On This Day

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What Happened in 1917

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Major Events

  • Feb 18 First major strike of the Russian "February Revolution" starts at the giant Putilov factory in Petrograd [NS=Mar 3]
  • Mar 3 First major strike of the Russian "February Revolution" starts at the giant Putilov factory in Petrograd [OS=Feb 18]
  • Mar 8 Russian "February Revolution" begins in earnest with protests celebrating International Woman's Day and riots in St Petersburg over food rations and conduct of the war [OS=Feb 23]
  • Mar 15 The last Russian Tsar Nicholas II, abdicates and nominates his brother Grand Duke Michael to succeed him [OS Mar 2]
  • Apr 2 US President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany
  • Apr 6 The United States declares war on Germany and enters World War I on the side of the Allies
  • Apr 16 Vladimir Lenin issues his radical "April Theses" calling for Soviets to take power during the Russian Revolution [OS Apr 4]
  • Jun 26 1st US troops arrive in France during World War I
  • HMS Vanguard in 1909
    HMS Vanguard Disaster
    Jul 9 British battleship HMS Vanguard explodes at Scapa Flow (the result of an internal explosion of faulty cordite), killing 804
  • Jul 28 Silent Parade organised by James Weldon Johnson of 10,000 African-Americans who march on 5th Ave in NYC to protest against lynching
  • Jul 31 World War I: Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres) begins, goes on to cause approximately 500,000 casualties
  • Aug 31 In China, Sun Yat-sen and his supporters' 'rump' parliament establishes a military government and elects Sun Yat-sen as commander-in-Chief
  • Oct 6 Battle of Passchendaele: Canadian troops capture the village of Passchendaele in the Third Battle of Ypres, after 250,000 casualties on both sides
  • Oct 8 Leon Trotsky named chairman of the Petrograd Soviet as Bolsheviks gain control
  • Oct 20 US suffragette Alice Paul begins a 7 month jail sentence for peacefully picketing in support of the women's Suffrage (right to vote) Amendment at the White House in Washington, D.C.
  • Oct 30 British government gives final approval to Balfour Declaration
  • Nov 2 Balfour Declaration proclaims support for a Jewish state in Palestine
  • Protesters scatter in Petrograd shortly after Russian government troops opened fire
    Red October
    Nov 6 [OS Oct 24] Bolshevik revolution begins with bombardment of the Winter Palace in Petrograd during the Russian October Revolution
  • Nov 7 [OS Oct 25] October Revolution in Russia; Lenin and the Bolsheviks seize power, capture the Winter Palace and overthrow the Provisional Government.
  • The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which established prohibition
    Prohibition is Ratified
    Dec 18 The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, authorizing prohibition of alcohol, is approved by the US congress and sent to the states for ratification [1]
  • Dec 20 Soviet state security force and forerunner to the KGB, the Cheka forms, under Felix Dzerzhinsky after decree by Vladimir Lenin
  • More 1917 Events

1917 in Music

  • Feb 26 1st jazz records recorded - "Dixie Jazz Band One Step" and "Livery Stable Blues" by Original Dixieland Jass Band for the Victor Talking Machine Company in NYC
  • Mar 7 1st jazz record released on a 78 by Original Dixieland Jass Band for the Victor Talking Machine Company ("Dixie Jazz Band One Step," one side "Livery Stable Blues" other)
  • May 30 Jazz standard "Dark Town Strutters Ball" by Shelton Brooks recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band

1917 in Sport

  • Mar 11 1st NHL championship game ever played, Toronto Arenas beats Montreal Canadiens 7-3 in 1st of 2 game set (second game on March 13)
  • Nov 26 NHL forms with Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Maroons, Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators & Quebec Bulldogs; National Hockey Association disbands

Did You Know?

Suffragettes the "Silent Sentinels" first protest outside The White House, in Washington led by Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party

January 10, 1917

Born in 1917

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Fun Fact About 1917

The British Royal Family, which has had strong German ties since George I, renounces its German names and titles and adopts the name of Windsor

June 19, 1917

Who Died in 1917

Musicians Who Died in 1917


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Articles About 1917

Famous Weddings in 1917

  • Jan 29 Sculptor Auguste Rodin (76) weds Rose Beuret
  • May 1 Country singer Jimmie Rodgers (19) weds Stella Kelley
  • May 13 American missionary and writer Pearl Sydenstricker (24) weds fellow American missionary and economist John Lossing Buck (26), becoming Pearl S. Buck; divorce in 1935

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World Leaders in 1917

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