E. B. Tylor ( 2 October 1832 – 2 January 1917 ) and James George Frazer ( 1 January 1854 – 7 May 1941 ) are generally considered the antecedents to modern social anthropology in Britain.

* Robert E. Cox ( 1917 – 1989 ) who conducted the " Gleanings for ATMs " column in Sky and Telescope magazine for 21 years.

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

* 1849 – John William Waterhouse, British painter ( d. 1917 )

* 1917 – Leonora Carrington, British surrealist painter ( d. 2011 )

* 1917 – World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.

* 1917 – Helen Forrest, American singer ( d. 1999 )

* 1877 – Léon Flameng, French cyclist ( d. 1917 )

* 1917 – Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player ( d. 1986 )

* 1917 – World War I: Battle of Mărăşeşti between the Romanian and German armies begins.

* 1917 – Robert Mitchum, American actor ( d. 1997 )

Category: Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences ( 1917 – 1925 )

* 1917 – Sid Gordon, American baseball player ( d. 1975 )

* 1917 – Scott Joplin, American musician and composer ( b. 1868 )

Eastern European theorists include Pyotr Stolypin ( 1862 – 1911 ) and Alexander Chayanov ( 1888 – 1939 ) in Russia ; Adolph Wagner ( 1835 – 1917 ), and Karl Oldenberg in Germany, and Bolesław Limanowski ( 1835 – 1935 ) in Poland.

* 1917 – Les Elgart, American trumpet player and bandleader ( d. 1995 )

* 1917 – Ferdinand Georg Frobenius, German mathematician ( b. 1849 )

Bloch was highly interdisciplinary, influenced by the geography of Paul Vidal de la Blache ( 1845 – 1918 ) and the sociology of Émile Durkheim ( 1858 – 1917 ).

* 1860 – Alan Leo, English astrologer ( d. 1917 )

* 1876 – Mata Hari, Dutch spy ( d. 1917 )

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

He returned to the Western Front in early 1916 as a general staff officer in the 33rd Division and took part in the Battle of Arras in April / May 1917.

Montgomery served at the Battle of Passchendaele in Autumn 1917 before finishing the war as General Staff Officer 1 and effectively chief of staff of the 47th ( 2nd London ) Division, with the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel.

In their first major use at the Battle of Cambrai ( 1917 ), the plan was for a cavalry division to follow behind the tanks, however they were not able to cross a canal because a tank had broken the only bridge.

* The Lighthorsemen, about the Battle of Beersheba, 1917

The Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade became famous for the Battle of Beersheba in 1917 where they charged on horseback using rifle bayonets, since neither sabres or lances were part of their equipment.

* 1917 – World War I: Battle of Messines – Allied ammonal mines underneath German trenches at Messines Ridge are detonated, killing 10, 000 German troops.

* 1917 – The Allies reach the Yser Canal at the Battle of Passchendaele.

* 1917 – World War I: the Battle of Rafa occurs near the Egyptian border with Palestine.

* 1917 – World War I: Battle of Cambrai begins – British forces make early progress in an attack on German positions but are later pushed back.

* 1917 – World War I: Third Battle of Gaza ends: British forces capture Gaza from the Ottoman Empire.

* 1917 – World War I: Third Battle of Ypres ends: After three months of fierce fighting, Canadian forces take Passchendaele in Belgium.

* 1917 – World War I: Battle of Caporetto ; Italy suffers a catastrophic defeat at the forces of Austria-Hungary and Germany.

* 1917 – World War I: Battle of Beersheba – " last successful cavalry charge in history ".

* 1917 – World War I: The First Battle of Passchendaele takes place resulting in the largest single day loss of life in New Zealand history.

Titanic causes the deaths of nearly 1, 500 people and attracts global and historical attention ; Title bar: All the events below are part of World War I ; French Army lookout at his observation post in 1917 ; Russian troops awaiting a German attack ; A ration party of the Royal Irish Rifles in a communication trench during the Battle of the Somme ; Vladimir Lenin addresses a crowd in the midst of the October Revolution of 1917 ; A flu pandemic in 1918 kills tens of millions worldwide .| 420px | thumb

He contributed to the tactics used during the Battle of Mărăşeşti ( July – August 1917 ), when Romanians under General Alexandru Averescu managed to stop the advance of German forces under the command of Field Marshal August von Mackensen.

* Battles: The Third Battle of Ypres, 1917

In October 1917, Lawrence, as part of a general effort to divert Turkish military resources away from the British advance before the Third Battle of Gaza, led a small force of Syrians and Arabians in defending Petra against a much larger combined force of Turks and Germans.

On 20 August 1917, a geographically limited French offensive ( the Second Offensive Battle of Verdun ()), was carried out on the left bank following an overwhelming heavy artillery preparation ( nearly 2000 guns firing at a 4 km long by 0. 5 km wide target area ).

During the First World War he fought on the Western Front, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for conspicuous gallantry during the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917.