WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO JULY 1917
Find out what all happened January to July 1917

The U.S. government releases the unencrypted text of the Zimmermann Telegram to the public. (1. March 1917)

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

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

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

Some provinces and cities in the Philippines were incorporated due to the ratification of Act No. 2711 or the Administrative Code of the Philippines. (10. March 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)

World War I: The Corfu Declaration, which leads to the creation of the post-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, is signed by the Yugoslav Committee and Kingdom of Serbia. (20. July 1917)

The enactment of the Jones-Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship. (2. March 1917)

World War I: Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Stanley Maude. (11. March 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)

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

The East St. Louis Riots end. (2. July 1917)

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

The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands. (17. January 1917)

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

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

The Kingsland munitions factory explosion occurs as a result of sabotage. (11. January 1917)

King George V issues a Proclamation stating that the male line descendants of the British Royal Family will bear the surname Windsor. (17. July 1917)