May 17th, 1688

Born on May 17th, 1688

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 122,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 297 days, exactly on February 20th, 2025, people who were born on May 17th, 1688 will be 123,000 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

73

Edward Jenner

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

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

67

Sugar Ray Leonard

American boxer

*May 17th, 1956, Wilmington

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

39

Bartholomew Roberts

Welsh pirate (1682-1722)

*May 17th, 1682, Little Newcastle †February 10th, 1722, Battle of Cape Lopez

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

64

Wilhelm Steinitz

Austrian-American chess player

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

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

90

John Patrick

American playwright and screenwriter (1905-1995)

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

59

David Eigenberg

American actor

*May 17th, 1964, New York City

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

94

Bill Minor

American journalist

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

Same year
Born in 1688

51

Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia

King of Prussia

*August 14th, 1688, Berlin †May 31st, 1740, City Palace

56

Alexander Pope

English poet (1688–1744)

*May 21st, 1688, City of London †May 30th, 1744, Twickenham

75

Pierre de Marivaux

French novelist and dramatist (1688-1763)

*February 4th, 1688, Paris †February 11th, 1763, Paris

84

Emmanuel Swedenborg

Swedish 18th century scientist and theologian

*January 29th, 1688, Stockholm †March 29th, 1772, London

58

Nader Shah

Shah of Iran (r. 1736–47) and founder of the Afsharid dynasty

*October 22nd, 1688, Dargaz †June 19th, 1747, Quchan

80

Joseph-Nicolas Delisle

French astronomer

*April 4th, 1688, Paris †September 11th, 1768, Paris

61

Nicolas Fréret

French historian (1688-1749)

*February 15th, 1688, Paris †March 8th, 1749

88

Cadwallader Colden

Lieutenant governor, acting governor of the Province of New York (1688-1776)

*February 7th, 1688, Duns †September 28th, 1776, Flushing

70

Johann Friedrich Fasch

German violinist and composer

*April 15th, 1688, Buttelstedt †December 5th, 1758, Zerbst

59

Ernest Augustus I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach

*April 19th, 1688, Weimar †January 19th, 1748, Eisenach

54

Julius Bernhard von Rohr

(1688-1742) German science writer

*March 28th, 1688, Elsterwerda †April 18th, 1742, Leipzig

25

Maria Luisa of Savoy

Queen consort of Spain (1688-1714)

*September 17th, 1688, Turin †February 14th, 1714, Madrid

53

Ulrika Eleonora I of Sweden

Queen regnant of Sweden from 1718 to 1720

*January 23rd, 1688, Stockholm †November 24th, 1741, Stockholm

65

Gao Xiang

Chinese artist (1688-1753)

*January 1st, 1688, Jiangdu District †January 1st, 1753

77

James Francis Edward Stuart, Prince of Wales

Pretender to the English, Scottish and Irish throne

*June 10th, 1688, St James's Palace †January 1st, 1766, Rome

77

Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel

Dutch princess (1688-1765)

*February 7th, 1688, Kassel †April 9th, 1765, Leeuwarden

66

Giuseppe Livizzani Mulazzani

Italian cardinal (1688-1754)

*March 20th, 1688, Modena †March 20th, 1754, Rome

69

Augustin Simnacher

Organ builder

*January 27th, 1688, Irsingen †October 24th, 1757, Brixen

66

Charles-Nicolas Cochin the Elder

French line-engraver (1688-1754)

*April 29th, 1688, Paris †July 5th, 1754, Paris

55

Johann Ulrich von König

German writer (1688-1744)

*October 6th, 1688, Esslingen am Neckar †March 14th, 1744, Dresden

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: 1688 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 1688