Today In History. What Happened This Day In History
A Timeline Of Events That Occurred On This Day In History
A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.
Today in History
May 17
| 1540 | Afgan chief Sher Khan defeats Mongul Emperor Humayun at Kanauj. | |
| 1630 | Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi sees the belts on Jupiter's surface. | |
| 1681 | Louis XIV sends and expedition to aid James II in Ireland. As a result, England declares war on France. | |
| 1756 | Britain declares war on France. | |
| 1792 | Merchants form the New York Stock Exchange at 70 Wall Street. | |
| 1814 | Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden. | |
| 1863 | Union General Ulysses Grant continues his push towards Vicksburg at the Battle of the Big Black River Bridge. | |
| 1875 | The first Kentucky Derby is run in Louisville. | |
| 1881 | Frederick Douglass is appointed recorder of deeds for Washington, D.C. | |
| 1940 | Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium and begins the invasion of France. | |
| 1954 | The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rules for school integration in Brown v. Board of Education. | |
| 1973 | The Senate Watergate Committee begins its hearings. | |
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Born on May 17 |
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| 1444 | Sandro Botticelli, painter (The Birth of Venus). | |
| 1749 | Edward Jenner, physician. | |
| 1836 | Joseph Norman Lockyer, British astonomer, discovered helium. | |
| 1866 | Erik Alfred Leslie Satie, French composer. | |
| 1900 | Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian religious leader. | |
| 1903 | James "Cool Papa" Bell, baseball player. | |
| 1912 | Archibald Cox, special prosecutor in the Watergate hearings, fired by President Nixon. | |
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