August 17th, 1159

Born on August 17th, 1159

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 316,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 359 days, exactly on July 17th, 2027, people who were born on August 17th, 1159 will be 317,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on August 17th?

August 17th, 2009

A hydroelectric turbine at the Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam in Russia catastrophically failed, flooding the turbine hall, killing 75 people and causing widespread power outages.

August 17th, 2008

Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal of the Summer Olympics in Beijing, setting the record for the most gold medals won by an athlete at a single games.

August 17th, 1969

Hurricane Camille struck the Mississippi coast of the United States, killing 259 people and causing $1.42 billion in damage..

August 17th, 1959

American musician Miles Davis released Kind of Blue, which became one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed jazz recordings of all time.

August 17th, 1950

Korean War: Forty-two American prisoners of war were massacred by the Korean People's Army on a hill above Waegwan, South Korea.

August 17th, 1945

Animal Farm, George Orwell's satirical allegory of Soviet totalitarianism, was first published.

August 17th, 1943

World War II: The Royal Air Force began a strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany's V-weapon programme by attacking the Peenemünde Army Research Center.

August 17th, 1916

World War I: Romania signed a secret treaty with the Entente Powers, agreeing to enter the war in return for promised territory in Austria-Hungary.

August 17th, 1915

A category 4 hurricane made landfall in Galveston, Texas, leaving at least 275 people dead and causing $50 million in damage.

August 17th, 1914

World War I: Ignoring orders to retreat, Hermann von François led a successful counterattack defending East Prussia at the Battle of Stallupönen and scored the first German victory in the Eastern Front.

August 17th, 1907

Pike Place Market (pictured), one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the U.S. and a popular tourist attraction, opened in Seattle, Washington.

August 17th, 1676

Scanian War: Swedish forces defeated Danish troops at the Battle of Halmstad.

August 17th, 1424

Hundred Years' War: Allied English and Burgundian forces gained a strategically important victory at the bloody Battle of Verneuil in Normandy, France.

August 17th, 0986

Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: The Bulgarians defeated Byzantine forces at the battle of the Gates of Trajan near present-day Ihtiman, with Emperor Basil II barely escaping.

August 17th, 1876

The premiere of Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner (pictured) closed the first Bayreuth Festival.

Public holidays on August 17th

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day) which are celebrated on August 17th.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

No: With 365 days 1159 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
August 1159