May 17th, 1561

Born on May 17th, 1561

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 169,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 923 days, exactly on October 26th, 2026, people who were born on May 17th, 1561 will be 170,000 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

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

94

Bill Minor

American journalist

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

Same year
Born in 1561

65

Francis Bacon

English philosopher and statesman (1561–1626)

*January 22nd, 1561, York House, Strand †April 9th, 1626, Highgate

65

Luis de Góngora

Spanish Baroque lyric poet (1561-1627)

*July 11th, 1561, Córdoba †May 23rd, 1627, Córdoba

44

Anna Maria of Anhalt

German noblewoman

*June 13th, 1561, Zerbst †November 14th, 1605, Brzeg

24

Anthony Babington

English nobleman convicted of plotting the assassination of Elizabeth I of England (1561-1586)

*October 24th, 1561, Dethick †September 20th, 1586, London

64

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk

English sailor, politician, and courtier (1561–1626)

*August 24th, 1561, London †May 28th, 1626, Charing Cross

67

Edwin Sandys

English politician; (1561-1629)

*December 9th, 1561, Worcestershire †October 1st, 1629

71

Jacopo Peri

Italian composer and singer

*August 20th, 1561, Rome †August 12th, 1633, Florence

53

Adriaan van Roomen

Belgian mathematician (1561–1615)

*September 29th, 1561, Leuven †May 4th, 1615, Mainz

17

Archduke Wenceslaus of Austria

Austrian archduke

*March 9th, 1561, Wiener Neustadt †September 22nd, 1578, Madrid

71

Philippe van Lansberge

Dutch astronomer

*August 25th, 1561, Ghent †December 8th, 1632, Middelburg

41

Jacopo Corsi

Italian composer

*July 17th, 1561, Florence †December 29th, 1602, Florence

67

Cesare d'Este, Duke of Modena

Italian noble (1562-1628)

*November 30th, 1561, Ferrara †December 11th, 1628, Modena

62

Erdmuthe of Brandenburg

Duchess of Pomerania-Stettin (1561-1623)

*June 26th, 1561, Berlin †November 13th, 1623, Słupsk

69

Sophie Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

Duchess consort of Pomerania-Wolgast

*December 1st, 1561, Wolfenbüttel †January 30th, 1631, Loitz

62

John VII, Count of Nassau-Siegen

Count of Nassau-Siegen (1606-1623)

*June 7th, 1561, Oberes Schloss †September 27th, 1623, Oberes Schloss

36

Andreas Angelus

Pastor, teacher, chronicler of the Mark Brandenburg (1561-1598)

*November 16th, 1561, Strausberg †August 9th, 1598, Strausberg

53

Wolf Jacob Stromer

German architect

*May 26th, 1561, Nuremberg †June 29th, 1614, Nuremberg

55

Anna of Württemberg

German princess (1561-1616)

*June 12th, 1561, Stuttgart †July 7th, 1616, Chojnów

68

Camillo Procaccini

Italian painter (c.1555-1629)

*March 3rd, 1561, Parma †August 21st, 1629, Milan

66

Sebastian Aguilera de Heredia

Spanish monk, musician and composer

*July 31st, 1561, Zaragoza †December 16th, 1627, Zaragoza

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 1561 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1561