May 20th, 1917

Born on May 20th, 1917

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

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 944 days, exactly on November 24th, 2026, people who were born on May 20th, 1917 will be 40,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on May 20th?

May 20th, 2013

A tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, United States, killing 24 people and causing an estimated $2 billion of damage.

May 20th, 2012

The first of two major earthquakes struck Northern Italy, resulting in seven deaths.

May 20th, 1983

uMkhonto we Sizwe, the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress, detonated a car bomb in Pretoria, resulting in 19 deaths and 217.

May 20th, 1965

While attempting to land at Cairo International Airport, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 705 crashed for unknown reasons, killing all but 6 of the 121 people on board.

May 20th, 1947

The first session of the National Diet opened in Tokyo, Japan.

May 20th, 1943

The Luttra Woman (skull pictured), a bog body from the Early Neolithic period, was discovered near Luttra, Sweden.

May 20th, 1941

World War II: German paratroopers began the Battle of Heraklion on the island of Crete, capturing the airfield and port in Heraklion ten days later.

May 20th, 1927

By the Treaty of Jeddah, the United Kingdom recognized the sovereignty of King Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia (pictured) over Hejaz and Nejd, which later merged to become Saudi Arabia.

May 20th, 1875

Representatives from seventeen countries signed the Metre Convention, which set up an institute for the purpose of coordinating international metrology and for coordinating the development of the metric system.

May 20th, 1609

Thomas Thorpe published the first copies of Shakespeare's sonnets, possibly without William Shakespeare's consent.

May 20th, 0794

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, King Æthelberht II of East Anglia was beheaded on the orders of King Offa of Mercia.

May 20th, 0685

The Picts defeated the Northumbrians at the Battle of Dun Nechtain, severely weakening the latter's power in northern Great Britain.

May 20th, 2022

Russo-Ukrainian War: Russia claims full control of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol after a nearly three-month siege.

May 20th, 2019

The International System of Units (SI): The base units are redefined, making the international prototype of the kilogram obsolete.

May 20th, 2016

The government of Singapore authorised the controversial execution of convicted murderer Kho Jabing for the murder of a Chinese construction worker despite the international pleas for clemency, notably from Amnesty International and the United Nations.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on May 20th

Born on May 20th, 1917

50

Guy Favreau

Canadian politician (1917-1967)

*May 20th, 1917, Montreal †July 11th, 1967, Montreal

82

Tony Cliff

British activist (1917-2000)

*May 20th, 1917, Palestine †April 9th, 2000, Greater London

98

Charles R. Stelck

Canadian geologist

*May 20th, 1917, Edmonton †May 14th, 2016, Edmonton

Same Day
Who's birthday is on May 20th?

65

Jane Wiedlin

American musician

*May 20th, 1958, Oconomowoc

36

Shendy Puspa Irawati

Indonesian badminton player

*May 20th, 1987, Nganjuk

26

Dechapol Puavaranukroh

Thai badminton player

*May 20th, 1997, Chonburi

75

Jon Amiel

English film director

*May 20th, 1948, London

84

Annie M.G. Schmidt

Dutch writer (1911-1995)

*May 20th, 1911, Kapelle †May 21st, 1995, Amsterdam

89

James Stewart

American actor (1908–1997)

*May 20th, 1908, Indiana †July 2nd, 1997, Beverly Hills

92

David Hedison

American actor (1927-2019)

*May 20th, 1927, Providence †July 18th, 2019, Los Angeles

40

Anastasia Russkikh

Russian badminton player

*May 20th, 1983, Gatchina

66

Moshe Dayan

Israeli military leader and politician (1915–1981)

*May 20th, 1915, Degania Alef †October 16th, 1981, Tel Aviv

61

Alexandra Illmer Forsythe

American computer scientist

*May 20th, 1918, Newton †January 2nd, 1980, Santa Clara County

88

José Mujica

40th president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015

*May 20th, 1935, Montevideo

44

Jonathan Neil Morgan

Badminton player

*May 20th, 1979, Llanelli

78

Dietrich Mateschitz

Austrian businessman

*May 20th, 1944, Sankt Marein im Mürztal †October 22nd, 2022, St. Wolfgang im Salzkammergut

34

Goh V Shem

Malaysian badminton player

*May 20th, 1989, Setapak

23

Rosa Linn

Armenisk singer-songwriter

*May 20th, 2000, Vanadzor

28

Iben Bergstein

Badminton player

*May 20th, 1995, Rødovre

27

Yukino Nakai

Badminton player

*May 20th, 1996, Nerima

37

Kenn Lim

Badminton player

*May 20th, 1986, Alor Setar

67

Sigrid Undset

Norwegian writer (1882-1949)

*May 20th, 1882, Kalundborg †June 10th, 1949, Lillehammer Municipality

55

Timothy Olyphant

American actor

*May 20th, 1968, Honolulu

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 20th

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day, National Awakening Day) which are celebrated on May 20th.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

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

Calendar
May 1917