Today in history...
May 17th
* 1521 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason.
* 1536 – George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford and four other men are executed for treason.
* 1590 – Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland.
* 1642 – Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve (1612-1676) founds the Ville Marie de Montréal.
* 1673 – Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River.
* 1775 – American Revolutionary War: the Continental Congress bans trade with Canada.
* 1792 – The New York Stock Exchange is formed.
* 1805 – Muhammad Ali became Wāli of Egypt.
* 1809 – Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire.
* 1814 – Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian.
* 1814 – The Constitution of Norway is signed and the Danish Crown Prince Christian Frederik is elected King of Norway by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly.
* 1849 – A fire threatens to burn St. Louis, Missouri to the ground.
* 1860 – German football club TSV 1860 München is founded
* 1863 – Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, her first book in the Galician language.
* 1865 – The International Telegraph Union (later the International Telecommunication Union) is established.
* 1873 – El Paso, Texas is established by charter from the Texas Legislature.
* 1875 – Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby.
* 1895 – The first Omonoia station of the Athens metro is inaugurated in Greece.
* 1900 – Second Boer War: British troops relieve Mafeking.
* 1902 – Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer.
* 1914 – The Protocol of Corfu is signed recognising full autonomy to Northern Epirus under nominal Albanian sovereignty.
* 1915 – The last British Liberal Party government (Herbert Henry Asquith) falls.
* 1919 – War Department (UK) orders use of National Star Insignia on all airplanes.
* 1927 – U.S. Army aviation pioneer, Major Harold Geiger, dies in the crash of his Airco DH.4 de Havilland plane at Olmstead Field, Pennsylvania
* 1933 – Vidkun Quisling and Johan Bernhard Hjort form Nasjonal Samling — the national-socialist party of Norway.
* 1939 – The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the first-ever televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City.
* 1940 – World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.
* 1940 – World War II: the old city centre of the Dutch town of Middelburg is bombed by the German Luftwaffe, to force the surrender of the Dutch armies in Zeeland.
* 1943 – The United States Army contracts with the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School to develop the ENIAC.
* 1943 – World War II: the Dambuster Raids by No. 617 Squadron RAF on German dams.
* 1954 – The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.
* 1963 – Bruno Sammartino defeats Nature Boy Buddy Rogers in 48 seconds in Madison Square Garden for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship. It begins the longest heavyweight championship reign in professional wrestling history.
* 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, starting the Internal conflict in Peru.
* 1983 – 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), in response to Appalachian Observer's Freedom of Information Act request.
* 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 – An Iraqi fighter jet fires two missiles into the U.S. warship USS Stark (FFG-31), killing 37 and injuring 21 of her crew.
* 1992 – the WHO takes Homosexuality out of its list of mental illnesses.
* 1992 – In Thailand, the so-called Black May begins. Thai police and protesters start attacking one another. By midnight, the current Thai government declares a state of emergency, and military troops open fire.
* 1994 – Malawi holds its first multiparty elections.
* 1995 – After 18 years as the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac takes office as President of France.
* 1997 – Troops of Laurent Kabila march into Kinshasa. Zaire is officially renamed Democratic Republic Of Congo
* 2000 – In the Philippines an explosion rocks Glorietta 2 injuring 13 persons, mostly teenagers. According to local authorities, the homemade bomb was placed in front of a toilet beside a video arcade.
* 2004 – Massachusetts becomes the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage
* 2006 – The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico to be an artificial reef
* 2007 – 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.
Birthdays today...
* 1155 – Jien, Japanese poet and historian (d. 1225)
* 1443 – Edmund, Earl of Rutland, brother of Kings Edward IV of England and Richard III of England (d. 1460)
* 1551 – Martin Delrio, Flemish theologian and occultist (d. 1601)
* 1628 – Archduke Ferdinand Charles of Austria, Regent of the Tyrol (d. 1662)
* 1682 – Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate (d. 1722)
* 1706 – Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (d. 1780)
* 1718 – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English diplomat and politician (d. 1778)
* 1743 – Seth Warner, American revolutionary leader (d. 1784)
* 1749 – Edward Jenner, English medical researcher (d. 1823)
* 1758 – John St Aubyn, British fossil collector (d. 1839)
* 1768 – Caroline of Brunswick, Queen consort of the United Kingdom (d. 1821)
* 1768 – Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English general (d. 1854)
* 1794 – Anna Brownell Jameson, British writer (d. 1860)
* 1821 – Sebastian Kneipp, German naturopathist (d. 1897)
* 1836 – Wilhelm Steinitz, Austrian chess player (d. 1900)
* 1836 – Virginie Loveling, Belgian writer and poet (d. 1923)
* 1844 – Julius Wellhausen, German biblical scholar (d. 1918)
* 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 writer (d. 1957)
* 1879 – Simon Petlyura, Ukrainian independence fighter (d. 1926)
* 1886 – Alfonso XIII of Spain (d. 1941)
* 1888 – Tich Freeman, English cricketer (d. 1965)
* 1891 – Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife (d. 1959)
* 1891 – Napoleon Zervas, Greek general and resistance leader during World War II (d. 1957)
* 1897 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
* 1898 – Alfred Joseph Casson, Canadian painter (d. 1992)
* 1900 – Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian Muslim cleric (d. 1989)
* 1901 – Werner Egk, German composer (d. 1983)
* 1903 – Cool Papa Bell, baseball player (d. 1991)
* 1904 – Jean Gabin, French actor (d. 1976)
* 1906 – Zinka Milanov, Croatian soprano (d. 1989)
* 1911 – Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish-born supermodel (d. 1992)
* 1911 – Maureen O'Sullivan, Irish actress (d. 1998)
* 1913 – Hans Ruesch, Swiss racing driver (d. 2007)
* 1918 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano (d. 2005)
* 1919 – Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer and actor (d. 2007)
* 1919 – Merle Miller, American biographer (d. 1986)
* 1921 – Dennis Brain, English French horn player (d. 1957)
* 1921 – Bob Merrill, American composer and lyricist (d. 1998)
* 1931 – Marshall Applewhite, American cult leader (d. 1997)
* 1935 – Dennis Potter, English writer (d. 1994)
* 1936 – Dennis Hopper, American actor and director
* 1937 – Hazel R. O'Leary, United States Secretary of Energy
* 1938 – Jason Bernard, American actor (d. 1996)
* 1939 – Gary Paulsen, American author
* 1940 – Alan Kay, American computer scientist
* 1940 – Reynato Puno, Filipino Supreme Court Chief Justice
* 1941 – David Cope, American composer and author
* 1941 – Ben Nelson. American politician
* 1941 – Grace Zabriskie, American actress
* 1942 – Taj Mahal, American musician
* 1943 – Johnny Warren, Australian Footballer (d. 2004)
* 1943 – Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (d. 2005)
* 1945 – Tony Roche, Australian tennis player
* 1946 – Udo Lindenberg, German musician
* 1946 – F. Paul Wilson, American novelist
* 1948 – Dick Gaughan, Scottish musician, singer and songwriter
* 1949 – Bill Bruford, English musician (Yes)
* 1950 – Howard Ashman, American lyricist (d. 1991)
* 1950 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian politician (d. 2008)
* 1950 – Valeria Novodvorskaya, Russian politician, dissident, the founder and the chairwoman of the "Democratic Union" party
* 1951 – Simon Hughes, British politician
* 1952 – Howard Hampton, Canadian politician
* 1953 – Luca Prodan, Italian singer musician (Luca Prodan)
* 1955 – Bill Paxton, American actor and film director
* 1956 – Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer
* 1956 – Bob Saget, American actor
* 1956 – Dave Sim, Canadian cartoonist
* 1957 – Pascual Pérez, Dominican baseball player
* 1958 – Paul Di'Anno, English singer (ex-Iron Maiden)
* 1959 – Marcelo Loffreda, Argentine rugby player and coach
* 1959 – Jim Nantz, American broadcaster
* 1960 – Lou DiBella, American boxing promoter
* 1961 – Enya, Irish singer and songwriter
* 1962 – Craig Ferguson, Scottish actor and comedian
* 1962 – Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish writer
* 1963 – Page McConnell, American musician and songwriter (Phish)
* 1963 – Jon Koncak, American basketball player
* 1964 – Menno Oosting, Dutch tennis player (d. 1999)
* 1965 – Richard Baumhammers, American spree killer
* 1965 – Trent Reznor, American musician (Nine Inch Nails)
* 1966 – Hill Harper, American actor
* 1966 – Danny Manning, American basketball player
* 1966 – Mark Kratzmann, Australian tennis player
* 1969 – Thom Filicia, American television personality
* 1969 – Alan Doyle, Canadian musician (Great Big Sea)
* 1970 – Jordan Knight, American singer (New Kids on the Block)
* 1970 – Hubert Davis, American basketball player
* 1970 – Angelica Agurbash, Belarusian singer, actress and model
* 1970 – Matt Lindland, American mixed martial arts fighter
* 1971 – Shaun Hart, Australian footballer
* 1971 – Princess Máxima of the Netherlands
* 1972 – Busta Rhymes, American Rapper
* 1973 – Josh Homme, American musician and songwriter (Queens of the Stone Age)
* 1973 – Matthew McGrory, American actor (d. 2005)
* 1973 – Sasha Alexander, American television actress
* 1973 – Steve Barakatt, Canadian composer
* 1974 – Andrea Corr, Irish singer (The Corrs)
* 1974 – Wiki González, Venezuelan baseball player
* 1974 – Eddie Lewis, American football (soccer) player
* 1974 – Sendhil Ramamurthy, American actor
* 1975 – Cheick Kongo, French martial artist
* 1975 – Jonti Picking, British cartoonist
* 1975 – Kostas Sommer, Greek actor
* 1975 – Laura Voutilainen, Finnish singer
* 1975 – Alex Wright, German professional wrestler
* 1976 – José Guillén, Dominican baseball player
* 1976 – Lee-Hom Wang, American-born Taiwanese musician and composer
* 1977 - Brandy Sheppard aka Mrs. Flynbyu
* 1978 – John Foster, American baseball player
* 1978 – Paddy Kenny, Irish goalkeeper
* 1978 – Carlos Pena, Dominican baseball player
* 1979 – Wayne Thomas, English footballer
* 1980 – Davor Džalto, Serbian art historian
* 1980 – Dallas Taylor, American singer (Underoath)
* 1981 – Beñat Albizuri, Spanish cyclist
* 1981 – R. J. Helton, American Idol finalist
* 1981 – Shiri Maimon, Israeli singer
* 1981 – Leon Osman, English footballer
* 1981 – Giannis Taralidis, Greek footballer
* 1981 – Lim Jeong Hee, Korean singer
* 1982 – Tony Parker, French-American basketball player
* 1982 – Matt Cassel, American Football player
* 1983 – Channing Frye, American basketball player
* 1983 – Nicky Hofs, Dutch footballer
* 1983 – Jeremy Sowers, American baseball player
* 1984 – Christine Robinson, Canadian water polo player
* 1984 – Christian Bolaños, Costa Rican footballer
* 1985 – Matt Ryan, American football player
* 1985 – Derek Hough, American dancer and singer
* 1986 – Tahj Mowry, American actor
* 1988 – Nikki Reed, American actress
* 1989 – Tessa Virtue, Canadian ice dancer
* 1990 – Leven Rambin, American actress
Famous deaths...
* 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)
* 1395 – Constantine Dragas, Serbian ruler of a semi-independent realm
* 1464 – Thomas de Ros, 10th Baron de Ros, English politician (executed) (b. 1427)
* 1510 – Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (b. 1445)
* 1521 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, English politician (b. 1478)
* 1536 – George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, English diplomat
Francis Weston, English courtier and Gentleman of the Privy Chamber (b. 1511)
Henry Norris, English courtier and groom of the stool
William Brereton, English courtier and Groom of the Privy Chamber
Mark Smeaton, English courtier and musician
* 1575 – Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1504)
* 1626 – Juan Pujol, Catalan composer (b. 1570)
* 1643 – Giovanni Picchi, Italian composer
* 1727 – Catherine I of Russia (b. 1684)
* 1729 – Samuel Clarke, English philosopher (b. 1675)
* 1765 – Alexis Claude Clairault, French mathematician (b. 1713)
* 1797 – Michel-Jean Sedaine, French dramatist (b. 1719)
* 1801 – William Heberden, English physician (b. 1710)
* 1807 – John Gunby, Maryland Soldier in the American Revolutionary War (b. 1745)
* 1809 – Leopold 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 Caillé, French explorer (b. 1799)
* 1839 – Archibald Alison, Scottish author (b. 1757)
* 1868 – Isami Kondo, Shinsengumi Commander (b. 1834)
* 1875 – John C. Breckinridge, Vice President of the United States (b. 1821)
* 1879 – Asa Packer, railroad magnate and founder of Lehigh Valley Railroad (b. 1805)
* 1886 – John Deere, American blacksmith and manufacturer (b. 1804)
* 1888 – Giacomo Zanella, Italian poet (b. 1820)
* 1916 – Boris Borisovich Galitzine, Russian physicist (b. 1862)
* 1917 – Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke, ruler of Sarawak (b. 1829)
* 1919 – Guido von List, German occult author (b. 1848)
* 1927 – Harold Geiger, U.S. Army aviation pioneer (b. 1884)
* 1935 – Paul Dukas, French composer (b. 1865)
* 1936 – Panagis Tsaldaris, twice Greek prime minister (b. 1868)
* 1937 – Guilląme Sebastian Furrét, Portuguese dramatist and social agitator (b. 1863)
* 1938 – Jakob Ehrlich, Austrian politician and zionist (b. 1877)
* 1947 – George William Forbes, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1869)
* 1963 – John Wilce, physician and former head football coach at the Ohio State University (b. 1888)
* 1974 – Ernest Nash, German born archaeologist (b. 1898)
* 1985 – Abe Burrows, songwriter, composer, and writer (b. 1910)
* 1987 – Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
* 1992 – Lawrence Welk, American musician (b. 1903)
* 1995 – Hector "Toe" Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and NHL coach (b. 1912)
* 1996 – Kevin Gilbert, American singer, composer and instrumentalist (b. 1966)
* 1996 – Scott Brayton, American race car driver (b. 1959)
* 1999 – Bruce Fairbairn, Canadian record producer and musician (b. 1949)
* 2000 – Donald Coggan, 101st Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1909)
* 2001 – Frank G. Slaughter, American novelist and physician (b. 1908)
* 2002 – Dave Berg, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
* 2002 – Sharon Sheeley, American songwriter (b. 1940)
* 2002 – Davey Boy Smith, English professional wrestler (b. 1962)
* 2002 – Ladislao Kubala, Hungarian-Spanish footballer (b. 1927)
* 2003 – Frank "Pop" Ivy, American and Canadian football coach (b. 1916)
* 2004 – Jørgen Nash, Danish artist (b. 1920)
* 2004 – Tony Randall, American actor (b. 1920)
* 2004 – Ezzedine Salim, leader of Iraqi Governing Council (b. 1943)
* 2005 – Frank Gorshin, American actor (b. 1934)
* 2006 – Cy Feuer, American playwright (b. 1911)
* 2006 – Eric Forth, British Member of Parliament (b. 1944)
* 2006 – Captain Nichola Goddard, Canadian soldier (b. 1980)
* 2007 – Lloyd Alexander, author (b. 1924)
Holidays and observances...
* International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia aka IDAHO.
* World Information Society Day
* Bahá'í Faith: Feast of ‘Aẓamat
* Argentina: Navy Day
* Democratic Republic of the Congo: Liberation Day
* Galicia (Spain): Galician Literature Day (Día das Letras Galegas)
* Ireland: National Famine Memorial Day
* Nauru: Constitution Day
* Norway: Norwegian Constitution Day (Syttende Mai)
* Perlis: Birthday of the Raja
Have a great Sunday.
~Brian
