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National days, ongoing national weeks and months, and global observances for May 17, 2026. Plus historical events and birthdays.
These observances run for a full week; this calendar day falls inside the week.
These observances last the full month; this date is part of that month-long celebration.
Showing the first 12 on this date; there are more month-long observances. See the full months list for May.
International and other global observances on this date (may include days, weeks, or months).
Events that occurred on May 17 throughout history
The 7th Calvary (700 troopers and Native Scouts) entered Montana and Dakota Territory and made contact with Indians the next day on June 23, 1876. On June 24, Custer's Arikara and Osage scouts identified a party of Sioux shadowing their movements. According to the scouts, the Sioux party retreated. That night, Custer gave his plans to attack the Sioux party the next day. Not knowing combined forces were the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, Custer miscalculated the size of the party for the attack. The regiment was defeated and Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was killed.
The alarm was originally patented by Reverend Augustus Russell Pope (1819–1858) in 1853. Edwin Holmes acquired Pope's patent rights in 1857 for US $1500. He manufactured the device in his factory in Boston, Massachusetts. He began selling the alarm in 1858 but people were fearful of and skeptical about using electricity for alarms. By 1866, Holmes installed 1,200 home alarms and began successful marketing among business enterprises.
The vessel was 53 feet 10 inches long, displaced 65 tons on the surface (75 submerged), and operated with a crew of six. The U.S. Navy purchased the vessel on April 11, 1900, and commissioned it as the USS Holland (SS-1) on October 12, 1900.
The 1932 Act: The Act of May 17, 1932, mandated that all federal laws, records, and documents change "Porto Rico" to "Puerto Rico". The name change was a 30-year push for cultural recognition.
After delays due to weather, General Dwight Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for Normandy landings by 175,000 service members. Known as the "Order of the Day," Eisenhower described the invasion as the "Great Crusade". Though the decision was finalized on June 5, the massive assault occurred on June 6, 1944.
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that racial segregation in public schools violates the 14th Amendment. The decision declared that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal," overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine from 1896.
Intel officially introduced the Pentium processor, featuring 3.1 million transistors and 60-66 MHz speeds. The processor was was five times more powerful than the i486 and introduced superscalar architecture to the x86 family for improved performance. Although successful, the chip later suffered from the infamous FDIV bug in 1994.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that same-sex couples could not be denied the legal, social, and financial benefits of marriage. The first legal same-sex marriage licenses were issued on May 17, 2004, with many couples marrying in Cambridge.
The early access of the game allowed the developers to build a massive community and iterate on feedback over two years before the official, formal launch. The official game was released on November 18, 2011.
People born on May 17
Considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all time.
Computer scientist who co-founded the Apple Computer.
The first woman play-by-play sports broadcaster for a Major League Baseball team.
Inventor who created an adjustable sanitary belt to help keep menstrual pads securely in place.
Co-founder of Dodge.
Children's and young adult fiction writer.
(1893-1961) - American inventor and innovator for the developments in refrigeration.
Professor, astronomer and mathematician.
Actress who survived the sinking of the Titanic and starred in the first motion picture based on the disaster.
Composer known his pioneering work using artificial intelligence to create music.
James Thomas "Cool Papa" Bell was center fielder and pitcher in Negro league baseball and the Mexican League who is considered to have been one of the fastest men ever to play the game.
Read more →The first woman to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale.
Actor fondly remembered for his role as Danny Tanner in the sitcom Full House.
Multi-award winning actor with leading roles in Tombstone, Twister, and Big Love.
