British police officer James Saunders assassinated

 

On 17 December 1928, Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru assassinate British police officer James Saunders in Lahore, Punjab, to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police. The three were executed in 1931.

First Airplane Flight

 

The Wright Flyer also known as the Kitty Hawk, made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft—an airplane—on 17 December 1903. Invented and flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright, it marked the beginning of the pioneer era of aviation.

Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright are widely regarded as being the first to invent, build and fly the first successful airplane. There had been many attempts to do so in the past, but any flight achieved was generally short and uncontrolled. This was changed by the Wright brothers when they took to the skies four times on their Wright Flyer on 17 December 1903. The first of these flights, shown in picture, lasted about 12 seconds, at a speed of 6.8 miles per hour (10.9 km/h) and an altitude of 120 feet (37 m).

The difference with the Wright brother's aircraft was that they managed to invent a system whereby the pilot could actually control the aircraft during flight. This method, the three-axis control system, remains the standard on all subsequent aircraft.

For three years until their successful flight in 1903 they honed their skills with glider flights and by building home-made wind tunnels that allowed them to collect more data than other engineers. This enabled them to build better wings and propellers, leading to their successful flights.

Ludwig van Beethoven baptised in 1770

Ludwig van Beethoven, baptised on 17 December 1770, was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical music repertoire. His works span the transition from the classical period to the romantic era in classical music. His career has conventionally been divided into early, middle, and late periods. The "early" period, during which he forged his craft, is typically considered to have lasted until 1802. From 1802 to around 1812, his "middle" period showed an individual development from the "classical" styles of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is sometimes characterized as "heroic". During this time he began to suffer increasingly from deafness. In his "late" period from 1812 to his death in 1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and expression.

National Day of Bhutan

 

The National Day (Gyalyong Duechen) of Bhutan is December 17. The date marks the coronation of Ugyen Wangchuck as the first Druk Gyalpo of modern Bhutan, Celebrations are held at Changlimithang Stadium,and include a public address by the Druk Gyalpo and a procession including a statue of Ugyen Wangchuck to honour the first Druk Gyalpo and the independent Bhutanese nation.