What happend on 17th December

16.12
18.12
2003

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the third and final film in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, opens in theaters.

2003

First supersonic flight by Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne

2002

A peace accord is signed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

1998

Claudia Benton is murdered in her West University, Texas home by Angel Maturino Resendiz. She is his fifth murder victim in his fourth incident.

1997

A chartered Yakovlev-42 from Ukraine crashes into the mountains near Katerini, Greece killing 70

1989

Brazil holds its first free election in 25 years.

1989

The first episode of The Simpsons airs on the Fox network

1989

Full-scale street manifestations and riots in Timisoara ignite the Romanian Revolution

1981

U.S. army officer James Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigades in Verona, Italy

1978

The Workers Party of Jamaica is founded by Trevor Munroe.