Top News Stories from 1917

World Events

• First U.S. combat troops arrive in France as U.S. declares war on Germany (April 6). Background: World War I
• Third Battle of Ypres is fought. Background: World War I
• World-wide influenza pandemic strikes; by 1920, nearly 20 million are dead. In U.S. alone, 500,000 perish. Background: Major U.S. Epidemics
• Dutch dancer Mata Hari is convicted and executed as a German spy.
• Government offices are seized and the Romanov's Winter Palace is stormed in Russian October Revolution.

U.S. Events

• U.S. declares war with Germany (Apr. 6). Background: World War I
• "I Want You." James Montgomery Flagg's poster, featuring Uncle Sam and based on a 1914 British poster, attracts thousands of U.S. recruits to WWI duty.
• Between ten thousand and fifteen thousand blacks silently walk down New York City's Fifth Avenue to protest racial discrimination and violence (July 28). Background: civil rights

Economics

Sports

World Series

Stanley Cup

Kentucky Derby Champion

NCAA Football Champions

Entertainment

Events

• The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded for editorial writing, reporting, history of the United States, and biography or autobiography.
• The first op-ed page appears in the New York Times.

Science

• A telescope with a 100-inch mirror (the world's largest for 30 years) is installed atop Mount Wilson Observatory in California.

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