May 17th, 1824

Born on May 17th, 1824

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 73,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 971 days, exactly on December 24th, 2026, people who were born on May 17th, 1824 will be 74,000 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?

61

Bill Paxton

American actor and filmmaker (1955–2017)

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

35

Lyna bonasera

Belgian actress

*May 17th, 1988, West Los Angeles

64

Wilhelm Steinitz

Austrian-American chess player

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

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

59

Erik Satie

French composer and pianist (1866-1925)

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

61

Thomas Rachel

German politician (CDU)

*May 17th, 1962, Birkesdorf

75

Winfried Kretschmann

German politician

*May 17th, 1948, Spaichingen

34

Tessa Virtue

Canadian ice dancer

*May 17th, 1989, London

72

Jean Gabin

French actor, recording artist (1904-1976)

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

89

Ruhollah Khomeini

Iranian politician and religious leader (1900–1989)

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

62

Henri Barbusse

French author (1873-1935)

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

71

Johann Jakob Egli

Swiss geographer (1825-1896)

*May 17th, 1825, Laufen-Uhwiesen †August 24th, 1896, Zürich

74

Dennis Hopper

American actor and director (1936–2010)

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

62

Enya

Irish singer

*May 17th, 1961, Gweedore

65

Bob Saget

American actor and comedian (1956–2022)

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

87

Maureen O'Sullivan

Irish-American actress (1911-1998)

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

59

David Eigenberg

American actor

*May 17th, 1964, New York City

94

Bill Minor

American journalist

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

83

Edward Armitage

British botanist

*May 17th, 1822, Maidstone †February 22nd, 1906, Cheltenham

Same year
Born in 1824

65

Wilkie Collins

British writer (1824-1889)

*January 8th, 1824, London †September 23rd, 1889, London

69

Charles Abel

Franco-German lawyer and politician

*December 2nd, 1824, Thionville †May 2nd, 1894, Guentrange

82

John Hall

New Zealand politician (1824-1907)

*December 18th, 1824, Kingston upon Hull †June 25th, 1907, Christchurch

86

Julius Blüthner

German piano maker

*March 11th, 1824, Falkenhain †April 13th, 1910, Leipzig

69

Friedrich Wilhelm Dörpfeld

German educationist

*March 8th, 1824, Wermelskirchen †October 27th, 1893, Ronsdorf

71

Alexandre Dumas fils

French writer and dramatist (1824–1895)

*July 27th, 1824, Paris †November 27th, 1895, Marly-le-Roi

72

Anton Bruckner

Austrian composer (1824-1896)

*September 4th, 1824, Ansfelden †October 11th, 1896, Vienna

83

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

British physicist and engineer (1824–1907)

*June 26th, 1824, Belfast †December 17th, 1907, Largs

73

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

French artist best known for his mural painting (1824-1898)

*December 14th, 1824, Lyon †October 24th, 1898, Paris

39

Stonewall Jackson

General of the Confederate Army in the American Civil War

*January 21st, 1824, Clarksburg †May 10th, 1863, Guinea

69

Leland Stanford

American politician and railroad tycoon (1824-1893)

*March 9th, 1824, Watervliet †June 21st, 1893, Palo Alto

60

Bedřich Smetana

Czech composer (1824–1884)

*March 2nd, 1824, Litomyšl †May 12th, 1884, Prague

63

Washington Bartlett

Governor of California (1824-1887)

*February 29th, 1824, Savannah †September 12th, 1887, Oakland

36

William Walker

American filibuster, physician, lawyer, journalist and mercenary (1824-1860)

*May 8th, 1824, Nashville †September 12th, 1860, Trujillo

63

Gustav Kirchhoff

German physicist (1824–1887)

*March 12th, 1824, Königsberg †October 17th, 1887, Berlin

80

George MacDonald

Scottish writer and Christian minister (1824–1905)

*December 10th, 1824, Huntly †September 18th, 1905, Ashtead

72

Charles Blondin

(1824-1897) French acrobat

*February 28th, 1824, Hesdin †February 22nd, 1897, London

79

Alexandre-Auguste-Célestin Bullier

French sculptor

*April 28th, 1824, Paris †June 17th, 1903, 5th arrondissement of Paris

80

Juan Valera

Spanish writer (1824-1905)

*October 18th, 1824, Cabra †April 18th, 1905, Madrid

79

Jean-Léon Gérôme

French painter and sculptor (1824–1904)

*May 11th, 1824, Vesoul †January 10th, 1904, 9th arrondissement of Paris

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: 1824 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 1824