May 17

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May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). There are 228 days remaining.

Events

• 1521 - Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason.
• 1590 - Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland.
• 1642 - Paul Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve (1612–1676) founds the Ville Marie de Montréal.
• 1673 - Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River.
• 1775 - American Revolutionary War: The Continental Congress bans trade with Canada.
• 1792 - The New York Stock Exchange is formed.
• 1809 - Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire.
• 1814 - Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian.
• 1814 - The Constitution of Norway is signed and the Danish Crown Prince Christian Frederik is elected King of Norway by the Constitutional assembly.
• 1846 - The saxophone is patented by Adolphe Sax.
• 1849 - A fire threatens to burn St. Louis, Missouri, to the ground.
• 1863 - Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, her first book in the Galician language.
• 1865 - The International Telegraph Union (the later International Telecommunication Union) is established.
• 1875 - Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby.
• 1900 - Second Boer War: British troops relieve Mafeking.
• 1902 - Archaeologist Spyridon Stais finds the Antikythera mechanism.
• 1915 - The last British Liberal Party government (Herbert Henry Asquith) falls.
• 1919 - Committee of One Thousand forms to oppose Winnipeg General Strike.
• 1933 - Vidkun Quisling and Johan Bernhard Hjort form Nasjonal Samling — the national-socialist party of Norway.
• 1940 - World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.
• 1943 - The United States Army contracts with the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School to develop the ENIAC.
• 1954 - The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.
• 1967 - Six-Day War: President Abdul Nasser of Egypt demands dismantling of the peace-keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt.
• 1969 - Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.
• 1970 - Thor Heyerdahl sets sail from Morocco on the papyrus boat Ra II to sail the Atlantic Ocean.
• 1973 - Watergate scandal: Hearings begin in the United States Senate and are televised.
• 1974 - Police in Los Angeles, California, raid the Symbionese Liberation Army's headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall.
• 1974 - Thirty-three people are killed by terrorist bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland.
• 1980 - General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.
• 1983 - Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
• 1984 - Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend," sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.
• 1987 - An Iraqi fighter jet fires two missiles into the U.S. warship USS Stark (FFG-31), killing 37 and injuring 21 of her crew.
• 1992 - In Thailand, the so-called Black May begins. Thai police and protestors start attacking one another. By midnight, the current Thai government declares a state of emergency, and military troops, equipped with M-16 rifles, open fire.
• 1995 - After 18 years as the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac takes office as President of France.
• 1999 - Ehud Barak is elected prime minister of Israel.
• 2006 - USS Oriskany sunk in the Gulf of Mexico to be an artificial reef

Births

• 1155 - Jien, Japanese poet and historian (d. 1225)
• 1443 - Edmund, Earl of Rutland, brother of Kings Edward IV of England and Richard III of England
• 1551 - Martin Delrio, Flemish theologian and occultist (d. 1601)
• 1628 - Archduke Ferdinand Charles of Austria, Regent of the Tyrol (d. 1662)
• 1706 - Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (d. 1780)
• 1718 - Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English diplomat and politician (d. 1778)
• 1743 - Seth Warner, American revolutionary leader (d. 1784)
• 1749 - Edward Jenner, English medical researcher (d. 1823)
• 1758 - John St Aubyn, British fossil collector (d. 1839)
• 1768 - Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales (d. 1821)
• 1768 - Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English general (d. 1854)
• 1794 - Anna Brownell Jameson, British writer (d. 1860)
• 1821 - Sebastian Kneipp, German naturopathist (d. 1897)
• 1836 - Wilhelm Steinitz, Austrian chess player (d. 1900)
• 1844 - Julius Wellhausen, German biblical scholar (d. 1918)
• 1866 - Erik Satie, French composer (d. 1925)
• 1868 - Horace Elgin Dodge, American automobile manufacturer (d. 1920)
• 1873 - Henri Barbusse, French novelist and journalist (d. 1935)
• 1873 - Dorothy Richardson, English writer (d. 1957)
• 1879 - Simon Petlyura, Ukrainian independence fighter (d. 1926)
• 1886 - Alfonso XIII of Spain (d. 1941)
• 1888 - Tich Freeman, English cricketer (d. 1965)
• 1897 - Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
• 1898 - Alfred Joseph Casson Canadian painter (d. 1992)
• 1900 - Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian Muslim cleric (d. 1989)
• 1901 - Werner Egk, German composer (d. 1983)
• 1903 - Cool Papa Bell, baseball player (d. 1991)
• 1904 - Jean Gabin, French actor (d. 1976)
• 1906 - Zinka Milanov, Croatian soprano (d. 1989)
• 1911 - Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish-born supermodel (d. 1992)
• 1911 - Maureen O'Sullivan, Irish actress (d. 1998)
• 1916 - Archibald Thomas Audley Rutherford was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
• 1918 - Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano (d. 2005)
• 1919 - Merle Miller, American biographer (d. 1986)
• 1921 - Dennis Brain, English French horn player (d. 1957)
• 1921 - Bob Merrill, American composer and lyricist (d. 1998)
• 1935 - Dennis Potter, English writer (d. 1994)
• 1936 - Dennis Hopper, American actor and director
• 1937 - Hazel R. O'Leary, United States Secretary of Energy
• 1938 - Jason Bernard, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1940 - Alan Kay, American computer scientist
• 1942 - Taj Mahal, American singer and guitarist
• 1945 - Tony Roche, Australian tennis player
• 1946 - Udo Lindenberg, German musician
• 1946 - F. Paul Wilson, American novelist
• 1949 - Bill Bruford, English drummer and songwriter (Yes)
• 1950 - Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian politician
• 1952 - Howard Hampton, leader of the New Democratic Party of Ontario
• 1955 - Bill Paxton, American actor and film director
• 1956 - Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer
• 1956 - Bob Saget, American actor
• 1956 - Dave Sim, Canadian cartoonist
• 1957 - Pascual Pérez, Major league pitcher
• 1959 - Paul Di'Anno, English singer (Iron Maiden)
• 1959 - Jim Nantz, American broadcaster
• 1961 - Enya, Irish singer and songwriter
• 1962 - Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish writer
• 1963 - Page McConnell, American musician and songwriter (Phish)
• 1965 - Trent Reznor, American singer and songwriter (Nine Inch Nails)
• 1969 - Thom Filicia, American television personality (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy)
• 1970 - Jordan Knight, Lead singer of New Kids On The Block
• 1971 - Shaun Hart, Australian footballer
• 1971 - Princess Máxima of the Netherlands
• 1973 - Josh Homme, American musician, singer and songwriter
• 1974 - Andrea Corr, Irish singer (The Corrs)
• 1975 - Sasha Alexander, American television actress
• 1975 - Jonti Picking, British cartoonist
• 1975 - Laura Voutilainen, Finnish singer
• 1975 - Alex Wright, German professional wrestler
• 1978 - Paddy Kenny, Sheffield United and Ireland goalkeeper
• 1981 - Leon Osman, English footballer
• 1981 - Zack Cooper, Canadian Sports Radio Broadcaster
• 1982 - Tony Parker, French-American basketball player
• 1983 - Channing Frye, American basketball player
• 1984 - Christine Robinson, Canadian water polo player
• 1988 - Jared Green, The Biggest Lilo & Stitch fan in the UK

Deaths

• 1189 - Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Japanese general (b. 1159)
• 1336 - Emperor Go-Fushimi of Japan (b. 1288)
• 1365 - Louis VI the Roman, Duke of Bavaria and Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1328)
• 1395 - Constantine Dragas, Serbian ruler of a semi-independent realm
• 1464 - Thomas de Ros, 10th Baron de Ros, English politician (executed) (b. 1427)
• 1510 - Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (b. 1445)
• 1521 - Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, English politician
• 1536 - George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, English diplomat
• 1575 - Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1504)
• 1626 - Juan Pujol, Catalan composer (b. 1570)
• 1643 - Giovanni Picchi, Italian composer
• 1727 - Catherine I of Russia
• 1729 - Samuel Clarke, English philosopher (b. 1675)
• 1765 - Alexis Claude Clairault, French mathematician (b. 1713)
• 1797 - Michel-Jean Sedaine, French dramatist (b. 1719)
• 1801 - William Heberden, English physician (b. 1710)
• 1809 - Leopold Auenbrugger, Austrian physician (b. 1722)
• 1822 - Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu, French-Russian statesman (b. 1766)
• 1829 - John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1745)
• 1838 - Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, French diplomat (b. 1754)
• 1839 - Archibald Alison, Scottish author (b. 1757)
• 1868 - Isami Kondo, Shinsengumi Commander (b. 1834)
• 1875 - John C. Breckinridge, Vice President of the United States (b. 1821)
• 1879 - Asa Packer, Railroad magnate and founder of Lehigh Valley Railroad (b. 1805)
• 1886 - John Deere, American blacksmith and manufacturer (b. 1804)
• 1888 - Giacomo Zanella, Italian poet (b. 1820)
• 1916 - Boris Borisovich Galitzine, Russian physicist (b. 1862)
• 1917 - Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke, ruler of Sarawak (b. 1829)
• 1935 - Paul Dukas, French composer (b.1865)
• 1947 - George William Forbes, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1869)
• 1985 - Abe Burrows, songwriter, composer, and writer (b. 1910)
• 1987 - Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
• 1992 - Lawrence Welk, American musician (b. 1903)
• 1995 - Hector "Toe" Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and NHL coach (b. 1912)
• 1996 - Kevin Gilbert, American singer, composer and instrumentalist (b. 1966)
• 1996 - Scott Brayton, American race car driver (b. 1959)
• 1999 - Bruce Fairbairn, Canadian record producer and musician (b. 1949)
• 2000 - Donald Coggan, 101st Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1909)
• 2001 - Frank G. Slaughter, American novelist and physician (b. 1908)
• 2002 - Dave Berg, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
• 2002 - Sharon Sheeley, American songwriter (b. 1940)
• 2002 - Davey Boy Smith, English professional wrestler (b. 1962)
• 2002 - Ladislao Kubala, Hungarian-Spanish footballer (b. 1927)
• 2003 - Frank "Pop" Ivy, American and Canadian football coach (b. 1916)
• 2004 - Jørgen Nash, Danish artist (b. 1920)
• 2004 - Tony Randall, American actor (b. 1920)
• 2004 - Ezzedine Salim, leader of Iraqi Governing Council (b. 1943)
• 2005 - Frank Gorshin, American actor (b. 1934)
• 2006 - Cy Feuer, American playwright (b. 1911)
• 2006 - Eric Forth, MP (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances

• Día das Letras Galegas ("Galician Literature Day") — holiday in Galicia, honouring the Galician language.
• Norwegian Constitution Day or Syttende Mai.
• Feast day of the following saints in the Roman Catholic Church:
  • Paschal Baylon or Pascal Baylon
  • Solochon
  • Pamphamer
  • Pamphalon
  • Adrian of Alexandria
  • Saint Victor
• Bahá'í Faith — Feast of 'Azaamat (Grandeur) — First day of the fourth month of the Bahá'í Calendar.
• International Day Against Homophobia aka IDAHO - Observed annually since 2005 by members of the LGBT community and their allies worldwide and aimed at decreasing homophobia, May 17 was chosen as the day of the event because homosexuality was removed from the International Classification of Diseases of the WHO on May 17 1990. [1][2]

External links

• BBC: On This Day

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May 16 - May 18 - April 17 - June 17 – listing of all days