May 17th Events |
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| May 17th, 2007 (May 17 2007) | Event | Trains from North and South Korea cross the 38th Parallel in a test-run agreed by both governments. This is the first time that trains have crossed the Demilitarized Zone since 1953. | |
| May 17th, 2006 (May 17 2006) | Event | The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico to be an artificial reef | |
| May 17th, 2004 (May 17 2004) | Event | Massachusetts becomes the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage | |
| May 17th, 2000 (May 17 2000) | Event | In the Philippines an explosion rocks Glorietta 2 injuring 13 persons, mostly teenagers. According to local authorities, the homemade bomb was placed in front of a toilet beside a video arcade. | |
| May 17th, 1997 (May 17 1997) | Event | Troops of Laurent Kabila march into Kinshasa. | |
| May 17th, 1995 (May 17 1995) | Event | After 18 years as the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac takes office as President of France. | |
| May 17th, 1994 (May 17 1994) | Event | Malawi holds its first multiparty elections. | |
| May 17th, 1992 (May 17 1992) | Event | In Thailand, the so-called Black May begins. Thai police and protesters start attacking one another. By midnight, the current Thai government declares a state of emergency, and military troops open fire. | |
| May 17th, 1990 (May 17 1990) | Event | the WHO takes Homosexuality out of its list of mental illnesses. | |
| May 17th, 1987 (May 17 1987) | Event | An Iraqi fighter jet fires two missiles into the U.S. warship USS Stark (FFG-31), killing 37 and injuring 21 of her crew. | |
| May 17th, 1984 (May 17 1984) | Event | Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend," sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture. | |
| May 17th, 1983 (May 17 1983) | Event | 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), in response to Appalachian Observer s Freedom of Information Act request. | |
| May 17th, 1983 (May 17 1983) | Event | Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. | |
| May 17th, 1980 (May 17 1980) | Event | General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations. | Martial Quotes |
| May 17th, 1980 (May 17 1980) | Event | On the eve of presidential elections, Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in the town of Chuschi, Ayacucho, starting the Internal conflict in Peru. | |
| May 17th, 1974 (May 17 1974) | Event | Police in Los Angeles, California, raid the Symbionese Liberation Army s headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall. | Bion Quotes |
| May 17th, 1974 (May 17 1974) | Event | Thirty-three people are killed by terrorist bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland. | |
| May 17th, 1973 (May 17 1973) | Event | Watergate scandal: Hearings begin in the United States Senate and are televised. | |
| May 17th, 1970 (May 17 1970) | Event | Thor Heyerdahl sets sail from Morocco on the papyrus boat Ra II to sail the Atlantic Ocean. | |
| May 17th, 1969 (May 17 1969) | Event | Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure. | |
| May 17th, 1967 (May 17 1967) | Event | Six-Day War: President Abdul Nasser of Egypt demands dismantling of the peace-keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt. | |
| May 17th, 1963 (May 17 1963) | Event | Bruno Sammartino defeats Nature Boy Buddy Rogers in 48 seconds in Madison Square Garden for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship. It begins the longest heavyweight championship reign in professional wrestling history. | |
| May 17th, 1954 (May 17 1954) | Event | The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. | |
| May 17th, 1943 (May 17 1943) | Event | The United States Army contracts with the University of Pennsylvania s Moore School to develop the ENIAC. | |
| May 17th, 1943 (May 17 1943) | Event | World War II: the Dambuster Raids by No. 617 Squadron RAF on German dams. | |
| May 17th, 1940 (May 17 1940) | Event | World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium. | |
| May 17th, 1940 (May 17 1940) | Event | World War II: the old city centre of the Dutch town of Middelburg is bombed by the German Luftwaffe, to force the surrender of the Dutch armies in Zeeland. | |
| May 17th, 1933 (May 17 1933) | Event | Vidkun Quisling and Johan Bernhard Hjort form Nasjonal Samling - the national-socialist party of Norway. | |
| May 17th, 1927 (May 17 1927) | Event | U.S. Army aviation pioneer, Major Harold Geiger, dies in the crash of his Airco DH.4 de Havilland plane at Olmstead Field, Pennsylvania | |
| May 17th, 1919 (May 17 1919) | Event | War Department (UK) orders use of National Star Insignia on all airplanes. | |
| May 17th, 1915 (May 17 1915) | Event | The last British Liberal Party government (Herbert Henry Asquith) falls. | Herbert Asquith Quotes |
| May 17th, 1902 (May 17 1902) | Event | Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer. | |
| May 17th, 1900 (May 17 1900) | Event | Second Boer War: British troops relieve Mafeking. | |
| May 17th, 1895 (May 17 1895) | Event | The first Omonoia station of the Athens metro is inaugurated in Greece. | |
| May 17th, 1875 (May 17 1875) | Event | Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby. | |
| May 17th, 1865 (May 17 1865) | Event | The International Telegraph Union (later the International Telecommunication Union) is established. | |
| May 17th, 1863 (May 17 1863) | Event | Rosalia de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, her first book in the Galician language. | |
| May 17th, 1860 (May 17 1860) | Event | German football club TSV 1860 Munchen is founded | |
| May 17th, 1849 (May 17 1849) | Event | A fire threatens to burn St. Louis, Missouri to the ground. | |
| May 17th, 1814 (May 17 1814) | Event | Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian. | |
| May 17th, 1814 (May 17 1814) | Event | The Constitution of Norway is signed and the Danish Crown Prince Christian Frederik is elected King of Norway by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly. | |
| May 17th, 1809 (May 17 1809) | Event | Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire. | |
| May 17th, 1792 (May 17 1792) | Event | The New York Stock Exchange is formed. | |
| May 17th, 1775 (May 17 1775) | Event | American Revolutionary War: the Continental Congress bans trade with Canada. | |
| May 17th, 1673 (May 17 1673) | Event | Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River. | |
| May 17th, 1642 (May 17 1642) | Event | Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve (1612-1676) founds the Ville Marie de Montreal. | |
| May 17th, 1590 (May 17 1590) | Event | Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland. | |
| May 17th, 1521 (May 17 1521) | Event | Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason. | |
