1. On October 17, 1804, the University of Tennessee was officially established by territorial legislation. The university, located in Knoxville, is now the flagship campus of the state's higher education system.

2. The Battle of Lexington, also known as the Battle of Parker's Crossroads, took place on October 17, 1863, during the Civil War. Confederate forces under General Nathan Bedford Forrest engaged Union troops under General Jeremiah C. Sullivan, resulting in a Confederate victory.

3. On October 17, 1915, Tennessee Senator Kenneth D. McKellar laid the cornerstone for the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Memphis. The building, which still stands on Beale Street, was designed in the neoclassical style by James A. Wetmore and completed in 1918.

4. In 1982, the Tennessee Titans (then known as the Houston Oilers) played their first game in Nashville on October 17 against the New York Jets. The NFL team moved to Tennessee in 1997 and renamed themselves the Titans in 1999.

5. On October 17, 2019, the Tennessee Department of Health announced the state's first vaping-related death. The person, who was not identified, had a history of vaping and had been hospitalized with respiratory symptoms. The announcement came amid a nationwide outbreak of lung injury associated with e-cigarette use.