Ezra Otis Kendall
Professor, astronomer and mathematician.
National days, ongoing national weeks and months, and global observances for May 17, 2027. Plus historical events and birthdays.

May 17, 2027 celebrates National Pack Rat Day, plus 4 more. Each year on May 17th, National Pack Rat Day encourages us to take a look at ourselves and see if we have "Pack Rat" tendencies within us. if you tend to holds on to, collects or hoard unneeded items, this day might be for you!
Read the full story →May 17 is a dedicated celebration for the food holiday National Cherry Cobbler Day. We get to spend an entire day to honor (and indulge) in a delicious tart dessert that many enjoy with ice cream.
Read the full story →We have a certain belief the squirrels might enjoy this one. In 1958, May 17 officially recognized National Walnut Day by a Senate resolution signed into law by President Eisenhower. Today we celebrate with delicious recipes of salads, desserts, and snack foods for this food holiday--and even invite the squirrels to join in!
Read the full story →There is a class of students annually across the country celebrating their academic achievements and accomplishments, and National Graduation Tassel Day on May 17 is just the start. Today, we celebrate not only the successes of graduates, but the future of every graduate!
Read the full story →On May 17th, National Idaho Day recognizes the 43rd state to join the United States union on July 3, 1890. Known by locals as The Gem State, Idaho was settled as miners, traders, and missionaries made their way West into the territory of the Nez Perce, Shoshone, and Bannock peoples.
Read the full story →People born on May 17
Professor, astronomer and mathematician.
The first woman to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale.
Co-founder of Dodge.
Actress who survived the sinking of the Titanic and starred in the first motion picture based on the disaster.
(1893-1961) - American inventor and innovator for the developments in refrigeration.
Events that occurred on May 17 throughout history
The 7th Calvary (700 troopers and Native Scouts) entered Montana and Dakota Territory and made contact with Indians the next day on June 23, 1876. On June 24, Custer's Arikara and Osage scouts identified a party of Sioux shadowing their movements. According to the scouts, the Sioux party retreated. That night, Custer gave his plans to attack the Sioux party the next day. Not knowing combined forces were the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, Custer miscalculated the size of the party for the attack. The regiment was defeated and Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was killed.
The alarm was originally patented by Reverend Augustus Russell Pope (1819–1858) in 1853. Edwin Holmes acquired Pope's patent rights in 1857 for US $1500. He manufactured the device in his factory in Boston, Massachusetts. He began selling the alarm in 1858 but people were fearful of and skeptical about using electricity for alarms. By 1866, Holmes installed 1,200 home alarms and began successful marketing among business enterprises.
The vessel was 53 feet 10 inches long, displaced 65 tons on the surface (75 submerged), and operated with a crew of six. The U.S. Navy purchased the vessel on April 11, 1900, and commissioned it as the USS Holland (SS-1) on October 12, 1900.
The 1932 Act: The Act of May 17, 1932, mandated that all federal laws, records, and documents change "Porto Rico" to "Puerto Rico". The name change was a 30-year push for cultural recognition.
After delays due to weather, General Dwight Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for Normandy landings by 175,000 service members. Known as the "Order of the Day," Eisenhower described the invasion as the "Great Crusade". Though the decision was finalized on June 5, the massive assault occurred on June 6, 1944.
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that racial segregation in public schools violates the 14th Amendment. The decision declared that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal," overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine from 1896.
Intel officially introduced the Pentium processor, featuring 3.1 million transistors and 60-66 MHz speeds. The processor was was five times more powerful than the i486 and introduced superscalar architecture to the x86 family for improved performance. Although successful, the chip later suffered from the infamous FDIV bug in 1994.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that same-sex couples could not be denied the legal, social, and financial benefits of marriage. The first legal same-sex marriage licenses were issued on May 17, 2004, with many couples marrying in Cambridge.
The early access of the game allowed the developers to build a massive community and iterate on feedback over two years before the official, formal launch. The official game was released on November 18, 2011.
Longer-running observances that include this date.
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