Daily Calendar for Saturday, May 17, 2025

Armed Forces Day

President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country. On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under the Department of Defense and is observed on the third Saturday in May.

Died

Sandro Botticelli (artist; works include the painting Birth of Venus”“) – 1510
John Jay (first Chief Justice of the U.S.) – 1829
John Deere (American manufacturer) – 1886
Lawrence Welk (musician) – 1992
Joe Black (baseball player) – 2002
Tony Randall (actor; well known for his role as Felix Unger on the sitcom The Odd Couple) – 2004
Frank Gorshin (actor best known for role as the Riddler on the Batman television series) – 2005
Donna Summer (singer; Queen of Disco”“) – 2012

Born

Edward Jenner (physician) – 1749
Maureen O'Sullivan (actress) – 1911
Dennis Hopper (actor) – 1936
Bill Paxton (actor) – 1955
Sugar Ray Leonard (boxer) – 1956
Bob Saget (actor & comedian) – 1956
Enya (New Age singer) – 1961
Craig Ferguson (actor & television host) – 1962
Tony Parker (basketball player) – 1982

Events

Joliet-Marquette Mississippi River expedition began– 1673
The New York Stock Exchange established at Merchants Coffee House, New York City– 1792
Fire began that destroyed part of St. Louis, Missouri– 1849
First Kentucky Derby held– 1875
District of Alaska created– 1884
Clifton Fadiman hosted the NBC Blue network quiz show Information Please– 1938
First coin-operated mailbox, the Mailomat, installed– 1939
First U.S. cross-country helicopter flight ended– 1942
U.S. Supreme Court issued Brown v. Board of Education decision, ruling that segregated schools are unconstitutional– 1954
Senate Watergate Committee began public hearings– 1973
Massachusetts became the first state to process marriage licenses for gay and lesbian couples– 2004
A team of rocketeers led by a Bloomington, MN, man claimed success in their goal of launching the first amateur rocket into space, sending a 21-foot rocket named GoFast an estimated 70 miles above the Nevada desert– 2004
Peter Phillips, son of British Princess Anne, wed Canadian Autumn Kelly– 2008
Allan Ganz honored for 67-year career (and counting) as ice-cream man– 2014

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A hard frost covered southern New England– 1794
Portland, Maine, had 4.12 inches of rain in 12 hours– 1916
The worst May blizzard in seven years hit Denver, Colorado– 1957
Temperatures dipped to a mere 12 degrees F at the Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii– 1979

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