May 5th, 1917

Born on May 5th, 1917

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

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 934 days, exactly on November 9th, 2026, people who were born on May 5th, 1917 will be 40,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on May 5th?

May 5th, 2019

Aeroflot Flight 1492 was struck by lightning after leaving Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport and caught fire during the subsequent emergency landing attempt, killing 41 people on board.

May 5th, 2007

Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashed immediately after takeoff from Douala International Airport in Cameroon, resulting in the deaths of all 114 people aboard.

May 5th, 1992

The Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, 202 years after it was first proposed.

May 5th, 1981

After a 66-day hunger strike, Irish republican Bobby Sands died of starvation in HM Prison Maze.

May 5th, 1980

The British Special Air Service recaptured the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege by Iranian Arab separatists.

May 5th, 1961

Project Mercury: American astronaut Alan Shepard (pictured) made a sub-orbital spaceflight on board Freedom 7, becoming the second person to travel into outer space.

May 5th, 1960

The Netherlands Carillon was inaugurated in Arlington, Virginia, on the 15th anniversary of Dutch Liberation Day.

May 5th, 1945

World War II: The citizens of Prague spontaneously rose up against the city's German occupiers.

May 5th, 1940

World War II: A squad of 250 Norwegian volunteers defending Hegra Fortress surrendered to a superior Nazi force after a 25-day siege.

May 5th, 1904

Pitching for the Boston Americans, Cy Young threw the first perfect game in modern professional baseball.

May 5th, 1891

Carnegie Hall (interior pictured) in New York City, built by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, officially opened with a concert conducted by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

May 5th, 1864

American Civil War: Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign in Virginia began with the inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness (pictured) in Spotsylvania County.

May 5th, 1654

Cromwell's Act of Grace, which pardoned the people of Scotland for any crimes committed during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, was proclaimed in Edinburgh.

May 5th, 1646

First English Civil War: Charles I surrendered himself to Scottish Covenanter leader David Leslie near Newark, England.

May 5th, 1860

Led by Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi, the volunteer Expedition of the Thousand set sail from Genoa on a campaign to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on May 5th

Born on May 5th, 1917

88

June Lang

American actress (1917-2005)

*May 5th, 1917, Minneapolis †May 16th, 2005, Valley Village

98

Lennie Merullo

American baseball player

*May 5th, 1917, East Boston †May 31st, 2015, Reading

90

Martin Allgöwer

Swiss surgeon (1917-2007)

*May 5th, 1917, St. Gallen †October 27th, 2007, Chur

88

Pío Leyva

Cuban musician (1917-2006)

*May 5th, 1917, Morón †March 22nd, 2006, Havana

Same Day
Who's birthday is on May 5th?

35

Adele

British singer

*May 5th, 1988, Tottenham

79

John Rhys-Davies

British actor

*May 5th, 1944, Ammanford

88

Eddi Arent

German actor and comedian

*May 5th, 1925, Wrzeszcz †May 28th, 2013, Munich

64

Karl Marx

German-born philosopher (1818–1883)

*May 5th, 1818, Trier †March 14th, 1883, London

88

Richard Arlt

German Resistance member

*May 5th, 1911, Witoszyn Górny †August 25th, 1999

78

Sylvia Pankhurst

English feminist and socialist (1882–1960)

*May 5th, 1882, Manchester †September 27th, 1960, Addis Ababa

83

Alice Faye

American actress and singer (1915–1998)

*May 5th, 1915, New York City †May 9th, 1998, Rancho Mirage

78

Zail Singh

President of India from 1982 to 1987

*May 5th, 1916, Sandhwan †December 25th, 1994, Chandigarh

44

Vincent Kartheiser

American actor

*May 5th, 1979, Minneapolis

70

Lene Køppen

Badminton player

*May 5th, 1953, Copenhagen

65

Wolfgang Hellmich

German politician

*May 5th, 1958, Welver

41

Vanessa Bryant

American philanthropist

*May 5th, 1982, Huntington Beach

50

Andreas Bausewein

German politician

*May 5th, 1973, Erfurt

57

Chan Oi Ni

Hong Kong badminton player

*May 5th, 1966, Hong Kong

52

Marlene Thomsen

Badminton player

*May 5th, 1971, Vejle

52

Helene Kirkegaard

Badminton player

*May 5th, 1971, Præstevang Parish

41

Kaveh Mehrabi

Badminton player

*May 5th, 1982, Tehran

83

Pierre Schoendoerffer

French film director (1928–2012)

*May 5th, 1928, Chamalières †March 14th, 2012, Clamart

35

Sylvina Kurniawan

Australian badminton player

*May 5th, 1988, Surabaya

88

Bernard Pivot

French writer and presenter

*May 5th, 1935, 4th arrondissement of Lyon

Same year
Born in 1917

46

John F. Kennedy

President of the United States from 1961 to 1963

*May 29th, 1917, Brookline †November 22nd, 1963, Parkland Memorial Hospital

87

Wee Chong Jin

Singaporean judge

*September 28th, 1917, Penang †June 5th, 2005, Singapore

66

Indira Gandhi

Prime Minister of India (1966–1977, 1980–1984)

*November 19th, 1917, Prayagraj †October 31st, 1984, New Delhi

72

Ferdinand Marcos

President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986

*September 11th, 1917, Sarrat †September 28th, 1989, Honolulu

53

Bourvil

French actor and singer (1917–1970)

*July 27th, 1917, Prétot-Vicquemare †September 23rd, 1970, Paris

79

Ella Fitzgerald

American jazz singer (1917–1996)

*April 25th, 1917, Newport News †June 15th, 1996, Beverly Hills

88

John Raitt

American singer and actor (1917-2005)

*January 29th, 1917, Santa Ana †February 20th, 2005, Pacific Palisades

84

Katharine Graham

American publisher, editor and author (1917–2001)

*June 16th, 1917, New York City †July 17th, 2001, Boise

89

Barry Nelson

American actor (1917–2007)

*April 16th, 1917, San Francisco †April 7th, 2007, Bucks County

90

Arthur C. Clarke

British science fiction writer, inventor, and futurist (1917-2008)

*December 16th, 1917, Minehead †March 19th, 2008, Colombo

67

Heinrich Böll

German writer (1917–1985)

*December 21st, 1917, Cologne †July 16th, 1985, Langenbroich

103

Vera Lynn

British singer (1917–2020)

*March 20th, 1917, East Ham †June 18th, 2020, Ditchling

91

Robert Anderson

American playwright, screenwriter, and theater producer (1917-2009)

*April 28th, 1917, Manhattan †February 9th, 2009, Manhattan

61

Park Chung Hee

Leader of South Korea from 1961 to 1979

*November 14th, 1917, Gumi †October 26th, 1979, Jongno District

49

William Tracy

American actor (1917-1967)

*December 1st, 1917, Pittsburgh †July 18th, 1967, Hollywood

99

Kurt Gossweiler

German historian of modern age (1917-2017)

*November 5th, 1917, Stuttgart †May 17th, 2017, Berlin

92

Carl Ballantine

American entertainer (1917-2009)

*September 27th, 1917, Chicago †November 3rd, 2009, Hollywood Hills

87

Ramanand Sagar

Indian film director (1917-2005)

*December 29th, 1917, Lahore †December 12th, 2005, Mumbai

70

Henry Ford II

American automotive industry executive (1917–1987)

*September 4th, 1917, Detroit †September 29th, 1987, Detroit

91

Helga Tiemann

German painter and sculptor (1917–2008)

*October 11th, 1917, Remscheid †October 13th, 2008, Cologne

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on May 5th

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day) which are celebrated on May 5th.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

No: With 365 days 1917 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1917