May 17th, 1916

Born on May 17th, 1916

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 39,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 580 days, exactly on November 21st, 2025, people who were born on May 17th, 1916 will be 40,000 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, 1916

92

Lenka Reinerová

Czech writer, publicist and translator

*May 17th, 1916, Prague †June 27th, 2008, Prague

89

Bele Bachem

German painter (1916-2005)

*May 17th, 1916, Düsseldorf †June 5th, 2005, Munich

65

Stanley Roberts

American screenwriter (1916-1982)

*May 17th, 1916, New York City †April 22nd, 1982, Beverly Hills

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

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

72

Jean Gabin

French actor, recording artist (1904-1976)

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

94

Bill Minor

American journalist

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

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

61

Thomas Rachel

German politician (CDU)

*May 17th, 1962, Birkesdorf

89

Ruhollah Khomeini

Iranian politician and religious leader (1900–1989)

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

74

Dennis Hopper

American actor and director (1936–2010)

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

76

Bob Merrill

American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter (1921-1998)

*May 17th, 1921, Atlantic City †February 17th, 1998, Culver City

74

Antonio Tovar Llorente

Spanish historian and linguist (1911-1985)

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

34

Tessa Virtue

Canadian ice dancer

*May 17th, 1989, London

66

Karl Schäfer

Austrian figure skater

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

62

Enya

Irish singer

*May 17th, 1961, Gweedore

88

Antonio Aguilar

Mexican singer and actor (1919–2007)

*May 17th, 1919, Tayahua, Zacatecas †June 19th, 2007, Mexico City

65

Bob Saget

American actor and comedian (1956–2022)

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

87

Birgit Nilsson

Swedish opera singer (1918-2005)

*May 17th, 1918, Västra Karup †December 25th, 2005, Bjärlöv

59

Erik Satie

French composer and pianist (1866-1925)

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

Same year
Born in 1916

89

Phil Brown

American actor (1916–2006)

*April 30th, 1916, Cambridge †February 9th, 2006, Woodland Hills

100

Jean Rouverol

American actress and screenwriter

*July 8th, 1916, St. Louis †March 24th, 2017, Dover

89

Geoffrey Keen

English actor (1916–2005)

*August 21st, 1916, Wallingford †November 3rd, 2005, Northwood

101

Harry Huskey

American computer design pioneer (1916-2017)

*January 19th, 1916, Whittier †April 9th, 2017, Santa Cruz

79

François Mitterrand

21st President of the French Republic from 1981 to 1995

*October 26th, 1916, Jarnac †January 8th, 1996, 7th arrondissement of Paris

71

Jackie Gleason

American comedian and actor (1916-1987)

*February 26th, 1916, Brooklyn †June 24th, 1987, Fort Lauderdale

103

Kirk Douglas

American stage and film actor (1916–2020)

*December 9th, 1916, Amsterdam †February 5th, 2020, Beverly Hills

101

Jacque Fresco

American futurist and self-described social engineer

*March 13th, 1916, Brooklyn †May 18th, 2017, Sebring

88

Francis Crick

British molecular biologist, biophysicist, neuroscientist; co-discoverer of the structure of DNA

*June 8th, 1916, Northampton †July 28th, 2004, La Jolla

107

Friedrich Grade

German engineer and naval officer

*March 29th, 1916, Büdelsdorf †October 13th, 2023, Bornheim

101

Bernard Lewis

British-American historian (1916–2018)

*May 31st, 1916, London †May 19th, 2018, Voorhees Township

79

Harold Wilson

British politician

*March 11th, 1916, Huddersfield †May 24th, 1995, London

104

Olivia de Havilland

English and American actress (1916–2020)

*July 1st, 1916, Tokyo †July 26th, 2020, 16th arrondissement of Paris

93

Vitaly Ginzburg

Russian physicist

*September 21st, 1916, Moscow †November 8th, 2009, Moscow

84

Sirimavo Bandaranaike

Prime Minister of Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) from 1960–65, 1970–77, 1994–2000

*April 17th, 1916, Baḷangoḍa †October 10th, 2000, Colombo

87

Maurice Wilkins

New Zealand-born English physicist and biologist

*December 15th, 1916, Pongaroa †October 5th, 2004, Blackheath

101

Sam Beazley

British actor

*March 29th, 1916, Kensington †June 12th, 2017, London

100

João Havelange

Brazilian businessman and athlete (1916-2016)

*May 8th, 1916, Rio de Janeiro †August 16th, 2016, Rio de Janeiro

89

Edward Heath

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974

*July 9th, 1916, Broadstairs †July 17th, 2005, Salisbury

77

Mark Stevens

American actor (1916–1994)

*December 13th, 1916, Cleveland †September 15th, 1994, Spain

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: 1916 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 1916