On This Day
What Happened on January 17 in History
8 events that happened on January 17, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.
Colonial America and the Revolution
1781
Daniel Morgan's Patriot force routed Banastre Tarleton's British troops at the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina.
Morgan had his militia fire two volleys and fall back, and the British charged into concentrated rifle fire and a cavalry attack. The victory became a turning point of the Revolution's southern campaign.
Source: history.com; nps.gov
The Young Republic and the Civil War Era
1893
American sugar planters and businessmen overthrew Queen Liliuokalani, ending the Hawaiian monarchy.
A Committee of Safety organized by Sanford Dole staged the coup with the foreknowledge of John L. Stevens, the American minister, and Marines from the cruiser Boston came ashore. Dole became president of the new provisional government.
Source: history.com; archive.nytimes.com
The Early 1900s and the World Wars
1945
Soviet troops drove the German army out of Warsaw, the ruined capital of Poland.
Marshal Georgi Zhukov's forces crossed the Vistula north and south of the city. Months earlier the Soviets had stood by as the Germans crushed the Warsaw Uprising, and by liberation the city's prewar population of about 1.3 million had fallen to roughly 153,000.
Source: history.com
The Cold War
1961
President Dwight D. Eisenhower used his farewell address to warn Americans about the military-industrial complex.
In a televised speech three days before leaving office, the former Allied commander said the country must guard against the unwarranted influence of a permanent arms industry joined to a huge military establishment.
Source: history.com; archives.gov
1966
An American B-52 collided with a refueling tanker over Spain and dropped four hydrogen bombs near Palomares.
None of the bombs was armed, but conventional explosives in two of them went off on impact and scattered plutonium over farm fields, and a fourth bomb fell into the Mediterranean. All four tanker crewmen died, while four of the seven bomber crew parachuted to safety.
Source: history.com
1977
Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in Utah, the first execution in the United States in a decade.
The Supreme Court had struck down death penalty laws in 1972 and then allowed new ones in 1976. Gilmore, convicted in a double murder, was the first person put to death after that ruling.
Source: history.com
The Modern Era
1994
The magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake struck the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles before dawn.
The quake hit at 4:31 a.m., collapsing apartment buildings, a parking structure and stretches of freeway. Damage across the region was estimated at about $20 billion, and stricter codes adopted after the 1971 Sylmar quake were credited with saving lives.
Source: history.com
1995
A powerful earthquake devastated Kobe, Japan, and the surrounding Hanshin region.
The quake measured 7.2 on the Japanese scale and killed more than 6,000 people. Fires that followed burned the equivalent of 70 city blocks, and about 300,000 people were left homeless.
Source: nist.gov