Born on This Day
Welterweight boxer who won the Olympic gold in 1976, then won 36 out of 40 professional bouts.
Irish singer and composer whose ethereal voice on hits like 1988's "Orinoco Flow" popularized New Age music.
Frontman for the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, best known for "Closer." Oscar winner for scoring "The Social Network."
NBC airs the first televised US sports event: a college baseball game between Princeton and Columbia—shot with a single camera and broadcast to a few hundred TV sets in New York City.
Timeline
Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on May 17th
History Every Day
Uncover fascinating moments from the past every day! Learn something new with key events in history, from the American Revolution to pop culture, crime and more.