1411day.year
Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.
In 1411, Musa Çelebi ascended to the Ottoman throne with support from Mircea I of Wallachia after the Interregnum struggle.
In 1402, Sultan Bayezid I's defeat at Ankara plunged the Ottoman Empire into a period of dynastic rivalry.
During the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi asserted his claim against his brothers.
Supported by Mircea I of Wallachia, he marched into Bursa and proclaimed himself Sultan in early 1411.
His accession marked a turning point in reestablishing Ottoman central authority.
Musa's brief reign set the stage for his brother Mehmed I's eventual consolidation of power.
1411
Ottoman Interregnum
Musa Çelebi
Bayezid I
Sultan
Ottoman Empire
Mircea I of Wallachia
1616day.year
Nurhaci proclaims himself Khan of the Later Jin, precursor to the Qing Dynasty.
In 1616, Jurchen leader Nurhaci declared himself Khan of the Later Jin, initiating the rise of the Qing Dynasty.
Nurhaci, chieftain of the Jianzhou Jurchens, unified several tribes in Northeast Asia.
On February 17, 1616, he proclaimed the Later Jin state and adopted the title of Khan.
He introduced the Eight Banners military system to organize his forces.
This declaration set the foundation for the Manchu conquest of China.
Nurhaci's legacy endured as the Later Jin evolved into the Qing Dynasty that ruled China until 1912.
1616
Nurhaci
Khan
Later Jin
Qing Dynasty
1621day.year
Myles Standish is appointed as first military commander of the English Plymouth Colony in North America.
In 1621, English colonists in Plymouth appointed Myles Standish as their first military commander to defend the settlement.
Myles Standish, a former soldier from England, arrived with the Mayflower in 1620.
Recognizing the need for organized defense, Plymouth settlers commissioned him on February 17, 1621.
As military leader, Standish led expeditions against potential threats and negotiated treaties with Native tribes.
His strategic skills and leadership were vital to the colony's early survival.
Standish's role became legendary in American colonial history.
1621
Myles Standish
Plymouth Colony
1801day.year
United States presidential election: A tie in the Electoral College between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
The 1801 U.S. presidential election ended in an Electoral College tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, sending the decision to the House of Representatives.
In the election of 1801, Republican Thomas Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr both received 73 electoral votes.
With no clear winner, the decision fell to the U.S. House of Representatives, marking the first contingent election under the Constitution.
After 36 ballots, Jefferson was chosen President and Burr Vice President, averting a constitutional crisis.
The outcome underscored flaws in the original electoral process and led to the 12th Amendment in 1804.
This peaceful resolution set an important precedent for the young republic's democratic institutions.
1801
United States presidential election
Electoral College
Thomas Jefferson
Aaron Burr
President of the United States
Vice President
United States House of Representatives
1819day.year
The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Missouri Compromise in 1819, a pivotal bill addressing the balance of power between free and slave states.
In 1819, tensions flared over Missouri’s request for statehood as a slave state.
On February 17, the House approved the Missouri Compromise, admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.
The bill prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30′, except in Missouri, aiming to maintain sectional balance in Congress.
This legislative compromise temporarily eased disputes over slavery’s expansion in the growing United States.
However, it also set the stage for future conflicts leading up to the Civil War.
1819
United States House of Representatives
Missouri Compromise
1854day.year
The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
The United Kingdom officially recognized the independence of the Orange Free State in southern Africa in 1854.
On February 17, 1854, Britain signed a treaty recognizing the Orange Free State as a sovereign Boer republic.
This recognition followed years of Boer settlement and conflict with the indigenous Sotho and British authorities.
The Orange Free State would maintain its independence until the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899.
British recognition aimed to stabilize relations and secure trade routes in the region.
It marked a significant moment in the establishment of colonial-era republics in southern Africa.
1854
Orange Free State
1905day.year
Russian Revolution of 1905: Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia is assassinated in the Moscow Kremlin by Socialist Revolutionary Ivan Kalyayev.
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia was assassinated by revolutionary Ivan Kalyayev in the Moscow Kremlin in 1905.
On February 17, 1905, Socialist Revolutionary Ivan Kalyayev threw a bomb into the carriage of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.
The Grand Duke, uncle to Tsar Nicholas II and governor-general of Moscow, died instantly in the Kremlin.
The assassination was part of a wave of political violence during the 1905 Russian Revolution.
Kalyayev turned himself in afterward and became a symbol of extremist tactics among revolutionaries.
The event intensified government crackdowns and set the tone for further unrest in the empire.
1905
Russian Revolution of 1905
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia
Moscow Kremlin
Socialist Revolutionary
Ivan Kalyayev
1919day.year
The Ukrainian People's Republic asks the Entente and the United States for help fighting the Bolsheviks.
In 1919 the Ukrainian People's Republic appealed to the Entente and the United States for military assistance against Bolshevik forces.
On February 17, 1919, the Ukrainian People's Republic formally petitioned the Allied Powers and the United States for support against the Bolsheviks.
Facing the advance of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, Ukrainian leaders sought arms, supplies, and diplomatic recognition.
The mission aimed to secure Entente backing to bolster the UPR's fragile independence declared in January 1918.
Despite initial hopes, the Entente Powers were reluctant to intervene, citing war-weariness and shifting post–World War I priorities.
The U.S. government also declined to provide substantial aid, focusing on domestic recovery and European stabilization.
The failure to receive allied support contributed to the eventual Bolshevik reconquest of Ukraine.
This diplomatic appeal highlights the challenges faced by emerging nations amid the chaos of postwar Europe.
1919
Ukrainian People's Republic
Entente
Bolsheviks
1948day.year
The Al-Waziri coup briefly ousts the ruling Hamidaddin dynasty of Yemen; Imam Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din is killed.
In 1948, the Al-Waziri coup briefly overthrew Yemen's Hamidaddin dynasty, resulting in the assassination of Imam Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din.
On February 17, 1948, tribal officers led by Abdullah al-Wazir launched a coup against the Hamidaddin monarchy in Yemen.
The rebels aimed to end Imam Yahya's autocratic rule and introduce administrative reforms.
Imam Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din was killed during the uprising, shocking the kingdom.
The coup leaders installed Yahya's son, Ahmed bin Yahya, in an attempt to stabilize the nation under new leadership.
However, loyalist forces rallied quickly and recaptured San'a, executing many conspirators.
Although short-lived, the uprising revealed deep-seated desires for political change and modernization in Yemen.
It set the stage for ongoing tensions between conservative and reformist factions in the country's politics.
1948
Al-Waziri coup
Yemen
Imam
Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din
1949day.year
Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.
On February 17, 1949, Chaim Weizmann was inaugurated as the first President of the newly established State of Israel.
Chaim Weizmann took office as Israel's inaugural President on February 17, 1949.
Elected by the provisional legislature, he became the ceremonial head of state after the 1948 War of Independence.
A distinguished chemist and Zionist leader, Weizmann had presided over the Jewish Agency during the Mandate era.
His presidency combined symbolic duties with moral guidance for the fledgling nation.
Weizmann represented Israel internationally, helping secure diplomatic recognition and support.
During his term, Israel absorbed large waves of Jewish immigrants and solidified its governmental institutions.
He stepped down in 1952, leaving a legacy as a key architect of the modern Israeli state.
1949
Chaim Weizmann
President of Israel
1964day.year
In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
In 1964 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Wesberry v. Sanders that congressional districts must have nearly equal populations.
On February 17, 1964, the Supreme Court delivered its decision in Wesberry v. Sanders.
The ruling held that congressional districts within a state must be roughly equal in population under the Constitution's requirements.
John Wesberry, a Georgia voter, challenged the apportionment system that diluted his electoral power.
Justice Hugo Black, writing for the majority, affirmed the principle of 'one person, one vote.'
The decision forced numerous states to redraw district lines, promoting fairer representation in Congress.
It built on previous rulings addressing state legislative apportionment and strengthened voting equality.
Wesberry v. Sanders remains a landmark case in U.S. election law and civil rights jurisprudence.
1964
Wesberry v. Sanders
Supreme Court of the United States
congressional districts
1964day.year
Gabonese president Léon M'ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
On February 17, 1964, Gabonese President Léon M'ba was overthrown in a military coup and replaced by Jean-Hilaire Aubame.
Military officers in Gabon staged a coup on February 17, 1964, deposing President Léon M'ba.
The conspirators installed opposition figure Jean-Hilaire Aubame as head of state in Lambaréné.
The uprising surprised the nation, only four years after Gabon's independence from France.
French paratroopers intervened within days, rescuing M'ba and reinstalling him in Libreville.
The swift French response underscored Gabon's continued ties to its former colonial power.
The brief coup highlighted underlying political tensions and debates over sovereignty.
It remains the only significant coup attempt in Gabon's post-independence history.
Léon M'ba
a coup
Jean-Hilaire Aubame