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May 17: Today in History – Historical Events
Early Centuries – May 17 Historic Events – Before the 1700s
1. 17th May 1521: The third Duke of Buckingham, Edward Stafford was executed for treason.
2. 17th May 1525: Duke of Lutherans beat rebels in the Battle of Zabern.
3. 17th May 1544: Scot Earl Matthew Lennox today signed a secret treaty with King Henry VIII of England.
4. 17th May 1590: Anne of Denmark was today crowned as the Queen of.
5. 17th May 1620: A fair in Philippapolis Turkey featured the first ever merry-go-round.
6. 17th May 1630: Niccolo Zuchi, an Italian Jesuit was the first to see 2 belts on the surface of Jupiter.
7. 17th May 1648: Maximilian I of Bavaria was defeated by Emperor Ferdinand III.
18th Century – What Happened on May 17 – The 1700s
8. 17th May 1712: Maximilian Emanuel of Bavaria was today conferred the honor “Sovereign of Netherlands”.
9. 17th May 1733: The Molasses Act was on this day passed by Great Britain. This put high tariffs on rum and molasses imported from countries other than Britain by the colonies.
10. 17th May 1742: Austrians were defeated by Frederick II and Prussia in the Battle of Chotusitz.
11. 17th May 1744: The Austrian Netherlands was conquered by the French army today.
12. 17th May 1756: Britain, today, declared a war on France.
13. 17th May 1775: Trade with Canada was barred by the Continental Congress during the American Revolution War.
14. 17th May 1792: The New York Stock Exchange was formed today at #70, Wall Street by 24 merchants.
15. 17th May 1703: The Reaping Machine was today patented by John Hawkins and Richard French.
19th Century – May 17 This Day That Year – The 1800s
16. 17th May 1814: Denmark today conceded Norway to Sweden.
17. 17th May 1814: Austrians today took over occupation of Monaco from France.
18. 17th May 1840: The Centrum in St Louis Mississippi was today destroyed by a fire.
19. 17th May 1860: “TSV 1860”, the German football club was founded today in München.
20. 17th May 1863: Rosalia de Castro today published her first book in the Galician language. The book was titled “Cantares Gallegos”.
21. 17th May 1865: The International Telegraph Union which later became the International Telecommunication Union was established today.
22. 17th May 1872: In San Francisco the Bohemian Club was incorporated today.
23. 17th May 1875: In the first Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky in the USA, 15 three-year-olds contested in front of an estimated crowd of 10,000 people.
24. 17th May 1877: The first telephone switchboard with a burglar alarm was installed today by Edwin T Holms.
25. 17th May 1881: Abolitionist Fredrik Douglass was today appointed as the recorder for deeds for Washington D.C.
26. 17th May 1881: The revised version of the New Testament was released today.
27. 17th May 1884: Alaska today became a U.S. territory.
28. 17th May 1890: The first weekly comic paper “Comic Cuts” was today published in London.
29. 17th May 1895: In a cricket, W.G. Grace today completed his 100th score of 100 runs in a match Vs. Somerset at Bristol.
30. 17th May 1897: In the USA Designer and Engineer John Philip Holland today successfully launched a submarine that could run a considerable distance submerged and combined gasoline and electric power.
31. 17th May 1899: The Foundation for Victoria & Albert Museum was today laid in London England.
20th Century – Important Events On This Day May 17th – The 1900s
32. 17th May 1900: Members of the fiercely Nationalistic Chinese secret society “Boxers” today set fire to three villages within 100 miles of Peaking. 60 Chinese Christians are reported killed.
33. 17th May 1902: The Antikythera, an ancient mechanical analog computer was discovered by the Greek Archaeologist Valerios Stais today.
34. 17th May 1906: The Simplon tunnel in Switzerland was today thrown open to rail traffic.
35. 17th May 1915: Marks the fall of the liberal British government led by H.H. Asquith.
36. 17th May 1916: Daylight savings was today introduced in Britain.
37. 17th May 1919: The UK War Department issued orders for the use of National Star insignia on all airplanes.
38. 17th May 1920: The first double-decker flight of De Havilland landed in Schiphol in London today.
39. 17th May 1920: Dutch aircraft carrier KLM (Koninklijke-Luchtvaart-Maatschappij) made its maiden flight today.
40. 17th May 1921: The Customs Union was signed by Belgium and Luxemburg today.
41. 17th May 1925: There was a major mining accident in Dortsfeld Germany. Deadly gases in mines hampered rescue operations. 43 people are reported to have lost their lives in the disaster.
42. 17th May 1926: Chinese Military and political leader Chan-Kai-Sheik was today made the supreme warlord in Canton.
43. 17th May 1926: William Marks became the Chancellor of Germany. He succeeded Hans Luther.
44. 17th May 1928: The 9th modern Olympic games opened today in Amsterdam.
45. 17th May 1932: The name of “Puerto Rico” was changed to “Puerto Rico” by the US Congress today.
46. 17th May 1937: Juan Negrin today became Spain’s premier succeeding Largo Caballero.
47. 17th May 1938: The Vision Naval Act funding the Two Oceans Navy was today approved by the US Congress.
48. 17th May 1938: The radio quiz show “Information Please” made its debut today on the NBC Blue network.
49. 17th May 1939: The baseball game between Columbia and Princeton College was telecast. It was the first sports event to be telecast.
50. 17th May 1940: Germany begins an invasion of France after occupying Brussels in Belgium.
51. 17th May 1941: In honor of A’s manager Connie Mack, Pennsylvania today declared a legal holiday.
52. 17th May 1942: Dutch SS vowed their loyalty to the dictator of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler.
53. 17th May 1943: The US Army entered into a contract with the University of Pennsylvania’s Moor School to develop an Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer.
54. 17th May 1943: Dam buster raids were carried out on German dams by Squadron 617 of the RAF using special bombs specially designed by aircraft engineer Dr. Barnes Wallis.
55. 17th May 1943: Aviator and Businessman Howard Hughes, while test-flying his Sikorsky S-43 aircraft, crashed into Lake Mead. CAA inspectors Coco Cline and Richard Felt were killed in the crash.
56. 17th May 1943: Myitkyina Airport in Burma was today taken by the Chinese and US Armed forces.
57. 17th May 1944: June 5th was set for D-Day by US President Gen. Eisenhower.
58. 17th May 1944: Allies today landed in Dutch New Guinea in Operation Straight Line.
59. 17th May 1945: 2 US P-47 Thunderbolts launched a bombing raid and bombed Kiushu today.
60. 17th May 1946: The first post-World War II Dutch parliamentary elections won by KVP Labour/communists.
61. 17th May 1946: To delay a strike, US President Harry Truman today took control of the nation’s railroads.
62. 17th May 1948: Israel was today recognized by the Soviet Union.
63. 17th May 1948: the Republic of Ireland was recognized by the British Government today.
64. 17th May 1953: In the LPGA Reno Golf Open tournament Patty Berg emerged victorious.
65. 17th May 1954: The US Supreme Court was unanimous in reversing the 1896 “separate but equal” Plessy V Ferguson decision of racial segregation while ruling on the Brow V Topeka Board of Education case.
66. 17th May 1955: The Drees government in the Netherlands resigned today.
67. 17th May 1955: The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court today indicated that a ruling will be made on how and when to end segregation of white and black children in the public school system before the summer recess.
68. 17th May 1957: In the 10 Cannes Film Festival, the film “Friendly Persuasion” directed by William Wyler won the Palm d’Or.
69. 17th May 1958: In Algeria, the Emergency Crisis was proclaimed today.
70. 17th May 1959: A PGA record of 36 holes in 122 strokes was set by golfer Sam Snead today.
71. 17th May 1960: J.W. Flora of Canoga Park, California patented the first atomic reactor system today.
72. 17th May 1960: Following three days of bitter arguments over the shooting down of the American Spy plane U-2 in the Soviet Union by a soviet missile, the East-West summit in Paris failed to start.
73. 17th May 1961: President Fidel Castro of Cuba today offered the Bay of Pigs and Prisoners in exchange for 500 bulldozers.
74. 17th May 1962: Marine County today withdrew from the BART districts.
75. 17th May 1963: The US today performed a nuclear test at its Nevada Test Site.
76. 17th May 1967: The Butler Act prohibiting the teaching of evolution was repealed today after being in force for 42 years.
77. 17th May 1968: The European Space Research Organization launched its 1st satellite today.
78. 17th May 1968: The US performed a nuclear test today at the Nevada Test Site.
79. 17th May 1969: Russia’s space probe Venera 6 successfully lands on Venus.
80. 17th May 1971: Sex discrimination was banned in Washington State today.
81. 17th May 1972: The predominantly Protestant workforce of the Mackies engineering works in west Belfast was fired upon by the Irish Republican Army while they were leaving after work.
82. 17th May 1972: People’s Republic of China and Netherlands exchange ambassadors today.
83. 17th May 1973: The Senate today began the televised hearing of the investigation of Watergate in the Watergate scandal.
84. 17th May 1974: In Dublin, 23 people were killed and 100 more were injured when three car bombs exploded during rush hour. Despite the existence of several conspiracy theories, no one has been charged.
85. 17th May 1974: In California, the Los Angeles Police Department placed a siege on the home in Compton where the leaders of the terrorist group “Symbionese Liberation Army were hiding. LBA members shot at the police triggering a gun battle which left six SLA members including their leader dead.
86. 17th May 1977: The Likoed party led by Menachem Begin won the elections in Israel.
87. 17th May 1980: Sri Lankan V.S. Kumar Anandan created a Guinness World Record by balancing on one foot for 33 hours.
88. 17th May 1983: Israel and Lebanon today entered into a peace pace and signed a peace treaty.
89. 17th May 1984: Price of Wales, Price Charles today stroked a controversy on the role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture when he called the proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a “monstrous carbuncle”.
90. 17th May 1987: 37 sailors lost their lives when an Iraqi missile hit USS Stark today.
91. 17th May 1989: The University of South Africa today conferred a B.A. degree on Nelson Mandela.
92. 17th May 1990: Homosexuality was today taken off the list of mental illnesses by the World Health Organization.
93. 17th May 1993: Intel today unveiled its new Pentium processor.
94. 17th May 1996: Eighteen-year-old Alicia Machado from Venezuela was today crowned 45th Miss Universe.
21st Century – May 17 This Day In History – The 2000s
95. 17th May 2000: An explosion caused by a homemade bomb occurred in the Philippines today injuring 13 people, mostly teenagers.
96. 17th May 2000: Thomas E Blanton Jr. And Bobby Frank Cherry, former members of the Ku Klux Klan were arrested for their involvement in the church bombing in Birmingham in which four black girls were killed. They were convicted and were handed life sentences for murder.
97. 17th May 2008: It was today announced by the Spanish police that they have arrested prominent hackers. Two sixteen-year-olds were accused of government websites in Asia, Latin America, and the United States of America in addition to thousands of websites.
98. 17th May 2011: Police today claim to have rescued 500 illegal immigrants who were crammed in trucks traveling through Mexico, bound for the US. They were detected by X-ray machines at the checkpoint.
99. 17th May 2013: In a series of bombings in Iraq 90 people were killed and over 200 were injured. s
100. 17th May 2013: Singer and songwriter Bobby Dylan was today accorded an honorary membership to the American Academy of Arts and Science. He acknowledged that he was honored and lucky to receive the membership.
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