What Happened in May 1917

Historical Events

  • May 2 Cin Fred Tooney & Chic's Hippo Vaughn pitch duel no-hitter, Vaughn gives up 2 hits & a run in 10th, so Cin wins 1-0

Schelomo

May 3 Ernest Bloch's "Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque" and "Israel Symphony" premiere in Carnegie Hall, NYC, with Artur Bodanzky conducting the former, and the composer conducting the latter

  • May 4 A flotilla of US destroyer ships arrive in Queenstown, Ireland, to aid in convoying ships to England

1st African-American Military Pilot

May 5 Eugene Bullard gains his pilot's license from Aéro-Club de France and becomes the 1st African-American military pilot (French Air Service)

  • May 5 St Louis Browns pitcher Ernie Koob no-hits Chicago White Sox, 1-0 at Sportsman's Park III
  • May 6 St Louis Browns pitcher Bob Groom no-hits Chicago White Sox, 3-0 at Sportsman's Park, St. Louis

Ruth Leads Victory

May 7 In a testament to his pitching ability, future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth leads Boston Red Sox to a 1-0 victory against Washington Senators legend Walter Johnson

  • May 10 Atlantic ships get destroyer escorts to stop German attacks

Governor-General Established

May 11 King George V grants Royal Letters Patent to New Zealand establishing office of Governor-General as Monarch's representative in the country

  • May 12 42nd Preakness: E Haynes aboard Kalitan wins in 1:54.4
  • May 12 43rd Kentucky Derby: Charles Borel on Omar Khayyam wins in 2:04.6
  • May 13 1st appearance of Mary to 3 shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal
  • May 15 The first officer's training camp is opened in the US, as the country prepares for war
  • May 18 Erik Satie, Leonide Massine and Pablo Picasso's ballet "Parade" premieres in Paris

First Expeditionary Units

May 18 First units of the American Expeditionary Force, commanded by General John J. Pershing, is ordered to France

  • May 18 US Congress passes Selective Service Act, authorizing the federal government to raise a national army for the American entry into World War I through compulsory enlistment
  • May 20 Turkish government authorizes Jews to return to Tel Aviv & Jaffa
  • May 21 Leo Pinckney, 1st American drafted during WWI
  • May 21 The Great Fire of Atlanta: at least 10,000 people were displaced, but there was only one fatality
  • May 23 Dutch 2nd Chamber approves 1908 conscription draft
  • May 26 Walt Cruise hit 1st HR out of Braves Field
  • May 27 Race riot in East St Louis Illinois, 1 black killed
  • May 30 Jazz standard "Dark Town Strutters Ball" by Shelton Brooks recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band
1917 History

Famous Birthdays

  • May 1 Ahron Soloveichik, Orthodox Jewish rabbi, born in Khislavichi, Russia (d. 2001)
  • May 1 Danielle Darrieux, French actress (Alexander the Great, Mayerling), born in Bordeaux, France (d. 2017)
  • May 1 Giovanni "John" Beradino, American MLB infielder (St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians) and actor (General Hospital), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1996)

Betty Comden (1917-2006)

May 3 American lyricist ("On The Town"; "Just In Time") and playwright, born in Brooklyn, New York

  • May 3 George Gaynes, Dutch-Finnish-American singer, stage and screen actor (Tootsie; Police Academy; General Hospital), born in Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire (d. 2016)
  • May 3 James Penberthy, Australian composer, born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1999)
  • May 3 Kiro Gligorov, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (1991-99), born in Štip, Kingdom of Serbia (d. 2012)
  • May 4 Edward Toner Cone, American pianist, composer and pedagogue, born in Greensboro, North Carolina (d. 2004)
  • May 5 Ron Saggers, Australian cricket wicket-keeper (effective NSW & Aussie late 40's), born in Marrickville, New South Wales, Australia (d. 1987)
  • May 6 Kal Mann, American lyricist ("Let's Twist Again"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2001)
  • May 7 David Tomlinson, British actor (Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Helter Skelter), born in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England (d. 2000)
  • May 7 William Geoffrey Biddle, English bomb disposal expert, born in Bromley, Kent, England (d. 1997)
  • May 9 John Arnatt, British actor (A Challenge for Robin Hood, Circumstantial Evidence), born in Petrograd, Russia (d. 1999)
  • May 11 Montague Woodhouse, British military officer and politician (organized the resistance forces in Crete WWII, MI6 agent), (d. 2001)
  • May 12 Andries Antonie Rieu, Dutch conductor (Maastricht Symphony Orchestra, 1949-80), born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1992)
  • May 14 Herta Ryder, British literary agent (d. 1995)
  • May 14 Lou Harrison, American composer (La Koro Sutro), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2003)
  • May 15 Hugh Falkus, English filmmaker an naturalist, born in Cheam, England (d. 1996)
  • May 16 Geraint Jones, Welsh conductor and organist, born in Porth, Wales (d. 1998)
  • May 18 Charles Wintour, English journalist (The Evening Standard), born in Dorset, England (d. 1999)
  • May 18 James Donald, Scottish actor (Bridge on River Kwai, Vikings, In Which We Serve, Way Ahead), born in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (d. 1993)
  • May 20 Bergur Sigurbjörnsson, Icelandic politician (d. 2005)
  • May 20 Francis-Paul Demillac [Enyss Djemil], French violinist, composer, and pedagogue, born in Paris, France (d. 2014)
  • May 20 Guy Favreau, French Canadian lawyer, politician and judge, born in Montréal, Quebec (d. 1967)
  • May 20 Richard Cobb, British historian, born in Frinton-on-Sea (d. 1996)
  • May 21 Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor (Perry Mason, Ironsides, Godzilla), born in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada (d. 1993)
  • May 21 Ronald Colville, Scottish businessman and Governor of the Bank of Scotland, born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1996)
  • May 22 Daniel Nagrin, American modern dancer and choreographer, born in New York City (d. 2008)
  • May 22 Georg Tintner, Austrian conductor, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1999)
  • May 22 Jean-Louis Curtis [Albert Laffitte], French novelist (The Forests of the Night), born in Orthez, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France (d. 1995)
  • May 22 Nathan Davis, American actor (Dunston Checks In, Holes, Code of Silence), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2008)
  • May 23 Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist, born in West Hartford, Connecticut (d. 2008)
  • May 24 Alan Campbell, Baron Campbell of Alloway, British judge (d. 2013)
  • May 24 Derek Hodgson, British high court judge, born in Whitefield, Manchester (d. 2002)
  • May 24 Florence Knoll Bassett, American furniture designer (Knoll), born in Saginaw, Michigan (d. 2019)
  • May 24 Theodore Hesburgh, president (University of Notre Dame), born in Syracuse, New York (d. 2015)
  • May 25 Jimmy Hamilton, American jazz saxophonist, born in Dillon, South Carolina (d. 1994)
  • May 25 Steve Cochran [Robert Alexander Cochran], American actor (Mozambique, Gay Senotiys, Dallas), born in Eureka, California (d. 1965)
  • May 26 Éva Szörényi, Hungarian actress and freedom activist for Hungary, born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary (d. 2009)
  • May 28 "Papa" John Creach, American blues violinist (Hot Tuna; Jefferson Airplane), born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania (d. 1994)
  • May 28 Barry Commoner, American biologist and politician (his work on radioactive fallout led to 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2012)
  • May 28 Gerald Cash, Governor-General of the Bahamas, born in Nassau, Bahamas (d. 2003)
  • May 28 Marshall Reed, American actor (The Madmen of Mandoras, Mysterious Island), born in Englewood, Colorado (d. 1980)

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

May 29 35th President of the United States (1961-63) and Senator (D-Mass), born in Brookline, Massachusetts


Born in 1917

Famous Weddings

Jimmie Rodgers

May 1 Country singer Jimmie Rodgers (19) weds Stella Kelley

Pearl S. Buck

May 13 American missionary and writer Pearl Sydenstricker (24) weds fellow American missionary and economist John Lossing Buck (26), becoming Pearl S. Buck; divorce in 1935

Walter Lippmann

May 24 Writer Walter Lippmann (27) weds Faye Albertson


Famous Deaths

  • May 1 Jose E Rodo, Uruguayan writer (Motivos de proteo), dies
  • May 3 Norman Callaway, Australian cricket batsman (207 in only FC innings), dies on WWI battlefield at 21
  • May 11 Otto Adolf Klauwell, German composer, dies at 66
  • May 17 Belva Ann Lockwood, American attorney (1st lady to argue in Supreme Court), dies at 86

Charles Brooke (1829-1917)

May 17 2nd White Rajah of Sarawak (1868-1917), dies at 87

  • May 20 Philipp von Ferrary, Italian philatelist (compiled world's most complete stamp collection), dies at 67
  • May 20 Valentine Fleming, Scottish politician (b. 1887)
  • May 23 Ranavalona III, Queen of Madagascar (1883-1897) last sovereign of Madagascar, dies in exile in Algeria at 55
  • May 25 Léon Vasseur, French composer, dies at 72
  • May 25 Maksim Bahdanovič, Belarusian poet, dies at 25