TODAY IN HISTORY – 17th Dec, 2025 – Africa World News

Valentine Ndukwu 1 week ago 2 min read

By Valentine Uchechukwu Ndukwu.

History, like every other thing we have ever had an encounter with is such a reminder of the life we have left behind.

But the unique thing about history is the fact that it is usually determined in two distinct folders; the values we must and the disasters we must avoid.

Here is a random collection of events that were

On this day in 1665, the first account of a blood transfusion was published, in the form of a letter from physician Richard Lower to chemist Robert Boyle, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

Still on this day in 1903, the Wright brothers made the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

According to Today in History, on this day in 1927, Indian revolutionary Rajendra Lahiri was hanged in Gonda jail, Uttar Pradesh, India, two days before the scheduled date.

It was on this day in 1960 that the troops loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia crushed the coup that began December 13, returning power to their leader upon his return from Brazil. Haile Selassie absolves his son of any guilt.

Regrettably on this day in 1960 the world witnessed the Munich C-131 crash where twenty passengers and crew on board as well as 32 people on the ground were killed.

Today in History shows that on this day in 1967, Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia, disappeared while swimming near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.

Amazingly, it was on this day in 1989, the Simpsons premiered on television with the episode “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”.

Still on this day in 1997, Peruvian internal conflict: Fourteen members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement provoked a hostage crisis by taking over the Japanese embassy in Lima.

In 2002 on this day, the second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue signed a peace accord which made provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years.

Regrettably on this day in 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire. This act became the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring.