1. On December 17, 1862, Union General William T. Sherman led his troops on a successful raid on the town of Lexington, Tennessee. The raid was part of the Union's strategy to disrupt Confederate supply lines during the Civil War.

2. On December 17, 1892, the Great Pine Mountain Tunnel disaster occurred in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee. A train carrying 25 passengers derailed in the tunnel and was engulfed in flames, killing all on board.

3. Country music singer-songwriter and Tennessee native, Eddie Montgomery, was born on December 17, 1963. He is best known as one-half of the country music duo, Montgomery Gentry.

4. On December 17, 1967, the Smoky Mountains National Park experienced one of its worst fires in history, burning over 10,000 acres of land. The fire was caused by a lightning strike and resulted in the closure of several popular hiking trails.

5. In 2009, the University of Tennessee Volunteers football team defeated the Kentucky Wildcats on December 17 in a dramatic double-overtime game, clinching a spot in the SEC Championship Game. The Vols went on to lose the championship game to the Alabama Crimson Tide.