May 17th, 1940

Born on May 17th, 1940

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 31,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 519 days, exactly on December 27th, 2027, people who were born on May 17th, 1940 will be 32,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on May 17th, 1940?

May 17th, 1940

World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II

What else 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 fired two Exocet missiles at the American frigate USS Stark, killing 37 personnel and injuring 21 others.

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 others.

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

Second Boer War: The Siege of Mafeking in South Africa was lifted after 217 days, a decisive victory for the British against the Boers.

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 A. McClernand defeated a Confederate rearguard and captured around 1,700 men.

May 17th, 1590

Anne of Denmark (pictured) was crowned the queen consort of Scotland in a ceremony at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh.

May 17th, 1521

Edward Stafford (pictured), whose father had been beheaded for rebelling against King Richard III of England, was himself executed for treason against King Henry VIII.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on May 17th

Born on May 17th, 1940

86

Alan Kay

American computer scientist (born 1940)

*May 17th, 1940, Springfield

86

Willy Quiroga

Argentinian composer and musician

*May 17th, 1940, Río Cuarto

Same year
Born in 1940

85

Onur Öymen

Turkish politician and diplomat

*October 18th, 1940, Kadıköy

40

John Lennon

British musician (1940–1980)

*October 9th, 1940, Liverpool †December 8th, 1980, New York City

83

Lorns Skjemstad

Norwegian cross-country skier

*March 10th, 1940, Inderøy Municipality †February 18th, 2024, Røros Municipality

82

Pelé

Brazilian footballer (1940–2022)

*October 23rd, 1940, Três Corações †December 29th, 2022, Morumbi

76

Al Jarreau

American singer and songwriter (1940–2017)

*March 12th, 1940, Milwaukee †February 12th, 2017, Los Angeles

86

Al Pacino

American actor (born 1940)

*April 25th, 1940, Manhattan

86

Klaus Schlappner

German association football player and manager

*May 22nd, 1940, Lampertheim

85

Annie Ernaux

French writer (born 1940)

*September 1st, 1940, Lillebonne

77

Michael Parks

American actor (1940–2017)

*April 24th, 1940, Corona †May 9th, 2017, Los Angeles

80

Wolfgang Clement

German politician

*July 7th, 1940, Bochum †September 27th, 2020, Bonn

86

Nancy Pelosi

American politician

*March 26th, 1940, Baltimore

32

Bruce Lee

Chinese-American martial artist and actor (1940–1973)

*November 27th, 1940, San Francisco Chinese Hospital †July 20th, 1973, Kowloon Tong

82

James Caan

American actor (1940–2022)

*March 26th, 1940, The Bronx †July 6th, 2022, Los Angeles

55

Joseph Brodsky

Russian-American poet (1940-1996)

*May 24th, 1940, Saint Petersburg †January 28th, 1996, Brooklyn

86

Ringo Starr

British musician, drummer for the Beatles

*July 7th, 1940, Liverpool

86

Nūrsūltan Nazarbaev

President of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019

*July 6th, 1940, Ushqonyr

79

Tilo Prückner

German actor and author (1940–2020)

*October 26th, 1940, Augsburg †July 2nd, 2020, Berlin

76

Manfred Jung

German singer and operatic tenor (1940–2017)

*July 9th, 1940, Oberhausen †April 14th, 2017, Essen

86

Patrick Stewart

British actor

*July 13th, 1940, Mirfield

79

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940–2019)

*February 23rd, 1940, New York City †August 16th, 2019, Los Angeles

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

Born on May 17th, 1940
Future birthdays

Leap year

Yes: 1940 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 1940