Armfield, English actress
- 1998: Martin Ødegaard, Norwegian footballer
- 1997: Naiktha Bains, British-Australian tennis player
- 1997: Shoma Uno, Japanese figure skater
- 1996: Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Russian figure skater
- 1995: Guerschon Yabusele, French basketball player
- 1994: Lloyd Perrett, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1994: Nat Wolff, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player and actor
- 1993: Kiersey Clemons, American actress
- 1993: Patricia Kú Flores, Peruvian tennis player
- 1992: Quinton de Kock, South African cricketer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Igor Kirillov, Russian general (born 1970)
- 2024: Marisa Paredes, Spanish film actress (born 1946)
- 2023: Ronaldo Valdez, Filipino actor (born 1947)
- 2023: James McCaffrey, American actor (born 1958)
- 2020: Jeremy Bulloch, English actor (born 1945)
- 2020: Allen Dines, American politician (born 1921)
- 2016: Benjamin A. Gilman, American soldier and politician (born 1922)
- 2016: Henry Heimlich, American doctor (born 1920)
- 2016: Gordon Hunt, American voice director (born 1929)
- 2015: Hal Brown, American baseball player and manager (born 1924)
- 2015: Osamu Hayaishi, American-Japanese biochemist and academic (born 1920)
- 2015: Michael Wyschogrod, German-American philosopher and theologian (born 1928)
- 2014: Dieter Grau, German-American scientist and engineer (born 1913)
- 2014: Richard C. Hottelet, American journalist (born 1917)
- 2014: Oleh Lysheha, Ukrainian poet and playwright (born 1949)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Daniel the Prophet - Christian feast day:
Josep Manyanet i Vives - Christian feast day:
Lazarus of Bethany (local commemoration in Cuba) - Christian feast day:
O Sapientia - Christian feast day:
Olympias the Deaconess - Christian feast day:
Wivina - Christian feast day:
Sturm - Christian feast day:
December 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Accession Day (Bahrain)
- International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
- Kurdish Flag Day (Global Kurdish population)
- National Day (Bhutan)
- Pan American Aviation Day (United States)
- Wright Brothers Day, a United States federal observance by Presidential proclamation