May 17th, 1859

Born on May 17th, 1859

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 60,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 753 days, exactly on May 21st, 2026, people who were born on May 17th, 1859 will be 61,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on May 17th, 1859?

May 17th, 1859

Members of the Melbourne Football Club codified the first rules of Australian rules football.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Football_Club

What else 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.

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

59

Erik Satie

French composer and pianist (1866-1925)

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

35

Lyna bonasera

Belgian actress

*May 17th, 1988, West Los Angeles

67

Sugar Ray Leonard

American boxer

*May 17th, 1956, Wilmington

62

Henri Barbusse

French author (1873-1935)

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

61

Thomas Rachel

German politician (CDU)

*May 17th, 1962, Birkesdorf

64

Wilhelm Steinitz

Austrian-American chess player

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

75

Winfried Kretschmann

German politician

*May 17th, 1948, Spaichingen

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

55

Georgette Agutte

French painter and sculptor (1867–1922)

*May 17th, 1867, 4th arrondissement of Paris †September 5th, 1922, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc

34

Tessa Virtue

Canadian ice dancer

*May 17th, 1989, London

73

Edward Jenner

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

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

90

John Patrick

American playwright and screenwriter (1905-1995)

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

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

87

Maureen O'Sullivan

Irish-American actress (1911-1998)

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

65

Bob Saget

American actor and comedian (1956–2022)

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

72

Melquíades Álvarez

Spanish politician (1864-1936)

*May 17th, 1864, Gijón †August 22nd, 1936, Madrid

69

August Stradal

Bohemian pianist and composer (1860-1930)

*May 17th, 1860, Teplice †March 13th, 1930, Krásná Lípa

Same year
Born in 1859

75

Paul Herrmann

German classical archaeologist

*December 14th, 1859, Halle (Saale) †August 30th, 1935, Dresden

46

Pierre Curie

French physicist (1859-1906)

*May 15th, 1859, Paris †April 19th, 1906, Paris

71

Arthur Conan Doyle

British writer and physician (1859–1930)

*May 22nd, 1859, Edinburgh †July 7th, 1930, Crowborough

31

Kathinka Hedwig Agerskov

Danish painter

*August 8th, 1859, Flensburg †November 23rd, 1890, Frederiksberg

81

Henri Bergson

French philosopher (1859–1941)

*October 18th, 1859, Paris †January 4th, 1941, Paris

82

Wilhelm II

German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 to 1918

*January 27th, 1859, Kronprinzenpalais †June 4th, 1941, Huis Doorn

57

L. L. Zamenhof

Polish-Jewish pysician and inventor of Esperanto (1859-1917)

*December 15th, 1859, Białystok †April 14th, 1917, Warsaw

92

Knut Hamsun

Norwegian novelist (1859–1952)

*August 4th, 1859, Vågå †February 19th, 1952, Grimstad

31

Georges Seurat

French painter (1859-1891)

*December 2nd, 1859, Paris †March 29th, 1891, Paris

92

John Dewey

American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer (1859–1952)

*October 20th, 1859, Burlington †June 1st, 1952, New York City

73

Kenneth Grahame

British novelist

*March 8th, 1859, Edinburgh †July 6th, 1932, Berkshire

65

Victor Herbert

American composer

*February 1st, 1859, Dublin †May 26th, 1924, New York City

70

Anton Aicher

Austrian theatre director

*April 5th, 1859, Feldbach †February 5th, 1930, Salzburg

79

Edmund Husserl

German philosopher, known as the father of phenomenology (*1859 – †1938)

*April 8th, 1859, Prostějov †April 27th, 1938, Freiburg im Breisgau

75

Alfred Dreyfus

French artillery officer (1859–1935)

*October 9th, 1859, Mulhouse †July 12th, 1935, Paris

60

Reginald De Koven

American music critic and composer

*April 3rd, 1859, Middletown †January 16th, 1920

96

Johan Frans van Bemmelen

Dutch zoologist and paleontologist (1859–1956)

*December 26th, 1859, Groningen †August 6th, 1956, Leiden

68

Jerome K. Jerome

English humorist (1859-1927)

*May 2nd, 1859, Walsall †June 14th, 1927, Northampton

57

Sholem Aleichem

Jewish writer and playwright of Yiddish, who worked in Ukraine and the United States (1859-1916)

*February 18th, 1859, Pereiaslav †May 13th, 1916, New York City

86

Gerhard Heilmann

Danish artist and paleontologist (1859-1946)

*June 25th, 1859, Skælskør †March 26th, 1946, Copenhagen

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 1859 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1859