1155 Jien, Japanese monk, poet, and historian (d. 1225)

1443 Edmund, Earl of Rutland (d. 1460)

1451 Engelbert II of Nassau, Count of Nassau-Vianden and Lord of Breda (1475–1504) (d. 1504)

1490 Albert, Duke of Prussia, last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (d. 1568)

1500 Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (d. 1540)

1551 Martin Delrio, Belgian occultist and theologian (d. 1601)

1568 Anna Vasa of Sweden, Swedish princess (d. 1625)

1610 Stefano della Bella, Italian engraver and etcher (d. 1664)

1628 Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria (d. 1662)

1636 Edward Colman (martyr), English Catholic courtier under Charles II (d. 1678)

1682 Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate (d. 1722)

1698 Gio Nicola Buhagiar, Maltese painter (d. 1752)

1706 Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (d. 1780)

1718 Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English politician and diplomat, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1778)

1732 Francesco Pasquale Ricci, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1817)

1743 Seth Warner, American colonel (d. 1784)

1749 Edward Jenner, English physician and microbiologist (d. 1823)

1758 Sir John St Aubyn, 5th Baronet, English politician (d. 1839)

1768 Caroline of Brunswick (d. 1821)

1768 Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1854)

1794 Anna Brownell Jameson, Irish-English author (d. 1860)

1818 Ezra Otis Kendall, American professor, astronomer and mathematician (d. 1899)

1821 Sebastian Kneipp, German priest and therapist (d. 1897)

1835 Thomas McIlwraith, Scottish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Queensland (d. 1900)

1836 Virginie Loveling, Belgian author and poet (d. 1923)

1845 Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan priest and poet (d. 1902)

1860 Martin Kukučín, Slovak author and playwright (d. 1928)

1860 Charlotte Barnum, American mathematician and social activist (d. 1934)

1863 Léon Gérin, Canadian lawyer, sociologist, and civil servant (d. 1951)

1864 Louis Richardet, Swiss target shooter (d. 1923)

1864 Ante Trumbić, Croatian lawyer and politician, 27th Mayor of Split (d. 1938)

1866 Erik Satie, French pianist and composer (d. 1925)

1868 Horace Elgin Dodge, American businessman, co-founded Dodge (d. 1920)

1868 Panagis Tsaldaris, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1936)

1870 Newton Moore, Australian politician, 8th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1936)

1873 Henri Barbusse, French author and journalist (d. 1935)

1873 Dorothy Richardson, English author and journalist (d. 1957)

1874 George Sheldon (diver), American diver (d. 1907)

1882 Karl Burman, Estonian architect and painter (d. 1965)

1886 Alfonso XIII of Spain, Spanish monarch (d. 1941)

1888 Tich Freeman, English cricketer (d. 1965)

1889 Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer (d. 1946)

1889 Alfonso Reyes, Mexican author (d. 1959)

1891 Napoleon Zervas, Greek general and politician (d. 1957)

1893 Frederick McKinley Jones, American inventor and entrepreneur (d. 1961)

1895 Saul Adler, Belarusian-English captain and parasitologist (d. 1966)

1895 Reinhold Saulmann, Estonian sprinter and bandy player (d. 1936)

1897 Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate (d. 1981)

1898 A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (d. 1992)

1899 Carmen de Icaza, Spanish writer (d. 1979)

1901 Werner Egk, German pianist and composer (d. 1983)

1903 Cool Papa Bell, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)

1904 Marie-Anne Desmarest, French author (d. 1973)

1906 Zinka Milanov, Croatian-American soprano and educator (d. 1989)

1909 Julius Sumner Miller, American physicist and academic (d. 1987)

1911 Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish-American model (d. 1992)

1911 Maureen O'Sullivan, Irish-American actress (d. 1998)

1912 Archibald Cox, American lawyer and politician, 31st United States Solicitor General (d. 2004)

1912 Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner, American inventor (d. 2006)

1913 Hans Ruesch, Swiss racing driver and author (d. 2007)

1914 Robert N. Thompson, American-Canadian chiropractor and politician (d. 1997)

1918 Joan Benham, English actress (d. 1981)

1918 Birgit Nilsson, Swedish operatic soprano (d. 2005)

1919 Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2007)

1919 Gustav Naan, Russian-Estonian physicist and philosopher (d. 1994)

1920 Harry Männil, Estonian-Venezuelan businessman, co-founded ACO Group (d. 2010)

1921 Dennis Brain, English horn player (d. 1957)

1921 Bob Merrill, American composer and screenwriter (d. 1998)

1922 Jean Rédélé, French racing driver, founded Alpine (automobile) (d. 2007)

1923 Michael Beetham, English commander and pilot (d. 2015)

1924 Roy Bentley, English footballer (d. 2018)

1924 Francis Tombs, Baron Tombs, English engineer and politician (d. 2020)

1926 David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie, English-Scottish soldier and politician (d. 2023)

1926 Dietmar Schönherr, Austrian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)

1926 Franz Sondheimer, German-English chemist and academic (d. 1981)

1929 Branko Zebec, Croatian and Yugoslav football player and coach (d. 1988)

1931 Marshall Applewhite, American cult leader, founded Heaven's Gate (religious group) (d. 1997)

1931 Dewey Redman, American saxophonist (d. 2006)

1932 Rodric Braithwaite, English soldier and diplomat, List of Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Russia

1932 Peter Burge (cricketer), Australian cricketer (d. 2001)

1933 Yelena Gorchakova, Russian javelin thrower (d. 2002)

1934 Friedrich-Wilhelm Kiel, German educator and politician (d. 2022)

1934 Earl Morrall, American football player and coach (d. 2014)

1934 Ronald Wayne, American computer scientist, co-founded Apple Computer

1935 Dennis Potter, English voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1994)

1936 Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (d. 2010)

1937 Hazel R. O'Leary, American lawyer and politician, 7th United States Secretary of Energy

1938 Jason Bernard, American actor (d. 1996)

1938 Marcia Freedman, Israeli activist (d. 2021)

1938 Pervis Jackson, American R&B bass singer (d. 2008)

1939 Hugh Dykes, Baron Dykes, English politician

1939 Gary Paulsen, American author (d. 2021)

1940 Alan Kay, American computer scientist and academic

1940 Reynato Puno, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 22nd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines

1941 David Cope, American composer and author

1941 Ben Nelson, American lawyer and politician, 37th Governor of Nebraska

1942 Taj Mahal (musician), American blues singer-songwriter and musician

1943 Sirajuddin of Perlis, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia

1943 Johnny Warren, Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2004)

1944 Jesse Winchester, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2014)

1945 B.S. Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer

1945 Tony Roche, Australian tennis player and coach

1946 Udo Lindenberg, German singer-songwriter and drummer

1947 Stephen Platten, English bishop

1948 Dick Gaughan, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist

1949 Bill Bruford, English drummer, songwriter, and producer

1949 Keith (singer), American pop singer

1950 Howard Ashman, American playwright and composer (d. 1991)

1950 Keith Bradley, Baron Bradley, English accountant and politician

1950 Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian economist and politician, 2nd President of Slovenia (d. 2008)

1950 Alan Johnson, English politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer

1950 Valeriya Novodvorskaya, Russian journalist and politician (d. 2014)

1951 Simon Hughes, English lawyer and politician

1952 Howard Hampton, Canadian lawyer and politician

1954 Michael Roberts (jockey), South African-English jockey

1955 Bill Paxton, American actor and director (d. 2017)

1955 David Townsend (musician), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)

1956 Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer

1956 Annise Parker, American politician

1956 Bob Saget, American comedian, actor, and television host (d. 2022)

1956 Dave Sim, Canadian cartoonist and author

1957 Pascual Pérez (baseball), Dominican baseball player (d. 2012)

1958 Paul Di'Anno, English rock singer-songwriter

1959 Marcelo Loffreda, Argentine rugby player and coach

1960 Lou DiBella, American boxing promoter, actor, and producer

1960 Simon Fuller, English talent manager and producer, created the ''Idols (TV series)''

1961 Enya, Irish singer-songwriter and producer

1961 Jamil Azzaoui, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist

1961 Justin King (businessman), English businessman

1962 Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish journalist and author

1962 Andrew Farrar, Australian rugby league player and coach

1962 Craig Ferguson, Scottish-American comedian, actor, and talk show host

1962 Jane Moore, English journalist and author

1962 Rosalind Picard, American computer scientist and engineer, co-founded Affectiva

1963 Jon Koncak, American basketball player

1963 Page McConnell, American keyboard player and songwriter

1964 Stratos Apostolakis, Greek footballer and coach

1964 Mauro Martini, Italian race car driver

1964 Menno Oosting, Dutch tennis player (d. 1999)

1965 Trent Reznor, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer

1965 Jeremy Vine, English journalist and author

1966 Qusay Hussein, Iraqi soldier and politician (d. 2003)

1966 Mark Kratzmann, Australian tennis player and coach

1966 Danny Manning, American basketball player and coach

1966 Gilles Quénéhervé, French sprinter

1967 Mohamed Nasheed, Maldivian lawyer and politician 4th President of the Maldives

1967 Patrick Ortlieb, Austrian skier

1968 Dave Abbruzzese, American rock drummer and songwriter

1969 Keith Hill (footballer), English footballer and manager

1970 Hubert Davis, American basketball player and coach

1970 Jordan Knight, American singer-songwriter and actor

1970 Matt Lindland, American mixed martial artist, wrestler, and politician

1970 Jodie Rogers, Australian diver

1970 René Vilbre, Estonian director and screenwriter

1971 Mark Connors, Australian rugby player

1971 Shaun Hart, Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster

1971 Stella Jongmans, Dutch athlete

1971 Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Dutch royal

1971 Gina Raimondo, Governor of Rhode Island

1972 Barry Hayles, English born Jamaican international footballer

1973 Josh Homme, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

1974 Andrea Corr, Irish singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress

1974 Wiki González, Venezuelan baseball player

1974 Eddie Lewis (American soccer), American international soccer player

1975 Marcelinho Paraíba, Brazilian footballer

1975 Alex Wright, German wrestler

1976 Kandi Burruss, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

1976 Shayne Dunley, Australian rugby league player

1976 José Guillén, Dominican-American baseball player

1976 Daniel Komen, Kenyan runner

1976 Wang Leehom, American-Taiwanese singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director

1976 Mayte Martínez, Spanish runner

1976 Kirsten Vlieghuis, Dutch freestyle swimmer

1978 John Foster (baseball), American baseball player and coach

1978 Paddy Kenny, English footballer

1978 Carlos Peña, Dominican-American baseball player

1978 Magdalena Zděnovcová, Czech tennis player

1979 David Jarolím, Czech footballer

1979 Wayne Thomas (footballer, born 1979), English footballer

1980 Davor Džalto, Bosnian historian and philosopher

1980 Fredrik Kessiakoff, Swedish cyclist

1980 Alistair Overeem, Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer

1980 Ariën van Weesenbeek, Dutch drummer

1981 Beñat Albizuri, Spanish cyclist

1981 Leon Osman, English footballer

1981 Lim Jeong-hee, South Korean singer

1981 Chris Skidmore, English historian and politician

1981 Giannis Taralidis, Greek footballer

1982 Matt Cassel, American football player

1982 Dan Hardy, English mixed martial artist

1982 Reiko Nakamura, Japanese swimmer

1982 Tony Parker, French-American basketball player

1982 Chloe Smith, English politician

1983 Channing Frye, American basketball player

1983 Chris Henry (wide receiver), American football player (d. 2009)

1983 Nicky Hofs, Dutch footballer

1983 Kevin Kingston, Australian rugby league player

1983 Jeremy Sowers, American baseball player

1984 Christian Bolaños, Costa Rican footballer

1984 Christine Ohuruogu, English runner

1984 Christine Robinson, Canadian water polo player

1984 Passenger (singer), English singer-songwriter and musician

1985 Teófilo Gutiérrez, Colombian footballer

1985 Derek Hough, American actor, singer, and dancer

1985 Christine Nesbitt, Canadian speed skater

1985 Todd Redmond, American baseball player

1985 Matt Ryan (American football), American football player

1986 Marius Činikas, Lithuanian footballer

1986 Timo Simonlatser, Estonian skier

1986 Jodie Taylor, English footballer

1987 Edvald Boasson Hagen, Norwegian cyclist

1987 Aleandro Rosi, Italian footballer

1988 Nikki Reed, American actress, singer, and screenwriter

1989 Mose Masoe, New Zealand rugby league player

1989 Rain Raadik, Estonian basketball player

1989 Tessa Virtue, Canadian ice dancer

1990 Will Clyburn, American basketball player

1990 Fabian Giefer, German footballer

1990 Charlie Gubb, New Zealand rugby league player

1990 Katrina Hart, English runner

1990 Guido Pella, Argentine tennis player

1991 Johanna Konta, Australian-English tennis player

1991 Adil Omar, Pakistani rapper and music producer

1991 Abigail Raye, Canadian field hockey player

1994 Julie Anne San Jose, Filipina singer-songwriter

528 Empress Dowager Hu (Northern Wei) of Northern Wei

528 Yuan Yong, imperial prince of Northern Wei

528 Yuan Zhao, emperor of Northern Wei (b. 526)

896 Liu Jianfeng (Tang dynasty), Chinese warlord

924 Li Maozhen, Chinese warlord and king (b. 856)

946 Al-Qa'im (Fatimid caliph), Fatimid caliph (b. 893)

1299 Daumantas of Pskov, Lithuanian prince (b. c. 1240)

1336 Emperor Go-Fushimi, emperor of Japan (b. 1288)

1365 Louis II, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1328)

1395 Konstantin Dejanović, Serbian ruler (b. 1355)

1464 Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros, English politician (b. 1427)

1510 Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (b. 1445)

1521 Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, Welsh politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1478)

1536 George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford, English courtier and diplomat, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1504)

1536 William Brereton (groom), English courtier (b. 1487)

1536 Henry Norris (courtier), English courtier (b. 1482)

1546 Philipp von Hutten, German explorer (b. 1511)

1551 Shin Saimdang, South Korean poet and calligraphist (b. 1504)

1558 Francisco de Sá de Miranda, Portuguese poet (b. 1485)

1575 Matthew Parker, English archbishop and academic (b. 1504)

1606 False Dmitriy I, pretender to the Russian throne (b. 1582)

1607 Anna d'Este, French princess (b. 1531)

1626 Joan Pau Pujol, Catalan organist and composer (b. 1570)

1643 Giovanni Picchi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1571)

1727 Catherine I of Russia (b. 1684)

1729 Samuel Clarke, English clergyman and philosopher (b. 1675)

1765 Alexis Clairaut, French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (b. 1713)

1797 Michel-Jean Sedaine, French playwright and composer (b. 1719)

1801 William Heberden, English physician and scholar (b. 1710)

1807 John Gunby, American general (b. 1745)

1809 Leopold Auenbrugger, Austrian physician (b. 1722)

1822 Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu, French general and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of France (b. 1766)

1829 John Jay, American politician and diplomat, 1st Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1745)

1838 René Caillié, French explorer and author (b. 1799)

1838 Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1754)

1839 Archibald Alison (author), Scottish priest and author (b. 1757)

1868 Kondō Isami, Japanese commander (b. 1834)

1875 John C. Breckinridge, American lawyer and politician, 14th Vice President of the United States, Confederate States general (b. 1821)

1879 Asa Packer, American businessman, founded Lehigh University (b. 1805)

1880 Ziya Pasha, Greek author and translator (b. 1826)

1886 John Deere (inventor), American blacksmith and businessman, founded the Deere & Company (b. 1804)

1888 Giacomo Zanella, Italian priest and poet (b. 1820)

1911 Frederick August Otto Schwarz, German-American businessman, founded FAO Schwarz (b. 1836)

1916 Boris Borisovich Golitsyn, Russian physicist and seismologist (b. 1862)

1917 Clara Ayres, American nurse (b. 1880)

1917 Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak (b. 1829)

1919 Guido von List, Austrian-German journalist, author, and poet (b. 1848)

1921 Karl Mantzius, Danish actor and director (b. 1860)

1922 Dorothy Levitt, English racing driver and journalist (b. 1882)

1927 Harold Geiger, American pilot and lieutenant (b. 1884)

1934 Cass Gilbert, American architect (b. 1859)

1935 Paul Dukas, French composer, critic, and educator (b. 1865)

1936 Panagis Tsaldaris, Greek lawyer and politician, 124th List of Prime Ministers of Greece (b. 1868)

1938 Jakob Ehrlich, Czech-Austrian academic and politician (b. 1877)

1943 Johanna Elberskirchen, German author and activist (b. 1864)

1947 George Forbes (New Zealand politician), New Zealand farmer and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1869)

1951 William Birdwood, Anglo-Indian field marshal (b. 1865)

1960 Jules Supervielle, Uruguayan-French poet and author (b. 1884)

1963 John Wilce, American football player, coach, and physician (b. 1888)

1964 Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist and parapsychologist (b. 1895)

1974 Ernest Nash, German-American photographer and scholar (b. 1898)

1977 Charles E. Rosendahl, American admiral and pilot (b. 1892)

1980 Gündüz Kılıç, Turkish football player and coach (b. 1918)

1985 Abe Burrows, American director, composer, and author (b. 1910)

1987 Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist, sociologist, and politician, Nobel Prize in Economics laureate (b. 1898)

1992 Lawrence Welk, American accordion player and bandleader (b. 1903)

1995 Toe Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1912)

1996 Kevin Gilbert (musician), American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1966)

1999 Bruce Fairbairn, Canadian trumpet player and producer (b. 1949)

1999 Lembit Oll, Estonian chess Grandmaster (b. 1966)

2000 Donald Coggan, English archbishop (b. 1909)

2001 Jacques-Louis Lions, French mathematician (b. 1928)

2001 Frank G. Slaughter, American physician and author (b. 1908)

2002 László Kubala, Hungarian-Spanish footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1927)

2002 Aşık Mahzuni Şerif, Turkish poet and composer (b. 1940)

2004 Jørgen Nash, Danish poet and painter (b. 1920)

2004 Tony Randall, American actor (b. 1920)

2004 Ezzedine Salim, Iraqi politician (b. 1943)

2005 Frank Gorshin, American actor (b. 1934)

2006 Cy Feuer, American director, producer, and composer (b. 1911)

2007 Lloyd Alexander, American soldier and author (b. 1924)

2007 T. K. Doraiswamy, Indian poet and author (b. 1921)

2009 Mario Benedetti, Uruguayan journalist, author, and poet (b. 1920)

2009 Jung Seung-hye, South Korean journalist and producer (b. 1965)

2010 Yvonne Loriod, French pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1924)

2010 Walasse Ting, Chinese-American painter and poet (b. 1929)

2011 Harmon Killebrew, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1936)

2012 Gideon Ezra, Israeli geographer and politician, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (b. 1937)

2012 Patrick Mafisango, Congolese-Rwandan footballer (b. 1980)

2012 Donna Summer, American singer-songwriter (b. 1948)

2013 Philippe Gaumont, French cyclist (b. 1973)

2013 Peter Schulz, German politician, List of mayors of Hamburg (b. 1930)

2013 Ken Venturi, American golfer and sportscaster (b. 1931)

2013 Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentine Commander in Chief and dictator (b. 1925)

2014 Gerald Edelman, American biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (b. 1929)

2014 C. P. Krishnan Nair, Indian businessman, founded The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts (b. 1922)

2014 Douangchay Phichit, Laotian politician (b. 1944)

2014 Thongbanh Sengaphone, Laotian politician (b. 1953)

2015 Chinx, American rapper (b. 1983)

2017 Todor Veselinović, Serbian football player and manager (b. 1930)

2019 Herman Wouk, American author (b. 1915)

2020 Lucky Peterson, American blues singer, keyboardist and guitarist (b. 1964)

2022 Vangelis, Greek musician, composer (b. 1943)

Public holidays in Malaysia (Perlis)

Christian feast day:

- Giulia Salzano

- Paschal Baylon

- William Hobart Hare (Episcopal Church (USA))

- Restituta

- May 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Children's Day (Norway)

Constitution Day (Nauru)

Constitution Day (Norway)

Feast of ‘Aẓamat (Baháʼí Faith, day shifts with March Equinox, see List of observances set by the Baháʼí calendar)

Galician Literature Day or ''Día das Letras Galegas'' (Galicia (Spain))

International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

Liberation Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Navy Day (Argentina)

World Hypertension Day

World Information Society Day (International observance)

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/17 BBC: On This Day]

[https://www.onthisday.com/events/may/17 Historical Events on May 17]