1631 | The date June 17 is of historical significance as it was on this day in the year 1631 that Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, died while giving birth to their 14th child in Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh. It was her memory that inspired the construction of the iconic Taj Mahal. (Image: Wiki Commons)
1885 | The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York aboard a French ship named Isere on this day. The disassembled statue, which was a gift from the people of France, arrived in 214 crates. (Image: Shutterstock)
1939 | Eugène Weidmann, convicted of multiple kidnappings and murders, became the last person to be publicly executed by guillotine in France. He was guillotined in Versailles outside the prison Saint-Pierre and the event was witnessed by future acting legend, Christopher Lee. Lee was then 17 years old. (Image: Wiki Commons)
1944 | After German forces occupied Denmark in 1940, Iceland moved away and assumed control over its own foreign affairs. It formally became an independent republic on June 17, 1944, after a plebiscite. (Image: Shutterstock)
1961 | India's first fighter-bomber jet aircraft, HAL HF-24 Marut, completed its maiden flight on June 17, 1961. The first production of the fighter jet was officially delivered to the Indian Air Force six years later on April 1, 1967. (Image: Wiki Commons)
1973 | Indian professional tennis player Leander Paes, who is considered one of the greatest doubles players in the sport, was born in Calcutta. (Image: Shutterstock)
1994 | American gridiron football player O.J. Simpson, who was charged for the brutal murders of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, was arrested after the police chase his white Ford Bronco around California. The chase was witnessed on national television by an audience of 95 million Americans. (Image: Reuters)