A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on August 17th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On August 17, 1498, Cesare Borgia, the son of reigning Pope Alexander VI, resigned his office as Cardinal of the Catholic Church, becoming the first cardinal to do so.
On August 17, 1943, the U.S. 8th Air Force, the main American unit of heavy bombers stationed in England, launched 376 B-17 bombers against Schweinfurt and Regensburg in Germany, a raid that came to symbolize the dangers of unescorted bombing.
On August 17, 1966, the US Congress passed the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, which in conjunction with the Highway Safety Act has greatly reduced traffic injuries and deaths in the United States.
On August 17, 1978, Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman made ballooning history by becoming the first to pilot a manned balloon across the Atlantic Ocean, flying from Maine to France in the Double Eagle II, a Helium balloon.
On August 17, 1998, US President Bill Clinton admitted in a taped deposition that he had am “improper physical relationship” with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, a lie that led to his impeachment.
On August 17, 2008, 6 foot 4 inch tall American swimmer Michael Phelps broke the previous record held by American swimmer Mark Spitz by winning his 8th Olympic Gold Medal at a single Olympic Games.
On August 17, 2009, ABC news published an article concerning how pop star Lady “Gaga herself remains 100-percent woman, a fact that required reiteration after an up-skirt photo sparked rumors that she’s a hermaphrodite.”
On August 17, 2017, the great Catalonian city of Barcelona, Spain was the scene of a mass murder perpetrated by Islamic extremist terrorists, and firearms were not the primary weapon that killed 16 innocent victims.
On August 11, 2017, Neo-Nazi, KKK, and extraneous white supremacists with a properly issued parade permit marched in Charlottesville, Virginia to protest the removal of a statue of Virginia state hero General Robert E. Lee.
On August 17, 2018, American action film fans were treated to the opening of the new action/thriller/black-ops movie starring Mark Wahlberg in his quirkiest best, Mile 22.
Action thriller fans had their chance to be among the first in Cleveland, Ohio to see The Protégé on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at 7:00 PM at Cinemark At Valley View & XD in Valley View, Ohio!
On August 17, 2023, we went and saw Meg 2: The Trench in 3D (RealD) as big monsters certainly deserve a big screen!
Question for students (and subscribers): Which event that occurred on today’s date would you like to learn more about? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.