Dashed left edge = started before February 1917 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond February 1917
Events in February 1917 5
1917The cosmological constantA fudge to hold the universe stillApplying relativity to the whole universe, Einstein found it would collapse, so he added a term to keep it static. When expansion was discovered he dropped it. The constant returned in the 1990s as the best description of dark energy.
1917Unrestricted submarine warfare resumesBerlin, GermanyGermany gambled that it could starve Britain out before America could mobilise. Shipping losses peaked in April, when convoys were finally introduced.
1917Mexican Constitution of 1917 promulgatedNew charter enshrines land reform and labor rightsFollowing the Mexican Revolution, delegates in Queretaro adopted a constitution granting sweeping powers over land, labor, and the church. It remains, with amendments, the foundational legal document of modern Mexico.
1917 – 2016Zsa Zsa Gabor (1917-2016)Died 18 December 2016, aged 99Gabor was a Hungarian-American actress and socialite known for her glamorous public persona and nine marriages as much as for her film career. She appeared in films including Moulin Rouge and became a fixture of American celebrity culture for decades. She was one of three famous Gabor sisters.
1917 – 1993Anthony Burgess (1917-1993)Died 22 November 1993, aged 76Anthony Burgess was an English author and composer best known for his dystopian novel "A Clockwork Orange," later adapted into a controversial film by Stanley Kubrick. He was a prolific writer of fiction, criticism, and screenplays. He died of cancer in London.