Did you know
After studying theology, he became Agent-General of the Clergy in 1780.
Notable Deaths on May 17
1838 — Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
French politician, Prime Minister of France (born 1754)
May 17 has 107 recorded notable deaths across history, from 528 to 2026. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
107 source records
528 – 2026
Today in history
Major events on May 17
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1967 Six-Day War: President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt demands dismantling of the peace-keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt. Source
- 1983 The U.S. Department of Energy declassifies documents showing world's largest mercury pollution event in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (ultimately found to be 4.2 million pounds [1.9 kt]), in response to the Appalachian Observer's Freedom of Information Act request. Source
- 1959 In Cuba, the First Agrarian Reform Law – a cornerstone of the Cuban Revolution – is signed by Fidel Castro, aiming to eliminate large foreign-owned estates and redistribute land to over 100,000 peasants. Source
- 1863 Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, the first book in the Galician language. Source
Did you know
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford was an English courtier and nobleman who played a prominent role in the politics of the early 1530s as the brother of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII.
Did you know
Harmon Killebrew spent most of his 22-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Minnesota Twins.
Did you know
Paul Dukas's best-known work is the orchestral piece The Sorcerer's Apprentice, the fame of which has eclipsed that of his other surviving works, largely due to its usage in the 1940 Disney film Fantasia.
Did you know
Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, was a senior and highly decorated and distinguished British Indian Army officer.
More major people who died on May 17
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1536
George Boleyn
2nd Viscount Rochford, English courtier and diplomat, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (born 1504)
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford was an English courtier and nobleman who played a prominent role in the politics of the early 1530s as the brother of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII.
2011
Harmon Killebrew
American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1936)
Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr., nicknamed "the Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball player as a first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder.
1935
Paul Dukas
French composer, critic, and educator (born 1865)
Paul Abraham Dukas was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical and abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions.
1951
William Birdwood
Anglo-Indian field marshal (born 1865)
Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, was a senior and highly decorated and distinguished British Indian Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener.
1995
Toe Blake
Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1912)
Joseph Hector "Toe" Blake was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). Blake played in the NHL from 1935 to 1948 with the Montreal Maroons and Montreal Canadiens.
2014
Gerald Edelman
American biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1929)
Gerald Maurice Edelman was an American biologist who shared the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work with Rodney Robert Porter on the immune system.
1943
Johanna Elberskirchen
German author and activist (born 1864)
Johanna Elberskirchen was a German feminist writer and activist for the rights of women, gays and lesbians as well as blue-collar workers. She published books on women's sexuality and health among other topics.
1765
Alexis Clairaut
French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (born 1713)
Alexis Claude Clairaut was a French mathematician, astronomer, and physicist.
528
Empress Dowager Hu of Northern Wei
Empress Dowager Hu, formally Empress Ling (靈皇后), was an empress dowager of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Wei dynasty (515–528).
1922
Dorothy Levitt
English racing driver and journalist (born 1882)
Dorothy Elizabeth Levitt was a Jewish British racing driver and journalist.
1395
Konstantin Dejanović/Constantine Dragaš
Serbian ruler (born 1355)
Konstantin (Kostadin) Dejanović or Konstantin Dragaš was a Serbian magnate that ruled a large province in eastern Macedonia under Ottoman suzerainty, during the fall of the Serbian Empire.
2022
Vangelis
Greek musician, composer (born 1943)
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, mainly known professionally as Vangelis, was a Greek composer, arranger, performer and record producer.
1934
Cass Gilbert
American architect (born 1859)
Cass Gilbert was an American architect. An early proponent of skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court Building, the state capitols of Minnesota, Arkansas, and West…
1606
False Dmitriy I
pretender to the Russian throne (born 1582)
False Dmitry I or Pseudo-Demetrius I reigned as the Tsar of all Russia from 10 June 1605 until his death on 17 May 1606 under the name of Dmitriy Ivanovich.
1987
Gunnar Myrdal
Swedish economist, sociologist, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1898)
Karl Gunnar Myrdal was a Swedish economist and sociologist. In 1974, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences along with Friedrich Hayek for "their pioneering work in the theory of money and economic…
1947
George Forbes
New Zealand farmer and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (born 1869)
George William Forbes was a New Zealand politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of New Zealand from 28 May 1930 to 6 December 1935.
924
Li Maozhen
Chinese warlord and king (born 856)
Li Maozhen, born Song Wentong (宋文通), courtesy name Zhengchen (正臣), formally Prince Zhongjing of Qin (秦忠敬王), was the only ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Qi (901–924).
2007
Lloyd Alexander
American soldier and author (born 1924)
Lloyd Chudley Alexander was an American author of more than 40 books, primarily fantasy novels for children and young adults.
1510
Sandro Botticelli
Italian painter (born 1445)
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli or simply Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance.