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On this day May 17

2014


A plane crash in northern Laos kills 17 people.

2007


Trains from North and South Korea cross the 38th Parallel in a test-run agreed by both governments. This is the first time that trains have crossed the Demilitarized Zone since 1953.

2006


The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef.

2004


The first legal same-sex marriages in the U.S. are performed in the state of Massachusetts.

2000


Arsenal and Galatasaray fans clash in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots in Copenhagen

1997


Troops of Laurent Kabila march into Kinshasa. Zaire is officially renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.

1995


Shawn Nelson steals an M60 tank from the California Army National Guard Armory in San Diego and proceeds to go on a rampage.

1994


Malawi holds its first multi-party elections.

1992


Three days of popular protests against the government of Prime Minister of Thailand Suchinda Kraprayoon begin in Bangkok, leading to a military crackdown that results in 52 officially confirmed deaths, hundreds of injuries, many disappearances, and more than 3,500 arrests.

1990


The General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminates homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.

1987


An Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1 fighter jet fires two missiles into the U.S. Navy warship USS Stark, killing 37 and injuring 21 of her crew.

1984


Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend", sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.

1983


Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

1983


The U.S. Department of Energy declassifies documents showing world's largest mercury pollution event in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (ultimately found to be 4.2 million pounds), in response to the Appalachian Observer's Freedom of Information Act request.

1980


On the eve of presidential elections, Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in Chuschi (a town in Ayacucho), starting the Internal conflict in Peru.

1980


General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.

1977


Nolan Bushnell opened the first Chuck E. Cheese's in San Jose, California.

1974


Police in Los Angeles raid the Symbionese Liberation Army's headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall.

1974


The Troubles: Thirty-three civilians are killed and 300 injured when the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) detonates four car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan, Republic of Ireland.

1973


Watergate scandal: Televised hearings begin in the United States Senate.

1969


Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.

1967


Six-Day War: President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt demands dismantling of the peace-keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt.

1954


The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.

1943


World War II: Dambuster Raids commence by No. 617 Squadron RAF.

1940


World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.

1939


The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the United States' first televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City.

1933


Vidkun Quisling and Johan Bernhard Hjort form Nasjonal Samling — the national-socialist party of Norway.

1915


The last British Liberal Party government (led by Herbert Henry Asquith) falls.

1914


The Protocol of Corfu is signed, recognising full autonomy to Northern Epirus under nominal Albanian sovereignty.

1902


Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer.

1900


Second Boer War: British troops relieve Mafeking.

1875


Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby.

1869


Imperial Japanese forces defeat the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate in the Battle of Hakodate to end the Boshin War.

1865


The International Telegraph Union (later the International Telecommunication Union) is established in Paris.

1863


Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, the first book in the Galician language.

1859


Members of the Melbourne Football Club codified the first rules of Australian rules football.

1814


The Constitution of Norway is signed and Crown Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark is elected King of Norway by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly.

1814


Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian.

1809


Emperor Napoleon I orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire.

1805


Muhammad Ali becomes Wāli of Egypt.

1792


The New York Stock Exchange is formed under the Buttonwood Agreement.

1673


Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River.

1642


Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve (1612-1676) founds the Ville Marie de Montréal.

1590


Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland.

1536


Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's marriage is annulled.

1536


George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford and four other men are executed for treason.

1521


Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason.

1395


Battle of Rovine: The Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman army.

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