February 17: edit
- 1832 - The HMS Beagle, carrying Charles Darwin on its second voyage, crossed the equator into the Southern Hemisphere. The crew of the ship marked the event with a traditional line-crossing ceremony.
- 1863 - Francis Arthur Bather was born in London, England.
- 1922 - Józef Grzybowski died.
- 1953 - Eudald Carbonell was born in Ribes de Freser, Spain.
- 1965 - Walter Hermann Bucher died in Houston, Texas, USA at age 76.