May 17th, 1864

Born on May 17th, 1864

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 58,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 581 days, exactly on November 29th, 2025, people who were born on May 17th, 1864 will be 59,000 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

Born on May 17th, 1864

72

Melquíades Álvarez

Spanish politician (1864-1936)

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

80

Harry Chandler

American businessman

*May 17th, 1864, Landaff †September 23rd, 1944

74

Ante Trumbić

Croatian politician (1864-1938)

*May 17th, 1864, Split †November 17th, 1938, Zagreb

Same Day
Who's birthday is on May 17th?

59

Erik Satie

French composer and pianist (1866-1925)

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

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

62

Henri Barbusse

French author (1873-1935)

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

55

Georgette Agutte

French painter and sculptor (1867–1922)

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

67

Sugar Ray Leonard

American boxer

*May 17th, 1956, Wilmington

61

Thomas Rachel

German politician (CDU)

*May 17th, 1962, Birkesdorf

72

Jean Gabin

French actor, recording artist (1904-1976)

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

75

Winfried Kretschmann

German politician

*May 17th, 1948, Spaichingen

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

34

Tessa Virtue

Canadian ice dancer

*May 17th, 1989, London

90

John Patrick

American playwright and screenwriter (1905-1995)

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

73

Edward Jenner

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

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

74

Dennis Hopper

American actor and director (1936–2010)

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

52

Horace Elgin Dodge

American businessman

*May 17th, 1868, Niles †December 10th, 1920, Palm Beach

87

Maureen O'Sullivan

Irish-American actress (1911-1998)

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

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

94

Bill Minor

American journalist

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

Same year
Born in 1864

73

Bálint Kuzsinszky

Archaeologist, museologist, numismatist

*November 6th, 1864, Subotica †August 23rd, 1938, Budapest

72

Miguel de Unamuno

Spanish poet

*September 29th, 1864, Bilbao †December 31st, 1936, Salamanca

57

Nellie Bly

American journalist

*May 5th, 1864, Burrell Township †January 27th, 1922, New York City

76

Maurice Leblanc

French writer

*November 11th, 1864, Rouen †November 6th, 1941, Perpignan

46

Jules Renard

French author (1864-1910)

*February 22nd, 1864, Châlons-du-Maine †May 22nd, 1910, Bucharest

59

Herman Heijermans

Dutch playwright (1864-1924)

*December 3rd, 1864, Rotterdam †November 22nd, 1924, Zandvoort

51

Richard Harding Davis

Journalist, war correspondent, novelist, short story writer

*April 18th, 1864, Philadelphia †April 11th, 1916, New York City

82

Thomas Dixon Jr.

American Baptist minister, lawyer, politician and white supremacist writer

*January 11th, 1864, Shelby †April 3rd, 1946, Raleigh

56

Max Weber

German sociologist, philosopher, and political economist (1864–1920)

*April 21st, 1864, Erfurt †June 14th, 1920, Munich

74

Benjamin Rabier

French illustrator, author and director (1864-1939)

*December 30th, 1864, La Roche-sur-Yon †October 10th, 1939, Faverolles-en-Berry

72

Theodor Wiegand

German archaeologist (1864–1936)

*October 30th, 1864, Bendorf †December 19th, 1936, Berlin

77

Walther Nernst

German physical chemist and physicist

*June 25th, 1864, Wąbrzeźno †November 18th, 1941, Niwica, Żary County

51

Alois Alzheimer

German psychiatrist and neuropathologist (1864-1915)

*June 14th, 1864, Marktbreit †December 19th, 1915, Wrocław

94

Robert Cecil

Lawyer, politician and diplomat in the United Kingdom (1864-1958)

*September 14th, 1864, Cavendish Square †November 24th, 1958, Royal Tunbridge Wells

81

William S. Hart

American actor, film director (1864–1946)

*December 6th, 1864, Newburgh †June 23rd, 1946, Newhall

79

George Washington Carver

African American botanist and inventor (1864-1943)

*January 1st, 1864, Diamond †January 5th, 1943, Tuskegee

80

Yun Chi-ho

Korean politician and resistance activist (1864-1945)

*December 26th, 1864, Asan †December 6th, 1945, Kaesong

64

Wilhelm Wien

German physicist

*January 13th, 1864, Parusnoje †August 30th, 1928, Munich

56

Alfred Hermann Fried

Austrian Jewish pacifist, publicist, journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate

*November 11th, 1864, Vienna †May 5th, 1921, Vienna

78

Camille Claudel

French sculptor

*December 8th, 1864, Fère-en-Tardenois †October 19th, 1943, Montfavet

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: 1864 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 1864