May 17th, 1896

Born on May 17th, 1896

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 46,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 277 days, exactly on January 21st, 2025, people who were born on May 17th, 1896 will be 47,000 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, 1896

71

Brasílio Itiberê da Cunha Luz

Brazilian composer

*May 17th, 1896, Curitiba †December 10th, 1967, Rio de Janeiro

86

Ruth Donnelly

Actress (1896-1982)

*May 17th, 1896, Trenton †November 17th, 1982, New York City

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

89

Ruhollah Khomeini

Iranian politician and religious leader (1900–1989)

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

35

Lyna bonasera

Belgian actress

*May 17th, 1988, West Los Angeles

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

83

Odd Hassel

Norwegian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate (1897-1981)

*May 17th, 1897, Christiania †May 11th, 1981, Oslo

61

Thomas Rachel

German politician (CDU)

*May 17th, 1962, Birkesdorf

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

41

Reinhold Saulmann

Estonian athletics competitor

*May 17th, 1895, Tallinn †June 6th, 1936, Tallinn

59

Erik Satie

French composer and pianist (1866-1925)

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

34

Tessa Virtue

Canadian ice dancer

*May 17th, 1989, London

74

Dennis Hopper

American actor and director (1936–2010)

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

62

Henri Barbusse

French author (1873-1935)

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

94

Bill Minor

American journalist

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

62

Enya

Irish singer

*May 17th, 1961, Gweedore

66

Karl Schäfer

Austrian figure skater

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

65

Bob Saget

American actor and comedian (1956–2022)

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

87

Cool Papa Bell

American Hall of Fame baseball player

*May 17th, 1903, Starkville †March 7th, 1991, St. Louis

Same year
Born in 1896

96

Kathleen McKane Godfree

English badminton and tennis player (1896-1992)

*May 7th, 1896, Bayswater †June 19th, 1992, London

90

Bruno Snell

German classical philologist

*June 18th, 1896, Hildesheim †October 31st, 1986, Hamburg

49

Marianne Grunthal

German teacher

*January 31st, 1896, Zehdenick †May 2nd, 1945, Schwerin

83

Helmut Berve

German historian of classical antiquity

*January 22nd, 1896, Wrocław †April 6th, 1979, Hechendorf am Pilsensee

84

Maria

Swiss psychologist, biologist, logician, philosopher and academic (1896-1980)

*August 9th, 1896, Neuchâtel †September 16th, 1980, Geneva

84

A. J. Cronin

Scottish novelist

*July 19th, 1896, Cardross †January 6th, 1981, Montreux

44

F. Scott Fitzgerald

American writer (1896–1940)

*September 24th, 1896, Saint Paul †December 21st, 1940, Hollywood

75

Betty Smith

American author (1896–1972)

*December 15th, 1896, Brooklyn †January 17th, 1972, Shelton

84

Eugenio Montale

Italian poet (1896-1981)

*October 12th, 1896, Genoa †September 12th, 1981, Milan

72

Trygve Lie

1st Secretary-General of the United Nations (1896–1968)

*July 16th, 1896, Grünerløkka †December 30th, 1968, Geilo

77

David Alfaro Siqueiros

Mexican social realist painter (1896–1974)

*December 29th, 1896, Mexico City †January 6th, 1974, Cuernavaca

92

Virgil Thomson

American composer and critic

*November 25th, 1896, Kansas City †September 30th, 1989, New York City

45

Ernst Udet

German flying ace (1896–1941)

*April 26th, 1896, Frankfurt †November 17th, 1941, Berlin

91

Karl August Wittfogel

German-American academic (1896–1988)

*September 6th, 1896, Woltersdorf †May 25th, 1988, New York City

50

Erich Sichting

German politician (1896-1946)

*March 13th, 1896, Magdeburg †September 6th, 1946, Magdeburg

61

Gerty Cori

Austro-Hungarian-American biochemist (1896–1957)

*August 15th, 1896, Prague †October 26th, 1957, Glendale

89

Elisabeth Selbert

German politician (1896-1986)

*September 22nd, 1896, Kassel †June 9th, 1986, Kassel

74

John Dos Passos

American novelist (1896–1970)

*January 14th, 1896, Chicago †September 28th, 1970, Baltimore

93

Sandro Pertini

Former President of the Italian Republic, President of Italy from 1978 to 1985

*September 25th, 1896, San Giovanni †February 24th, 1990, Rome

89

Wallis Simpson

American socialite and wife of the Duke of Windsor (1896-1986)

*June 19th, 1896, Blue Ridge Summit †April 24th, 1986, Villa Windsor

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: 1896 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 1896