This day in History – February 17

Ever wondered what might have occurred on this very day, 200 or 300 years ago? How was the world then? When were the things we use today invented? As you read this blog, something groundbreaking might have happened at this very moment a few years ago. This not only tells us about history, but also helps us understand the value of each minute in our lives. Let’s go through the blog and explore all the major events that happened on this day in history- February 17.

1370: Battle at Rudau
The  Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau which ended with Germany beating Lithuania.

1411: Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
After the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi who was one of the sons of Bayezid I became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.

1510: Conquering Goa
Portuguese admiral Afonso de Albuquerque entered the city of Goa with little conflict and is the first one to conquer it on February 17 1510.

1600: Giordano Bruno Burned
Philosopher Giordano Bruno is charged with heresy by the Roman Inquisition. On his way to be burned alive at Campo de’ Fiori in Rome, he has a wooden vise put on his tongue to prevent him from continuing to speak.

1739: Battle of Vasai
The Battle of Vasai began as the Marathas move to invade Portuguese-occupied territory on February 17 1739.

1772: Partition of Poland
The First Partition of Poland was signed in Vienna by Austria, Prussia, and Russia.

1801: Electoral College Tie
The US House of Representatives broke electoral college tie by electing Thomas Jefferson as President over Aaron Burr, while Burr is made Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.

1814: Battle of Mormant
The War of the Sixth Coalition- French Imperial army defeated Russian Austrian forces on February 17 1814.

1818: Early Bicycle
Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun- a young inventor in Germany,  patented and built a two-wheeled, wooden vehicle “draisine” (early bicycle).

1819: Missouri Compromis
The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.

1843 Battle of Miani
Bombay Army of the East India Company led by Charles Napier defeats a Baluch army of Talpur Emirs of Sindh led by Mir Nasir Khan Talpur. This led to the capture of parts of Sindh- the company’s first possession in modern-day Pakistan on February 17 1843.

1854: Orange Free State
The United Kingdom recognized the independence of the Orange Free State (South Africa).

1878: Telephone Exchange
 The first telephone exchange in San Francisco opens with 18 phones.

1883: Free-toilet Design
 A. Ashwell patents free-toilet in London on February 17 1883.

1931: First Sports Telecast in Japan
The first telecast of a sporting event- a baseball game took place in Japan. 

1936: The World’s First Superhero
The Phantom, a cartoon strip by Lee Falk, makes his first appearance in comics.

1944: World War II
The Battle of Eniwetok began with the US forces landing on Canna and Camelia’s islets. The battle ended in an American victory on February 22.

1959: Project Vanguard
The first weather satellite- Vanguard 2 (9.8 kg) is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.

1972: Volkswagen vs Ford
The cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.

1979:  Sino-Vietnamese War
China invaded Vietnam, marking the start of the Sino-Vietnamese War.

1985: Artificial Heart
3rd person to received an artificial heart (Murray Haydon) on February 17 1985.

1996: Biak earthquake
The Biak earthquake ( 8.2 Mw) shook the Papua province of eastern Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A large tsunami followed which left 160 people dead or missing and 423 injured.

1996: Garry Kasparov- World Champion
Garry Kasparov-Chess Grandmaster and Political Activist defeated Deep Blue 4-2 in chess  In Philadelphia.

1998: Voyager 1 Spacecraft
NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft overtook Pioneer 10 to become the farthest object from the earth in space

2008: Independent Kosovo 
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.

2011: Bloody Thursday
Libyan protests against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime began. In Bahrain, security forces launched a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama, the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.

Famous Birthdays on February 17

• Michael Jordan- Basketball Player
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt- American actor
• Praful Patel- Indian politician
• Ed Sheeran- Singer
• Jibanananda Das- Bengali poet
• Bonnie Wright- Actress

We hope now you’re familiar with the essential highlights of the events that occurred on this day in history- February 17th. Keep watching this space at Leverage Edu for more such educational content and follow us on LinkedIn, Youtube, Facebook, Quora, and Instagram!