What Happened on July 17?

July 17 is World Emoji Day — celebrating the tiny pictures that spice up texts worldwide — on the same date Disneyland opened in 1955, U.S. and Soviet crews docked in orbit in 1975, and Allied leaders gathered at Potsdam in 1945.

• 1936 — A military uprising sparks the Spanish Civil War

  On July 17, 1936, army officers rebelled against Spain's elected government — launching a brutal three-year war that drew in fighters from across Europe. Read the full story →

• 1945 — Allied leaders open the Potsdam Conference

  Near war's end, U.S., British, and Soviet leaders met at Potsdam on July 17, 1945, to decide Germany's future and plan the postwar world. Read the full story →

• 1955 — Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California

  Walt Disney's theme park welcomed its first guests on July 17, 1955 — a colorful dream of castles, trains, and storybook lands built from orange groves. Read the full story →

• 1975 — American and Soviet spacecraft dock in orbit

  Apollo and Soyuz capsules linked up 140 miles above Earth on July 17, 1975 — a Cold War handshake in space between rival superpowers. Read the full story →

• 1976 — The Montreal Summer Olympics open with a record 92 nations

  On July 17, 1976, the XXI Olympiad opened in Montreal — where 14-year-old Nadia Comăneci later scored the first perfect 10 in gymnastics. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Angela Merkel (1954) · James Cagney (1899–1986) · Phyllis Diller (1917–2012) · David Hasselhoff (1952)

Days & observances

World Emoji Day · National Peach Ice Cream Day · Day of International Criminal Justice · Yellow Pig Day