On this day in history

May 17

8 births · 6 deaths · 1 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

270

Seven Years' War

270 years ago

Born this day

1900

Ruhollah Khomeini

Would be 126

Oldest record

270th

Seven Years' War

event anniversary

Famous births8

1866 · 160 yrs

Erik Satie

Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (17 May 1866 – 1 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire but was undistinguished and did not obtain a diploma.

MusicWould be 160

Photo: Sonia y natalia · CC BY-SA 3.0

1873 · 153 yrs

Henri Barbusse

Henri Barbusse (French:; 17 May 1873 – 30 August 1935) was a French novelist, short story writer, journalist, poet and political activist.

LiteratureWould be 153

Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1886 · 140 yrs

Alfonso XIII

Alfonso XIII (Spanish: Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena; French: Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon; 17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African for his Africanist views, was King of Spain from his…

RoyaltyWould be 140

Photo: Kaulak · Public domain

1900 · 126 yrs

Ruhollah Khomeini

Ruhollah Mostafavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989.

PoliticsWould be 126

Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1904 · 122 yrs

Jean Gabin

Jean Gabin Alexis Moncorgé (born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé), known as Jean Gabin (French:; 17 May 1904 – 15 November 1976), was a French actor and singer.

FilmWould be 122

Photo: Unknown (Mondadori Publishers), published in Grazia magazine · Public domain

1936 · 90 yrs

Dennis Hopper

Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He is considered one of the key figures of the New Hollywood era.

FilmWould be 90

Photo: Georges Biard · CC BY-SA 3.0

1953 · 73 yrs

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev (born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who has served as the second president of Kazakhstan since 2019. He previously served as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 and as Chairman of the Senate from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2019.

PoliticsAge 73

Photo: Қазақстан премьер-министрі · CC BY 4.0

1961 · 65 yrs

Enya

Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan) (Irish pronunciation:) (born 17 May 1961), known as Enya, is an Irish singer and composer. With an estimated equivalent of more than 80 million albums sold, she is one of the world's best-selling music artists.

MusicAge 65

Photo: Orlando Sentinel/ Associated Press · Public domain

Famous deaths6

1839 · 187 yrs

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (French:; 2 February 1754 – 17 May 1838), 1st Prince of Benevento, then Prince of Talleyrand, was a French secularized clergyman, statesman, and leading diplomat. After studying theology, he became Agent-General of the Clergy in 1780.

PoliticsWould be 272

Photo: François Gérard · Public domain

1840 · 186 yrs

Niccolò Paganini

Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (Italian:; 27 October 1782 – 27 May 1840) was an Italian violinist, guitarist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique.

MusicWould be 243

Photo: Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres · Public domain

1987 · 39 yrs

Gunnar Myrdal

Karl Gunnar Myrdal ( MUR-dahl, MEER-; Swedish:; 6 December 1898 – 17 May 1987) was a Swedish economist and sociologist.

ScienceWould be 127

Photo: Uppsala-Bild / Upplandsmuseet · Public domain

2012 · 14 yrs

Donna Summer

Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music gained a global following.

MusicWould be 77

Photo: Harry Langdon. · Public domain

2013 · 13 yrs

Jorge Rafael Videla

General Jorge Rafael Videla ( vid-EL-ə; Spanish:; 2 August 1925 – 17 May 2013) was an Argentine general, politician and dictator who served as the president of Argentina from 1976 to 1981 during the National Reorganization Process. He came to power in a March 1976 coup d'état that deposed Isabel Perón.

PoliticsWould be 101

Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

2022 · 4 yrs

Vangelis

Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (Greek: Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου, pronounced; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), mainly known professionally as Vangelis ( vang-GHEL-iss; Greek: Βαγγέλης, pronounced; also credited as Vangelis Papathanassiou), was a Greek composer, arranger, performer and record producer.

MusicWould be 83

Photo: Ian Patterson · CC BY 2.0

Events1

1756 · 270 yrs

Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a global war fought by numerous great powers, primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and the Indian subcontinent.

War

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