About the day » Tuesday October 17, 1939Calender converter

• Adrianus Johannes Gerardus Leijten, Ginneken en Bavel (Noord-Brabant, NLD) († 2010)
• Janice Rose Brinkman, Clarksville, Butler County, Iowa († 2011)
• Arie Cohen, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Nederland († 1942)
• Hemmo Bosscher, Hoorn,, Noord-Holland, Nederland († 2016)
• Bradford Ej Woodworth, Michigan († 1992)
• Ann Maureen Charron, Rice Lake, Barron County, Wisconsin, United States of America († 2009)
• Hemmo Bosscher, Hoorn († 2016)
• Johannes Ludovicus Wyers, 's-Gravenhage, Zuid-Holland, Nederland († 2019)
• Diane Mae Oldenburger, Hanford (Kings County) (California) († 1953)
• Carlotta Mullan, Lawton, Blaine, Oklahoma, Verenigde Staten († 2016)

• Arie den Heijer (85), Scheveningen ('s-Gravenhage)
• Abraham Manneke (54), Breskens, Zeeland, Nederland
• Allen Thomas Cloud (77), Losantville, Randolph, Indiana, Verenigde Staten
• Arie CMsz van Rijn (92), Leiden
• Benjamin Mutch Salisbury (77), Prahran East, Victoria, Australia
• Berend Jan Hubert (80), Lutten a d Dedemsvaart
• Arie den Heijer (85), Scheveningen, 's-Gravenhage, Zuid-Holland, Nederland
• Arie den Heijer (85), Scheveningen
• Catharina Maria KEMPER (3), Edam, Edam-Volendam, Noord-Holland, Nederland
• Albertus Woltherus DE BOER (54), 's-Hertogenbosch Noord-Brabant Netherlands

• 1937 » Aida Navarro, Venezuelan mezzo-soprano
• 1937 » José María Álvarez del Manzano, Spanish politician
• 1937 » Paxton Whitehead, English actor
• 1938 » António Calvário, Portuguese singer and artist
• 1938 » Evel Knievel, American motorcycle rider and stuntman († 2007)
• 1938 » Les Murray, Australian anthologist, poet, and critic († 2019)
• 1939 » Oliver Rackham, English botanist and academic († 2015)
• 1940 » Jim Smith, English footballer and manager († 2019)
• 1940 » Peter Stringfellow, English businessman († 2018)
• 1940 » Stephen Kovacevich, American pianist and conductor

• 1918 » Malak Hifni Nasif, Egyptian poet and author (b. 1886)
• 1928 » Frank Dicksee, English painter and illustrator (b. 1853)
• 1931 » Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist and academic (b. 1884)
• 1937 » J. Bruce Ismay, English businessman (b. 1862)
• 1938 » Karl Kautsky, Czech-German journalist, philosopher, and theoretician (b. 1854)
• 1948 » Royal Cortissoz, American art critic (b. 1869)
• 1955 » Dimitrios Maximos, Greek banker and politician (b. 1873)
• 1956 » Anne Crawford, Israeli-English actress (b. 1920)
• 1958 » Charlie Townsend, English cricketer and lawyer (b. 1876)
• 1958 » Paul Outerbridge, American photographer (b. 1896)

1. Johannes
2. Jan
3. Cornelis
4. Hendrik
5. Willem
6. Pieter
7. Adrianus
8. Gerrit
9. Petrus
10. Robert
11. Jacobus
12. Jacob
13. Gerardus
14. Wilhelmus
15. Antonius
16. Arie

1. Maria
2. Johanna
3. Anna
4. Cornelia
5. Elisabeth
6. Wilhelmina
7. Hendrika
8. Adriana
9. Catharina
10. Petronella
11. Geertruida
12. Jacoba
13. Margaretha
14. Trijntje
15. Aaltje
16. Mary

• Koningin Wilhelmina (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1890 till 1948 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
• In The Netherlands , there was from June 24, 1937 to July 25, 1939 the cabinet Colijn IV, with Dr. H. Colijn (ARP) as prime minister.
• In The Netherlands , there was from July 25, 1939 to August 10, 1939 the cabinet Colijn V, with Dr. H. Colijn (ARP) as prime minister.
• In The Netherlands , there was from August 10, 1939 to September 3, 1940 the cabinet De Geer II, with Jonkheer mr. D.J. de Geer (CHU) as prime minister.
• The Netherlands had about 8.7 million citizens.
• January 14 » Norway claims Queen Maud Land in Antarctica.
• January 26 » Spanish Civil War: Catalonia Offensive: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona.
• April 10 » Alcoholics Anonymous, A.A.'s "Big Book", is first published.
• April 14 » The Grapes of Wrath, by American author John Steinbeck is first published by the Viking Press.
• April 20 » Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday's celebrations in Germany
• October 14 » World War II: The German submarineU-47 sinks the British battleship HMSRoyal Oak within her harbour at Scapa Flow, Scotland.

The temperature on October 17, 1939 was between 1.4 °C and 14.0 °C and averaged 7.7 °C. There was 0.1 mm of rain. There was 6.0 hours of sunshine (57%). The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the east-northeast.