On this day: April 17

Inmate Allegedly Escapes by Mailing Himself Out of Jail

In April 2013, a prison inmate in Utah is reported to have escaped custody by hiding inside a large box and having it shipped out of the facility. Authorities later located and re-arrested the man; details and motives reported at the time remain limited.

Deadly Explosion Levels West, Texas Fertilizer Plant

On April 17, 2013, a massive explosion at the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas, killed at least 15 people, injured more than 160, and destroyed homes and businesses in the surrounding community, prompting federal investigations into storage of ammonium nitrate and emergency response failures.

Birth of the Modern World Championship: Steinitz vs. Zukertort, 1886

On April 17, 1886, the first widely recognized World Chess Championship match began in the United States, pitting Wilhelm Steinitz against Johannes Zukertort in a multi-city contest that set the pattern for modern title matches.

Pioneering Facial Reconstruction Surgery Performed on April 17, 1917

On April 17, 1917, surgeon Harold Gillies performed one of the first documented successful facial reconstruction operations on a British soldier disfigured in World War I, marking a turning point in plastic surgery and wartime medical care.