Quick glance of 17 April in the pages of History

April 17: Here are the major events that occurred on 17 April….

• 17 April, 1492: Christopher Columbus signs a contract with the Spanish monarchs to find the “Indies” with the stated goal of converting people to Catholicism. This promises him 10% of all riches found, and the governorship of any lands encountered.
• 17 April, 1675: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj attacked the Fonda fort and won Karwar.

• 17 April, 1799: On this day, Srirangapatnam was surrounded by British Army in the fourth and last Mysore war which began in 1798. Tipu Sultan’ was killed in the battle on 4th May. The East India Company announced the Seringapatanam Medal (1799).
• 17 April, 1932: Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia ends slavery. 
• 17 April, 1945: Italian dictator Benito Mussolini flees from Salò to Milan.

• 17 April, 1945: Mahatma Gandhi, in a statement regarding the ensuing San Francisco Conference, says that ‘peace is impossible without equality and freedom of India’. Also demands a just peace for Germany and Japan.
• 17 April, 1969: Alexander Dubček forced to resign as first secretary of Czechoslovakia’s Communist Party.
• 17 April, 1975: Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, India’s second president, died at Madras.
• 17 April, 1977: Swatantra Party was merged with Janata Party.

• 17 April, 1983: entered space age launching SLV-3 rocket. Rohini (RS-D2), placed in orbit, was used for conducting some remote sensing technology studies using a landmark sensor payload. Launched by the second developmental launch of SLV-3.
• 17 April, 1990: Gas explodes on passenger train in Kumrahar in India killing 80 people.
• 17 April, 1997: Biju Patnaik, 81, Janata Dal leader and important personality in Orissa politics, died.

• 17 April, 1999: The Vajpayee Government resigns after it loses the confidence vote in the Lok Sabha by one vote – 269 to 270.
• 17 April, 2009: Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark becomes the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the first woman to lead the organization.
• 17 April, 2012: The 8th century St. Cuthbert Gospel, Europe’s oldest intact book, is purchased by the British Library for 9 million pounds.