What Happened on May 17

Battle Of Thomas Creek

The Battle of Thomas Creek on May 17, 1777 was the final engagement in the second of three disastrous attempts by American forces to invade British... Read more

Norway's Constitution Is Adopted

May 17 is Norwegian Constitution Day, a commemoration of the adoption of Norway's constitution in 1814. Many Norwegian-American communities... Read more

The St. Louis Great Fire

The St. Louis Fire of 1849 was a devastating fire that occurred on May 17, 1849 and destroyed a significant part of St. Louis, Missouri and many of... Read more

Battle of Big Black River Bridge - Confederate Forces Trapped in Vicksburg

Description: Reeling from their defeat at Champion Hill, the Confederates reached Big Black River Bridge, the night of May 16-17. Lt. Gen. John C.... Read more

Battle of Adairsville

Description: Following the Battle of Resaca, May 13-15, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’ s army retreated southward while Sherman pursued. Failing to find... Read more

First Derby Day

Popular rider Oliver Lewis rode H. P. McGrath's thoroughbred Aristides to victory in the first Kentucky Derby on May 17, 1875, at the Louisville... Read more

'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' is Published

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W. Denslow. It was originally published by the... Read more

The Antikythera Mechanism is Discovered by Valerios Stais

The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient mechanical calculator (also described as the first known mechanical computer) designed to calculate... Read more

German Occupation of the Netherlands Officially Begins

I looked out of the open window, over a large area of Amsterdam, over all the roofs and on to the horizon, which was such a pale blue that it was... Read more

US Supreme Court Rules on Brown v. Board of Education

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court, which overturned earlier... Read more

Fidel Castro signs First Agrarian Reform into law

The agrarian reform laws of Cuba sought to break up large landholdings and redistribute land to those peasants who worked it, to cooperatives, and... Read more

"Dont Look Back" Is Released

Dont Look Back [sic] is a 1967 documentary film by D.A. Pennebaker that principally covers Bob Dylan's 1965 concert tour of the United... Read more

Rainbow release Rising

Rising (also known as Rainbow Rising) is a hard rock/heavy metal album by Rainbow, released in 1976. With bandleader Ritchie Blackmore retaining... Read more

"Tinseltown Rebellion" by Frank Zappa Is Released

Tinseltown Rebellion is a double-album released by Frank Zappa in 1981. It was reissued on a single CD by Rykodisc. The opening track, "Fine... Read more

New York Islanders win Stanley Cup

The 1983 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Edmonton Oilers in their first-ever Final series appearance and the... Read more

Judas Priest release Ram It Down

Ram It Down is the eleventh studio album by Judas Priest, released in 1988 through Columbia Records; a remastered edition containing two bonus... Read more

Violent Femmes release New Times

New Times is the album released in 1994 by Violent Femmes. It was the first Femmes' record not to feature original drummer Victor DeLorenzo on... Read more

FDA Approves Bioniche Pharma's Aloprim

Allopurinol is used to treat chronic gout (gouty arthritis). This condition is caused by too much uric acid in the blood. This medicine works by... Read more

FDA Approves Bristol Myers Squibb's Etopophos

Treating lung cancer and testicular tumors in patients who have not responded to other treatment. It is used in combination with other cancer... Read more

UFC 9: Motor City Madness

UFC 9: Motor City Madness was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 17, 1996, at the Cobo Arena in Detroit,... Read more

Ehud Barak is elected Israeli Prime Minister

This was only the second election for Prime Minister in Israel, the 1996 vote having been an extremely tight contest between Binyamin Netanyahu and... Read more

Andre Nickatina Releases "Horns and Halos"

Horns and Halos is the fourteenth album released by rapper, Andre Nickatina and his second with rapper Equipto. It was released on May 17, 2005 for... Read more

System of a Down release Mezmerize

Mezmerize is the fourth studio album by American rock band System of a Down. It is the first half of the Mezmerize/Hypnotize double album. It was... Read more

RailsConf 2007 Overview

Happening May 17-20, 2007 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon, RailsConf is *the* official event for the growing Rails community.... Read more

Boston Red Sox defeat Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3

Never mind the security guards, grounds crew members, cooks, and other assorted keepers of ancient Fenway who showed up for work early... Read more