May 17 in history
Events on May 17
Notable events that happened on May 17 in past years.
- 2014
A military plane crash in northern Laos kills 17 people.
Wikipedia article: 2014 Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force An-74 crash - 2004
The first legal same-sex marriages in the U.S. are performed in the state of Massachusetts.
Wikipedia article: Same-sex marriage - 1994
Malawi holds its first multi-party elections.
Wikipedia article: Malawi - 1983
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.
Wikipedia article: United States Department of Energy - 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.
Wikipedia article: 1980 Miami riots - 1973
Watergate scandal: Televised hearings begin in the United States Senate.
Wikipedia article: Watergate scandal - 1954
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.
Wikipedia article: Supreme Court of the United States - 1937
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.
Wikipedia article: Spanish Civil War - 1902
Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer.
Wikipedia article: Valerios Stais - 1863
Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, the first book in the Galician language.
Wikipedia article: Rosalía de Castro - 1814
The Constitution of Norway is signed and Crown Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark is elected King of Norway by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly.
Wikipedia article: Constitution of Norway - 1760
French forces besieging Quebec retreat after the Royal Navy arrives to relieve the British garrison.
Wikipedia article: Siege of Quebec (1760) - 1639
The treaty of Zuhab ends the fifteen-year-long war between the Ottomans and the Safavids.
Wikipedia article: Treaty of Zuhab - 1527
Pánfilo de Narváez departs Spain to explore Florida with 600 men – by 1536 only four survive.
- 352
Election of Pope Liberius following the death of Pope Julius I in the previous month.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0