Editing December 17 (section)

==Events==
===Pre-1600===

*[[497 BC]] &ndash; The first [[Saturnalia]] festival was celebrated in [[ancient Rome]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bradley|first=Keith R.|title=The Early Development of Slavery at Rome|journal=Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques|date=Spring 1985|volume=12|issue=1|page=3|jstor=41298844|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41298844}}</ref>
* [[546]] &ndash; [[Sack of Rome (546)|Siege of Rome]]: The [[Ostrogoths]] under king [[Totila]] plunder the city, by bribing the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman]] garrison.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gibbon|first=Edward|title=The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire|location=New York|publisher=Modern Library|year=2005|isbn=9780345478849|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9xriVJrENcMC|page=752}}</ref>
* [[920]] &ndash; [[Romanos I Lekapenos]] is crowned co-emperor of the underage [[Constantine VII]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Speake|first=Graham|title=Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenic Tradition. Vol. 2: L—Z|location=New York|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2021|isbn=9781135942137|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pJoMEAAAQBAJ|page=1465}}</ref>
* [[942]] &ndash; Assassination of [[William I of Normandy]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Petkov|first=Kiril|title=The Kiss of Peace: Ritual, Self, and Society in the High and Late Medieval West|location=Boston|publisher=Brill|year=2003|isbn=9789004130388|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vc_1PAcOgnUC|page=39}}</ref>
* [[1297]] &ndash; King [[Kyawswa of Pagan]] is overthrown by the [[Myinsaing Kingdom|three Myinsaing brothers]], marking the de facto end of the [[Pagan Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite journal | author=Than Tun | author-link=Than Tun | title=History of Burma: A.D. 1300–1400 | journal=[[Journal of Burma Research Society]] | date=December 1959 | volume=XLII | number=II | pages=119–120}}</ref>
* [[1354]] &ndash; [[Margaret II, Countess of Hainaut|Margaret II, Countess of Hainaut and Holy Roman Empress]] and her son [[William I, Duke of Bavaria]], sign a peace treaty ending the [[Hook and Cod wars]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blok |first=P. J. |title=Inhoudsopgave van Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche volk. Deel 1 |url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/blok013gesc01_01/index.php |access-date=December 12, 2024 |website=DBNL |page=326 |language=nl}}</ref>
*[[1398]] &ndash; [[Tughlaq dynasty|Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud]]'s armies in Delhi are defeated by [[Timur]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Srivastava|first=Ashirbadi Lal|title=The History of India, 1000 A.D.—1707 A.D.|location=Jaipur, India|publisher=Shiva Lal Agarwala|year=1964|oclc=1100402590|page=181}}</ref>
*[[1538]] &ndash; [[Pope Paul III]] excommunicates [[Henry VIII of England]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Scarisbrick|first=J.J.|title=Henry VIII|location=New Haven, Conn.|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-30007158-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oSuFAwAAQBAJ|page=361}}</ref>
*[[1583]] &ndash; [[Cologne War]]: Forces under [[Ernest of Bavaria]] defeat troops under [[Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg]] at the [[Siege of Godesberg]].
*[[1586]] &ndash; [[Emperor Go-Yōzei|Go-Yōzei]] becomes [[Emperor of Japan]].

===1601–1900===
*[[1665]] &ndash; The first account of a [[blood transfusion]] is published, in the form of a letter from physician Richard Lower to chemist Robert Boyle, in ''[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society]]''<ref>“[http://rstl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/2/23-32/617.full.pdf+html An Extract of a Letter, Written by J. Denis, Doctor of Physick and Professor of Philosophy and Mathematics at Paris, Touching a Late Cure of an Inveterate Phrensy by the Transfusion of Blood],” In: ''[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society]]'', Volume 2. (1666-1667) pp. 617-623.</ref> 
*[[1718]] &ndash; [[War of the Quadruple Alliance]]: Great Britain declares war on Spain.
*[[1777]] &ndash; [[American Revolution]]: [[France in the American Revolutionary War|France]] formally [[France–United States relations|recognizes]] the United States.
*[[1790]] &ndash; The [[Aztec calendar stone]] is discovered at  El Zócalo, Mexico City.
*[[1807]] &ndash; [[Napoleonic Wars]]: France issues the [[Milan Decree]], which confirms the [[Continental System]].
*[[1812]] &ndash; [[War of 1812]]: U.S. forces attack a [[Lenape]] village in the [[Battle of the Mississinewa]].
*[[1819]] &ndash; [[Simón Bolívar]] declares the independence of [[Gran Colombia]] in Angostura (now [[Ciudad Bolívar]] in [[Venezuela]]).
*[[1835]] &ndash; The second [[Great Fire of New York]] destroys {{convert|13|acre|m2|order=flip}} of New York City's [[Financial District, Manhattan|Financial District]].
*[[1837]] &ndash; A [[fire in the Winter Palace]] of [[Saint Petersburg]] kills 30 guards.
*[[1862]] &ndash; [[American Civil War]]: General [[Ulysses S. Grant]] issues ''[[General Order No. 11 (1862)|General Order No. 11]]'', expelling [[Jews]] from parts of [[Tennessee]], [[Mississippi]], and [[Kentucky]].
*[[1865]] &ndash; First performance of the [[Symphony No. 8 (Schubert)|Unfinished Symphony]] by [[Franz Schubert]].
*[[1892]] &ndash; First issue of ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'' is published.
*[[1896]] &ndash; [[Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's]] [[Schenley Park Casino]], which was the first multi-purpose [[arena]] with the technology to create an artificial ice surface in North America, is destroyed in a fire.

===1901–present===
*[[1903]] &ndash; The [[Wright brothers]] make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the ''[[Wright Flyer]]'' at [[Kitty Hawk, North Carolina]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.centennialofflight.net/essay/Wright_Bros/First_Powered_Flight/WR6.htm |title=The First Powered Flight – 1903 |website=[[U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission]] |access-date=November 22, 2021}}</ref>
*[[1907]] &ndash; [[Ugyen Wangchuck]] is crowned first King of [[Bhutan]].
*[[1918]] &ndash; [[Darwin Rebellion]]: Up to 1,000 demonstrators march on [[Government House, Darwin|Government House]] in Darwin, [[Northern Territory]], Australia.
*[[1926]] &ndash; [[Antanas Smetona]] assumes power in [[Lithuania]] as the [[1926 Lithuanian coup d'état|1926 coup d'état]] is successful.
*[[1927]] &ndash; Indian revolutionary [[Rajendra Lahiri]] is hanged in Gonda jail, Uttar Pradesh, India, two days before the scheduled date.
*[[1928]] &ndash; Indian revolutionaries [[Bhagat Singh]], [[Sukhdev Thapar]] and [[Shivaram Rajguru]] assassinate British police officer James Saunders in [[Lahore]], [[Punjab region|Punjab]], to avenge the death of [[Lala Lajpat Rai]] at the hands of the police. The three were executed in 1931.
*[[1933]] &ndash; The [[1933 NFL Championship Game|first NFL Championship Game]] is played at [[Wrigley Field]] in [[Chicago]] between the [[New York Giants]] and [[Chicago Bears]]. The Bears won 23–21.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.profootballhof.com/news/1933-nfl-championship-game/|title=1933 NFL Championship Game &#124; Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site|website=profootballhof.com}}</ref>
*[[1935]] &ndash; First flight of the [[Douglas DC-3]].
*[[1938]] &ndash; [[Otto Hahn]] discovers the [[nuclear fission]] of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of [[Nuclear power|nuclear energy]].
*[[1939]] &ndash; [[World War II]]: [[Battle of the River Plate]]: The ''[[German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee|Admiral Graf Spee]]'' is scuttled by Captain [[Hans Langsdorff]] outside [[Montevideo]].
*[[1943]] &ndash; All Chinese are again permitted to become citizens of the United States upon the repeal of the [[Chinese Exclusion Act|Act of 1882]] and the introduction of the [[Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act|Magnuson Act]].
*[[1944]] &ndash; World War II: [[Battle of the Bulge]]: [[Malmedy massacre]]: American [[285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion]] [[Prisoner of war|POWs]] are shot by [[Waffen-SS]] [[Kampfgruppe]] [[Joachim Peiper]].
*[[1945]] &ndash; [[Kurdistan]] flag day, the [[flag of Kurdistan]] was raised for the first time in [[Mahabad]] in eastern Kurdistan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The reason for the appointment of the Kurdistan Flag Day on the 17th of December-ARK NEWS |url=https://www.arknews.net/en/node/15360 |access-date=December 10, 2022 |website=arknews.net |language=en}}</ref>
*[[1947]] &ndash; First flight of the [[Boeing B-47 Stratojet]] [[strategic bomber]].
*[[1948]] &ndash; The [[Finnish Security and Intelligence Service|Finnish Security Police]] is established to remove [[Communist Party of Finland|communist leadership]] from its predecessor, the [[State Police (Finland)|State Police]].
*[[1950]] &ndash; The [[North American F-86 Sabre|F-86 Sabre]]'s first mission over Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/f-86s-and-migs-over-korea |title=F-86s and MiGs over Korea |date=December 17, 2020 |access-date=December 15, 2024 |url-status=live |last=Borja |first=Elizabeth |archive-date=October 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023080955/https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/f-86s-and-migs-over-korea |work=[[National Air and Space Museum]] |location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>
*[[1951]] &ndash; The American [[Civil Rights Congress]] delivers "[[We Charge Genocide]]" to the [[United Nations]].
*[[1957]] &ndash; The United States successfully launches the first [[SM-65 Atlas|Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile]] at [[Cape Canaveral, Florida]].
*[[1960]] &ndash; Troops loyal to Emperor [[Haile Selassie]] in [[Ethiopia]] crush the [[1960 Ethiopian coup attempt|coup]] that began [[December 13]], returning power to their leader upon his return from Brazil. Haile Selassie absolves his son of any guilt.
*  1960   &ndash; [[1960 Munich C-131 crash|Munich C-131 crash]]: Twenty passengers and crew on board as well as 32 people on the ground are killed.
*[[1961]] &ndash; [[Niterói circus fire]]: Fire breaks out during a performance by the Gran Circus Norte-Americano in the city of [[Niterói|Niterói, Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil, killing more than 500.
*[[1967]] &ndash; [[Harold Holt]], [[Prime Minister of Australia]], [[Disappearance of Harold Holt|disappears while swimming]] near [[Portsea, Victoria]], and is presumed drowned.
*[[1969]] &ndash; [[Project Blue Book]]: The United States Air Force closes its study of [[Unidentified flying object|UFOs]].
*[[1970]] &ndash; [[1970 Polish protests|Polish protests]]: In [[Gdynia]], soldiers fire at workers emerging from trains, killing dozens.
*[[1973]] &ndash; Thirty passengers are killed in [[1973 Rome airport attacks and hijacking|an attack]] by [[Palestinian political violence|Palestinian terrorists]] on Rome's [[Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport]].
*[[1981]] &ndash; American Brigadier General [[James L. Dozier]] is abducted by the [[Red Brigades]] in [[Verona]], Italy.
*[[1983]] &ndash; [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]] members [[Harrods bombings|detonate a car bomb]] at [[Harrods]] Department Store in London. Three police officers and three civilians are killed.
*[[1989]] &ndash; [[Romanian Revolution]]: Protests continue in [[Timișoara]], Romania, with rioters breaking into the [[Romanian Communist Party]]'s District Committee building and attempting to set it on fire.
*  1989   &ndash; [[Fernando Collor de Mello]] defeats [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva]] in the second round of the [[Brazilian presidential election, 1989|Brazilian presidential election]], becoming the first democratically elected [[President of Brazil|President]] in almost 30 years.
*  1989   &ndash; ''[[The Simpsons]]'' premieres on television with the episode "[[Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=Fink|first=Moritz|title=The Simpsons: A Cultural History|location=Lanham, Md.|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2019|isbn=978-1-53811616-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UOGTDwAAQBAJ|page=181}}</ref>
*[[1997]] &ndash; [[Peruvian internal conflict]]: Fourteen members of the [[Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement]] provoke a [[Japanese embassy hostage crisis|hostage crisis by taking over the Japanese embassy]] in Lima.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/13/newsid_3330000/3330127.stm |title=	
1997: Shots heard at besieged embassy in Peru |date=	
13 January 1997 |publisher= BBC News |access-date=June 15, 2023}}</ref>
*  1997   &ndash; [[Aerosvit Flight 241]]: A [[Yakovlev Yak-42]] crashes into the [[Pierian Mountains]] near [[Thessaloniki Airport]] in [[Thessaloniki]], Greece, killing all 70 people on board.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident Yakovlev Yak-42 UR-42334 Thessaloniki|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19971217-0|url-status=live|access-date=December 16, 2021|website=aviation-safety.net|publisher=[[Aviation Safety Network]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051109174407/http://www.aviation-safety.net:80/database/record.php?id=19971217-0 |archive-date=November 9, 2005 }}</ref>
*[[2002]] &ndash; [[Second Congo War]]: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for [[Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|transitional governance]] and legislative and presidential elections within two years.
*[[2003]] &ndash; The [[Soham murders|Soham murder]] trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder.  His girlfriend, Maxine Carr, is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
*  2003   &ndash; [[SpaceShipOne]], piloted by [[Brian Binnie]], makes [[SpaceShipOne flight 11P|its first powered and first supersonic flight]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Belfiore |first1=Michael |title=Rocketeers: how a visionary band of business leaders, engineers, and pilots is boldly privatizing space |year=2007 |publisher=Smithsonian Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-06-114903-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/rocketeershowvis00belf/page/8 8] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/rocketeershowvis00belf }}</ref>
*  2003   &ndash; Sex work rights activists establish December 17 (or "D17") as [[International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers]] to memorialize victims of a serial killer who targeted prostitutes, and highlight State violence against sex workers by police and others.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://december17.swopusa.org/|title=December 17th – International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers|access-date=December 17, 2020|archive-date=August 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813124143/https://december17.swopusa.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[2005]] &ndash; Anti-[[World Trade Organization]] [[World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 2005#17 December 2005|protesters riot in Wan Chai, Hong Kong]].
*  2005   &ndash; [[Jigme Singye Wangchuck]] abdicates the throne as King of [[Bhutan]].
*[[2009]] &ndash; {{MV|Danny F II}} sinks off the coast of [[Lebanon]], resulting in the deaths of 44 people and over 28,000 animals.
*[[2010]] &ndash; [[Mohamed Bouazizi]] [[Self-immolation|sets himself on fire]]. This act became the catalyst for the [[Tunisian Revolution]] and the wider [[Arab Spring]].
*[[2014]] &ndash; The United States and Cuba re-establish [[Cuba–United States relations|diplomatic relations]] after severing them in 1961.