May 17th, 1902

Born on May 17th, 1902

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 44,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 459 days, exactly on July 30th, 2025, people who were born on May 17th, 1902 will be 45,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on May 17th, 1902?

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.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism

What else 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, 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, 1902

74

Otto Lüthje

German actor

*May 17th, 1902, Hamburg †January 23rd, 1977, Hamburg

69

Fausto Cleva

American conductor

*May 17th, 1902, Trieste †August 6th, 1971, Athens

65

Khuang Aphaiwong

Prime Minister of Thailand (1902-1968)

*May 17th, 1902, Battambang †March 15th, 1968, Bangkok

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

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

Bill Paxton

American actor and filmmaker (1955–2017)

*May 17th, 1955, Fort Worth †February 25th, 2017, Los Angeles

90

John Patrick

American playwright and screenwriter (1905-1995)

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

35

Lyna bonasera

Belgian actress

*May 17th, 1988, West Los Angeles

87

Cool Papa Bell

American Hall of Fame baseball player

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

67

Sugar Ray Leonard

American boxer

*May 17th, 1956, Wilmington

87

Maureen O'Sullivan

Irish-American actress (1911-1998)

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

61

Thomas Rachel

German politician (CDU)

*May 17th, 1962, Birkesdorf

75

Winfried Kretschmann

German politician

*May 17th, 1948, Spaichingen

66

Karl Schäfer

Austrian figure skater

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

74

Dennis Hopper

American actor and director (1936–2010)

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

34

Tessa Virtue

Canadian ice dancer

*May 17th, 1989, London

59

Erik Satie

French composer and pianist (1866-1925)

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

94

Bill Minor

American journalist

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

74

Antonio Tovar Llorente

Spanish historian and linguist (1911-1985)

*May 17th, 1911, Valladolid †December 14th, 1985, Madrid

62

Enya

Irish singer

*May 17th, 1961, Gweedore

62

Henri Barbusse

French author (1873-1935)

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

65

Bob Saget

American actor and comedian (1956–2022)

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

59

David Eigenberg

American actor

*May 17th, 1964, New York City

Same year
Born in 1902

39

Harald Lie

Norwegian composer

*November 21st, 1902, Oslo †May 23rd, 1942, Oslo

101

Denise Colomb

French photographer

*April 1st, 1902, 10th arrondissement of Paris †January 1st, 2004, Paris

101

Leni Riefenstahl

German film director, photographer, actress and Nazi propagandist (1902–2003)

*August 22nd, 1902, Berlin †September 8th, 2003, Pöcking

82

Paul Dirac

British theoretical physicist (1902–1984)

*August 8th, 1902, Bristol †October 20th, 1984, Tallahassee

66

John Steinbeck

American writer

*February 27th, 1902, Salinas †December 20th, 1968, Harlem

66

Thelma Ritter

American actress and vaudevillian (1902-1969)

*February 14th, 1902, Brooklyn †February 5th, 1969, New York City

80

Ralph Richardson

British actor (1902–1983)

*December 19th, 1902, Cheltenham †October 10th, 1983, London

74

Carlo Gambino

American mobster

*August 24th, 1902, Palermo †October 15th, 1976, Massapequa

72

Jan Tschichold

Graphic designer (1902–1974)

*April 2nd, 1902, Leipzig †August 11th, 1974, Locarno

92

Karl Popper

Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and political philosopher noted for falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)

*July 28th, 1902, Vienna †September 17th, 1994, Kenley

90

Barbara McClintock

American scientist and cytogeneticist

*June 16th, 1902, Hartford †September 2nd, 1992, Huntington

72

Charles Lindbergh

American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist

*February 4th, 1902, Detroit †August 26th, 1974, Kipahulu

85

Shen Congwen

Chinese writer（1902-1988）

*December 28th, 1902, Fenghuang County †May 10th, 1988, Beijing

85

Josef Grohé

Gauleiter of Cologne (1902-1987)

*November 6th, 1902, Gemünden †December 27th, 1987, Brück

68

Max Abegglen

Swiss footballer (1902-1970)

*April 11th, 1902, Neuchâtel †August 25th, 1970, Zermatt

77

Paul Nevermann

German politician (1902-1979)

*February 5th, 1902, Klein Flottbek †March 22nd, 1979, Puerto de la Cruz

95

Halldór Laxness

Icelandic author (1902-1998)

*April 23rd, 1902, Reykjavík †February 8th, 1998, Mosfellsbær

65

Langston Hughes

American writer and social activist

*February 1st, 1902, Joplin †May 22nd, 1967, New York City

86

Georgy Malenkov

Soviet politician (1901–1988)

*January 8th, 1902, Orenburg †January 14th, 1988, Moscow

81

Alfred Kastler

French physicist

*May 3rd, 1902, Guebwiller †January 7th, 1984, Bandol

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 1902 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1902