Explore 1917 historical events from 2000–2009.
Henry John Surtees was a British racing driver and the son of John Surtees. He died during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch when he was struck by a wheel which came off another c…
Henry Surtees, English race car driver (born 1991)
Vedat Okyar was a Turkish international footballer who later became a sports journalist.
Vedat Okyar, Turkish footballer (born 1945)
Mark Richard Rosenzweig was an American research psychologist whose research on neuroplasticity in animals indicated that the adult brain remains capable of anatomical remodelling …
Mark Rosenzweig, American psychologist and academic (born 1922)
Richard Martin Givan served as the 96th Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from January 6, 1969, until his retirement December 31, 1994. He served as chief justice from 1974 unti…
Richard M. Givan, American lawyer and judge (born 1921)
Peter Krieg, born as Wilhelm Walter Gladitz was a German documentary filmmaker, producer and writer. He initially enrolled in business and economics courses at Hamburg University b…
Peter Krieg, German director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1947)
E. Lynn Harris was an American author. Openly gay, he was best known for his depictions of African-American men who were on the down-low and closeted. He authored ten consecutive b…
E. Lynn Harris, American author and screenwriter (born 1955)
Jack Louis Joseph Marie Le Goff was a French equestrian, best known as the coach of the American three-day eventing team from 1970 to 1984. He coached the team to multiple internat…
Jack Le Goff, French equestrian (born 1931)
Vernon Forrest was an American professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC, IBF, Ring magazine …
Vernon Forrest, American boxer (born 1971)
Stanley Middleton FRSL was a British novelist.
Stanley Middleton, English author (born 1919)
Henry John Patch, dubbed in his later years "the Last Fighting Tommy", was an English supercentenarian, briefly the oldest man in Europe, and the world's last surviving trench comb…
Harry Patch, English soldier (born 1898)
Yasmin binti Ahmad was a Malaysian film director, writer and scriptwriter. She was the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films…
Yasmin Ahmad, Malaysian film director (born 1958)
Merce Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists o…
Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (born 1919)
Jim Johnson was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was a defensive coordinator for nine seasons with the Philadelphia Eagl…
Jim Johnson, American football player and coach (born 1941)
Mohammed Yusuf, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Yusuf al-Barnawi, was a Nigerian militant who founded the Islamist militant group Boko Haram in 2002. He was its leader until he…
Mohammed Yusuf, Nigerian militant leader, founded Boko Haram (born 1970)
Peter Zadek was a German director of theatre, opera and film, a translator and a screenwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest directors in German-speaking theater.
Peter Zadek, German director and screenwriter (born 1926)
On 30 April 2009 in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, a man drove his car at high speed into a parade which included Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and other members of the…
A Dutch man drove his car at high speed into a parade in an attempt to kill the Dutch royal family
The Czech Pirate Party often known simply as the Pirates is a liberal progressive political party in the Czech Republic, founded in 2009. The party was founded as a student-driven …
Following a petition, the liberal progressive Czech Pirate Party was officially registered as a political party
The Shishou Incident was a popular protest and riot in the city of Shishou, Hubei Province, in central China between June 19–21, 2009. The protests were the result of dubious circu…
Mass rioting broke out in Shishou, China, over the dubious circumstances surrounding the death of a local chef
In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are extremely energetic events occurring in distant galaxies which represent the brightest and most powerful class of explosion in t…
The gamma-ray burst GRB 090423 was detected coming from the most distant astronomical object of any kind known at the ti
Napier is a city in the Hawke's Bay region on the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is a beachside city with a seaport, known for its sunny climate, esplanade li…
Police in Napier, New Zealand, began a 40-hour siege of the home of a former New Zealand Army member who had shot at off
The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back to…
The Sri Lanka Army killed Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader and founder of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, to bri
The 2009 North Korean nuclear test was the underground detonation of a nuclear device conducted on Monday, 25 May 2009 by North Korea. This was its second nuclear test, the first t…
North Korea conducted a nuclear test and several other missile tests that were widely condemned internationally and led
George Richard Tiller was an American physician and abortion provider from Wichita, Kansas. He gained national attention as the medical director of Women's Health Care Services, wh…
American physician George Tiller, one of the few doctors in the country who performed late-term abortions, was shot and
The ABC Day Care Center Fire in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, took place on Friday, June 5, 2009 and resulted in 49 deaths. Thirty five children died that day, with the death toll su…
A fire at a day-care center kills 49 children in Mexico