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Our on this day in history archives contain over 200,000 events, birthdays and deaths from 6,000 years of history. Here is a roundup of a few more of them:

May 17 is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 228 days remain until the end of the year.

EVENTS

1521 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason.

1536 – George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford and four other men are executed for treason.

1536 – Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's marriage is annulled.

1590 – Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland.

1673 – Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River.

1756 – Seven Years' War formally begins when Great Britain declares war on France

1792 – The New York Stock Exchange is formed under the Buttonwood Agreement.

1865 – The International Telegraph Union (later the International Telecommunication Union) is established in Paris.

1875 – Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby with the jockey Oliver Lewis (2:37.75).

1900 – The children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, is first published in the United States. The first copy is given to the author's sister.

1939 – The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the United States' first televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City.

1954 – The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, outlawing racial segregation in public schools.

1967 – Six-Day War: President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt demands dismantling of the peace-keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt.

1969 – Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.

1973 – Watergate scandal: Televised hearings begin in the United States Senate.

1977 – Nolan Bushnell opened the first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre (later renamed Chuck E. Cheese) in San Jose, California.

1980 – General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares martial law in order to

1983 – The U.S. Department of Energy declassifies documents showing world's largest mercury pollution event in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (ultimately found to be 4.2 million pounds [1.9 kt]), in response to the Appalachian Observer's Freedom of Information Act request.

1984 – Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend", sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.

1990 – The General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminates homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.

BIRTHS

1682 – Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate (d. 1722)

1860 – Charlotte Barnum, American mathematician and social activist (d. 1934)

1873 – Dorothy Richardson, English author and journalist (d. 1957)

1889 – Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer (d. 1946)

1897 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)

1903 – Cool Papa Bell, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)

1911 – Maureen O'Sullivan, Irish-American actress (d. 1998)

1934 – Earl Morrall, American football player and coach (d. 2014)

1934 – Ronald Wayne, American computer scientist, co-founded Apple Computer

1955 – Bill Paxton, American actor and director (d. 2017)

1956 – Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer

1956 – Bob Saget, American comedian, actor, and television host (d. 2022)

1960 – Simon Fuller, English talent manager and producer, created the Idols series

1961 – Enya, Irish singer-songwriter and producer

1985 – Derek Hough, American actor, singer, and dancer

DEATHS

1829 – John Jay, American politician and diplomat, 1st Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1745)

1875 – John C. Breckinridge, American lawyer and politician, 14th Vice President of the United States, Confederate States general (b. 1821)

1886 – John Deere, American blacksmith and businessman, founded the Deere & Company (b. 1804)

1992 – Lawrence Welk, American accordion player and bandleader (b. 1903)

2004 – Tony Randall, American actor (b. 1920)

2005 – Frank Gorshin, American actor (b. 1934)

2012 – Donna Summer, American singer-songwriter (b. 1948)

2013 – Ken Venturi, American golfer and sportscaster (b. 1931)

2022 – Vangelis, Greek musician, composer (b. 1943)

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