Historical Events  - May 17

1498 : The famous Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrived near Calicut for the first time.

1792 : Establishment of the New York Stock Exchange.

1857 : Bahadur Shah II became the Mughal emperor.

1949 : India’s decision to remain in the Commonwealth.

1990 : Homosexuality was removed from the list of psychiatric disorders by the World Health Organization.

2004 : The first legal same-sex marriages in the U.S. were performed in the state of Massachusetts.  

Famous Birthdays  - May 17

1868: Horace Dodge, an American automobile manufacturing pioneer, and co-founder of Dodge Brothers Company. 

1749: Edward Jenner, an English physician, and scientist.

1934: Ronald Wayne, a retired American electronics industry businessman. He co-founded Apple Computer Company

1951: Pankaj Udhas, an Indian ghazal singer.

1979: Mukta Barve, an Indian television, film, and theatre actress.

Death Anniversaries - May 17

1510: Sandro Botticelli, an Italian painter.

1886: John Deere, an American blacksmith, and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company.

1913: Dwijendralal Ray, a Bengali poet, playwright, and musician.

2014: C.P. Krishnan Nair, an Indian businessman who founded The Leela Group.