May 17th, 1919

Born on May 17th, 1919

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 38,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 670 days, exactly on February 24th, 2026, people who were born on May 17th, 1919 will be 39,000 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, 1919

88

Antonio Aguilar

Mexican singer and actor (1919–2007)

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

74

Gustav Naan

Estonian philosopher and physicist (1919-1994)

*May 17th, 1919, Yuzhnaya Liflyandiya †January 12th, 1994, Tallinn

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

94

Bill Minor

American journalist

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

67

Sugar Ray Leonard

American boxer

*May 17th, 1956, Wilmington

76

Bob Merrill

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

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

87

Maureen O'Sullivan

Irish-American actress (1911-1998)

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

75

Winfried Kretschmann

German politician

*May 17th, 1948, Spaichingen

72

Jean Gabin

French actor, recording artist (1904-1976)

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

61

Thomas Rachel

German politician (CDU)

*May 17th, 1962, Birkesdorf

74

Dennis Hopper

American actor and director (1936–2010)

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

90

John Patrick

American playwright and screenwriter (1905-1995)

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

89

Ruhollah Khomeini

Iranian politician and religious leader (1900–1989)

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

87

Birgit Nilsson

Swedish opera singer (1918-2005)

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

34

Tessa Virtue

Canadian ice dancer

*May 17th, 1989, London

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

74

Antonio Tovar Llorente

Spanish historian and linguist (1911-1985)

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

66

Karl Schäfer

Austrian figure skater

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

59

David Eigenberg

American actor

*May 17th, 1964, New York City

82

Gary Paulsen

American writer (1939–2021)

*May 17th, 1939, Minneapolis †October 13th, 2021, Tularosa

Same year
Born in 1919

68

Lino Ventura

Italian-French actor

*July 14th, 1919, Parma †October 22nd, 1987, Saint-Cloud

84

Ove Sprogøe

Danish actor (1919-2004)

*December 21st, 1919, Odense †September 14th, 2004, Tårnby

86

Paul Valentine

American actor (1919-2006)

*March 23rd, 1919, New York City †January 27th, 2006, Los Angeles

90

Gayatri Devi

Maharani of Jaipur and Indian politician (1919–2009)

*May 23rd, 1919, London †July 29th, 2009, Jaipur

63

Hennes Weisweiler

German association football player and manager (1919–1983)

*December 5th, 1919, Lechenich †July 5th, 1983, Aesch

66

Stephan Henrik Barratt-Due

Norwegian violinist

*February 19th, 1919, Oslo †November 18th, 1985, Oslo

77

Helga von Heintze

German-austrian classical archaeologist (1919-1996)

*August 9th, 1919, Bielsko-Biała †November 15th, 1996, Rome

75

Donald Pleasence

British actor (1919–1995)

*October 5th, 1919, Worksop †February 2nd, 1995, Saint-Paul-de-Vence

95

Jayne Meadows

Chinese born-American actress and author (1919–2015)

*September 27th, 1919, Wuchang †April 26th, 2015, Encino

94

Mikhail Kalashnikov

Soviet and Russian small arms designer (1919-2013)

*November 10th, 1919, Kurya †December 23rd, 2013, Izhevsk

76

Jon Pertwee

English actor (1919–1996)

*July 7th, 1919, Chelsea †May 20th, 1996, Connecticut

76

Martin Balsam

American actor (1919–1996)

*November 4th, 1919, The Bronx †February 13th, 1996, Rome

97

Walter Scheel

President of West Germany (1974-1979)

*July 8th, 1919, Solingen †August 24th, 2016, Bad Krozingen

74

Sven-Erik Bäck

Swedish composer

*September 16th, 1919, Kungsholm parish †January 10th, 1994, Oscar Parish

60

Kay Medford

American actress (1919–1980)

*September 14th, 1919, New York City †April 10th, 1980, New York City

45

Nat King Cole

American singer and jazz pianist (1919–1965)

*March 17th, 1919, Montgomery †February 15th, 1965, Santa Monica

94

Giulio Andreotti

Italian politician and statesman (1919–2013)

*January 14th, 1919, Rome †May 6th, 2013, Rome

77

Beryl Reid

British actress

*June 17th, 1919, Hereford †October 13th, 1996, Thames Valley Hospital

94

Doris Lessing

British novelist, poet, playwright, librettist, biographer and short story writer

*October 22nd, 1919, Kermanshah †November 17th, 2013, London

86

Ferruccio Valcareggi

Italian footballer (1919–2005)

*February 12th, 1919, Trieste †November 2nd, 2005, Florence

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 1919 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1919