Birthdays
Augustus Frank
Turns 34 on this date
Henry Byrd Lewis
Turns 34 on this date
John Ritchie
Turns 43 on this date
Henry Robinson Torbert
Turns 26 on this date
Elijah Catlin Wadhams
Turns 35 on this date
Events
| Campaigns/Elections | Arriving in Boston, Stephen Douglas continues his political tour | 07/17/1860 |
| Lawmaking/Litigating | Congressional Commission to examine the methods of training at West Point meets for the first time | 07/17/1860 |
| US/the World | Cornerstone for the new Queen's Hospital laid in Honolulu, Hawaii | 07/17/1860 |
| Battles/Soldiers | In China, American adventurer Frederick Ward and his men capture fortress of Sung-Chiang from Taiping rebels | 07/17/1860 |
| Crime/Disasters | Texas newspaper editor accuses abolitionists of planning to launch a slave revolt in the state | 07/17/1860 |
| Lawmaking/Litigating | The Pacific republic movement spreads to Oregon with rumors printed in the Salem press | 07/17/1860 |
Documents
| Letter | John L. Scripps to Abraham Lincoln, July 17, 1860 | 07/17/1860 |
| Newspaper | New York Times, “The Fears of Mr. Wigfall,” July 17, 1860 | 07/17/1860 |