This Day in History – May 17

1540 – In the battle of Kannauj, Humayun was defeated for the second time by Sher Shah Suri.

1775 – Battle between the Marathas of India and East India Company commenced, it was known as Battle of Arras.

1857 – In the First War of Indian Independence against British rule, Bahadur Shah II won and was declared the Emperor of India.

1873 – In Calcutta, a Hindi daily known as  Bharat Mitra was started publication.

1999 – CWC(I) rejects the resignation of Sonia Gandhi from Congress President 

1860 – In München a German football club TSV 1860  was founded

1910 – 1-50 cent coins design was set by Canada 

1938 –  Information Please! was a radio quiz show that made its debut on NBC Blue Network on this day

1939 – Princeton defeating Columbia 2-1 was the first  baseball game that was televised and broadcasted on NBC

1964 –  NHL player Tim Horton opened the first Tim Horton’s coffee and donut shop in Hamilton, Ontario.

1970 – Hank Aaron scores 3,000 hits becoming the  9th player to achieve this.

1973 – You are the Sunshine of my Love released by Stevie Wonder

1973 – 3 nuclear tests performed by the US at Rifle Colorado

1976 – Thousands of people lost their lives during an earthquake in Uzbekistan

1980 –  V. S. Kumar Anandan from Sri Lanka was registered in a Guinness World Record for balancing on one foot for 33 hours.

1990 –  Homosexuality was removed from the list of mental illnesses by World Health Organization.

2004 –  Same-sex marriage was legalized in Massachusetts becoming the first US state to legalize it.

2005 – At age 36 popular singer Kylie Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer

2013 – After a series of bombings in Iraq 90 people lost their lives while 200 were reported to be injured. 

2015 – Taylor Swift  won top artist & 7 other awards in the 24th Billboard Music Awards

2018 – In the Democratic Republic of Congo Ebola starts spreading to Mbandaka

2020 – Air Nike trainers autographed by Michael Jordan in  1985 sell in an online auction for $560,000

2020 – During the virtual graduation of 2020 former US president Barack Obama criticizes the US government for mishandling the nation during the pandemic. 

1956 –  American boxer, Sugar Ray Leonard that won Olympic gold in 1976 was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina

1962 – Popular Scottish actor, writer, and comedian, Craig Ferguson was born in Glasgow, Scotland

1971 – The first women governor of Rhode Island Gina Raimondo and American politician Gina Raimondo was born in Smithfield, Rhode Island