May 17

### Up to 1900

- 1395 – In the Battle of Rovine, Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman Empire army.
- 1521 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham is executed for treason.
- 1536 – George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford and four other men are executed for treason in England.
- 1590 – Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland.
- 1642 – Paul Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve (1612 – 1676) founds the Ville Marie de Montréal.
- 1673 – Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River.
- 1697 – The Tre Kronor castle in Stockholm is almost completely destroyed by fire.
- 1724 – The Krafla volcano in Iceland erupts, creating the Viti crater.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Congress bans trade with Canada.
- 1792 – The New York Stock Exchange is formed.
- 1808 – Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire.
- 1814 – Norway gets its own Constitution.
- 1814 – Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian.
- 1846 – The saxophone is patented by Adolphe Sax.
- 1849 – A large fire almost completely destroys Saint Louis, Missouri.
- 1861 – Scottish scientist James Clerk Maxwell demonstrates the first color photograph, an image of a tartan ribbon.
- 1863 – Rosalía de Castro publishes _Cantares Gallegos,_ her first book in the Galician language.
- 1865 – The International Telegraph Union (the later International Telecommunication Union) is established.
- 1875 – Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby.
- 1884 – The "Department of Alaska" is renamed "District of Alaska".
- 1900 – Second Boer War: British troops relieve Mafeking.

### 1901 – 2000

- 1902 – Archaeologist Spyridon Stais finds the Antikythera mechanism.
- 1914 – The Protocol of Corfu is signed.
- 1915 – The last British Liberal Party government (Herbert Henry Asquith) falls.
- 1919 – Committee of One Thousand forms to oppose Winnipeg General Strike.
- 1928 – The 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam begin.
- 1933 – Vidkun Quisling and Johan Bernhard Hjort form Nasjonal Samling — the national–socialist party of Norway.
- 1940 – World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.
- 1940 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe bombs the city of Middelburg, Zeeland, Netherlands.
- 1943 – World War II: Surviving RAF Dam Busters return.
- 1943 – The United States Army contracts with the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School to develop the ENIAC.
- 1944 – Type IX U-boat: _U-884_ is launched.
- 1954 – The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in _Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas_.
- 1967 – Six-Day War: President Abdul Nasser of Egypt demands dismantling of the peace–keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt.
- 1969 – Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.
- 1970 – Thor Heyerdahl sets sail from Morocco on the papyrus boat _Ra II_ to sail the Atlantic Ocean.
- 1973 – Watergate scandal: Hearings begin in the United States Senate and are televised.
- 1974 – Police in Los Angeles, California, raid the Symbionese Liberation Army's headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall.
- 1974 – Thirty–three people are killed by terrorist bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland.
- 1980 – General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.
- 1980 – On the eve of Presidential elections, Maoist Guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in the town of Chuschi, Ayacucho, Peru, beginning the internal conflict in Peru.
- 1983 – Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
- 1984 – 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.
- 1987 – Iran-Iraq War: The USS _Stark_ (FFG-31) is struck by a missile from an Iraqi Mirage fighter killing 37 and injuring 21 of her crew.
- 1990 – The World Health Organization removed homosexuality from ICD – the origin of the International Day Against Homophobia.
- 1992 – In Thailand, the so–called Black May begins. Thai police and protestors start attacking one another. By midnight, the current Thai government declares a state of emergency, and military troops with M–16 rifles open fire.
- 1994 – The first multi–party elections in Malawi are held.
- 1995 – After 18 years as the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac takes office as President of France.
- 1997 – Troops of Laurent Kabila enter Kinshasa. Zaire is officially renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 1999 – Ehud Barak is elected Prime Minister of Israel.
- 2000 – Arsenal FC and Galatasaray fans clash before the UEFA Cup final in Copenhagen. Galatasaray wins 4–1 to become the first Turkish football team to win a major European trophy.

### From 2001

- 2002 – Legoland Germany opens in Günzburg, Germany.
- 2003 – Mozilla Firefox. Browser renamed from _Phoenix_ to _Firebird_.
- 2004 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Massachusetts.
- 2005 – Reverend Clarence Silva of Oakland is appointed fifth Bishop of Honolulu, Hawaii.
- 2006 – Aircraft carrier "USS Oriskany" is sunk off the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef.
- 2007 – Trains from North and South Korea cross the 38th Parallel in a test–run agreed by both governments.
- 2010 – Portugal legalizes same-sex marriage.
- 2011 – Elizabeth II makes a historic state visit to the Republic of Ireland.
- 2014 – Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia both declare a State of Emergency after experiencing their worst flooding in over 100 years, killing at least 25 people.
- 2014 – A plane crash in Northern Laos kills 17 people.
- 2015 – Nine people are killed in a shoot–out between two biker gangs in Waco, Texas.
- 2016 – Christian Kern succeeds Werner Faymann as Chancellor of Austria.
- 2018 – Quim Torra is sworn in as President of Catalonia.

### Up to 1900

- 1155 – Jien, Japanese poet and historian (d. 1225)
- 1443 – Edmund, Earl of Rutland (d. 1460)
- 1550 – Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Italian nobleman (d. 1540)
- 1628 – Archduke Ferdinand Charles of Austria, Regent of the Tyrol and Further Austria
- 1682 – Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate (d. 1722)
- 1732 – Francesco Pasquale Ricci, Italian composer and violinist (d. 1817)
- 1743 – Seth Warner, American revolutionary leader (d. 1784)
- 1749 – Edward Jenner, British inventor of the vaccine (d. 1823)
- 1758 – John St Aubyn, British fossil collector (d. 1839)
- 1763 – Pierre Adet, French physician and chemist (d. 1834)
- 1768 – Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales (d. 1821)
- 1791 – Silas H. Jennison, Governor of Vermont (d. 1849)
- 1794 – Anna Brownell Jameson, British writer (d. 1860)
- 1821 – Sebastian Kneipp, naturopathist (d. 1897)
- 1836 – Wilhelm Steinitz, chess player (d. 1900)
- 1836 – Norman Lockyer, British scientist and astronomer (d. 1920)
- 1842 – August Thyssen, German industrialist (d. 1926)
- 1844 – Julius Wellhausen, German biblical scholar (d. 1918)
- 1845 – Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan poet (d. 1902)
- 1860 – Austin Lane Crothers, Governor of Maryland (d. 1912)
- 1866 – Erik Satie, French composer (d. 1925)
- 1868 – Horace Elgin Dodge, American automobile manufacturer (d. 1920)
- 1873 – Henri Barbusse, French novelist and journalist (d. 1935)
- 1873 – Dorothy Richardson, English feminist writer (d. 1957)
- 1879 – Simon Petlyura, Ukrainian independence fighter (d. 1926)
- 1886 – King Alfonso XIII of Spain (d. 1941)
- 1888 – Tich Freeman, record–breaking Kent leg–spinner (d. 1965)
- 1889 – Dorothy Gibson, American actress (d. 1946)
- 1891 – Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife (d. 1959)
- 1895 – Mary Josephine Ray, Canadian–American supercentenarian (d. 2010)
- 1897 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist (d. 1981)
- 1898 – Alfred Joseph Casson, painter (d. 1992)
- 1900 – Ruhollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader of Iran (d. 1989)

### 1901 – 1950

- 1901 – Werner Egk, German composer (d. 1983)
- 1902 – Khuang Abhaiwongse, Thai politician (d. 1968)
- 1903 – Cool Papa Bell, American baseball player (d. 1991)
- 1904 – Jean Gabin, actor (d. 1976)
- 1906 – Zinka Milanov, Croatian opera soprano (d. 1989)
- 1911 – Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish–born supermodel (d. 1992)
- 1911 – Maureen O'Sullivan, actress (d. 1998)
- 1912 – Archibald Cox, American lawyer and politician (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Ace Parker, American football player (d. 2013)
- 1912 – Percy Young, British composer (d. 2004)
- 1913 – Hans Ruesch, Swiss racing driver (d. 2007)
- 1913 – Waldemar de Brito, Brazilian footballer (d. 1979)
- 1914 – Chang Ch'ung-ho, Chinese–American poet, educator and singer (d. 2015)
- 1917 – Boris Schnaiderman, Ukrainian–Brazilian translator, writer and essayist (d. 2016)
- 1918 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano (d. 2005)
- 1919 – Merle Miller, Presidential biographer (d. 1986)
- 1919 – Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer, actor, movie producer and screenwriter (d. 2007)
- 1921 – Bob Merrill, American composer and lyricist (d. 2003)
- 1921 – Dennis Brain, English French horn player (d. 1957)
- 1922 – Antje Weisgerber, German actress (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Hannes Messemer, actor (d. 1991)
- 1925 – Michel de Certeau, French Jesuit and scholar (d. 1986)
- 1926 – David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie, Scottish peer
- 1926 – Dietmar Schönherr, Austrian actor (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Marshall Applewhite, American cult leader, Heaven's Gate (d. 1997)
- 1932 – Rodric Braithwaite, English diplomat
- 1932 – Miloslav Vlk, Czech cardinal (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Thérèse Steinmetz, Dutch singer and painter
- 1934 – Ronald Wayne, American Apple Inc. co–founder
- 1934 – Friedrich-Wilhelm Kiel, German politician
- 1934 – Earl Morrall, American baseball player (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Dennis Potter, English writer (d. 1994)
- 1936 – Dennis Hopper, American actor, director (d. 2010)
- 1936 – Philippe Boesmans, Belgian composer
- 1936 – Lars Gustafsson, Swedish writer and philosopher (d. 2016)
- 1937 – Hazel R. O'Leary, United States Secretary of Energy
- 1940 – Alan Kay, American computer scientist
- 1941 – Ben Nelson, 40th Governor of Nebraska
- 1941 – Grace Zabriskie, American actress
- 1942 – Taj Mahal, American singer and guitarist
- 1943 – Alexander Lenkov, Russian actor (d. 2014)
- 1944 – Jesse Winchester, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
- 1944 – David Kelly, British weapons expert (d. 2003)
- 1945 – Tony Roche, Australian tennis player
- 1945 – B. S. Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer
- 1946 – Udo Lindenberg, German  musician
- 1948 – Dick Gaughan, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and composer
- 1948 – Winfried Kretschmann, German politician
- 1949 – Andrew Latimer, British musician
- 1949 – Bill Bruford, British drummer and songwriter
- 1950 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovene politician (d. 2008)
- 1950 – Alan Johnson, British politician
- 1950 – Howard Ashman, American playwright and lyricist (d. 1991)
- 1950 – Valeriya Novodvorskaya, Russian politician (d. 2014)

### 1951 – 1975

- 1951 – Simon Hughes, British politician
- 1953 – Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan
- 1953 – Luca Prodan, Italian–Argentine singer-songwriter
- 1954 – Dame Patsy Reddy, 21st Governor-General of New Zealand
- 1954 – David Zippel, American lyricist
- 1955 – Bill Paxton, American actor (d. 2017)
- 1956 – Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer
- 1956 – Annise Parker, American politician
- 1956 – Bob Saget, actor (d. 2022)
- 1957 – Peter Hoeg, Danish writer
- 1958 – Paul Di'Anno, English singer
- 1958 – Paul Whitehouse, Welsh actor, writer and comedian
- 1958 – Ivor Bolton, British conductor
- 1959 – Jim Nantz, American broadcaster
- 1960 – Lou DiBella, American boxing promoter, actor and producer
- 1960 – Simon Fuller, Cypriot–English talent manager and producer
- 1961 – Enya, Irish singer
- 1962 – Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish writer
- 1962 – Craig Ferguson, Scottish–American comedian, actor and television host
- 1962 – Alan Johnston, Scottish journalist
- 1963 – Jon Koncak, American basketball player
- 1963 – Taimo Toonast, Estonian opera singer
- 1965 – Jeremy Vine, British broadcaster
- 1965 – Trent Reznor, American singer, songwriter ("Nine Inch Nails")
- 1966 – Qusay Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein (d. 2003)
- 1966 – Hill Harper, American actor
- 1967 – Joseph M. Acaba, American astronaut
- 1967 – Paul D'Amour, American bass player and author
- 1967 – Mohamed Nasheed, former President of the Maldives
- 1970 – Jordan Knight, American singer-songwriter
- 1970 – Angelica Agurbash, Belarussian singer
- 1970 – Jeremy Browne, English politician
- 1971 – Maxima Zorreguieta Cerruti, Queen Consort of the Netherlands
- 1971 – Shaun Hart, Australian rules footballer
- 1971 – Gina Raimondo, American politician, 75th Governor of Rhode Island
- 1973 – Sasha Alexander, American actress
- 1974 – Andrea Corr, Irish singer (The Corrs)
- 1974 – Sendhil Ramamurthy, American actor
- 1975 – Jonti Picking, internet cartoonist
- 1975 – Laura Voutilainen, Finnish singer

### From 1976

- 1976 – Leehom Wang, American–Taiwanese singer–songwriter, actor, producer and director
- 1978 – Paddy Kenny, Irish footballer
- 1979 – David Jarolim, Czech footballer
- 1979 – Jimmie Akesson, Swedish politician
- 1980 – Juan Arango, Venezuelan footballer
- 1980 – Dallas Taylor, American singer, songwriter and musician
- 1981 – Cosma Shiva Hagen, German actress
- 1981 – Leon Osman, English footballer
- 1982 – Tony Parker, French–American basketball player
- 1982 – Clarence Goodson, American soccer player
- 1982 – Chloe Smith, British politician
- 1982 – Matt Cassel, American football player
- 1982 – Reiko Nakamura, Japanese swimmer
- 1983 – Channing Frye, American basketball player
- 1984 – Christine Ohuruogu, English athlete
- 1984 – Passenger, English singer and composer
- 1984 – Igor Denisov, Russian footballer
- 1984 – Teófilo Gutiérrez, Colombian footballer
- 1986 – Amy Gumenick, Swedish–born American actress
- 1986 – Bojan Jokic, Slovenian footballer
- 1986 – Jodie Taylor, English footballer
- 1987 – Evald Boasson Hagen, Norwegian cyclist
- 1987 – Ott Lepland, Estonian singer
- 1988 – Nikki Reed, American actress
- 1989 – Tessa Virtue, Canadian ice dancer
- 1989 – Sarah Hargreaves, Danish–British handball player
- 1990 – Leven Rambin, American actress
- 1991 – Johanna Konta, Australian–born British tennis player
- 1991 – Daniel Curtis Lee, American actor
- 1996 – Ryan Ochoa, American actor

### Up to 1900

- 290 – Emperor Wu of Jin of China (b. 236)
- 1189 – Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Japanese general (b. 1159)
- 1336 – Emperor Go-Fushimi of Japan (b. 1288)
- 1365 – Louis VI the Roman, Duke of Bavaria and Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1328)
- 1510 – Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (b. 1445)
- 1521 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, English politician (b. 1748)
- 1536 – George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford
- 1551 – Shin Saimdang, Korean writer, artist and poet (b. 1504)
- 1575 – Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1504)
- 1626 – Juan Pujol, Catalan composer (b. 1570)
- 1643 – Giovanni Picchi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1571)
- 1727 – Catherine I of Russia (b. 1683 or 1684)
- 1729 – Samuel Clarke, English philosopher (b. 1675)
- 1765 – Alexis Claude Clairault, French mathematician (b. 1713)
- 1809 – Leon Auenbrugger, Austrian physician (b. 1722)
- 1822 – Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu, French–Russian statesman (b. 1766)
- 1829 – John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1745)
- 1838 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, French diplomat (b. 1754)
- 1838 – René Caillié, French explorer (b. 1799)
- 1839 – Archibald Alison, Scottish writer (b. 1757)
- 1860 – Martin Kukučín, Slovak writer (b. 1757)
- 1870 – David Octavius Hill, Scottish artist and photographer (b. 1802)
- 1875 – John C. Breckinridge, Vice President of the United States (b. 1821)
- 1880 – Ziya Pasha, Ottoman writer and translator (b. 1826)
- 1886 – John Deere, American blacksmith and manufacturer (b. 1804)
- 1888 – Giacomo Zanella, Italian poet (b. 1820)

### 1901 – 2000

- 1911 – Frederick August Otto Schwarz, German–American businessman (b. 1836)
- 1916 – Boris Borisovich Galitzine, Russian physicist (b. 1862)
- 1917 – Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke, ruler of Sarawak (b. 1829)
- 1919 – Guido von List, German occultist and writer (b. 1848)
- 1923 – Thomas Scott Baldwin, American balloonist and aviation pioneer (b. 1854)
- 1935 – Paul Dukas, French composer (b.1865)
- 1936 – Panagis Tsaldaris, 124th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1868)
- 1943 – Johanna Elberskirchen, German activist (b. 1864)
- 1946 – William Jefferson Blythe III, father of U.S. President Bill Clinton (b. 1918)
- 1947 – George William Forbes, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1869)
- 1947 – Zhang Lingfu, Chinese general (b. 1903)
- 1963 – John Wilce, American football player (b. 1888)
- 1966 – Randy Turpin, English boxer (b. 1928)
- 1969 – Josef Beran, Czech cardinal (b. 1888)
- 1985 – Abe Burrows, songwriter, composer, and writer
- 1987 – Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist (b. 1898)
- 1992 – Lawrence Welk, American musician (b. 1903)
- 1995 – Joe Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1912)
- 1999 – Lembit Oll, Estonian chess player (b. 1966)
- 2000 – Donald Coggan, 101st Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1909)

### From 2001

- 2002 – Dave Berg, cartoonist (b. 1920)
- 2002 – Sharon Sheeley, songwriter (b. 1940)
- 2002 – Davey Boy Smith, American professional wrestler (b. 1962)
- 2004 – Tony Randall, American actor (b. 1920)
- 2004 – Jørgen Nash, artist (b. 1920)
- 2004 – Ezzedine Salim, leader of Iraqi Governing Council
- 2005 – Frank Gorshin, actor (b. 1934)
- 2007 – Lloyd Alexander, American writer (b. 1924)
- 2009 – Mario Benedetti, Uruguayan writer (b. 1920)
- 2010 – Khattiya Sawasdipol, Thai general (b. 1951)
- 2010 – Bobbejaan Schoepen, Belgian singer (b. 1925)
- 2010 – Yvonne Loriod, French pianist (b. 1924)
- 2011 – Harmon Killebrew, American baseball player (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Gideon Ezra, Israeli politician (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Donna Summer, American disco singer (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentine military leader (b. 1925)
- 2013 – Alan O'Day, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Philippe Gaumont, French cyclist (b. 1973)
- 2013 – Peter Schulz, German politician, Mayor of Hamburg (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Gerald Edelman, American biologist and immunologist (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Miss Beazley, pet dog of George W. Bush (b. 2004)
- 2015 – Chinx, American rapper (b. 1983)
- 2015 – Margaret Dunning, American philanthropist (b. 1910)
- 2015 – Michael Alfred Peszke, Polish–born American psychiatrist and historian (b. 1932)
- 2016 – Guy Clark, American folk singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
- 2016 – Benjamin de Roo, Dutch–Australian gymnast (b. 1940)
- 2017 – Viktor Gorbatko, Russian cosmonaut (b. 1934)
- 2017 – Roxcy Bolton, American activist (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Rhodri Morgan, Welsh politician, First Minister of Wales (b. 1939)
- 2017 – Chris Cornell, American guitarist, singer and songwriter (b. 1964)
- 2018 – Nicole Fontaine, French lawyer and politician (b. 1942)
- 2018 – Richard Pipes, Polish–American academic and political expert (b. 1923)
- 2018 – Mehdi Tabatabaei, Iranian politician (b. 1936)
- 2019 – Rallapalli, Indian actor (b. 1945)
- 2019 – Eduardo A. Roca, Argentine diplomat (b. 1921)
- 2019 – Kadavoor Sivadasan, Indian politician and trade unionist (b. 1932)
- 2019 – Herman Wouk, American author (b. 1915)

## Observances

- Constitution Day, National Day of Norway
- Constitution Day (Nauru)
- Liberation Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Navy Day (Argentina)
- International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia
- National Famine Memorial Day (Republic of Ireland)
- World Information Society Day
- Galician Literature Day