May 17th, 1891

Born on May 17th, 1891

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 48,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 444 days, exactly on July 13th, 2025, people who were born on May 17th, 1891 will be 49,000 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, 1891

92

Céleste Albaret

Marcel Proust's maid, friend and sure

*May 17th, 1891, La Canourgue †April 25th, 1984, Montfort-l'Amaury

66

Napoleon Zervas

Greek general (1891-1957)

*May 17th, 1891, Arta †December 10th, 1957, Athens

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

89

Ruhollah Khomeini

Iranian politician and religious leader (1900–1989)

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

72

Jean Gabin

French actor, recording artist (1904-1976)

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

67

Sugar Ray Leonard

American boxer

*May 17th, 1956, Wilmington

90

John Patrick

American playwright and screenwriter (1905-1995)

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

61

Thomas Rachel

German politician (CDU)

*May 17th, 1962, Birkesdorf

59

Erik Satie

French composer and pianist (1866-1925)

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

75

Winfried Kretschmann

German politician

*May 17th, 1948, Spaichingen

87

Maureen O'Sullivan

Irish-American actress (1911-1998)

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

62

Henri Barbusse

French author (1873-1935)

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

34

Tessa Virtue

Canadian ice dancer

*May 17th, 1989, London

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

94

Bill Minor

American journalist

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

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

73

Edward Jenner

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

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

66

Karl Schäfer

Austrian figure skater

*May 17th, 1909, Vienna †April 23rd, 1976, Vienna

59

David Eigenberg

American actor

*May 17th, 1964, New York City

Same year
Born in 1891

68

Hans Albers

German actor (1891-1960)

*September 22nd, 1891, Hamburg †July 24th, 1960, Berg

54

Anton Dostler

German general

*May 10th, 1891, Munich †December 1st, 1945, Aversa

65

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar

Indian polymath, philosopher, and social reformer (1891–1956)

*April 14th, 1891, Bhim Janmabhoomi †December 6th, 1956, Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial

69

Zora Neale Hurston

African American folklorist, novelist, short story writer, and Civic Rights advocate (1891-1960)

*January 7th, 1891, Notasulga †January 28th, 1960, Fort Pierce

54

Walter Model

German field marshal

*January 24th, 1891, Genthin †April 21st, 1945, Ratingen

82

James Chadwick

English physicist who discovered the neutron in 1932

*October 20th, 1891, Bollington †July 24th, 1974, Cambridge

52

Erwin Rommel

German field marshal of World War II

*November 15th, 1891, Heidenheim an der Brenz †October 14th, 1944, Herrlingen

76

Paul Whiteman

American jazz musician and popular bandleader (1890–1967)

*March 28th, 1891, Denver †December 29th, 1967, Doylestown

78

Nelly Sachs

Jewish German poet and playwright

*December 10th, 1891, Schöneberg †May 12th, 1970, Stockholm

53

Erich Marcks

German general

*June 6th, 1891, Schöneberg †June 12th, 1944, Saint-Lô

81

James Bell

American actor (1891-1973)

*December 1st, 1891, Suffolk †October 26th, 1973, Kents Store

82

Frank Mills

American actor (1891-1973)

*January 26th, 1891, Kalamazoo †August 18th, 1973, Los Angeles

88

Henry Miller

American novelist (1891–1980)

*December 26th, 1891, Yorkville †June 7th, 1980, Pacific Palisades

61

Fritz Schellong

German internist and university professor (1891-1953)

*September 10th, 1891, Königsberg †January 18th, 1953, Münster

65

Kurt von Tippelskirch

German World War II general

*October 9th, 1891, Charlottenburg †May 10th, 1957, Lüneburg

76

Adolf Wurmbach

German author

*July 15th, 1891, Littfeld †January 17th, 1968, Kredenbach

56

Gitz Rice

Canadian pianist and composer (1891-1947)

*March 5th, 1891, New Glasgow †October 16th, 1947, New York City

95

John Howard Northrop

American biochemist (1891-1987)

*July 5th, 1891, Yonkers †May 27th, 1987, Wickenburg

48

Mikhail Bulgakov

Russian author

*May 3rd, 1891, Kyiv †March 10th, 1940, Moscow

53

Walther Arndt

German zoologist (1891–1944) executed by the Nazis

*January 8th, 1891, Kamienna Góra †June 26th, 1944, Brandenburg an der Havel

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 1891 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1891