May is a crazy month for birthdays. For so many of my good friends from school and my ever-increasing acquaintances on social media. For example, on Facebook, I have 6 friends on the 14th, 4 friends on the 15th, 3 friends on the 16th, 2 on the 18th and 4 on the 19th May. What were all of our parents ‘celebrating’ in August?! My birthday is the 17th of May; here are some interesting facts about the date throughout history.
May 17 Fun Facts
- The 17th of May is the 137th day of the year or the 138th of a leap year.
- If you have a May birthday, your birthstone is an emerald
- If your birthday is 17 May, then you are a Taurus in the zodiac. Your personality is defined as loyal. You value your family and home life, which explains undying loyalty and devotion. In work, you are organised, hard-working and committed to success. Tauruses are hard-working, determined and have big hearts!
- Tauruses born on May 17 enjoy the pursuit of excellence. They are intelligent, though not showy about what they know; for this reason, they may not be perceived as especially brilliant by others. And that’s fine since they are not concerned with how their actions are perceived by others.
- So, the spirit animal for those born on May 17th is a polar bear.
May 17 In History
1521 The Duke of Stafford is executed
I love the Tudor period. I started to research my family history because I wanted to prove, somehow, that I was related to Henry VIII. Even though he is villainised in history, I always liked Edward Stafford, the 3rd Duke of Buckingham. So as far as I’m concerned, he is Welsh, as he was born in Brecon Castle. His heritage gave him a strong claim to the throne. In 1520 he was suspected of treasonous action. He was arrested and placed in the Tower of London before being tried and executed.
1536 Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s marriage is annulled
After a long love affair which resulted in Henry VIII changing the religion of England and Wales, the inability to give the king what he wanted (a son) after a series of miscarriages, Henry decided that he had been seduced into the marriage by witchcraft. Accusations of adultery, even an incestuous relationship with her brother George, although the evidence against them was unconvincing, led to Anne’s beheading. On this day, George Boleyn, the 2nd Viscount of Rochford and four other men were also executed for treason.
1682 Bartholomew Roberts, the Welsh pirate, was born
Born John Roberts in Pembrokeshire. The pirate raided ships off the Americas and West Africa between 1719 and 1722. He was the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy and captured over 400 vessels in his career. Known as Black Bart or Barti Ddu in Welsh, this name was never used in his lifetime. He was killed the day after a successful raid and took a grapeshot to the throat when he was standing on the deck. His crew weighted his body, wrapped him in the ship’s sail and threw him overboard. He was never found. His death shocked the pirate world as well as the Royal Navy, as he was thought to be invincible.
1792 The New York Stock Exchange was formed
Twenty-four brokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement, which set a floor commission rate charged to clients and bound the signers to give preference to the other signers in securities sales. The most dramatic changes came in the 1930s after the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression, which had rippling effects around the world.
1875 The First Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a prestigious American horse race in Louisville, Kentucky. The first race took place on the 17th of May in 1875. The winner was the horse, Aristides, and the rider Oliver Lewis. They finished ahead of the rest of the field with roaring crowds cheering them on.
1900 The Wizard of Oz is published
Written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W. Denslow was first published in Chicago. Of course, it is now better known for its film and musical adaptations, giving us the Wonderful Wizard. The first copy that came off the press was assembled by Baum himself, and he presented it to his sister. 10,000 copies were initially printed, and by October, it had already sold out of the second edition of 15,000, which was also nearly depleted.
1943 The Dambuster Raids commence
I cannot tell you how many films I watched growing up with my Grandad about the Dambusters. He was in the RAF and loved watching war films. The Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, later called the Dam Busters, used a purpose-built bouncing bomb to damage dams in Mohne and Edersee in Germany, which caused catastrophic flooding to the surrounding villages. This included two hydroelectric power stations as well as factories and mines. For instance, it is estimated that 1,600 civilians were killed.
1990 Homosexuality is eliminated as a psychiatric disease
The General Assembly of the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases on this date. For instance, being gay was considered a mental illness and was widely considered to be an abomination and against the laws of nature for thousands of years. Thankfully, it is not like that today (aside from a few ignoramuses), and it is widely accepted in most societies.
2004 The first same-sex marriages take place in the USA
I could not see if the date was significant to the fact above or simply how legislation panned out. In the United States, same-sex marriage became legal in the state of Massachusetts. Marcia Kadish, 56 and Tanya McClosky, 52, of Maiden, were the first couple to be legally married in Cambridge City Hall. Over the course of the day, 77 other same-sex couples tied the knot across the state, and hundreds more applied for marriage licenses.
2023 I celebrate my 39th birthday
So on May 17th 2023, I celebrate my birthday! An unremarkable day, like any other, but it is the last one of my thirties. I will be working from home during the day and going out for food in the evening with my boyfriend and family. Tomorrow we head for a long weekend away in Newquay.
Famous People Born on 17 May
Bill Paxton – 1955 – the Hollywood star acted in blockbusters Apollo 13, Twister and Titanic. He died in 2017, aged 61.
Sugar Ray Leonard – 1956 – an Olympic champion boxer and prizefighter who became the first to earn more than $100 million from fights.
Enya – 1961 – the Irish singer has won four -Grammy Awards. She’s probably best known for her song Orinoco Flow (Sail Away).
Jeremy Vine – 1965 – a British radio and TV presenter
Jordan Knight – 1970 – the singer-songwriter is best known for being part of New Kids on the Block.
Katrina (ME!) – 1984 – a hospitality marketing manager by day and multi-award-winning travel and staycation blogger by night.
Derek Hough – 1985 – the dancer and choreographer is a multi-time champion on Dancing with the Stars.
Nikki Reed – 1988 – an actress known for playing Rosalie in Twilight and is married to Ian Somerhalder from The Vampire Diaries and Lost.
Ross Butler – 1990 – a Disney channel star who has also had roles in Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why and Riverdale.
Charlotte Crosby – 1990 – the reality star rose to fame in Geordie Shore before winning the 12th series of Celebrity Big Brother.
Finally, here’s to the 17th of May!
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Happy birthday! x
Thank you very much, I had a great weekend celebrating
Many Happy Returns, Katrina! And thank you for sharing the above facts: I found them very interesting.
You’re more than welcome – I think I enjoyed learning a bit more too