17 May on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born

Election of Pope Liberius following the death of Pope Julius I in the previous month.

Election of Pope Hadrian III following the death of Pope Marinus I earlier that month.

Battle of Rovine: The Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman army.

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason.

Pánfilo de Narváez departs Spain to explore Florida with 600 men – by 1536 only four survive.

George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford and four other men are executed for treason.

Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's marriage is annulled.

Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland.

The treaty of Zuhab ends the fifteen-year-long war between the Ottomans and the Safavids.

Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve founds the Ville Marie de Montréal.

An allied French and Swedish army defeats Imperial and Bavarian forces in the Battle of Zusmarshausen.

Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River.

Seven Years' War formally begins when Great Britain declares war on France.

French forces besieging Quebec retreat after the Royal Navy arrives to relieve the British garrison.

The New York Stock Exchange is formed under the Buttonwood Agreement.

Muhammad Ali becomes Wāli of Egypt.

Emperor Napoleon I orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire.

Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian.

The Constitution of Norway is signed and Crown Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark is elected King of Norway by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly.

Members of the Melbourne Football Club codify the first rules of Australian rules football.

American Civil War: During the Vicksburg campaign, Union forces under John A. McClernand defeat a Confederate rearguard and capture around 1,700 men at the Battle of Big Black River Bridge.

Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, the first book in the Galician language.

The International Telegraph Union (later the International Telecommunication Union) is established in Paris.

Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby with the jockey Oliver Lewis (2:37.75).

The opera Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, premieres at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome, beginning the verismo period in Italian opera.

Second Boer War: The Siege of Mafeking in South Africa was lifted after 217 days, a decisive victory for the British against the Boers.

The children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, is first published in the United States. The first copy is given to the author's sister.

Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer.

The Protocol of Corfu is signed, recognising full autonomy to Northern Epirus under nominal Albanian sovereignty.

The last British Liberal Party government (led by H. H. Asquith) falls.

Vidkun Quisling and Johan Bernhard Hjort form Nasjonal Samling — the national-socialist party of Norway.

Spanish Civil War: The Largo Caballero government resigns in the wake of the Barcelona May Days, leading Juan Negrín to form a government, without the anarcho-syndicalist CNT, in its stead.

The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the United States' first televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City.

World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.

World War II: Dambuster Raids commence by No. 617 Squadron RAF.

After renegotiating a contract with the makers of her signature perfume Chanel No. 5, Coco Chanel received a share of wartime profits from its sale, making her one of the richest women in the world.

Delta Air Lines Flight 318 crashes near Marshall, Texas, killing 19.

The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, outlawing racial segregation in public schools.

In Cuba, the First Agrarian Reform Law – a cornerstone of the Cuban Revolution – is signed by Fidel Castro, aiming to eliminate large foreign-owned estates and redistribute land to over 100,000 peasants.

Six-Day War: President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt demands dismantling of the peace-keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt.

Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.

Watergate scandal: Televised hearings begin in the United States Senate.

Police in Los Angeles raid the Symbionese Liberation Army's headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall.

The Troubles: Thirty-three civilians are killed and 300 injured when the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) detonates four car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland.

Nolan Bushnell opens the first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre (later renamed Chuck E. Cheese) in San Jose, California.

General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.

On the eve of presidential elections, Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in Chuschi (a town in Ayacucho), starting the Internal conflict in Peru.

Rioting breaks out in downtown Miami, following the acquittal of four white police officers in the killing of Arthur McDuffie, a black insurance salesman.

Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

The 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 [1.9 kt]), in response to the Appalachian Observer's Freedom of Information Act request.

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.

Iran–Iraq War: An Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1 fighter jet fires two missiles into the U.S. Navy warship USS Stark, killing 37 and injuring 21 of her crew.

The General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminates homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.

Three days of popular protests against the government of Prime Minister of Thailand Suchinda Kraprayoon begin in Bangkok, leading to a military crackdown that results in 52 officially confirmed deaths, hundreds of injuries, many disappearances, and more than 3,500 arrests.

Malawi holds its first multi-party elections.

Shawn Nelson steals an M60 tank from the California Army National Guard Armory in San Diego and proceeds to go on a rampage.

Six-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama selected by the 14th Dalai Lama, was kidnapped by the Chinese government, who advocated a proxy.

Troops of Laurent-Désiré Kabila march into Kinshasa. Zaire is officially renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Arsenal and Galatasaray fans clash in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots in Copenhagen.

The first legal same-sex marriages in the U.S. are performed in the state of Massachusetts.

The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef.

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.

Pamir Airways Flight 112 crashes in Afghanistan's Shakardara District, killing 44.

A military plane crash in northern Laos kills 17 people.

Edward Jenner, English physician and microbiologist (died 1823)

Enya, Irish singer-songwriter and producer

Henri Barbusse, French author and journalist (died 1935)

Erik Satie, French pianist and composer (died 1925)

Alfonso XIII, Spanish monarch (died 1941)

Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (died 2010)

Bob Saget, American comedian, actor, and television host (died 2022)

Bill Paxton, American actor and director (died 2017)

Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian economist and politician, 2nd President of Slovenia (died 2008)

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Dutch royal

Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1981)

Birgit Nilsson, Swedish operatic soprano (died 2005)

Tony Parker, French-American basketball player

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

Nikki Reed, American actress, singer, and screenwriter

Alan Kay, American computer scientist and academic

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

Maureen O'Sullivan, Irish-American actress (died 1998)

Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer

Albert, Duke of Prussia, last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (died 1568)

Teófilo Gutiérrez, Colombian footballer

Caroline of Brunswick, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and Hanover (died 1821)

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

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

Gina Raimondo, Governor of Rhode Island

Christian Bolaños, Costa Rican footballer

Johanna Konta, Australian-English tennis player

Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate (died 1722)

Annise Parker, American politician

Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan priest and poet (died 1902)

Valeriya Novodvorskaya, Russian journalist and politician (died 2014)

Leon Osman, English footballer

Taj Mahal, American blues singer-songwriter and musician

David Jarolím, Czech footballer

Passenger, English singer-songwriter and musician

Qusay Hussein, Iraqi soldier and politician (died 2003)

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

Tessa Virtue, Canadian ice dancer

Paul Di'Anno, English rock singer-songwriter (died 2024)

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

Christine Ohuruogu, English runner

Branko Zebec, Croatian and Yugoslav football player and coach (died 1988)

Edvald Boasson Hagen, Norwegian cyclist

Sirajuddin of Perlis, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia

Bill Bruford, English drummer, songwriter, and producer

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

Udo Lindenberg, German singer-songwriter and drummer

Alistair Overeem, Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer

Tony Roche, Australian tennis player and coach

Simon Fuller, English talent manager and producer, created the Idols series

Eddie Lewis, American international soccer player

Jien, Japanese monk, poet, and historian (died 1225)

Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (died 1540)

Sebastian Kneipp, German priest and therapist (died 1897)

Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer (died 1946)

Alfonso Reyes, Mexican author (died 1959)

Howard Ashman, American playwright and composer (died 1991)

Christine Nesbitt, Canadian speed skater

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

Alan Johnson, English politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer