1857: In the First War of Indian Independence against British rule, Bahadur Shah II won and was declared the Emperor of India.
1890: The first weekly comic paper, Comic Cuts, was published by Alfred Harmsworth, in London.
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1933: The first elections are held in South Africa where women (white women only) may vote and run for office. Leila Reitz is elected the first female MP, representing Parktown.
1943: The Royal Air Force Dambusters wreck three German dams. The RAF squadron used revolutionary bouncing bombs to avoid the torpedo nets protecting the dams. The audacious air raid was depicted in a 1954 war film.
1954: In a major civil rights victory, the U.S. Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, ruling that racial segregation in public educational facilities is unconstitutional. The historic decision, which brought an end to federal tolerance of racial segregation, specifically dealt with Linda Brown, a young African American girl who had been denied admission to her local elementary school in Topeka, Kansas, because of the color of her skin. Despite this landmark decision, de facto racial segregation was upheld for years in some areas of the United States.
1972: Germany ratifies the Treaty of Warsaw. Chancellor Willy Brandt signed the treaty, by which Germany gives up any territorial claims and guarantees the Oder-Neisse line as the valid border to Poland.
1973: Televised Watergate hearings begin. In Washington, D.C., the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, headed by Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, begins televised hearings on the escalating Watergate scandal. One week later, Harvard law professor Archibald Cox was sworn in as special Watergate prosecutor.
1989: One million protesters take to the streets in Beijing. On May 17, 1989, a crowd of protesters, estimated to number one million, marches through the streets of Beijing calling for a more democratic political system. Just a few weeks later, the Chinese government moved to crush the protests.
1990: The WHO deletes homosexuality from its list of mental diseases. Precisely 14 years later, the first same-sex marriages in the United States were performed as Massachusetts became the first state to legalize them.
1997: Zaire dictator Mobuto Sese Seko (pic) flees to Morocco, forced out of power by the Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo-Zaïre (AFDL) led by Lauarent-Désiré Kabila. Kabila names himself the country’s new president.
1999: Ehud Barak becomes Prime Minister of Israel. During his tenure, Barak attempted to revive the peace negotiations with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). However, his efforts were unsuccessful.
2004: First legal same-sex marriage performed in Massachusetts. Marcia Kadish, 56, and Tanya McCloskey, 52, of Malden, Massachusetts, marry at Cambridge City Hall in Massachusetts, becoming the first legally married same-sex partners in the United States. Over the course of the day, 77 other same-sex couples tied the knot across the state, and hundreds more applied for marriage licenses.
2020: A pair of Michael Jordan’s Air Jordan sneakers sold for a record $560,000 at auction.
The pair of autographed Air Jordan 1s were worn by the famous basketballer during his glory days. They sold for almost four times the estimated auction sale price, beating the previous record by over $100,000.
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY: May 17
Sugar Ray Leonard, 68 years old
Ray Charles Leonard, best known as Sugar Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor was born on May 17, 1956. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professionally between 1977 and 1997, winning world titles in five weight classes; the lineal championship in three weight classes;[3] as well as the undisputed welterweight championship.
Udo Lindenberg, 78 years.
Udo Lindenberg, a German singer, composer, and painter was born on 17 May 1946.
Olusola Saraki (May 17, 1933 – November 14, 2012).
Olusola Saraki was born on the 17th of May, 1933 in Ilorin, Kwara State, and died in Lagos on November 14, 2012. His mother was from Iseyin in Oyo State and his father was from Ilorin. His paternal ancestors were Fulanis who came from Mali about 150 to 200 years earlier. Olusola Saraki was educated at Eko Boys High School. He attended the University of London, and St George’s Hospital Medical School, London. He worked as a medical officer at the General Hospital, Lagos, and the Creek Hospital, Lagos. He died at the age of 79.
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