What happened on August 17

72 documented historical events happened on August 17, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: The Bulgarians defeated Byzantine forces at the battle of the Gates of Trajan near present-day Ihtiman, with Emperor Basil II barely escaping. On the same day, in another year: The Scottish Reformation Parliament approved a Protestant confession of faith, initiating the Scottish Reformation and disestablishing Catholicism as the national religion. On Almanaccolo every event is listed in chronological order, grouped by century, and links to the Wikipedia article it comes from, so you can always read further or check the source. Alongside the events you find who was born and who died on this date, and which observances are celebrated around the world.

160 people with a Wikipedia article were born on August 17, including Carlos Cruz-Diez, Larry Rivers, Jiang Zemin. The list spans every era and every field — art, science, politics, sport, entertainment — ordered by year of birth, from the earliest to the most recent. The six featured people are those most has been written about: the ordering uses the length of their Wikipedia article as an indicator of prominence. For each one you find their occupation, year of birth and a link to the full biography.

98 people with a Wikipedia article died on August 17, including Carloman (mayor of the palace), Eustace IV of Boulogne, Emperor Go-Fukakusa. The list is in chronological order by year of death and spans all of documented history, from antiquity to the present day. For each person you find their occupation, the year and a link to the Wikipedia biography, where the full story and its sources can be read.

11 observances are celebrated on August 17 around the world: Christian feast day: Saint Beatrice of Silva, Christian feast day: Saint Clare of Montefalco, Christian feast day: Elias of Enna, Christian feast day: Saint Hyacinth of Poland, Christian feast day: Jacobo Kyushei Tomonaga, Christian feast day: Saint Jeanne Delanoue. The list gathers national holidays, international days and religious or civil observances falling on this date in different countries, as recorded on Wikipedia. Some are fixed and recur on the same day every year; others depend on the local calendar. Each links to the article explaining its origin and meaning.