May 17th, 1242

Born on May 17th, 1242

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 285,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 336 days, exactly on June 1st, 2025, people who were born on May 17th, 1242 will be 286,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on May 17th?

May 17th, 2004

Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.

May 17th, 2000

Following the killing of two English football fans by Galatasaray supporters in the previous month, British and Turkish hooligans rioted on the day of the UEFA Cup Final in Copenhagen, Denmark.

May 17th, 1995

Six-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama selected by the 14th Dalai Lama, was kidnapped by the Chinese government, who advocated a proxy.

May 17th, 1987

An Iraqi jet fired two Exocet missiles at the American frigate USS Stark, killing 37 personnel and injuring 21 others.

May 17th, 1974

The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force detonated a series of car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland, killing 34 people and injuring almost 300 others.

May 17th, 1954

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, outlawing racial segregation in public schools because "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and therefore unconstitutional.

May 17th, 1947

After renegotiating a contract with the makers of her signature perfume Chanel No. 5, Coco Chanel (pictured) received a share of wartime profits from its sale, making her one of the richest women in the world.

May 17th, 1914

Under the Protocol of Corfu, the Principality of Albania officially recognized Northern Epirus as an autonomous self-governing region.

May 17th, 1902

The Antikythera mechanism, the oldest known surviving geared mechanism, was discovered among artifacts retrieved from a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera.

May 17th, 1900

The first copies of the children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum were printed.

May 17th, 1865

The International Telecommunication Union, which standardizes and regulates international radio and telecommunications, was founded as the International Telegraph Union in Paris.

May 17th, 1863

American Civil War: At the Battle of Big Black River Bridge in Mississippi, Union forces under John A. McClernand defeated a Confederate rearguard and captured around 1,700 men.

May 17th, 1590

Anne of Denmark (pictured) was crowned the queen consort of Scotland in a ceremony at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh.

May 17th, 1521

Edward Stafford, whose father had been beheaded for rebelling against King Richard III of England, was himself executed for treason against King Henry VIII.

May 17th, 1395

An outnumbered Wallachian army repulsed invading Ottoman forces at the Battle of Rovine.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on May 17th

Same Day
Who's birthday is on May 17th?

36

Nikki Reed

American actress

*May 17th, 1988, West Los Angeles

61

Bill Paxton

American actor and filmmaker (1955–2017)

*May 17th, 1955, Fort Worth †February 25th, 2017, Los Angeles

68

Sugar Ray Leonard

American boxer

*May 17th, 1956, Charlotte

62

Thomas Rachel

German politician (CDU)

*May 17th, 1962, Birkesdorf

73

Edward Jenner

English physician, scientist and pioneer of vaccination (1749–1823)

*May 17th, 1749, Berkeley †January 26th, 1823, Berkeley

35

Tessa Virtue

Canadian ice dancer

*May 17th, 1989, London

76

Winfried Kretschmann

German politician

*May 17th, 1948, Spaichingen

63

Enya

Irish singer

*May 17th, 1961, Gweedore

72

Jean Gabin

French actor, recording artist (1904-1976)

*May 17th, 1904, 9th arrondissement of Paris †November 15th, 1976, Neuilly-sur-Seine

59

Erik Satie

French composer and pianist (1866-1925)

*May 17th, 1866, Honfleur †July 1st, 1925, Paris

89

Ruhollah Khomeini

Iranian politician and religious leader (1900–1989)

*May 17th, 1900, Khomein †June 3rd, 1989, Tehran

74

Dennis Hopper

American actor and director (1936–2010)

*May 17th, 1936, Dodge City †May 29th, 2010, Venice

65

Bob Saget

American stand-up comedian (1956–2022)

*May 17th, 1956, Philadelphia †January 9th, 2022, Orlando

60

David Eigenberg

American actor

*May 17th, 1964, New York City

90

John Patrick

American playwright and screenwriter (1905-1995)

*May 17th, 1905, Louisville †November 7th, 1995, Delray Beach

64

Wilhelm Steinitz

Austrian-American chess player

*May 17th, 1836, Prague †August 12th, 1900, New York City

62

Ferenc Krausz

Austrian-Hungarian laser physicist

*May 17th, 1962, Mór

87

Maureen O'Sullivan

Irish-American actress (1911-1998)

*May 17th, 1911, Boyle †June 23rd, 1998, Scottsdale

62

Henri Barbusse

French author (1873-1935)

*May 17th, 1873, Asnières-sur-Seine †August 30th, 1935, Moscow

94

Bill Minor

American journalist

*May 17th, 1922, Hammond †March 28th, 2017, Ridgeland

40

Howard Ashman

American playwright and lyricist (1950-1991)

*May 17th, 1950, Baltimore †March 14th, 1991, New York City

71

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

President of Kazakhstan since 2019

*May 17th, 1953, Almaty

54

Alfonso XIII

King of Spain from 1886 to 1931

*May 17th, 1886, Madrid †February 28th, 1941, Rome

83

Odd Hassel

Norwegian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate (1897-1981)

*May 17th, 1897, Christiania †May 11th, 1981, Oslo

39

Greg Van Avermaet

Belgian cyclist

*May 17th, 1985, Lokeren

82

Gary Paulsen

American writer (1939–2021)

*May 17th, 1939, Minneapolis †October 13th, 2021, Tularosa

57

Mohamed Nasheed

Maldivian politician, 4th president of the second republic of Maldives

*May 17th, 1967, Malé

32

Matthew McGrory

American actor (1973–2005)

*May 17th, 1973, West Chester †August 9th, 2005, Los Angeles

73

Hawa Abdi

Somalian physician, activist (1947-2020)

*May 17th, 1947, Mogadishu †August 5th, 2020, Mogadishu

42

Borja Oubiña

Spanish footballer

*May 17th, 1982, Vigo

40

Igor Denisov

Russian footballer

*May 17th, 1984, Saint Petersburg

84

Alan Kay

American computer scientist (born 1940)

*May 17th, 1940, Springfield

48

Wang Leehom

Taiwanese singer, songwriter, actor

*May 17th, 1976, Rochester

66

Karl Schäfer

Austrian figure skater

*May 17th, 1909, Vienna †April 23rd, 1976, Vienna

76

Bob Merrill

American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter (1921-1998)

*May 17th, 1921, Atlantic City †February 17th, 1998, Culver City

92

Marianne von Weizsäcker

Spouse of the German President

*May 17th, 1932, Essen

78

Udo Lindenberg

German rock musician and composer

*May 17th, 1946, Gronau

72

Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira

Spanish politician

*May 17th, 1952, Cambrils

42

Vjosa Osmani

President of the Republic of Kosovo since 2021

*May 17th, 1982, Mitrovica

34

Sonny Colbrelli

Italian cyclist

*May 17th, 1990, Desenzano del Garda

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on May 17th

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day) which are celebrated on May 17th.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

No: With 365 days 1242 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1242