May 17
May 17 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 228 days remain until the year's end. It falls in spring (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Taurus.
Day of year
138
Days remaining
228
ISO week
20
Zodiac
Taurus
Season
Spring
Sun declination
+19.5°
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Wikipedia: this day →Britannica: this day →LoC: Today in History →History.com: this day →On-This-Day.com →BBC: On This Day →NYT: this day →Time and Date →NASA APOD archive →U.S. Naval Observatory →Wolfram|Alpha →Wikidata →Google Books →JSTOR →Internet Archive →
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Astronomy
Computed via Cooper's formula. Positive declination = Sun north of the celestial equator (Northern Hemisphere summer).
On May 17 the Sun's declination is approximately +19.5°. At this latitude the Sun is north of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere longer days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a May 17.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- Constitution Day (Norway, 1814)
- World Telecommunication Day (UN)
- International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
- 1792 — Twenty-four stockbrokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement, the founding document of the New York Stock Exchange. ↗(234 years ago)
- 1875 — Aristides won the first Kentucky Derby. ↗(151 years ago)
- 1954 — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. ↗(72 years ago)
- 1990 — The World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. ↗(36 years ago)
Notable births
Notable deaths
- 1727 — Catherine I of Russia. ↗(299 years ago)
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (138) | 2 × 3 × 23 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (228) | 2^2 × 3 × 19 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 17052026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | +19.48° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 34 days |