17
June
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June 17 in History
1994
Following a televised low-speed highway chase , O.J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
1992
A 'joint understanding' agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II).
1991
Apartheid: the South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.
1987
With the death of the last individual, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct.
1972
Watergate scandal: five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee, in an attempt by some members of the Republican party to illegally wiretap the opposition.
1971
President Richard Nixon declares the U.S. War on Drugs.
1963
The United States Supreme Court rules 8 to 1 in ''Abington School District v. Schempp'' against allowing the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer in public schools.
1961
The New Democratic Party of Canada is founded with the merger of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Canadian Labour Congress.
1960
The Nez Perce tribe is awarded $4 million for {{convert|7|e6acre|km2}} of land undervalued (4 cents/acre) in the 1863 treaty.
1958
The Wooden Roller Coaster at Playland, which is in the Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver, Canada opens. It is still open today.
The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, in the process of being built to connect Vancouver and North Vancouver (Canada), collapses into the Burrard Inlet killing many of the ironworkers and injuring others.
1953
East Germany Workers Uprising: in East Germany, the Soviet Union orders a division of troops into East Berlin to quell a rebellion.
1948
A Douglas DC-6 carrying United Airlines Flight 624 crashes near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, killing all 43 people on board.
1944
Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic.
1940
The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union.
World War II: the British Army's 11th Hussars assault and take Fort Capuzzo in Libya, Africa from Italian forces.
World War II: sinking of the {{RMS|Lancastria}} by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France.
World War II: Operation Ariel begins – Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany's takeover of Paris and most of the nation.
1939
Last public guillotining in France: Eugen Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is guillotined in Versailles outside the Saint-Pierre prison.
1933
Union Station Massacre: in Kansas City, Missouri, four FBI agents and captured fugitive Frank Nash are gunned down by gangsters attempting to free Nash.
1932
Bonus Army: around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits.
1930
U.S. President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act into law.
1910
Aurel Vlaicu performed the first flight of A. Vlaicu nr. 1.
1901
The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT.
1898
The United States Navy Hospital Corps is established.
1885
1877
Indian Wars: Battle of White Bird Canyon
1876
Indian Wars: Battle of the Rosebud
1863
Battle of Aldie in the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War.
1839
In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the Edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaii Catholic Church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace are established as a result.
1789
In France, the Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly.
1775
American Revolutionary War: Battle of Bunker Hill
1773
Cúcuta (Colombia) is founded by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar.
1673
French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet reach the Mississippi River and become the first Europeans to make a detailed account of its course.
1631
Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend more than 20 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
1579
Sir Francis Drake claims a land he calls ''Nova Albion'' (modern California) for England.
1565
Matsunaga Hisahide assassinates the 13th Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru.
1497
Cornish_Rebellion_of_1497#Battle_of_Deptford_Bridge|Battle of Deptford Bridge
1462
Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat from Wallachia.