January 17

National Day (Minorca)
The opening ceremony of Patras Carnival, celebrated until Clean Monday. (Patras)

Events

1899 – The United States takes possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.
1915 - Russia occupies Bukovina & Western Ukraine
1917 – The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.
1946 – The UN Security Council holds its first session.
1973 - New Philippine constitution names Marcos president for life
1979 - USSR performs underground nuclear test
1995 – The Great Hanshin earthquake: A magnitude 7.3 earthquake hits near Kobe, Japan, causing extensive property damage and killing 6,434 people.
1996 – The Czech Republic applies for membership of the European Union.
2002 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
2007 – The Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea nuclear testing.

For details, contact Datacentre