May 17th, 1556

Born on May 17th, 1556

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 170,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 90 days, exactly on July 22nd, 2024, people who were born on May 17th, 1556 will be 171,000 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 aircraft fired two Exocet missiles at the American frigate USS Stark leaving 37 personnel of the warship dead and 21 others injured.

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 more.

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 McClernand defeated a Confederate rearguard, capturing around 1,700 men.

May 17th, 1590

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

May 17th, 1521

English nobleman Edward Stafford, whose father had been beheaded for rebelling against King Richard III, 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?

35

Lyna bonasera

Belgian 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

67

Sugar Ray Leonard

American boxer

*May 17th, 1956, Wilmington

73

Edward Jenner

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

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

61

Thomas Rachel

German politician (CDU)

*May 17th, 1962, Birkesdorf

34

Tessa Virtue

Canadian ice dancer

*May 17th, 1989, London

75

Winfried Kretschmann

German politician

*May 17th, 1948, Spaichingen

59

Erik Satie

French composer and pianist (1866-1925)

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

72

Jean Gabin

French actor, recording artist (1904-1976)

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

62

Enya

Irish singer

*May 17th, 1961, Gweedore

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 actor and comedian (1956–2022)

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

59

David Eigenberg

American actor

*May 17th, 1964, New York City

64

Wilhelm Steinitz

Austrian-American chess player

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

90

John Patrick

American playwright and screenwriter (1905-1995)

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

57

Martin Delrio

Belgian theologian

*May 17th, 1551, Antwerp †October 19th, 1608, Leuven

62

Henri Barbusse

French author (1873-1935)

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

87

Maureen O'Sullivan

Irish-American actress (1911-1998)

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

61

Ferenc Krausz

Austrian-Hungarian laser physicist

*May 17th, 1962, Mór

Same year
Born in 1556

86

Sophia Brahe

Danish horticulturalist

*September 22nd, 1556, Knutstorp Castle †January 1st, 1643, Helsingør

43

Jerzy Radziwiłł

Catholic cardinal

*May 31st, 1556, Lukiškės †January 21st, 1600, Rome

69

Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana

Mughal court poet and minister (1556–1627)

*December 17th, 1556, Lahore †October 1st, 1626, Agra

83

Jeanne de Lestonnac

French saint

*December 27th, 1556, Bordeaux †February 2nd, 1640, Bordeaux

52

Philipp Nicolai

German Lutheran pastor, hymnwriter

*August 10th, 1556, Bad Arolsen †October 2nd, 1608, Hamburg

25

Alexander Briant

Jesuit martyr

*August 17th, 1556, Somerset †December 1st, 1581, Tyburn

70

Ahmad Baba al Massufi

Malian academic (1556-1627)

*October 26th, 1556, Araouane †April 22nd, 1627, Timbuktu

69

François Béroalde de Verville

French writer

*April 27th, 1556, Paris †January 1st, 1626, Tours

37

Andreas von Auersperg

Carniolan noble and military commander in the battle of Sisak

*April 9th, 1556, Žužemberk †September 5th, 1593, Karlovac

49

Nyaungyan Min

King of Burma

*March 6th, 1556, Bago †March 3rd, 1606, Hsipaw

60

Countess Maria of Nassau

Countess of Nassau (1556-1616)

*February 7th, 1556, Breda †October 10th, 1616, Buren

91

Joseph Calasanz

Spanish writer and saint

*September 11th, 1556, Peralta de la Sal †August 25th, 1648, Rome

65

Aurelio Lomi

Italian painter (1556-1622)

*February 29th, 1556, Pisa †January 1st, 1622, Pisa

59

Sethus Calvisius

German music theorist, composer, chronologer, astronomer, and teacher

*February 21st, 1556, Gorsleben †November 24th, 1615, Leipzig

67

Uesugi Kagekatsu

Daimyo during the Sengoku and Edo periods

*January 8th, 1556, Echigo Province †April 19th, 1623, Yonezawa

29

Kunigunde Jakobäa of Simmern

(1556-1586)

*October 9th, 1556, Simmern †January 26th, 1586, Dillenburg

57

Matthaeus Entzlin

German university teacher (1556-1613)

*May 16th, 1556, Stuttgart †November 22nd, 1613, Bad Urach

40

George Peele

English poet and dramatist (1556-1596)

*January 1st, 1556, London †November 7th, 1596, London

65

Guillaume du Vair

French bishop

*March 7th, 1556, Paris †August 3rd, 1621, Tonneins

61

David Hoeschel

Librarian (1556-1617)

*April 8th, 1556, Augsburg †October 19th, 1617, Augsburg

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

Yes: 1556 is a leap year, therefore has a 29th of February with an additional leap day and a total of 366 days (instead of the usual 365 days in a normal year).

Calendar
May 1556