What happened on April 17 ?

326 - Alexander, Patriarch of Alexandria

487 - Proclus, Greek philosopher (b. 412)

1080 - King Harald III of Denmark (b. 1041)

1427 - John IV, Duke of Brabant (b. 1403)

1539 - George, Duke of Saxony (b. 1471)

1574 - Joachim Camerarius, German classical scholar (b. 1500)

1695 - Sor Juana, Mexican writer

1696 - Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French writer (b. 1626)

1711 - Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1678)

1742 - Arvid Horn, Swedish statesman (b. 1664)

1761 - Thomas Bayes, English mathematician

1764 - Johann Mattheson, German composer (b. 1681)

1790 - Benjamin Franklin, American politician, inventor, diplomat, and printer (b. 1706)

1799 - Richard Jupp, English architect (b. 1728)

1843 - Samuel Morey, American inventor (b. 1762)

1873 - Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter (b. 1783)

1891 - Alexander Mackenzie, second Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1822)

1930 - Alexander Golovin, Russian painter (b. 1863)

1936 - Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, Dutch prime minister (b. 1873)

1941 - Al Bowlly, British dance band vocalist (b. 1899)

1942 - Jean Perrin, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)

1944 - J.T. Hearne English cricketer (b. 1867)

1960 - Eddie Cochran, American musician (b. 1938)

1967 - Red Allen, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1908)

1975 - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher (b. 1888)

1976 - Henrik Dam, Dutch biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1895)

1977 - William Cardinal Conway, Northern Irish clergyman (b. 1913)

1988 - Louise Nevelson, American sculptor (b. 1900)

1990 - Reverend Ralph Abernathy, American civil rights activist (b. 1936)

1994 - Roger Wolcott Sperry, American neurobiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1913)

1997 - Allan Francovich, American documentary-film makers (The Maltese Double Cross ? Lockerbie and Gladio)

1998 - Linda McCartney, American photographer, activist, and musician (b. 1941)

2003 - Dr. Robert Atkins, American diet doctor (b. 1930)

2003 - Paul Getty, American-born philanthropist (b. 1932)

2003 - Earl King, American musician and songwriter (b. 1934)

2004 - Edmond Pidoux, Swiss writer (b. 1908)

2004 - Soundarya, Indian actress (b. 1971)