Deaths on 17 May
2000s
Bud Anderson
2024
American World War II flying ace (1922–2024)
Sid Going
2024
New Zealand rugby union footballer (1943–2024)
Vangelis
2022
Greek composer and musician (1943–2022)
Lucky Peterson
2020
American musician (1964–2020)
Herman Wouk
2019
American writer (1915–2019)
Todor Veselinović
2017
Yugoslav and Serbian football manager and player (1930–2017)
Chinx
2015
American rapper (1983–2015)
Gerald Edelman
2014
American biologist
C. P. Krishnan Nair
2014
Indian businessman (1922–2014)
Douangchay Phichit
2014
Laotian politician
Thongbanh Sengaphone
2014
Laotian politician
Philippe Gaumont
2013
French cyclist (1973–2013)
Peter Schulz
2013
German politician
Ken Venturi
2013
American golfer and broadcaster (1931–2013)
Jorge Rafael Videla
2013
President of Argentina from 1976 to 1981
Gideon Ezra
2012
Israeli politician (1937–2012)
Patrick Mafisango
2012
Rwandan footballer
Donna Summer
2012
American singer (1948–2012)
Harmon Killebrew
2011
American baseball player (1936–2011)
Yvonne Loriod
2010
French musician (1924–2010)
Walasse Ting
2010
American painter
Mario Benedetti
2009
Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet (1920–2009)
Jung Seung-hye
2009
South Korean film producer (1965–2009)
Lloyd Alexander
2007
American writer (1924–2007)
T. K. Doraiswamy
2007
Cy Feuer
2006
American musician
Frank Gorshin
2005
American actor and comedian (1933–2005)
Jørgen Nash
2004
Danish artist, writer, and Situationist theoretician
Tony Randall
2004
American actor (1920–2004)
Ezzedine Salim
2004
71st prime minister of Iraq
László Kubala
2002
Association football player (1927–2002)
Aşık Mahzuni Şerif
2002
Turkish musician and poet (1940–2002)
Jacques-Louis Lions
2001
French mathematician (1928–2001)
Frank G. Slaughter
2001
American novelist
Donald Coggan
2000
Archbishop of Canterbury from 1974 to 1980
1900s
Bruce Fairbairn
1999
Canadian record producer (1949–1999)
Lembit Oll
1999
Estonian chess player
Kevin Gilbert (musician)
1996
American musician (1966–1996)
Toe Blake
1995
Canadian ice hockey player
Lawrence Welk
1992
American bandleader and TV impresario (1903–1992)
Gunnar Myrdal
1987
Swedish economist, sociologist, and Nobel Laureate (1898–1987)
Abe Burrows
1985
American writer, director and humorist (1910–1985)
Gündüz Kılıç
1980
Turkish footballer
Charles E. Rosendahl
1977
United States Navy vice admiral
Ernest Nash
1974
Nandor Fodor
1964
British and American parapsychologist, psychoanalyst, author and journalist
John Wilce
1963
Jules Supervielle
1960
Franco-Uruguayan poet and writer (1884–1960)
William Birdwood
1951
British army officer (1865–1951)
George Forbes (New Zealand politician)
1947
Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1930 to 1935
Johanna Elberskirchen
1943
German writer (1864–1943)
Jakob Ehrlich
1938
Panagis Tsaldaris
1936
Prime Minister of Greece (1932-35)
Paul Dukas
1935
French composer (1865–1935)
Cass Gilbert
1934
American architect (1859–1934)
Harold Geiger
1927
American aviator
Dorothy Levitt
1922
20th-century British racing driver
Karl Mantzius
1921
Danish actor (1860–1921)
Guido von List
1919
Austrian occultist and writer (1848–1919)
Clara Ayres
1917
American nurse
Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak
1917
Rajah of Sarawak
Boris Borisovich Golitsyn
1916
Russian physicist (1862–1916)
Frederick August Otto Schwarz
1911
Founder Of FAO Schwarz
1800s
Giacomo Zanella
1888
Italian poet
John Deere (inventor)
1886
American blacksmith and manufacturer (1804–1886)
Ziya Pasha
1880
Ottoman writer, translator and administrator
Asa Packer
1879
American businessman and politician
John C. Breckinridge
1875
Vice President of the United States from 1857 to 1861
Kondō Isami
1868
Japanese swordsman (1834–1868)
Archibald Alison (author)
1839
Scottish Anglican priest and essayist
René Caillié
1838
French explorer (1799–1838)
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
1838
French secularized clergyman, statesman, and diplomat (1754–1838)
John Jay
1829
American Founding Father (1745–1829)
Armand Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, 5th Duke of Richelieu
1822
French politician (1766–1822)
Leopold Auenbrugger
1809
Austrian physician
John Gunby
1807
American planter and soldier (1745–1807)
William Heberden
1801
English physician (1710–1801)
Before 1800
Michel-Jean Sedaine
1797
French dramatist and librettist
Alexis Clairaut
1765
French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (1713–1765)
Samuel Clarke
1729
English philosopher and cleric (1675–1729)
Catherine I of Russia
1727
Empress of Russia from 1725 to 1727
Giovanni Picchi
1643
Italian composer
Joan Pau Pujol
1626
Catalan and Spanish composer and organist
Anna d'Este
1607
Figure during French wars of Religion
False Dmitry I
1606
Tsar of Russia from 1605 to 1606
Matthew Parker
1575
Archbishop of Canterbury from 1559 to 1575
Francisco de Sá de Miranda
1558
Portuguese poet (1481–1558)
Shin Saimdang
1551
Korean calligraphist and poet (1504–1551)
Philipp von Hutten
1546
German explorer
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford
1536
English nobleman and politician (c. 1504–1536)
William Brereton (courtier)
1536
Courtier to Henry VIII of England
Henry Norris (courtier)
1536
English courtier
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
1521
English nobleman (1478–1521)
Sandro Botticelli
1510
Italian Renaissance painter (1445–1510)
Thomas Ros, 9th Baron Ros
1464
15th-century English nobleman
Konstantin Dejanović
1395
14th-century Serbian nobleman
Louis II, Elector of Brandenburg
1365
Prince-Elector of Brandenburg from 1356 to 1365
Emperor Go-Fushimi
1336
Emperor of Japan from 1298 to 1301
Daumantas of Pskov
1299
Prince of Pskov from 1266 to 1299
Agnes of Bohemia, Duchess of Austria
1296
Duchess of Austria (1269–1296)
Al-Qa'im (Fatimid caliph)
946
Fatimid caliph from 934 to 946
Li Maozhen
924
Chinese warlord (856-924)
Liu Jianfeng (Tang dynasty)
896
Chinese military general and politician
Empress Dowager Hu (Northern Wei)
528
Empress of Northern Wei (c. 490 – 528)
Yuan Yong
528
Chinese imperial prince (died 528)
Yuan Zhao
528
Emperor of Northern Wei