March 17 in History

Significant events that happened on this day.

Today

Historical Events

2011

A man in the UK legally changed his name to 'Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine The Hulk And The Flash Combined'

George Garratt, a 19-year-old from Glastonbury, wanted to honor his superhero idols and completed the legal name change for just £10. His new 81-chara...

2008

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned after being caught in a high-end prostitution scandal

The 'Sheriff of Wall Street,' known for prosecuting white-collar crime, was exposed as 'Client 9' in a federal prostitution investigation. He had spen...

2003

British driver Phil Packer broke the world record by driving a car for 24 hours straight while sitting backwards

Packer drove a specially modified car in reverse gear for an entire day, covering over 50 miles. The stunt was performed at a race track with observer...

1992

A referendum in South Africa asked white voters whether to end apartheid, and 68.7% voted 'yes'

Major

President F.W. de Klerk risked his political career on the referendum, facing opposition from pro-apartheid conservatives. The decisive victory gave h...

1969

Golda Meir became the first female Prime Minister of Israel

Major

At age 70, the former Milwaukee schoolteacher and Zionist activist became only the third woman in modern history to lead a nation. She served during t...

1959

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India after a failed uprising against Chinese occupation

Major

Following the Tibetan uprising, the 23-year-old spiritual leader escaped on foot disguised as a soldier, crossing the Himalayas in a dangerous 15-day...

1950

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley discovered element 98, which they named Californium

The radioactive element was created by bombarding curium with alpha particles in a cyclotron. Californium is so rare that only about 8 grams exist wor...

1941

The National Gallery of Art opened in Washington, D.C., with Andrew Mellon's donated collection

The former Treasury Secretary donated his entire art collection and funded the building, creating one of America's finest art museums. The collection...

1910

The Camp Fire Girls organization was founded in America

Created by Luther and Charlotte Gulick just two years before the Girl Scouts, it became one of the first non-sectarian youth organizations for girls i...

1905

Eleanor Roosevelt married her fifth cousin Franklin D. Roosevelt

The future First Lady married the future President, with her uncle President Theodore Roosevelt giving her away at the ceremony. Eleanor later joked t...

1861

The Kingdom of Italy was officially proclaimed with Victor Emmanuel II as its first king

Major

After decades of fragmented states, most of the Italian peninsula was unified under one monarchy. This culminated the Risorgimento movement and create...

1845

The rubber band was patented by Stephen Perry in London

Perry invented the rubber band to hold papers and envelopes together, revolutionizing office work forever. The simple loop of vulcanized rubber became...

1834

Gottlieb Daimler, inventor of the high-speed internal combustion engine and founder of Mercedes-Benz, was born

The German engineer would revolutionize transportation by developing the first practical high-speed petrol engine. Along with Karl Benz, he created th...

1776

British forces evacuated Boston during the American Revolutionary War after George Washington fortified Dorchester Heights

Major

General George Washington's strategic positioning of artillery on Dorchester Heights forced the British to abandon Boston without a fight. This was a...