May 17th, 1907

Born on May 17th, 1907

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 42,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 284 days, exactly on February 6th, 2025, people who were born on May 17th, 1907 will be 43,000 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, 1907

81

Ilona Elek

Hungarian fencer (1907-1988)

*May 17th, 1907, Budapest †July 24th, 1988, Budapest

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

90

John Patrick

American playwright and screenwriter (1905-1995)

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

72

Jean Gabin

French actor, recording artist (1904-1976)

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

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

87

Maureen O'Sullivan

Irish-American actress (1911-1998)

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

89

Ruhollah Khomeini

Iranian politician and religious leader (1900–1989)

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

66

Karl Schäfer

Austrian figure skater

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

67

Sugar Ray Leonard

American boxer

*May 17th, 1956, Wilmington

61

Thomas Rachel

German politician (CDU)

*May 17th, 1962, Birkesdorf

75

Winfried Kretschmann

German politician

*May 17th, 1948, Spaichingen

83

Zinka Milanov

Croatian opera singer

*May 17th, 1906, Zagreb †May 30th, 1989, New York City

74

Antonio Tovar Llorente

Spanish historian and linguist (1911-1985)

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

94

Bill Minor

American journalist

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

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

65

Horace McMahon

American actor

*May 17th, 1906, South Norwalk †August 17th, 1971, Norwalk

87

Cool Papa Bell

American Hall of Fame baseball player

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

59

Erik Satie

French composer and pianist (1866-1925)

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

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

Same year
Born in 1907

47

Frida Kahlo

Mexican painter (1907–1954)

*July 6th, 1907, Mexico City †July 13th, 1954, Mexico City

68

James Robertson Justice

British actor

*June 15th, 1907, Lewisham †July 2nd, 1975, Romsey

85

Henry Heerup

Danish sculptor, painter and composer (1907-1993)

*November 4th, 1907, Copenhagen †May 30th, 1993, Copenhagen

86

Paul Grimm

German prehistorian and medievalist (1907-1993)

*August 18th, 1907, Torgau †November 19th, 1993, Berlin

72

John Wayne

American actor (1907–1979)

*May 26th, 1907, Winterset †June 11th, 1979, Westwood

94

Astrid Lindgren

Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays (1907–2002)

*November 14th, 1907, Vimmerby Parish †January 28th, 2002, Gustav Vasa parish

56

Rachel Carson

American marine biologist and conservationist

*May 27th, 1907, Rachel Carson Homestead †April 14th, 1964, Silver Spring

96

Katharine Hepburn

American actress (1907–2003)

*May 12th, 1907, Hartford †June 29th, 2003, Old Saybrook

74

Jack Albertson

American character actor, dancer, singer and comedian

*June 16th, 1907, Malden †November 25th, 1981, Hollywood

82

Laurence Olivier

British actor (1907–1989)

*May 22nd, 1907, Dorking †July 11th, 1989, West Sussex

93

Arlene Francis

American actress and television host (1907–2001)

*October 20th, 1907, Boston †May 31st, 2001, San Francisco

71

Ita Rina

Slovenian actress (1907-1979)

*July 7th, 1907, Divača †May 10th, 1979, Budva

52

Paul Douglas

American actor (1907-1959)

*April 11th, 1907, Philadelphia †September 11th, 1959, Hollywood

87

Joan Harrison

English film producer and screenwriter (1907-1994)

*June 26th, 1907, Guildford †August 14th, 1994, London

75

James Hayter

British actor

*April 23rd, 1907, Lonavala †March 27th, 1983, La Vila Joiosa

38

Russell Gleason

American actor (1907-1945)

*February 6th, 1907, Portland †December 26th, 1945, New York City

75

Jacques Tati

French filmmaker (1907-1982)

*October 9th, 1907, Le Pecq †November 5th, 1982, Paris

36

Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg

German army officer and aristocrat

*November 15th, 1907, Jettingen-Scheppach †July 21st, 1944, Bendlerblock

82

Barbara Stanwyck

American actress (1907–1990)

*July 16th, 1907, Brooklyn †January 20th, 1990, Santa Monica

104

Oscar Niemeyer

Brazilian architect (1907-2012)

*December 15th, 1907, Rio de Janeiro †December 5th, 2012, Rio de Janeiro

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 1907 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1907