Discover what happened on June 17 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

June 17

Discover what happened on June 17 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on June 17 | HISTORY

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1885

French Marshal and Vichy leader Henri-Philippe Petain (1856 - 1951, left) and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945, right) share the famous 'handshake at Montoire' while interpreter Colonel Schmidt watches, October 1940. Thus Petain announces officially that Vichy-France is prepared to collaborate with the German Reich.

1579

1940

2015

1994

The “shot heard round the world”—the opening salvo of the American Revolution, fired at the Battles of Lexington and Concord—got 1775 off with a bang. Before the year was out, the Second Continental Congress had appointed George Washington to command the troops and Benjamin Franklin to run the post office. Meanwhile in France, King Louis XVI was crowned, likely unaware that he’d one day face his own revolution—and the guillotine.

1775

1972

Across the globe, 1917 brought upheaval. Russians overthrew Czar Nicholas II, then staged a second revolution, putting Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks in power and sparking a civil war. The U.S. and China both declared war on Germany, entering World War I in its fourth year. Puerto Ricans gained U.S. citizenship. And as America’s first-ever female congresswoman took office, the push for women’s suffrage intensified, with increased picketing and the arrest of many activists, followed by jailhouse hunger strikes, force feedings and mistreatment.

1917

With months to spare, the Apollo 11 astronauts fulfilled late President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Back on earth, 1969 was also the year of the Woodstock music festival, the Stonewall riots for gay rights and the Tate-LaBianca murders by followers of Charles Manson. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Love Bug" topped Hollywood box office, and a movie ticket cost about $1.50.	

1969

1976

In 1954, a year of breakthroughs, the first successful polio vaccine rolled out and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional. In England, Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. Two pop-culture titans, movie star Marilyn Monroe and baseball slugger Joe DiMaggio, tied the knot. And Bill Haley and His Comets released “Rock Around the Clock,” one of the earliest and most successful rock ‘n’ roll records.

1954

1900

As World War II raged on, Allied troops made their first landing in Europe on the island of Sicily. Russian forces turned back German invaders in the Battle of Stalingrad. In the Pacific, Japanese troops evacuated Guadalcanal after bloody battles with U.S. troops. In the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Polish resistance fighters tried and failed to stop the deportation of Jews to Nazi death camps. Back on the American homefront, crooner Bing Crosby scored a huge hit with the song “White Christmas.”

1943

1876

The final year of the 1980s saw the Berlin Wall toppled, heralding the Cold War’s imminent demise, while in Czechoslovakia, the Velvet Revolution brought a nonviolent end to Communist rule. The Chinese military brutally squashed pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square, and the U.S. invaded Panama to depose dictator Manuel Noriega. Nintendo released the Game Boy handheld game console, selling 40,000 units the first day. And in a harbinger of things to come, a British scientist invented the world wide web.

1989

Barack Obama became the first Black American elected president in 2008, a year that also brought the release of “Iron Man,” the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the Great Recession deepened, investment manager Bernard Madoff was arrested for perpetrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history and the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto wrote a white paper introducing Bitcoin cryptocurrency to the world. Meanwhile, a fuzzy blanket with sleeves called the “Snuggie” sold some 4 million units over the holidays while inspiring a slew of parody commercials.   

2008

1958

1953

1837

America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

In the 15th century, Europeans began to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of new routes to China and the East, but in the process they discovered what they labeled a "New World," although Indigenous people had lived there for centuries. Other explorers have pushed the limits of flight and seafaring, and traversed the frozen Continent of Antarctica.

Exploration

Native American history spans an array of diverse groups and leaders, including Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Tecumseh, and events like the Trail of Tears, the French and Indian War and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Native American History

Legacy Unpublished

The Vietnam War pitted communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. The war ended when U.S. forces withdrew in 1973 and Vietnam unified under Communist control two years later.

Vietnam War

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.

Sports

The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

American Revolution

Videos

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History.com Editors

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

Landmarks and monuments, the physical record of human civilization, include spectacular structures like the Eiffel Tower, Mount Rushmore, the Panama Canal, the Brooklyn Bridge and more.

Landmarks

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.

This Day In History: June 17

Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor

Also on This Day in History June | 17

Sir Francis Drake claims California for England

British and Allied troops continue the evacuation of France, as Churchill reassures his countrymen

Charleston church shooting

This Day in History Video: What Happened on June 17

France signals intention to surrender to the Nazis

O.J. Simpson arrested after flight from justice

The Battle of Bunker Hill

Watergate burglars arrested

O.J. Simpson leads L.A. police on a low‑speed chase

Portuguese army sees first action in Flanders

Watergate burglars arrested

North Vietnamese reoccupy Ap Bia Mountain

NBA merges with ABA

Marciano beats Charles

Future President Hoover caught in Boxer Rebellion

FDR’s secretary of war stifles Truman’s inquiry into suspicious defense plant

Native Americans score victory at the Battle of the Rosebud

New Kids on the Block land at the top of the pops

Watergate break‑ins set the stage for “All the President’s Men”

Cyd Charisse dies

Bridge collapses, killing workers

Nixon’s re‑election employees are arrested for burglary

Soviets crush antigovernment riots in East Berlin

Union Colonel Strong Vincent is born

Battle of Bunker Hill begins

Also on This Day in History June | 17

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