Who are famous people born on May 17?

Famous people born on May 17 include: Julie Anne San Jose, Johanna Konta, Adil Omar.

What famous people died on May 17?

Notable historical figures who died on May 17 include: Bud Anderson, Sid Going, Vangelis.

May 17 in History

Q: What happened on May 17 in history?

On May 17, 2000: Arsenal and Galatasaray fans clash in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots in Copenhagen.

2000 — Arsenal and Galatasaray fans clash in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots in Copenhagen

May 17 spans 60 recorded events across recorded history — from 352 – 2014. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · May 17 — Wikipedia

Historical Events 60 events 352 – 2014

Did you know

In 2000, Arsenal and Galatasaray fans clash in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots in Copenhagen. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

The 2000 UEFA Cup final Riots, also known as the Battle of Copenhagen, were a series of riots in City Hall Square, Copenhagen, Denmark between fans of English football team Arsenal and Turkish team Galatasaray around the 2000 UEFA Cup final on 17 May 2000. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

Four people were stabbed in the scuffles, which also involved fans from other clubs and were viewed by the media as part of a retaliation for the killing of two Leeds United fans by Galatasaray supporters the month before. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

In 2000, Arsenal and Galatasaray fans clash in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots in Copenhagen had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

Did you know

Election of Pope Liberius following the death of Pope Julius I in the previous month.

Head of the Catholic Church from 352 to 366

Pope Liberius was the bishop of Rome from 17 May 352 until his death on 24 September 366. According to the Catalogus Liberianus, he was consecrated on 22 May as the successor to Julius I. He is not mentioned as a saint in the Roman Martyrology, making him the earliest pontiff not to be venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and, along with Anastasius II, one of only two popes to be omitted from Catholic sainthood in the first 500 years of church history.

352

Election of Pope Hadrian III following the death of Pope Marinus I earlier that month.

Head of the Catholic Church from 884 to 885

Pope Adrian III or Hadrian III was the bishop of Rome and leader of the Papal States from 17 May 884 to his death on 8 July 885. He served for little more than a year, during which he worked to help the people of Italy in a very troubled time of famine and war.

884

Battle of Rovine: The Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman army.

1395 battle between the Ottomans and Wallachians

The Battle of Rovine took place on 17 May 1395. The Wallachian army led by Voivod Mircea the Elder opposed the Ottoman invasion personally led by Sultan Bayezid I the Thunderbolt. The Turkish force heavily outnumbered the Wallachian troops.

1395

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason.

English nobleman (1478–1521)

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham KG KB, was an English nobleman. He was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and Katherine Woodville, and nephew of Elizabeth Woodville and King Edward IV. Thus, Edward Stafford was a first cousin once removed of King Henry VIII. He frequently attended the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII. He was convicted of treason and executed on 17 May 1521.

1521

Pánfilo de Narváez departs Spain to explore Florida with 600 men – by 1536 only four survive.

Spanish conquistador (1478–1528)

Pánfilo de Narváez was a Spanish conquistador and soldier in the Americas. Born in Spain, he first sailed to the island of Jamaica in 1510 as a soldier. Pánfilo participated in the conquest of Cuba and led an expedition to Camagüey, escorting Bartolomé de las Casas.

1527

George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford and four other men are executed for treason.

English nobleman and politician (c. 1504–1536)

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. George was the maternal uncle of Queen Elizabeth I, although he died long before his niece ascended the throne. Following his father's promotion in the peerage in 1529 to Earl of Wiltshire and Earl of Ormond, he adopted his father's junior title Viscount Rochford as a courtesy title. He was accused of incest with his sister Anne during the period of her trial for high treason, as a result of which both were executed.

1536

Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's marriage is annulled.

King of England from 1509 to 1547

Henry VIII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 22 April 1509, and King of Ireland from 18 June 1542, until his death in 1547.

1536

Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland.

Queen of Scotland (1589–1619); Queen of England and Ireland (1603–1619)

Anne of Denmark was Queen of Scotland from her marriage to King James VI on 20 August 1589 and became the Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and English Crowns on 24 March 1603 until her death in 1619.

1590

The treaty of Zuhab ends the fifteen-year-long war between the Ottomans and the Safavids.

Ottoman–Safavid treaty (1639)

The Treaty of Zuhab, also called Treaty of Qasr-e Shirin, signed on 17 May 1639 at Qasr-e Shirin in western Iran, ended the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1623–1639. It strove to clarify territorial divisions and borders between the Safavid and Ottoman Empires, serving as an important document for future agreements.

1639

Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve founds the Ville Marie de Montréal.

16th-century French military officer and founder of present-day Montreal, Canada

Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve was a French military officer and the founder of Ville-Marie, now the city of Montreal.

1642

An allied French and Swedish army defeats Imperial and Bavarian forces in the Battle of Zusmarshausen.

1648 battle of the Thirty Years' War

The Battle of Zusmarshausen was fought on 17 May 1648 between Bavarian-Imperial forces under von Holzappel and an allied Franco-Swedish army under the command of Carl Gustaf Wrangel and Turenne in the modern Augsburg district of Bavaria, Germany. The allied force emerged victorious, and the Imperial army was only rescued from annihilation by the stubborn rearguard fighting of Raimondo Montecuccoli and his cavalry.

1648

Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River.

Explorer of North America (1645–1700)

Louis Jolliet was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore and map the Upper Mississippi River.

1673

Seven Years' War formally begins when Great Britain declares war on France.

Global war among European powers (1756–1763)

The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a global war fought by numerous great powers, primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and the Indian subcontinent. The warring states were Great Britain and Prussia fighting against France and Austria, with other countries joining these coalitions: Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Russia, plus Saxony and many other minor states of the Holy Roman Empire. Related conflicts include the Third Silesian War, French and Indian War, Third Carnatic War, Anglo-Spanish War (1762–1763), and Spanish–Portuguese War. Winston Churchill later famously referred to the conflict as the "First World War" due to its truly global scale, with major campaigns spanning five continents.

1756

French forces besieging Quebec retreat after the Royal Navy arrives to relieve the British garrison.

Part of the Seven Years War

The siege of Quebec, also known as the second siege of Quebec, was a 1760 French attempt to retake Quebec City, in New France, which had been captured by Britain the previous year. The siege lasted from 29 April to 15 May, when British ships arrived to relieve the city and compelled the French commander, François Gaston de Lévis, to break off the siege and to retreat. The British launched the Montreal campaign a few months later, which resulted in the city's capture. French resistance ceased, and the British conquest of New France was complete, as was confirmed in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris.

1760

The New York Stock Exchange is formed under the Buttonwood Agreement.

American stock exchange

The New York Stock Exchange is an American stock exchange headquartered at the New York Stock Exchange Building in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization, exceeding $44 trillion in January 2026. The NYSE is owned by Intercontinental Exchange, an American holding company that it also lists. Previously, it was part of NYSE Euronext (NYX), which was formed by the NYSE's 2007 merger with Euronext. According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2022, approximately 58% of American adults reported having money invested in the stock market, either through individual stocks, mutual funds, or retirement accounts.

1792

Muhammad Ali becomes Wāli of Egypt.

Ruler of Egypt from 1805 to 1848

Muhammad Ali was the Ottoman viceroy and governor who became the de facto ruler of Egypt from 1805 to 1848, widely considered the founder of modern Egypt. At the height of his rule in 1840, he controlled Egypt, Sudan, Hejaz, the Levant, Crete and parts of Greece and transformed Cairo from a mere Ottoman provincial capital to the center of an expansive empire.

1805

Emperor Napoleon I orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire.

French general and emperor (1769–1821)

Napoleon Bonaparte, later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was Emperor of the French from 18 May 1804 until his first abdication in 1814, with a brief restoration during the Hundred Days in 1815. He rose to prominence as a general during the French Revolution and led a series of military campaigns across Europe and the Middle East during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. As a statesman, he implemented numerous legal and administrative reforms in France and Europe.

1809

Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian.

Effective provisional control of one sovereign power over another sovereign's territory

Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside the legal boundaries of that ruling power's own sovereign territory. The controlled territory is called occupied territory, and the ruling power is called the occupant. Occupation's intended temporary nature distinguishes it from annexation and colonialism. The occupant often establishes military rule to facilitate administration of the occupied territory, though this is not a necessary characteristic of occupation.

1814

The Constitution of Norway is signed and Crown Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark is elected King of Norway by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly.

Supreme law of the Kingdom of Norway

The Constitution of Norway was adopted on 16 May and signed on 17 May 1814 by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll. The latter date is the National Day of Norway; it marks the establishment of the constitution.

1814

Members of the Melbourne Football Club codify the first rules of Australian rules football.

Australian rules football club

The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition and plays its home games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

1859

Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, the first book in the Galician language.

Spanish Galician poet, writer (1837–1885)

María Rosalía Rita de Castro, was a Galician poet and novelist, considered one of the most important figures of the 19th-century Spanish literature and modern lyricism. Widely regarded as the greatest Galician cultural icon, she was a leading figure in the emergence of the literary Galician language. Through her work, she projected multiple emotions, including the yearning for the celebration of Galician identity and culture, and female empowerment. She is credited with challenging the traditional female writer archetype.

1863

American Civil War: During the Vicksburg campaign, Union forces under John A.

McClernand defeat a Confederate rearguard and capture around 1,700 men at the Battle of Big Black River Bridge.

The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union to preserve slavery in the United States, which they saw as threatened because of the election of Abraham Lincoln and the growing abolitionist movement in the North. The war ended with Union victory, the dissolution of the Confederacy and the abolition of slavery, freeing four million African Americans.

1863

The International Telegraph Union (later the International Telecommunication Union) is established in Paris.

Specialized agency of the United Nations

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, the first formal and permanent international organization. The organization significantly predates the UN, making it the oldest UN agency. Doreen Bogdan-Martin is the current secretary-general of the ITU, the first woman to serve as its head.

1865

Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby with the jockey Oliver Lewis (2:37.75).

American thoroughbred racehorse

Aristides was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won the first Kentucky Derby in 1875.

1875

The children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L.

Frank Baum, is first published in the United States. The first copy is given to the author's sister.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1900 children's fantasy novel written by the American author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their home by a cyclone. Upon her arrival in the magical world of Oz, she learns she cannot return home until she has destroyed the Wicked Witch of the West.

1900

Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer.

Greek archaeologist (1857-1923)

Valerios Stais was a Greek archaeologist.

1902

The Protocol of Corfu is signed, recognising full autonomy to Northern Epirus under nominal Albanian sovereignty.

1914 agreement recognizing Northern Epirus

The Protocol of Corfu, signed on 17 May 1914, was an agreement between the representatives of the Albanian Government and the Provisional Government of Northern Epirus, which officially recognized the area of Northern Epirus as an autonomous self-governing region under the sovereignty of the prince of the newly established Principality of Albania. The agreement granted the Greeks of the districts of Korytsa (Korçë) and Argyrokastro (Gjirokastër), which form Northern Epirus, wider religious, educational, cultural and political autonomy, inside the borders of the Albanian state.

1914

The last British Liberal Party government (led by H.

H. Asquith) falls.

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Conservative Party, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Beginning as an alliance of Whigs, free trade-supporting Peelites, and reformist Radicals in the 1850s, by the end of the 19th century, it had formed four governments under William Ewart Gladstone. Despite being divided over the issue of Irish Home Rule, the party returned to government in 1905 and won a landslide victory in the 1906 general election. Under prime ministers Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1905–1908) and H. H. Asquith (1908–1916), the Liberal Party passed reforms that created a basic welfare state. Although Asquith was the party leader, its dominant figure was David Lloyd George.

1915

Vidkun Quisling and Johan Bernhard Hjort form Nasjonal Samling — the national-socialist party of Norway.

Norwegian politician and Nazi collaborator (1887–1945)

Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Nazi collaborator who headed the puppet government of Norway during the country's occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II.

1933

Spanish Civil War: The Largo Caballero government resigns in the wake of the Barcelona May Days, leading Juan Negrín to form a government, without the anarcho-syndicalist CNT, in its stead.

1936–1939 civil war in Spain

The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalist rebels. Republicans loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic included socialists, anarchists, communists, and separatists, supported by the Soviet Union. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance of fascist Falangists, monarchists, conservatives, and traditionalists, supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Initially led by a military junta, until General Francisco Franco was appointed supreme leader on 1 October 1936 of what he called the Spanish State. Due to the international political climate at the time, the war was variously viewed as class struggle, religious struggle, or struggle between republican democracy and dictatorship, revolution and counterrevolution, or between fascism and communism. The Nationalists won the war in early 1939, and ruled Spain until Franco's death in November 1975.

1937

The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the United States' first televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City.

Athletic teams of Columbia University

The Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is Peter Pilling.

1939

World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.

1939–1945 global conflict

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

1940

World War II: Dambuster Raids commence by No.

617 Squadron RAF.

Operation Chastise, commonly known as the Dambusters Raid, was an attack on German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using special bouncing bombs developed by Barnes Wallis. The Möhne and Edersee dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley; the Sorpe Dam sustained only minor damage. Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more damaged. Factories and mines were also damaged and destroyed. An estimated 1,600 civilians – about 600 Germans and 1,000 enslaved labourers, mainly Soviet – were killed by the flooding. Despite rapid repairs by the Germans, production did not return to normal until September. The RAF lost 56 aircrew, with 53 dead and three captured, amid losses of eight aircraft.

1943

Delta Air Lines Flight 318 crashes near Marshall, Texas, killing 19.

1953 aviation accident

The crash of Delta Air Lines Flight 318 was an accident involving a Douglas DC-3 of the American airline Delta Air Lines 13 miles (21 km) east of Marshall, Texas, United States on May 17, 1953, killing all but one of the 20 people on board.

1953

The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v.

Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, outlawing racial segregation in public schools.

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on questions of U.S. constitutional or federal law. It also has original jurisdiction over a narrow range of cases, specifically "all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party". In 1803, the court asserted itself the power of judicial review, the ability to invalidate a statute for violating a provision of the Constitution. It is also able to strike down presidential directives for violating either the Constitution or statutory law.

1954

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.

1959 and 1963 laws to redistribute land

The agrarian reforms in Cuba sought to break up large landholdings and redistribute land to those peasants who worked it, to cooperatives, and the state. Laws relating to land reform were implemented in a series of laws passed between 1959 and 1963 after the Cuban Revolution. The Institutio Nacional de Reforma Agraria (INRA)—an agency of the Cuban government responsible to implement the first and second Agrarian Reforms. The agency adapted the Soviet model of organisation—small collectives and large(er) state farms.

1959

Six-Day War: President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt demands dismantling of the peace-keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt.

1967 war between Israel and Arab states

The Six-Day War, or the 1967 Arab–Israeli war, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, in the context of the Arab–Israeli conflict. In the war, Israel captured and occupied the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

1967

Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.

Soviet program that explored Venus with multiple probes

The Venera program was a series of space probes developed by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1984 to gather information about the planet Venus. A total of eighteen probes were sent, including two related Vega probes.

1969

Watergate scandal: Televised hearings begin in the United States Senate.

1970s political scandal in the U.S.

The Watergate scandal, or simply Watergate, was a political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. On June 17, 1972, operatives associated with Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign were caught burglarizing and planting listening devices in the Democratic National Committee headquarters at Washington, D.C.'s Watergate complex. Nixon's efforts to conceal his administration's involvement led to an impeachment process and his resignation in August 1974.

1973

The Troubles: Thirty-three civilians are killed and 300 injured when the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) detonates four car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland.

1960s–1998 conflict in Northern Ireland

The Troubles were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe.

1974

Police in Los Angeles raid the Symbionese Liberation Army's headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall.

American municipal police department

The City of Los Angeles Police Department, also known as the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-largest municipal police department in the United States, after the New York City Police Department and the Chicago Police Department.

1974

Nolan Bushnell opens the first Chuck E.

Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre (later renamed Chuck E. Cheese) in San Jose, California.

Nolan Kay Bushnell is an American businessman and electrical engineer. He established Atari, Inc., and the Chuck E. Cheese chain. He has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame, received the BAFTA Fellowship and the Nations Restaurant News "Innovator of the Year" award and was named one of Newsweek's "50 Men Who Changed America". He has started more than 20 companies and is one of the founding fathers of the video game industry. He is on the board of Anti-Aging Games. In 2012, he founded an educational software company called Brainrush that uses video game technology in educational software.

1977

General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.

Leader of South Korea from 1979 to 1988

Chun Doo-hwan was a South Korean army general and politician who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. A member of the Democratic Justice Party, he ruled the country as a military dictator following a successful coup in December 1979. The period encompassing his presidency is known as the Fifth Republic of Korea.

1980

On the eve of presidential elections, Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in Chuschi (a town in Ayacucho), starting the Internal conflict in Peru.

Variety of Marxism–Leninism in China

Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China and later the People's Republic of China. A difference between Maoism and traditional Marxism–Leninism is that a united front of progressive forces in class society would lead the revolutionary vanguard in pre-industrial societies rather than communist revolutionaries alone. This theory, in which revolutionary praxis is primary and ideological orthodoxy is secondary, represents urban Marxism–Leninism adapted to pre-industrial China. Later theoreticians expanded on the idea that Mao had adapted Marxism–Leninism to Chinese conditions, arguing that he had in fact updated it fundamentally and that Maoism could be applied universally throughout the world. This ideology is often referred to as Marxism–Leninism–Maoism to distinguish it from the original ideas of Mao.

1980

Rioting breaks out in downtown Miami, following the acquittal of four white police officers in the killing of Arthur McDuffie, a black insurance salesman.

Period of civil unrest in Miami, Florida

The 1980 Miami riots were race riots that occurred in Miami, Florida, United States, starting in earnest on May 18, 1980, following an all-White male jury acquitting five white Dade County Public Safety Department officers in the death of Arthur McDuffie, a Black insurance salesman and United States Marine Corps lance corporal. McDuffie was beaten to death by four police officers after a traffic stop. After the officers were tried and acquitted on charges including manslaughter and evidence tampering, a riot broke out in the Black neighborhoods of Overtown and Liberty City on the night of May 17. Riots continued until May 20, resulting in at least 18 deaths and an estimated $100 million in property damage.

1980

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.

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy-related research, and energy conservation.

1983

Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

Country in West Asia

Lebanon, officially the Lebanese Republic, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west; Cyprus lies a short distance from the coastline. Lebanon has a population of more than five million and an area of 10,452 square kilometres (4,036 sq mi). Beirut is the country's capital and largest city.

1983

Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend", sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.

King of the United Kingdom since 2022

Charles III is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.

1984

Iran–Iraq War: An Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1 fighter jet fires two missiles into the U.S.

Navy warship USS Stark, killing 37 and injuring 21 of her crew.

The Iran–Iraq War began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran in September 1980. After eight years of conflict, both countries accepted a ceasefire deal brokered by the United Nations, which became effective in August 1988. The war caused around 500,000 deaths, making it the deadliest conventional war ever fought between regular armies of developing countries.

1987

The General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminates homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.

Specialized agency of the United Nations

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has six regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide. Only sovereign states are eligible to join, and it is the largest intergovernmental health organization at the international level.

1990

Three days of popular protests against the government of Prime Minister of Thailand Suchinda Kraprayoon begin in Bangkok, leading to a military crackdown that results in 52 officially confirmed deaths, hundreds of injuries, many disappearances, and more than 3,500 arrests.

Mass protest in Bangkok and mass killing by Thai army and police

Black May, also known as "Bloody May", was a series of mass protests and subsequent crackdowns by the Thai military and royal police in Bangkok in May 1992. A rally of over 200,000 people led by Chamlong Srimuang was held on 17 May, caused by the extending of the military regime of Suchinda Kraprayoon, the 1991 Thai coup d'état leader. An estimated 52 to 100 protesters were killed, 696 were injured, and 175 had "disappeared" afterwards. King Bhumibol Adulyadej summoned both Chamlong and Suchinda on 20 May, and the Suchinda regime later received a sweeping amnesty along with other law reforms, signed by Bhumibol.

1992

Malawi holds its first multi-party elections.

Country in Southeastern Africa

Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over 118,484 km2 (45,747 sq mi) and has a population of 22,224,282. Lilongwe is its capital and largest city.

1994

Shawn Nelson steals an M60 tank from the California Army National Guard Armory in San Diego and proceeds to go on a rampage.

Destruction wrought by stolen tank

On May 17, 1995, 35-year-old Shawn Timothy Nelson stole an M60A3 tank from a local California Army National Guard armory in San Diego and drove six miles (9.7 km) through nearby neighborhoods, crushing cars and infrastructure in his path—though without injuring anyone.

1995

Troops of Laurent-Désiré Kabila march into Kinshasa.

Zaire is officially renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Laurent-Désiré Kabila usually known as Laurent Kabila or Kabila the Father, was a Congolese rebel and politician who served as the third president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1997 until his assassination in 2001.

1997

The first legal same-sex marriages in the U.S.

are performed in the state of Massachusetts.

Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage or same-gender marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex or gender. As of 2026, marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people. The most recent jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage is Thailand.

2004

The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef.

Essex-class aircraft carrier of the US Navy

USS Oriskany (CV/CVA-34) was one of the few Essex-class aircraft carriers completed after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Oriskany during the Revolutionary War.

2006

Trains from North and South Korea cross the 38th Parallel in a test-run agreed by both governments.

This is the first time that trains have crossed the Demilitarized Zone since 1953.

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city.

2007

Pamir Airways Flight 112 crashes in Afghanistan's Shakardara District, killing 44.

2010 aviation accident

Pamir Airways Flight 112 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Kunduz Airport, Kunduz to Kabul International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. On 17 May 2010, the flight operated by an Antonov An-24 crashed into terrain shortly before it was scheduled to land in Kabul, killing all 39 passengers and 5 crew.

2010

A military plane crash in northern Laos kills 17 people.

Aviation accident in Laos

On 17 May 2014, an Antonov An-74 transport aircraft of the Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force crashed while en route to Xiangkhouang Province, northern Laos, killing all but one of the 17 people on board. Among the victims were several Laotian politicians travelling to attend a ceremony celebrating the 55th anniversary of the second division of the Lao People's Army.

2014

Born on May 17

20 people 1985 – 1994

Julie Anne San Jose

Filipina singer-songwriter

Julie Anne Peñaflorida San Jose is a Filipino singer and actress. She rose to prominence after competing in the reality singing competition Popstar Kids in 2098.

1994

Johanna Konta

Australian-English tennis player

Johanna Konta is a British-Australian former professional tennis player. Konta won four singles titles on the WTA Tour, along with eleven titles in singles and four in doubles on the ITF Women's Circuit. She was British…

1991

Adil Omar

Pakistani rapper and music producer

Adil Omar is a Pakistani rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and filmmaker from Islamabad. In addition to being a solo artist, he is also involved in songwriting and production for other artists.

1991

Abigail Raye

Canadian field hockey player

Abigail Raye is a British-born Belgian field hockey player. She has represented Canada and Belgium at international level.

1991

Will Clyburn

American basketball player

William Dalen Clyburn is an American professional basketball player for FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Clyburn attended three colleges, from 2008 to 2013: Marshalltown Community College, University of…

1990

Fabian Giefer

German footballer

Fabian Giefer is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. Currently a free agent, he last played for Würzburger Kickers.

1990

Charlie Gubb

New Zealand rugby league player

Charlie Gubb is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Widnes Vikings in the Super League.

1990

Katrina Hart

English runner

Katrina Hart is an English athlete who won a gold medal for England at the 2010 Commonwealth Games competing in women's 100 m T37. She had competed at the 2008 Paralympics but was forced to withdraw through injury, and…

1990

Guido Pella

Argentine tennis player

Guido Pella is an Argentine former professional tennis player. In August 2019, Pella reached his career best world No. 20 in singles. In July 2019, he peaked at No. 55 in doubles.

1990

Mose Masoe

New Zealand rugby league player

Mose Masoe is a former Samoa international rugby league footballer who last played as a prop for Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League.

1989

Rain Raadik

Estonian basketball player

Rain Raadik is an Estonian professional basketball player who plays for Valentino Basket Castellaneta of the Serie C Italian Basketball League. He is a 2.08 m tall power forward and center. He also represented the…

1989

Tessa Virtue

Canadian ice dancer

Tessa Jane McCormick Virtue is a Canadian retired ice dancer. With ice dance partner Scott Moir, she is the 2010 and 2018 Olympic champion, the 2014 Olympic silver medallist, a three-time World champion, a three-time…

1989

Nikki Reed

American actress, singer, and screenwriter

Nikki Reed is an American actress, screenwriter, and entrepreneur best known for her role as Rosalie Hale in The Twilight Saga (2008–12). Reed rose to prominence when she starred in and co-wrote the psychological drama…

1988

Edvald Boasson Hagen

Norwegian cyclist

Edvald Boasson Hagen is a Norwegian former road racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2006 to 2024. He was ranked as no. 3 in the world by UCI as of 31 August 2009, when he was 22 years old. He is known as…

1987

Aleandro Rosi

Italian footballer

Aleandro Rosi is an Italian professional footballer who plays for Serie C Group B club Torres. Known for his versatility, he plays as a full-back, a winger along the right flank, offensively and defensively, and for his…

1987

Marius Činikas

Lithuanian footballer

Marius Činikas is a Lithuanian futsal player and former footballer.

1986

Timo Simonlatser

Estonian skier

Timo Simonlatser is an Estonian cross-country skier who has competed since 2005. He finished 27th in the individual sprint at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

1986

Jodie Taylor

English footballer

Jodie Lee Taylor is an English former professional footballer who last played as a striker for Arsenal of WSL. She began her club career with local team Tranmere Rovers and had brief spells in her home country with…

1986

Teófilo Gutiérrez

Colombian footballer

Teófilo Antonio "Teo" Gutiérrez Roncancio is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Atlético Junior. He was a Colombian international and captained the country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in…

1985

Derek Hough

American actor, singer, and dancer

Derek Bruce Hough is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor, singer, and television personality. From 2007 to 2016, Hough was a professional dancer on the ABC dance competition series…

1985

See all birthdays on May 17

Died on May 17

20 people 2010 – 2024

Bud Anderson

American World War II flying ace (born 1922)

Clarence Emil "Bud" Anderson was an officer in the United States Air Force and a triple ace of World War II. During the war he was the highest scoring flying ace in his P-51 Mustang squadron.

2024

Sid Going

New Zealand rugby union footballer (born 1943)

Sidney Milton Going was a New Zealand rugby union footballer. Dubbed Super Sid by his fans, he played 86 matches, including 29 tests, for the All Blacks between 1967 and 1977. He represented North Auckland domestically.

2024

Vangelis

Greek musician, composer (born 1943)

Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, mainly known professionally as Vangelis, was a Greek composer, arranger, performer and producer of music. He released material of wide musical genres such as electronic music,…

2022

Lucky Peterson

American blues singer, keyboardist and guitarist (born 1964)

Judge Kenneth "Lucky" Peterson was an American musician who played contemporary blues, fusing soul, R&B, gospel and rock and roll. He was a vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist. Music journalist Tony Russell, in his book…

2020

Herman Wouk

American author (born 1915)

Herman Wouk was an American author. He published 15 novels, many of them historical fiction such as The Caine Mutiny (1951), for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1952. Other well-known works included The…

2019

Todor Veselinović

Serbian football player and manager (born 1930)

Todor "Toza" Veselinović was a Yugoslav and Serbian football manager and player.

2017

Lionel Pickens

American rapper (born 1983)

Lionel Du Fon Pickens, professionally known as Chinx, was an American rapper. He was a member of The Rockaway Riot Squad alongside fellow slain rapper Stack Bundles. Chinx later joined French Montana's Coke Boys…

2015

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. Edelman's Nobel Prize-winning research concerned…

2014

C. P. Krishnan Nair

Indian businessman, founded The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts (born 1922)

Captain Chittarath Poovakkatt Krishnan Nair was an Indian businessman who founded The Leela Group. He was a 2010 recipient of the Padma Bhushan, given by Government of India. He was sometimes popularly known as Captain…

2014

Douangchay Phichit

Laotian politician (born 1944)

Lieutenant general Douangchay Phichit was a Laotian politician from Attapeu and a Politburo member of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense.

2014

Thongbanh Sengaphone

Laotian politician (born 1953)

Thongbanh Sengaphone was a Laotian politician and member of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP). He served as Minister of Public Security and held seats in the LPRP's Central Committee and the Secretariat.

2014

Philippe Gaumont

French cyclist (born 1973)

Philippe Gaumont was a French professional road racing cyclist. He earned a bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics, 100 km team time trial. In 1997, he won the Belgian classic Gent–Wevelgem and he was twice individual…

2013

Peter Schulz

German politician, Mayor of Hamburg (born 1930)

Peter Schulz was a German politician, member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and First Mayor of Hamburg.

2013

Ken Venturi

American golfer and sportscaster (born 1931)

Kenneth Paul Venturi was an American professional golfer and golf broadcaster. In a career shortened by injuries, he won 14 events on the PGA Tour including a major, the U.S. Open in 1964. Shortly before his death in…

2013

Jorge Rafael Videla

Argentine Commander in Chief and dictator (born 1925)

General Jorge Rafael Videla was an Argentine general, politician and dictator who served as the president of Argentina from 1976 to 1981 during the National Reorganization Process. His rule, which was during the time of…

2013

Gideon Ezra

Israeli geographer and politician, Israeli Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (born 1937)

Gideon Ezra was an Israeli politician. He served as a member of the Knesset for Likud and Kadima between 1996 and 2012 and also held several ministerial portfolios.

2012

Patrick Mafisango

Congolese-Rwandan footballer (born 1980)

Patrick Mutesa Mafisango was a Rwandan international footballer who played as a midfielder.

2012

Donna Summer

American singer-songwriter (born 1948)

Donna Adrian Gaines, known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music gained…

2012

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. He spent most of his 22-year career in Major…

2011

Yvonne Loriod

French pianist, composer, and educator (born 1924)

Yvonne Louise Georgette Loriod-Messiaen was a French pianist, teacher, and composer, and the second wife of composer Olivier Messiaen. Her sister was the Ondes Martenot player Jeanne Loriod.

2010

See all deaths on May 17

May 17 in the Blog

Brown v. Board of Education Founding — May 17, 1954

9 justices unite: 1954's Brown v. Board of Education ruling in Washington, D.C. declares segregation unconstitutional, transforming civil rights forever.

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What happened on May 17 in history?

On May 17, one notable event in history was 2000: Arsenal and Galatasaray fans clash in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots in Copenhagen..

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2000 — Arsenal and Galatasaray fans clash in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots in Copenhagen

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