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August 17
1807Robert Fulton's steamboat, the Clermont, began its trip up the Hudson River to Albany. 1863Fort Sumter, S.C. was bombarded by Union ships during the Civil War. 1896Prospectors found gold in Alaska, a discovery that set off the Klondike gold rush. 1945Indonesian nationalists proclaimed independence from the Netherlands. 196218-year-old Peter Fechter was shot and killed by guards at the Berlin Wall, spurring riots. 1969Hurricane Camille devastated the Gulf Coast, killing 248 people. 1978The first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight landed outside of Paris. 1987Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's second in command, committed suicide. 
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