Year retrospective · 1910s

1917

1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar, the 1917th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 917th year of the 2nd millennium, the 17th year of the 20th…

Recorded events

10

top entries

Notable births

4

Notable deaths

12

Decade

1910s

Timeline

Defining events of 1917

  1. 1917 World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.

    1914–1918 global conflict

    World War I, or the First World War, also known as The Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The war saw important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons.

  2. 1917 Russian Revolution: Vladimir Lenin returns to Petrograd, Russia, from exile in Switzerland.

    1917–1922 civil war in Russia

    The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social change in Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government following two successive revolutions and a civil war. It can be seen as the precursor for other revolutions that occurred in the aftermath of World War I, such as the German Revolution of 1918–1919.

  3. 1917 American entry into World War I: President Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.

    The United States entered into World War I on 6 April 1917, more than two and a half years after the war began in Austria-Hungary. Apart from an Anglophile element urging early support for the British and an anti-tsarist element sympathizing with Germany's war against Russia, American public opinion had generally reflected a desire to stay out of the war. Over time, especially after reports of German atrocities in Belgium in 1914 and after the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in a torpedo attack by a submarine of the Imperial German Navy off the southern coast of Ireland in May 1915, Americans increasingly came to see Imperial Germany as the aggressor in Europe.

  4. 1917 World War I: The United States declares war on Germany.

    1914–1918 global conflict

    World War I, or the First World War, also known as The Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The war saw important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons.

  5. 1917 World War I: The Battle of Arras: The battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.

    1914–1918 global conflict

    World War I, or the First World War, also known as The Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The war saw important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons.

  6. 1917 World War I: The Republic of China, which had heretofore been shipping labourers to Europe to assist in the war effort, officially declares war on the Central Powers, although it will continue to send to Europe labourers instead of combatants for the remaining duration of the war.

    Government of the early Republic of China (1912–1928)

    The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by Yuan Shikai and the other generals of his Beiyang Army, hence the name.

  7. 1917 A Great Fire in Thessaloniki, Greece, destroys 32% of the city leaving 70,000 individuals homeless.
  8. 1917 Ten suffragists, members of the Silent Sentinels, are arrested while picketing the White House in favor of women's suffrage in the United States.
  9. 1917 Vietnamese prison guards led by Trịnh Văn Cấn mutiny at the Thái Nguyên penitentiary against local French authority.
  10. 1917 World War I: Battle of Mărășești between the Romanian and German armies begins.

Arrivals

Born in 1917

Gwendolyn Brooks 1917– American writer (1917–2000)
Gwendolyn Brooks 1917– American writer (1917–2000)
Gwendolyn Brooks 1917– American writer (1917–2000)
Gwendolyn Brooks 1917– American writer (1917–2000)

Farewells

Died in 1917

Vladimir Serbsky Russian psychiatrist (1858–1917)
Octave Lapize French cyclist
Ferdinand von Zeppelin German general and airship pioneer (1838–1917)
Vladimir Serbsky Russian psychiatrist (1858–1917)
Octave Lapize French cyclist
Ferdinand von Zeppelin German general and airship pioneer (1838–1917)
Vladimir Serbsky Russian psychiatrist (1858–1917)
Octave Lapize French cyclist
Ferdinand von Zeppelin German general and airship pioneer (1838–1917)
Vladimir Serbsky Russian psychiatrist (1858–1917)
Octave Lapize French cyclist
Ferdinand von Zeppelin German general and airship pioneer (1838–1917)

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