About the day » Sunday May 17, 1959Calender converter

• Fransiscus Helena Gerardus Kokol, Heerlen, Limburg, Nederland († 2001)
• Thomas McCaughey († 1959)
• Rinse Hermans Swaagman, Leeuwarden, Gem. Leeuwarden, Friesland, Nederland († 2014)
• Evert Andries van Omme, Kootwijkerbroek († 1993)
• Keith Alexander Marnoch, Lethbridge, Canada († 2011)
• Klaas de Roo, Borger (NL) († 1959)
• NN (tweeling) de Roo, Emmen, Drenthe, Nederland
• Hans Vierveijzer, Amsterdam
• Anna Maria Arling, Barger-Compascuum, Gemeente Emmen, Drenthe, Nederland († 2017)
• Jolanda Zonneveld, Heerhugowaard († 2003)

• Akke Ates Faber (87)
• Betje Hoekstra (61), Zaandam
• Andries Hoogerwerf (87), Vlaardingen
• Abraham Ledeboer (79), Almelo
• Carolina Keereweer (71), Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Nederland
• Berendina Maria Schoneveld (47), Hengelo (O)
• Alouisius Johannes Joseph van Blokland (61), Haarlem
• Alphonsus Mulders (73), Bergen
• Anna Hörmann (56), amsterdam, Nederland
• Biem Moojen (73), De Wijk (Drente)

• 1956 » Annise Parker, American politician
• 1956 » Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer
• 1957 » Pascual Pérez, Dominican baseball player († 2012)
• 1958 » Paul Di'Anno, English rock singer-songwriter
• 1959 » Marcelo Loffreda, Argentine rugby player and coach
• 1960 » Lou DiBella, American boxing promoter, actor, and producer
• 1960 » Simon Fuller, English talent manager and producer, created the Idols series
• 1961 » Enya, Irish singer-songwriter and producer
• 1961 » Jamil Azzaoui, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1961 » Justin King, English businessman

• 1938 » Jakob Ehrlich, Czech-Austrian academic and politician (b. 1877)
• 1943 » Johanna Elberskirchen, German author and activist (b. 1864)
• 1947 » George Forbes, New Zealand farmer and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1869)
• 1951 » William Birdwood, Anglo-Indian field marshal (b. 1865)
• 1960 » Jules Supervielle, Uruguayan-French poet and author (b. 1884)
• 1963 » John Wilce, American football player, coach, and physician (b. 1888)
• 1964 » Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist and parapsychologist (b. 1895)
• 1974 » Ernest Nash, German-American photographer and scholar (b. 1898)
• 1977 » Charles E. Rosendahl, American admiral and pilot (b. 1892)
• 1980 » Gündüz Kılıç, Turkish football player and coach (b. 1918)

1. Johannes
2. Jan
3. Cornelis
4. Peter
5. Willem
6. Hendrik
7. Robert
8. Gerrit
9. Pieter
10. Petrus
11. Ronald
12. Paul
13. Dirk
14. David
15. Adrianus
16. John

1. Maria
2. Johanna
3. Elisabeth
4. Anna
5. Cornelia
6. Wilhelmina
7. Catharina
8. Yvonne
9. Adriana
10. Hendrika
11. Ingrid
12. Margaretha
13. Petronella
14. Linda
15. Karin
16. Anita

• Koningin Juliana (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from September 4, 1948 till April 30, 1980 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
• In The Netherlands , there was from December 22, 1957 to May 19, 1959 the cabinet Beel II, with Dr. L.J.M. Beel (KVP) as prime minister.
• In The Netherlands , there was from May 19, 1959 to July 24, 1964 the cabinet De Quay, with Prof. dr. J.E. de Quay (KVP) as prime minister.
• The Netherlands had about 11.3 million citizens.
• February 16 » Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.
• May 30 » The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened by Governor-General Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham.
• June 30 » A United States Air Force F-100 Super Sabre from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, crashes into a nearby elementary school, killing 11 students plus six residents from the local neighborhood.
• July 21 » NSSavannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" initiative.
• September 14 » The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach it.
• October 30 » Piedmont Airlines Flight 349 crashes on approach to Charlottesville–Albemarle Airport in Albemarle County, Virginia, killing 26 of the 27 on board.

The temperature on May 17, 1959 was between 9.9 °C and 17.8 °C and averaged 13.1 °C. There was 8.8 hours of sunshine (56%). The partly clouded was. The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the north.