May 17th, 1878

Born on May 17th, 1878

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 53,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 692 days, exactly on March 22nd, 2026, people who were born on May 17th, 1878 will be 54,000 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, 1878

60

Conway Tearle

Actor (1878-1938)

*May 17th, 1878, New York City †October 1st, 1938, Hollywood

83

Benigno Ferrer Domingo

Spanish politician

*May 17th, 1878, Masamagrell †April 24th, 1962, Madrid

68

Edwin Mills

British tug of war competitor

*May 17th, 1878, Warwickshire †November 12th, 1946, Ashby-de-la-Zouch

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

62

Henri Barbusse

French author (1873-1935)

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

59

Erik Satie

French composer and pianist (1866-1925)

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

67

Sugar Ray Leonard

American boxer

*May 17th, 1956, Wilmington

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

61

Thomas Rachel

German politician (CDU)

*May 17th, 1962, Birkesdorf

75

Winfried Kretschmann

German politician

*May 17th, 1948, Spaichingen

90

John Patrick

American playwright and screenwriter (1905-1995)

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

34

Tessa Virtue

Canadian ice dancer

*May 17th, 1989, London

87

Maureen O'Sullivan

Irish-American actress (1911-1998)

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

74

Dennis Hopper

American actor and director (1936–2010)

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

54

Alfonso XIII

King of Spain from 1886 to 1931

*May 17th, 1886, Madrid †February 28th, 1941, Rome

55

Georgette Agutte

French painter and sculptor (1867–1922)

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

62

Enya

Irish singer

*May 17th, 1961, Gweedore

73

Edward Jenner

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

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

64

Wilhelm Steinitz

Austrian-American chess player

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

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 1878

81

Dorothea Douglass

English tennis and badminton player

*September 3rd, 1878, Ealing †January 7th, 1960, Kensington

74

Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953

*December 18th, 1878, Gori †March 5th, 1953, Kuntsevo Dacha

86

Ernst Rodenwaldt

German racial hygienist, university teacher and military physician (1878-1965)

*August 5th, 1878, Berlin †June 4th, 1965, Ruhpolding

87

Marie-Elisabeth Lüders

German politician (1878–1966)

*June 25th, 1878, Berlin †March 23rd, 1966, West Berlin

63

Walter Otto

German historian

*May 30th, 1878, Wrocław †November 1st, 1941, Munich

64

Janusz Korczak

Polish educator (1878-1942)

*July 22nd, 1878, Warsaw †August 7th, 1942, Treblinka extermination camp

89

Carl Sandburg

American writer and editor

*January 6th, 1878, Galesburg †July 22nd, 1967, Flat Rock

74

Ferenc Molnár

Hungarian-born dramatist and novelist (1878-1952)

*January 12th, 1878, Budapest †April 1st, 1952, New York City

87

Elizabeth Arden

Canadian American businesswoman

*December 31st, 1878, Woodbridge †October 18th, 1966, New York City

51

Gustav Stresemann

German politician, statesman, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1878-1929)

*May 10th, 1878, Berlin †October 3rd, 1929, Berlin

98

Eileen Gray

Irish architect and designer (1878-1976)

*August 9th, 1878, Enniscorthy †October 31st, 1976, 14th arrondissement of Paris

56

Erich Mühsam

German-Jewish anarchist writer (1878–1934)

*April 6th, 1878, Berlin †July 10th, 1934, Oranienburg concentration camp

51

Pierre Fatou

French mathematician and astronomer

*February 28th, 1878, Lorient †August 9th, 1929, Pornichet

48

Albert Corey

French long distance runner (1878-1926)

*April 16th, 1878, Meursault †August 3rd, 1926, Paris

77

Paul Renner

German type designer (1878–1959)

*August 9th, 1878, Wernigerode †April 25th, 1956, Überlingen

89

Lise Meitner

Austrian-Swedish physicist

*November 7th, 1878, Vienna †October 27th, 1968, Cambridge

87

Martin Buber

German Jewish Existentialist philosopher and theologian (1878–1965)

*February 8th, 1878, Vienna †June 13th, 1965, Jerusalem

74

Julia Dean

Actress (1878-1952)

*May 13th, 1878, Saint Paul †October 17th, 1952, Hollywood

45

Pancho Villa

Mexican revolutionary (1878-1923)

*June 5th, 1878, San Juan del Río, Durango †July 20th, 1923, Hidalgo del Parral

73

Owen Johnson

American novelist and short story writer

*August 27th, 1878, New York City †January 27th, 1952, Massachusetts

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 1878 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1878