What are the important events that happened on May 17? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
May 17: Facts & Myths About This Day
May 17 is the 137th day of the year 2022 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 228 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is May 4, 2022 – a Tuesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 459,096 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘hectatriacontaheptagon’ day.
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Taurus is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Emerald is the modern birthstone for this month. Sapphire is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 250 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 3,434 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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May 17 Historical Events
- 1521 –Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason.
- 1673 –Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River.
- 1792 –The New York Stock Exchange is formed.
- 1809 –Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire.
- 1875 –Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby.
- 1902 –Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer.
- 1943 –The United States Army contracts with the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School to develop the ENIAC.
- 1974 –Dublin and Monaghan bombings: Thirty-three civilians are killed when the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) explodes car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan, Republic of Ireland.
- 1974 –Police in Los Angeles, California, raid the Symbionese Liberation Army’s headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall.
- 2004 –Massachusetts becomes the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.
Who were born on May 17?
- 1768 –Caroline of Brunswick, German-born Queen consort of George IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1821)
- 1836 –Wilhelm Steinitz, Austrian chess player (d. 1900)
- 1886 –King Alfonso XIII of Spain (d. 1941)
- 1906 –Zinka Milanov, Croatian soprano (d. 1989)
- 1941 –Grace Zabriskie, American actress
- 1963 –Page McConnell, American musician and songwriter (Phish)
- 1971 –Shaun Hart, Australian footballer
- 1976 –Leehom Wang, American-born Taiwanese musician and composer
- 1988 –Nikki Reed, American actress
- 1989 –Zach Daniels, American professional wrestler
Who died on May 17?
- 1536 –Francis Weston, English courtier and Gentleman of the Privy Chamber (executed) (b. 1511)
- 1536 –William Brereton, English courtier and Groom of the Privy Chamber (executed)
- 1727 –Empress Catherine I of Russia (b. 1684)
- 1801 –William Heberden, English physician (b. 1710)
- 1916 –Boris Borisovich Galitzine, Russian physicist (b. 1862)
- 1917 –Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke, ruler of Sarawak (b. 1829)
- 1974 –Ernest Nash, German-born archaeologist (b. 1898)
- 1999 –Bruce Fairbairn, Canadian record producer and musician (b. 1949)
- 2002 –Ladislao Kubala, Hungarian-Spanish footballer (b. 1927)
- 2005 –Frank Gorshin, American actor (b. 1934)
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