May 17th, 1879

Born on May 17th, 1879

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 52,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 59 days, exactly on June 25th, 2024, people who were born on May 17th, 1879 will be 53,000 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, 1879

67

Hans Grade

German aviation pioneer

*May 17th, 1879, Koszalin †October 22nd, 1946, Borkheide

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

60

Conway Tearle

Actor (1878-1938)

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

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

54

Alfonso XIII

King of Spain from 1886 to 1931

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

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

73

Edward Jenner

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

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

55

Georgette Agutte

French painter and sculptor (1867–1922)

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

64

Wilhelm Steinitz

Austrian-American chess player

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

82

Karl Burman

Estonian architect

*May 17th, 1882, Sumy †May 10th, 1965, Tallinn

Same year
Born in 1879

76

Albert Einstein

German-born theoretical physicist; developer of the theory of relativity (1879–1955)

*March 14th, 1879, Ulm †April 18th, 1955, Princeton

60

Leon Trotsky

Russian Marxist revolutionary (1879–1940)

*October 26th, 1879, Bereslavka †August 21st, 1940, Coyoacán

89

Franz von Papen

German general staff officer, politician, diplomat, nobleman and Chancellor of Germany (1879–1969)

*October 29th, 1879, Werl †May 2nd, 1969, Sasbach

66

Alla Nazimova

Russian-American actress, screenwriter and producer (1879–1945)

*June 3rd, 1879, Yalta †July 13th, 1945, Los Angeles

52

Vachel Lindsay

American poet

*November 10th, 1879, Springfield †December 5th, 1931, Springfield

92

Rudolf Friml

Czech composer

*December 7th, 1879, Prague †November 12th, 1972, Hollywood

80

Max von Laue

German physicist, Nobel laureate and anti-Nazi

*October 9th, 1879, Koblenz †April 24th, 1960, West Berlin

77

Frieda Lawrence

German writer

*August 11th, 1879, Metz †August 11th, 1956, Taos

85

Louis Prével

French rower (1879-1964)

*January 29th, 1879, Nice †November 26th, 1964, Nice

66

Charles Delestraint

French general (1879-1945)

*March 12th, 1879, Biache-Saint-Vaast †April 19th, 1945, Dachau concentration camp

91

E. M. Forster

English novelist (1879-1970)

*January 1st, 1879, London †June 7th, 1970, Coventry

54

Louis Joseph Vance

American writer (1879-1933)

*September 19th, 1879, Washington, D.C. †December 16th, 1933, New York City

60

Paul Klee

Swiss artist (1879-1940)

*December 18th, 1879, Münchenbuchsee †June 29th, 1940, Muralto

74

Francis Picabia

French painter and writer (1879-1953)

*January 22nd, 1879, Paris †November 30th, 1953, Paris

70

Ramana Maharshi

Indian Hindu sage (1879–1950)

*December 30th, 1879, Tiruchuli Assembly constituency †April 14th, 1950, Sri Ramana Ashram

58

Warner Oland

Swedish-American actor (1879–1938)

*October 3rd, 1879, Västerbotten County †August 6th, 1938, Stockholm

94

Mary Forbes

British-American actress (1883-1974)

*December 30th, 1879, Hornsey †July 22nd, 1974, Beaumont

70

Sarojini Naidu

Indian poet, politician, governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh from 1947 to 1949

*February 13th, 1879, Hyderabad †March 2nd, 1949, Lucknow

73

Annie Kenney

British suffragette (1879-1953)

*September 13th, 1879, Springhead †July 9th, 1953, Letchworth Garden City

65

Stefan Filipkiewicz

Polish artist (1879-1944)

*July 28th, 1879, Tarnów †August 23rd, 1944, Mauthausen concentration camp

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 1879 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1879