May 17

Birthdays:

1965~ Trent Reznor (né Michael Trent Reznor), American musician and frontman for Nine Inch Nails.

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

1961~ Enya (née Eithne Ní Bhraonáin), Irish singer and musician.

1956~ Sugar Ray Leonard (né Ray Charles Leonard), African American boxer.

1955~ Bill Paxton (né William Paxton, d. Feb. 25, 2017), American actor. He died of a stroke following complications from surgery.  He was 61 years old.

1944~ Jesse Winchester (né James Rideout Winchester, Jr., d. Apr. 11, 2014), American-Canadian singer-songwriter who made music in exile.  He was born in Bossier City, Louisiana.  He was an anti-Vietnam War protester and fled to Canada after receiving his draft notice.  He died of bladder cancer about a month before his 70^th birthday.

1937~ Hazel R. O’Leary (née Hazel Reid O’Leary), 7^th Secretary of Energy.  She served under President Bill Clinton from January 1993 until January 1997.  She was the first woman and first African-American to serve in this position.

1936~ Dennis Hopper (né Dennis Lee Hopper, d. May 29, 2010), American actor.  He died of prostate cancer just 12 days after his 74^th birthday.

1935~ Dennis Potter (né Dennis Christopher George Potter, d. June 7, 1994), British television writer and journalist.  He died of pancreatic cancer 21 days after his 59^th birthday.

1934~ Earl Morrall (né Earl Edwin Morrall, d. Apr. 25, 2014), American backup football player who played a starring role.  He died 22 days before his 80^th birthday.

1912~ Archibald Cox, Jr. (d. May 29, 2004), American lawyer and politician best known for his role as the first special prosecutor for the Watergate scandal.  He served as the 31^st United States Solicitor General.  He died 12 days after his 92^nd birthday.

1911~ Maureen O’Sullivan (née Maureen Paula O’Sullivan, d. June 23, 1998), Irish-American actress.  She died at age 87.

1897~ Odd Hassel (d. May 11, 1891), Norwegian chemist and recipient of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died 6 days before his 84^thbirthday.

1868~ Horace Elgin Dodge, Sr. (d. Dec. 10, 1920), American automobile manufacturer and co-founder of Dodge.  He died of complications of pneumonia and liver disease at age 52.

1866~ Érik Satie (né Éric Alfred Leslie Satie, d. July 1, 1925), French pianist and composer.  He died at age 59.

1860~ Charlotte Barnum (née Charlotte Cynthia Barnum, d. Mar. 27, 1934), American mathematician and social activist.  She was born in Massachusetts.  She died at age 73.

1818~ Ezra Otis Kendall (d. Jan. 5, 1899), American mathematician and professor. He was born in Wilmington, Massachusetts.  He died at age 80.

1749~ Edward Jenner (d. Jan. 26, 1823), British physician and pioneer of smallpox vaccinations.  He died at age 73.

Events that Changed the World:

2011~Queen Elizabeth II (b. 1926) made her first visit to the Republic of Ireland.  Her visit was the first by a British monarch to Ireland since her grandfather visited the country in 1906.

2004~ Massachusetts became the first State to legalize same-sex marriages.

1990~ The General Assembly of the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of psychiatric diseases.

1983~ Lebanon, Israel and the United States signed an agreement on Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.

1983~ The United States Department of Energy declassified documents showing the largest mercury pollution event in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in response to a Freedom of Information request by the Appalachian Observer.

1973~ The televised United State Senate hearings began in the Watergate scandal.

1954~ The United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which held that separating public schools according to race was unconstitutional.  Sixty years later, many schools, especially in the South, were still under Federal Court desegregation supervision.

1875~ The first Kentucky Derby race occurred, which was won by a horse named Aristides.

1805~ Muhammad Ali (1769 ~ 1849) became the Wāli, or administrative governor, of Egypt.

1792~ The New York Stock Exchange was formed.

1673~ Louis Joliet (1645 ~ 1700) and Jacques Marquette (1637 ~ 1675) began their exploration of the Mississippi River.

1590~ Anne of Denmark (1574 ~ 1619) was crowned Queen of Scotland.

1536~ King Henry VIII (1491 ~ 1547) received an annulment from his marriage to Anne Boleyn (1501 ~ 1536).  On the same day, King Henry VIII had Anne’s brother, George Boleyn, 2^nd Viscount Rochford (1503 ~ 1536) and four other men executed for treason.

Good-Byes:

2014~ Gerald Edelman (né Gerald Maurice Edelman, b. July 1, 1929), American biologist and immunologist.  He was the recipient of the 1972 Nobel in Physiology or Medicine. He died at age 84.

2013~ Jorge Rafael Videla (b. Aug. 2, 1925), 43^rd President of Argentina and head of Argentina’s military junta from 1976 to 1981.  After the return of the democratic government, he was prosecuted for human rights violations and crimes against humanity.  He died at age 87.

2012~ Donna Summer (née LaDonna Adrian Gaines, b. Dec. 31, 1948), American singer known as the Queen of Disco.  She was the reluctant diva of disco.  She was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  She died of lung cancer at age 63.

2011~ Harmon Killebrew (b. June 29, 1936), American baseball player.  He was the gentle slugger who was beloved by his team.  He died at age 74.

2009~ Mario Benedetti (b. Sept. 14, 1920), Uruguayan writer and political activist.  He died at age 88.

2005~ Frank Gorshin (né Frank John Gorshin, Jr., b. Apr. 5, 1933), American comedian best known for his role as The Riddler on Batman.  He died at age 72 of lung cancer.

2004~ Tony Randall (néAryeh Leonard Rosenberg, b. Feb. 26, 1920), American actor.  He died at age 84.

2003~ Irene Gut Opdyke (b. May 5, 1922), Polish nurse who aided in saving Jews from the Nazis during World War II.  She was honored as the Righteous Among Nations by Yad Vashem.  She died 2 weeks after her 81^st birthday.

2001~ Jacques-Louis Lions (b. May 3, 1928), French mathematician.  He died 2 weeks after his 73^rd birthday.

1992~ Lawrence Welk (b. Mar. 11, 1903), American musician and bandleader. He was the host of The Lawrence Welk Show.  He died of pneumonia at age 89.

1987~ Gunnar Myrdal (né Karl Gunnar Myrdal,b. Dec. 6, 1898), Swedish economist and recipient of the 1974 Nobel Prize in Economic Science.  He died at age 88.

1955~ Owen Roberts (b. May 2, 1875), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was appointed to the High Court by President Herbert Hoover.  He served on the Court from May 1930 until July 1945. He died 15 days after his 80^th birthday.

1934~ Cass Gilbert (b. Nov. 24, 1859), American architect and designer of the United States Supreme Court Building.  He died at age 74.

1922~ Dorothy Levitt (née Elizabeth Levi, b. Jan. 5, 1882), British journalist and first woman race car driver.  She died at age 40.

1911~ Frederick August Otto Schwarz (b. Oct. 18, 1836), German-born American businessman and founder of the FAO Schwarz toy store.  He died at age 74.

1886~ John Deere (b. Feb. 7, 1804), American blacksmith and manufacturer of farm machinery.  He was born in Rutland, Vermont.  He was the founder of the John Deere & Company.  He died at age 82.

1874~ John C. Breckinridge (néJohn Cabell Breckinridge, b. Jan. 16, 1821), 14^th Vice President of the United States.  He served under President James Buchanan from March 1857 until March 1861.  He was from the State of Kentucky.  He went on to become a general in the Confederate Army.  He was then appointed to serve as the Confederate States Secretary of War.  He died at age 54 following complications of surgery.

1838~ Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (b. Feb. 2, 1754), French statesman and advisor to Napoleon.  He was also the 1^st Prime Minister of France.  He served in this Office from July 1815 until September 1815.  He died at age 84.

1829~ John Jay (b. Dec. 23, 1745), 1^st Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was appointed to the High Court by President George Washington.  He served as Chief Justice from July 1795 until June 1801.  He previously served as the United States Secretary of State under President George Washington from September 1789 until March 1790.  He died at age 83.

1765~ Alexis Clairaut (né Alexis Claude Clairaut, b. May 13, 1713), French mathematician and astronomer.  He died 4 days after his 52^nd birthday.

1727~ Catherine I of Russia (b. Apr. 15, 1684).  She was the second wife of Peter the Great.  She died of tuberculosis just over a month after her 43^rd birthday.

1510~ Sandro Botticelli (b. May 17, 1445), Italian painter.  The actual date of his birth is unknown, although some believe it was May 20, 1446. He is believed to have been about 65 at the time of his death.

528~ Yuan Zhao (b. 526), Chinese Emperpr of the Xianbei dynasty of Northern Wei.  The exact date of his birth is not known.