WHAT HAPPENED IN 1917.
Look what happened the 1917.

Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the Russian throne and his brother the Grand Duke becomes Tsar. (15. March 1917)

The Georgian Orthodox Church restores its autocephaly abolished by Imperial Russia in 1811. (25. March 1917)

World War I: First Battle of Gaza – British troops are halted after 17,000 Turks block their advance. (26. March 1917)

The United States takes possession of the Danish West Indies after paying $25 million to Denmark, and renames the territory the United States Virgin Islands. (31. March 1917)

World War I: United States President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany. (2. April 1917)

World War I: The United States declares war on Germany (see President Woodrow Wilson's address to Congress). (6. April 1917)

World War I: The Battle of Arras – the battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge. (9. April 1917)

World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans. (12. April 1917)

Vladimir Lenin returns to Petrograd, Russia from exile in Switzerland. (16. April 1917)

Three children report the first apparition of Our Lady of Fátima in Fátima, Portugal. (13. May 1917)

World War I: The Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription. (18. May 1917)

The Norwegian football club Rosenborg BK was founded. (19. May 1917)

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is established through Royal Charter to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations military forces. (21. May 1917)

The Great Atlanta fire of 1917 causes $5.5 million in damages, destroying some 300 acres including 2,000 homes, businesses and churches, displacing about 10,000 people but leading to only one fatality (due to heart attack). (21. May 1917)

Several powerful tornadoes rip through Illinois, including the city of Mattoon, killing 101 people and injuring 689. (26. May 1917)

Alexander I becomes king of Greece. (30. May 1917)

The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded: Laura E. Richards, Maude H. Elliott, and Florence Hall receive the first Pulitzer for biography (for Julia Ward Howe). Jean Jules Jusserand receives the first Pulitzer for history for his work With Americans of Past and Present Days. Herbert B. Swope receives the first Pulitzer for journalism for his work for the New York World. (4. June 1917)

World War I: Conscription begins in the United States as "Army registration day". (5. June 1917)

World War I: Battle of Messines – Allied soldiers detonated ammonal mines underneath German trenches at Messines Ridge, killing 10,000 German troops. (7. June 1917)

King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father Constantine I abdicates under pressure by allied armies occupying Athens. (11. June 1917)