At A Glance

17 August 1945 at a glance

Day of the week
17 August 1945 was a Friday.
Top Film of 1945
One of the highest-grossing films worldwide released in 1945 was The Bells of St. Mary's.
Bestselling Novel of 1945
“Forever Amber” by Kathleen Winsor was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1945.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 August 1945 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 August 1945 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 17 August

  • 1943 World War II: The U.S. Seventh Army under General George S. Patton arrives in Messina, Italy, followed several hours later by the British 8th Army under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, thus completing the Allied conquest of Sicily.
  • 1945 Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaim the independence of Indonesia, igniting the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch Empire.
  • 1945 The novella Animal Farm by George Orwell is first published.
  • 1945 Evacuation of Manchukuo: At Talitzou by the Sino-Korean border, Puyi, then the Kangde Emperor of Manchukuo, formally renounces the imperial throne, dissolves the state, and cedes its territory to the Republic of China.
  • 1947 The Radcliffe Line, the border between the Dominions of India and Pakistan, is revealed.

Famous people born on August 17

  • Robert De Niro, American actor, entrepreneur, director, and producer (born 1943)
  • Phoebe Bridgers, American singer/songwriter (born 1994)
  • Sean Penn, American actor, director, and political activist (born 1960)
  • Larry Ellison, American businessman, co-founded the Oracle Corporation (born 1944)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1945 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1945 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • February 23 – Battle of Iwo Jima: A group of United States Marines reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag.
  • March 1 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt gives what will be his last address to a joint session of Congress, reporting on the Yalta Conference.
  • April 25 – Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco.

Life in the US in 1945

President

Harry S. Truman

Gas (per gallon)

$0.21

Loaf of Bread

$0.09

Average House

$3,700

Weekly Wage

$40

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1940s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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