About the day » Saturday May 17, 1879Calender converter

• Alberdina Snijder, Archem († 1950)
• Alida Maria DIRKSEN, Amsterdam († 1901)
• Anna Maria Knip, Amsterdam, Nederland
• Abraham van Lee, Brussel B († 1942)
• Adriana Johanna Leeman, Rotterdam († 1944)
• Alida Margaretha Teeling († 1964)
• ? ? († 1879)
• Aegidius Dinjens, Sint-Pieter, Limburg, Nederland († 1964)
• Allegonda Maria Snoeren, Loon op Zand, Noord-Brabant, Nederland († 1879)
• Annigje de Graaf, Langerak († 1889)

• Altje Jans Kleis, Meppel
• Aalbert Berkhof (55), Rhenen
• Antonius Cornelis den OUDEN (0), Tholen, Zeeland, Nederland
• antoine DUFRANE (59), Frameries (Belgium) Hainaut
• Anna Duijts (79), Velsen
• Adolf van Eldijk (0), Middelburg
• ? Aalders (0), Rolde, Drenthe, Nederland
• Alida Vermeer (0), Schiedam, Nederland
• Adriana Cornelia Spiering (38), Woudrichem, Noord-Brabant, Nederland
• Adriana van Doorn (0), IJsselstein

• 1868 » Horace Elgin Dodge, American businessman, co-founded Dodge († 1920)
• 1870 » Newton Moore, Australian politician, 8th Premier of Western Australia († 1936)
• 1873 » Dorothy Richardson, English author and journalist († 1957)
• 1873 » Henri Barbusse, French author and journalist († 1935)
• 1874 » George Sheldon, American diver († 1907)
• 1882 » Karl Burman, Estonian architect and painter († 1965)
• 1886 » Alfonso XIII of Spain, Spanish monarch († 1941)
• 1888 » Tich Freeman, English cricketer († 1965)
• 1889 » Alfonso Reyes, Mexican author († 1959)
• 1889 » Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer († 1946)

• 1868 » Kondō Isami, Japanese commander (b. 1834)
• 1875 » John C. Breckinridge, American lawyer and politician, 14th Vice President of the United States, Confederate States general (b. 1821)
• 1879 » Asa Packer, American businessman, founded Lehigh University (b. 1805)
• 1880 » Ziya Pasha, Greek author and translator (b. 1826)
• 1886 » John Deere, American blacksmith and businessman, founded the Deere & Company (b. 1804)
• 1888 » Giacomo Zanella, Italian priest and poet (b. 1820)
• 1911 » Frederick August Otto Schwarz, German-American businessman, founded FAO Schwarz (b. 1836)
• 1916 » Boris Borisovich Golitsyn, Russian physicist and seismologist (b. 1862)
• 1917 » Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak (b. 1829)
• 1917 » Clara Ayres, American nurse (b. 1880)

• Koning Willem III (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1849 till 1890 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
• In The Netherlands , there was from November 3, 1877 to August 20, 1879 the cabinet Kappeijne van de Coppello, with Mr. J. Kappeijne van de Coppello (liberaal) as prime minister.
• In The Netherlands , there was from August 20, 1879 to April 23, 1883 the cabinet Van Lijnden van Sandenburg, with Mr. C.Th. baron Van Lijnden van Sandenburg (conservatief-AR) as prime minister.
• The Netherlands had about 4.0 million citizens.
• January 13 » In Mozart Gardens Brooklyn Ada Anderson completed a great feat of pedestrianism - 2700 quarter miles in 2700 quarter hours, earning her $8000.
• February 14 » The War of the Pacific breaks out when the Chilean Army occupies the Bolivian port city of Antofagasta.
• May 2 » The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is founded in Madrid by Pablo Iglesias.
• September 3 » Siege of the British Residency in Kabul: British envoy Sir Louis Cavagnari and 72 men of the Guides are massacred by Afghan troops while defending the British Residency in Kabul. Their heroism and loyalty became famous and revered throughout the British Empire.
• September 18 » The Blackpool Illuminations are switched on for the first time.
• December 28 » Tay Bridge disaster: The central part of the Tay Rail Bridge in Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom collapses as a train passes over it, killing 75.

The temperature on May 17, 1879 was about 9.0 °C. There was 3 mm of rain. The air pressure was 1 kgf/m² and came mainly from the east-southeast. The airpressure was 76 cm mercury. The atmospheric humidity was 87%.