1917: Map of Historical Significance
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| Location | Date | Month | Description | Category |
|---|
| Location | Date | Month | Description | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pasadena, California | January 1 | January | The University of Oregon defeats the University of Pennsylvania 14–0 in U.S. college football's 3rd Annual Rose Bowl Game. | Sports |
| Edinburgh, Scotland | January 3 | January | The Ratho rail crash in which NBR H class locomotive 874 Dunedin in charge of the Edinburgh to Glasgow express train was in collision with a light engine at Queensferry Junction, leaving 12 people dead and 46 seriously injured. The cause was found to be inadequate signalling procedures. | Disaster |
| Sinai Peninsula | January 9 | January | The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's Desert Column at the Battle of Rafa. | WWI |
| Lyndhurst, New Jersey | January 11 | January | Unknown saboteurs set off the Kingsland Explosion at Kingsland (modern-day Lyndhurst, New Jersey), one of the events leading to United States involvement in WWI. | WWI |
| US Virgin Islands | January 16 | January | The Danish West Indies is sold to the United States for $25 million. | Geography |
| London, England | January 19 | January | Silvertown explosion: A blast at a munitions factory in London kills 73 and injures over 400. The resulting fire causes over £2,000,000 worth of damage. | Disaster |
| Washington, DC | January 22 | January | President of the United States Woodrow Wilson calls for "peace without victory" in Germany. | WWI |
| Lough Swilly, Ireland | January 25 | January | British armed merchantman SS Laurentic is sunk by mines off Lough Swilly (Ireland) with the loss of 354 of the 475 aboard. | WWI |
| San Francisco, California | January 25 | January | An anti-prostitution drive in San Francisco occurs and police close about 200 prostitution houses. | Politics |
| Hallsands, England | January 26 | January | The sea defences at the English village of Hallsands are breached, leading to all but one of the houses becoming uninhabitable. | Disaster |
| Mexico | January 28 | January | The United States ends its search for Pancho Villa. | Politics |
| Columbus, New Mexico | January 30 | January | Pershing's troops in Mexico begin withdrawing back to the United States. They reach Columbus, New Mexico February 5. | Politics |
| Germany | February 1 | February | Atlantic U-boat Campaign: Germany announces its U-boats will resume unrestricted submarine warfare, rescinding the 'Sussex pledge'. | WWI |
| Germany | February 3 | February | The United States severs diplomatic relations with Germany. | WWI |
| Mexico | February 5 | February | The new constitution of Mexico is adopted. | Politics |
| Paris, France | February 13 | February | Mata Hari is arrested in Paris for spying. | WWI |
| Sinai Peninsula | February 13 | February | Beginning of the Raid on Nekhl by units of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, to complete reoccupation of the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula. | WWI |
| Isle of Wight | February 21 | February | British troopship SS Mendi is accidentally rammed and sunk off the Isle of Wight, killing 646, mainly members of the South African Native Labour Corps. | WWI |
| Ōmuta, Japan | March 1 | March | Japanese city of Ōmuta is founded by Hiroushi Miruku. | Geography |
| Puerto Rico | March 2 | March | The enactment of the Jones Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship. | Politics |
| Washington, DC | March 4 | March | Woodrow Wilson is sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. | Politics |
| Montana | March 4 | March | Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first woman member of the United States House of Representatives. | Politics |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | March 8 | March | The February Revolution begins in Russia: Women calling for bread in Petrograd start riots, which spontaneously spread throughout the city. | Russian Revolution |
| Batangas, Phillippines | March 10 | March | The Province of Batangas is formally founded as one of the Philippines' first encomiendas. | Geography |
| Mexico | March 11 | March | Mexican Revolution: Venustiano Carranza is elected president of Mexico; the United States gives de jure recognition of his government. | Politics |
| China | March 14 | March | Republic of China terminates diplomatic relations with Germany. | WWI |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | March 15 | March | Emperor Nicholas II of Russia abdicates his throne and his son's claims. This is considered to be the end of the Russian Empire after 196 years. | Russian Revolution |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | March 17 | March | Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia refuses the throne, and power passes to the newly formed Provisional Government under Prince Georgy Lvov. | Russian Revolution |
| Country of Georgia | March 25 | March | The Georgian Orthodox Church restores the autocephaly abolished by Imperial Russia in 1811. | Russian Revolution |
| Gaza | March 26 | March | First Battle of Gaza: British Egyptian Expeditionary Force troops virtually encircle the Gaza garrison but are then ordered to withdraw, leaving the city to the Ottoman defenders. | WWI |
| Sweden | March 30 | March | Hjalmar Hammarskjöld steps down as Prime Minister of Sweden. He is replaced by the right-wing businessman and politician Carl Swartz . | Politics |
| US Virgin Islands | March 31 | March | The United States takes possession of the Danish West Indies, which become the US Virgin Islands, after paying $25 million to Denmark. | Politics |
| Washington, DC | April 2 | April | U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asks the United States Congress for a declaration of war on Germany. | WWI |
| Washington, DC | April 6 | April | The United States declares war on Germany. | WWI |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | April 8 | April | In Petrograd, 40,000 ethnic Estonians demand national autonomy within Russia. | Russian Revolution |
| Vimy, Pas-de-Calais, France | April 9 | April | Canadian troops win the Battle of Vimy Ridge. | WWI |
| Chester, Pennsylvania | April 10 | April | An ammunition factory explosion in Chester, Pennsylvania kills 133. | Disaster |
| Brazil | April 11 | April | Brazil severs diplomatic relations with Germany. | WWI |
| Estonia | April 12 | April | The Autonomous Governorate of Estonia is formed within Russia from the Governorate of Estonia and the Northern part of the Governorate of Livonia. | Russian Revolution |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | April 16 | April | Vladimir Lenin arrives at the Finland Station in Petrograd. | Russian Revolution |
| Nivelle, France | April 16 | April | The Nivelle Offensive commences. | WWI |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | April 17 | April | Vladimir Lenin's April Theses are published. They become very influential in the following July Days and Bolshevik Revolution. | Russian Revolution |
| Gaza | April 17 | April | The Egyptian Expeditionary Force begins the Second Battle of Gaza. This unsuccessful frontal attack on strong Ottoman defences along with the first battle, resulted in 10,000 casualties, the dismissal of the force commander General Archibald Murray and the beginning of the Stalemate in Southern Palestine. | WWI |
| London, England | April 17 | April | The Times and the Daily Mail (London newspapers both owned by Lord Northcliffe) print atrocity propaganda of the supposed existence of a German Corpse Factory. | WWI |
| Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, France | April 26 | April | Agreement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne between France, Italy and the United Kingdom to settle interests in the Middle Eastern signed. | WWI |
| Nivelle, France | May 9 | May | The Nivelle Offensive is abandoned. | WWI |
| Vatican City | May 13 | May | The nuncio Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII, is consecrated Archbishop by Pope Benedict XV. | Religion |
| Fátima, Portugal | May 13 | May | 10-year-old Lúcia Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto report experiencing a series of Marian apparitions near Fátima, Portugal, which become known as Our Lady of Fátima. | Religion |
| Washington, DC | May 18 | May | The Selective Service Act passes the United States Congress, giving the President the power of conscription. | WWI |
| Atlanta, Georgia | May 21 | May | Over 300 acres (73 blocks) are destroyed in the Great Atlanta fire of 1917 in the United States. | Disaster |
| Milan, Italy | May 23 | May | A month of civil violence in Milan, Italy, ends after the Italian army forcibly takes over the city from anarchists and anti-war revolutionaries. Fifty people are killed and 800 arrested. | WWI |
| Gaza | May 23 | May | During the Stalemate in Southern Palestine the Raid on the Beersheba to Hafir el Auja railway by Desert Column of British Empire troops, destroys large sections of the railway line linking Beersheba to the main Ottoman desert base. | WWI |
| Mattoon, Illinois | May 26 | May | A tornado strikes Mattoon, Illinois, causing devastation and killing 101 people. | Disaster |
| Missy-aux-Bois, France | May 27 | May | Over 30,000 French troops refuse to go to the trenches at Missy-aux-Bois. | WWI |
| Vatican City | May 27 | May | Pope Benedict XV promulgates the 1917 Code of Canon Law | Religion |
| Missy-aux-Bois, France | June 1 | June | French Army Mutinies: A French infantry regiment seizes Missy-aux-Bois and declares an anti-war military government. Other French army troops soon apprehend them. | WWI |
| New York, New York | June 4 | June | The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded: Laura E. Richards, Maud Howe Elliott and Florence Hall receive the first Pulitzer for a biography (for Julia Ward Howe). Jean Jules Jusserand receives the first Pulitzer for history for his work With Americans of Past and Present Days. Herbert Bayard Swope receives the first Pulitzer for journalism for his work for the New York World. | Culture |
| Flanders, Belgium | June 7 | June | Battle of Messines opens with the British Army detonating 19 ammonal mines under the German lines, killing 10,000 in the deadliest deliberate non-nuclear man-made explosion in history. | WWI |
| Butte, Montana | June 8 | June | Speculator Mine disaster: A fire at the Granite Mountain and Speculator ore mine outside Butte, Montana kills at least 168 workers. | Disaster |
| Athens, Greece | June 11 | June | King Constantine I of Greece abdicates for the first time, being succeeded by his son Alexander. | Politics |
| London, England | June 13 | June | The first major German bombing raid on London by fixed-wing aircraft leaves 162 dead and 432 injured. | WWI |
| Yorkshire, England | June 15 | June | First Cottingley Fairies photographs taken in Yorkshire, England, apparently depicting fairies; a hoax not admitted by the child creators until 1981. | Culture |
| East St. Louis, Missouri | July 1 | July | East St. Louis riot: A labor dispute ignites a race riot in East St. Louis, Illinois, which leaves 250 dead. | Politics |
| Galicia, Spain | July 1 | July | Russian General Brusilov begins the major Kerensky Offensive in Galicia, initially advancing towards Lemberg. | WWI |
| Greece | July 2 | July | Greece joins the war on the side of the Allies. | WWI |
| Aqaba, Jordan | July 6 | July | Battle of Aqaba: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire. | WWI |
| Canada | July 6 | July | Conscription Crisis of 1917 in Canada leads to passage of the Military Service Act. | WWI |
| Ramadi, Iraq | July 8 | July | First Battle of Ramadi: British troops fail to take Ramadi from the Ottoman Empire; a majority of British casualties are due to extreme heat. | WWI |
| Bisbee, Arizona | July 12 | July | Bisbee Deportation: The Phelps Dodge Corporation deports over 1,000 suspected IWW members from Bisbee, Arizona. | Politics |
| Ukraine | July 16 | July | Russian troops mutiny, abandon the Austrian front, and retreat to the Ukraine; hundreds are shot by their commanding officers during the retreat. | WWI |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | July 16 | July | Serious clashes in Petrograd in July Days; Lenin escapes to Finland; Trotsky is arrested. | Russian Revolution |
| London, England | July 17 | July | King George V of the United Kingdom issues a proclamation, stating that thenceforth the male line descendants of the British Royal Family will bear the surname Windsor, vice the Germanic bloodline of House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which is an offshoot of the historic (800+ years) House of Wettin. | Politics |
| Finland | July 20 | July | The Parliament of Finland, with a Social Democratic majority, passes a "Sovereignty Act", declaring itself, as the representative of the Finnish people, sovereign over the Grand Principality of Finland. The Russian Provisional Government does not recognize the act, as it would have devolved Russian sovereignty over Finland, formerly exercised by the Russian Emperor as Grand Prince of Finland and alter the relationship between Finland and Russia into a real union with Russia solely responsible for the defence and foreign relations of an independent Finland. | Russian Revolution |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | July 20 | July | Alexander Kerensky becomes premier of the Russian Provisional Government, replacing Prince Georgy Lvov. | Russian Revolution |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | July 20 | July | The Russian Provisional Government enacts women's suffrage. | Russian Revolution |
| Serbia | July 20 | July | The Corfu Declaration, which enables the establishment of the post-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, is signed by the Yugoslav Committee and the Kingdom of Serbia. | WWI |
| Galicia, Spain | July 20 | July | Austrian and German forces repulse the Russian advance into Galicia. | WWI |
| Canada | July 25 | July | Sir William Thomas White introduces Canada's first income tax as a "temporary" measure (lowest bracket is 4% and highest is 25%). | Politics |
| New York, New York | July 28 | July | The Silent Parade is organized by the NAACP in New York City to protest the East St. Louis riot of July 2, as well as lynchings in Tennessee and Texas. | Politics |
| Finland | July 30 | July | The Parliament of Finland is dissolved by the Russian Provisional Government. New elections are held in the autumn, resulting in a bourgeois majority. | Russian Revolution |
| Passendale, Belgium | July 31 | July | Battle of Passchendaele: Allied offensive operations commence in Flanders. | WWI |
| Oklahoma | July 31 | July | The Green Corn Rebellion, an uprising by several hundred farmers against the WWI draft, takes place in central Oklahoma. | WWI |
| Orkney Islands, Scotland | August 2 | August | Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning lands his aircraft on the ship HMS Furious in Scapa Flow, Orkney. He is killed 5 days later during another landing on the ship. | WWI |
| Spain | August 10 | August | A general strike begins in Spain; it is smashed after 3 days with 70 left dead, hundreds of wounded and 2,000 arrests. | Politics |
| China | August 14 | August | Republic of China declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. | WWI |
| Edinburgh, Scotland | August 17 | August | One of English literature's important meetings takes place when Wilfred Owen introduces himself to Siegfried Sassoon at the Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh. | Culture |
| Thessaloniki, Greece | August 18 | August | The Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 in Greece destroys 32% of the city, leaving 70,000 individuals homeless. | Disaster |
| Canada | August 29 | August | The Military Service Act is passed in the Canadian House of Commons, giving the Government of Canada the right to conscript men into the army. | WWI |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | September 14 | September | Russia is declared a republic by the Provisional Government. | Russian Revolution |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | September 23 | September | Leon Trotsky is elected Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet. | Russian Revolution |
| Moscow, Russia | September 25 | September | The Mossovet (Moscow Soviet of People's Deputies) votes to side with the Bolsheviks. | Russian Revolution |
| Ypres, Belgium | September 26 | September | Battle of Polygon Wood (part of the Battle of Passchendaele) near Ypres in Belgium: British and Australian troops capture positions from the Germans. | WWI |
| Ramadi, Iraq | September 28 | September | Second Battle of Ramadi: British troops take Ramadi from the Ottoman Empire. | WWI |
| Ypres, Belgium | October 4 | October | Battle of Broodseinde near Ypres: British Imperial forces overpower the German 4th Army's defences. | WWI |
| Passendale, Belgium | October 12 | October | First Battle of Passchendaele: Allies fail to take a German defensive position with the biggest loss of life in a single day for New Zealand, over 800 of whose men and 45 officers are killed, roughly 1 in 1000 of the nation's population at this time. | WWI |
| Baltic Sea | October 12 | October | Operation Albion: German forces land on and capture the West Estonian archipelago. | WWI |
| Fátima, Portugal | October 13 | October | Miracle of the Sun at Fátima, Portugal. | Religion |
| Paris, France | October 15 | October | At Vincennes outside Paris, Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by firing squad for spying for Germany. | WWI |
| Dallas, Texas | October 19 | October | Dallas Love Field airport is opened. | Politics |
| Sweden | October 19 | October | Carl Swartz leaves office as Prime Minister of Sweden after dismal election results for the right-wing in the Riksdag elections in September. He is replaced by liberal leader and history professor Nils Edén. | Politics |
| France | October 23 | October | A Brazilian ship is destroyed by a German U-Boat, encouraging Brazil to enter World War I. | WWI |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | October 25 | October | Traditional beginning date of the October Revolution and Russian Civil War. | Russian Revolution |
| Brazil | October 26 | October | Brazil declares war against the Central Powers. | WWI |
| Zeelim, Israel | October 27 | October | Ottoman force attacks Desert Mounted Corps units garrisoning el Buqqar ridge during the Battle of Buqqar Ridge fought in the last days of the Stalemate in Southern Palestine. | WWI |
| Beersheba | October 31 | October | Battle of Beersheba: The British XX Corps and Desert Mounted Corps (Egyptian Expeditionary Force) attack and capture Beersheba ending the Stalemate in Southern Palestine. | WWI |
| Gaza | November 1 | November | The British XXI Corps of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force begins the Third Battle of Gaza. | WWI |
| Beersheba | November 1 | November | The British Desert Mounted Corps begins the Battle of Tel el Khuweilfe in the direction of Hebron and Jerusalem. | WWI |
| Israel | November 2 | November | Zionism: The British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour makes the Balfour Declaration proclaiming British support for the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" with the clear understanding "that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities". | WWI |
| Tallinn, Estonia | November 5 | November | Estonian and Russian Bolsheviks seize power in Tallinn, Autonomous Governorate of Estonia, two days before the October Revolution in Petrograd. | Russian Revolution |
| Passendale, Belgium | November 6 | November | Battle of Passchendaele: After 3 months of fierce fighting, Canadian forces take Passchendaele in Belgium. | WWI |
| Beersheba | November 6 | November | Battle of Hareira and Sheria launched by the British XX Corps and Desert Mounted Corps against the central Ottoman defences protecting the Gaza to Beersheba road. | WWI |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | November 6 | November | Militants from Trotsky's committee join with trusty Bolshevik soldiers to seize government buildings and pounce on members of the provisional government. | Russian Revolution |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | November 7 | November | October Revolution in Russia: The workers of the Petrograd Soviet in Russia, led by the Bolshevik Party and leader Vladimir Lenin, storm the Winter Palace and successfully destroy the Kerensky Provisional Government after less than eight months of rule. | Russian Revolution |
| Iran | November 7 | November | Iran (which has provided weapons for Russia) refuses to support the Allied Forces after the October Revolution. | WWI |
| Gaza | November 7 | November | Third Battle of Gaza: XXI Corps occupies Gaza after the Ottoman garrison withdraws. | WWI |
| Beersheba | November 7 | November | Battle of Hareira and Sheria continues when the XX Corps and Desert Mounted Corps capture Hareira and Sheria, marking the end of the Ottoman Gaza to Beersheba line. | WWI |
| Beersheba | November 13 | November | Egyptian Expeditionary Force attack retreating Yildirim Army Group forces during the Battle of Mughar Ridge results in the capture of 10,000 Ottoman prisoners, 100 guns and 50 miles (80 km) of Palestine territory. | WWI |
| Jaffa, Israel | November 13 | November | ANZAC Mounted Division (Desert Mounted Corps) successfully fights the Battle of Ayun Kara in the aftermath of the Battle of Mughar Ridge against strong German rearguards. | WWI |
| Laurel Hill, Virginia | November 15 | November | In a "Night of Terror" in the United States, influential suffragettes from the Silent Sentinels are deliberately subjected to physical assaults by guards while imprisoned. | Politics |
| Finland | November 15 | November | The Parliament of Finland passes another "Sovereignty Act", dissolving Russian sovereignty over Finland and effectively declaring Finland independent. | Russian Revolution |
| Estonia | November 15 | November | The Provincial Assembly of the Autonomous Governorate of Estonia declares itself the highest legal body in Estonia. | WWI |
| Jaffa, Israel | November 16 | November | ANZAC Mounted Division occupies Jaffa following their victory at the Battle of Ayun Kara. | WWI |
| Paris, France | November 16 | November | Georges Clemenceau becomes prime minister of France. | Politics |
| Ireland | November 17 | November | Action of 17 November 1917: United States Navy destroyers USS Fanning and USS Nicholson capture Imperial German Navy U-boat SM U-58 off the south-west coast of Ireland, the first combat action in which U.S. ships take a submarine (which is then scuttled). | WWI |
| Jerusalem | November 17 | November | Battle of Jerusalem (1917) begins with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force launching attacks against Ottoman forces in the Judean Hills. | WWI |
| Cambrai, France | November 20 | November | Battle of Cambrai: British forces, using tanks, make early progress in an attack on German positions but are soon beaten back. | WWI |
| Ukraine | November 20 | November | The Ukraine is declared a republic. | Russian Revolution |
| Montreal, Canada | November 22 | November | In Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the National Hockey Association suspends operations. | Sports |
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin | November 24 | November | Nine members of the Milwaukee Police Department are killed by a bomb, the most deaths in a single event in U.S. police history until the September 11 attacks in 2001. | Disaster |
| Negomano, Mozambique | November 25 | November | German forces defeat Portuguese army of about 1200 at Negomano on the border of modern-day Mozambique and Tanzania. | WWI |
| Montreal, Canada | November 26 | November | The National Hockey League is formed in Montreal as a replacement for the recently disbanded National Hockey Association. | Sports |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | November 28 | November | The Bolsheviks offer peace terms to the Germans. | WWI |
| New Delhi, India | November 28 | November | Annie Besant becomes president of the Indian National Congress. | Politics |
| Quebec City, Canada | December 3 | December | After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, the Quebec Bridge opens to traffic (the bridge partially collapsed on August 29, 1907 and September 11, 1916). | Geography |
| Finland | December 6 | December | The Senate of Finland officially declares the country's independence from Russia. | Russian Revolution |
| Halifax, Canada | December 6 | December | Halifax Explosion: Two freighters collide in Halifax Harbour at Halifax, Nova Scotia and cause a huge explosion that kills at least 1,963 people, injures 9,000 and destroys part of the city (the biggest man-made explosion in recorded history until the Trinity nuclear test in 1945). | Disaster |
| Jerusalem | December 9 | December | The British Egyptian Expeditionary Force accepts the surrender of Jerusalem by the mayor, Hussein al-Husayni, following effective defeat of the Ottoman Empire's Yildirim Army Group during the Battle of Jerusalem. | WWI |
| Jerusalem | December 11 | December | General Edmund Allenby leads units of the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force into Jerusalem on foot through the Jaffa Gate. | WWI |
| Flanders, Belgium | December 17 | December | The Raad van Vlaanderen proclaims the independence of Flanders. | Politics |
| Saint Petersburg, Russia | December 20 | December | The Cheka, a predecessor to the KGB is established in Russia. | Politics |
| New York, New York | December 25 | December | Jesse Lynch Williams' Why Marry?, the first dramatic play to win a Pulitzer Prize, opens at the Astor Theatre in New York. | Culture |
| Washington, DC | December 26 | December | United States president Woodrow Wilson uses the Federal Possession and Control Act to place most U.S. railroads under the United States Railroad Administration, hoping to transport troops and materials for the war effort more efficiently. | WWI |
| Jerusalem | December 30 | December | Egyptian Expeditionary Force secures the victory at the Battle of Jerusalem by successfully defending Jerusalem from numerous Yildirim Army Group counterattacks. | WWI |