in World & History

July 17: Fun Facts about Today in History

by James updated April 16, 2022, 5:06 am

Today in History

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Learn about the most intriguing events and historical facts that occurred on July 17 throughout history. In the Gregorian calendar, July 17th is the 198th day of the year. The siege of Constantinople begins on this day during the fourth Crusade, and 25 African teams (later increased to 33 nations) boycott the 21st modern Olympic games in Montreal because New Zealand is playing rugby in apartheid South Africa.

The 17th of July falls under the sign of Cancer. Angela Merkel, Camilla, Duchess of Cambridge, and Luke Bryan all have famous birthdays. It’s World Emoji Day today.

Event
(July 17, 1902) In Buffalo, New York, Willis Carrier manufactures the first air conditioner.
Advertisements (July 17, 1936) This day in 1936, Nationalist rebels launched a well-planned insurrection against the Republican government of Spain, initiating a brutal civil war that lasted until 1939, when the Nationalists and Francisco Franco took power.
(July 17, 1938) Douglas Corrigan departs from Brooklyn and flies the "wrong way" to Ireland, earning him the nickname "Wrong Way" Corrigan.
(July 17, 2014) After being shot down, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777, crashes near the border of Ukraine and Russia. All 298 passengers are killed.
(July 17, 2020) John Lewis, an American civil rights leader and politician who helped lead the march on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965, which was a watershed moment in the history of the civil rights movement, died at the age of 80.
(Died on July 17, 2020) John Lewis, American Politician and Civil Rights Leader. (b. 1940).

Written by James

James has always been intrigued by dinosaurs, the universe, technology, and animals. With a Bachelor of Computer Science and years of writing expertise, he joined World Amazing Facts in 2021 as a staff writer.

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