About the day » Monday May 17, 1909Calender converter

• Alberdina Huiskamp, Apeldoorn († 1977)
• Agnes Maria Vanweersch, Wittem, Limburg, Netherlands († 1932)
• Adriana Martha Spruytte, Staden West-Vlaanderen België († 1981)
• Adrianus Tops, Reusel († 1910)
• Adrianus Josephus van Gemmert, Wateringen († 1945)
• Agnes Belser, Aarle-Rixtel, Noord-Brabant, Nederland († 1936)
• Adrianus Josephus Gemmert, van, Wateringen († 1945)
• Adelheid Margarethe von Reventlow
• Adrianus Soesbergen, Utrecht
• Agnes Maria Wersch, Wittem († 1932)

• Adrianus Johannes Ballijns (6), Weesp
• Antonij Brunsveld (64), Ambt-Doetinchem (Dichteren)
• Antonius van seters (70), Raamsdonksveer
• Aarnoud Abraham Roda (38), Vlissingen, Walcheren, NL
• Antonia Arendonk (69), Hagestein, Utrecht, Netherlands
• Andries Stolk (49), Rotterdam Z.H
• Adrianus Johannes Ballijns (6), WEESP (Amsterdam), Noord-Holland, Nederland
• Adrianus van Hooijdonck (62), Wouw
• Eulali de la Riviére (50), Zaamslag
• Antonia Arendonk (69), Hagestein

• 1904 » Marie-Anne Desmarest, French author († 1973)
• 1906 » Zinka Milanov, Croatian-American soprano and educator († 1989)
• 1909 » Julius Sumner Miller, American physicist and academic († 1987)
• 1911 » Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish-American model († 1992)
• 1911 » Maureen O'Sullivan, Irish-American actress († 1998)
• 1912 » Ace Parker, American baseball and football player († 2013)
• 1912 » Archibald Cox, American lawyer and politician, 31st United States Solicitor General († 2004)
• 1912 » Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner, American inventor († 2006)
• 1913 » Hans Ruesch, Swiss racing driver and author († 2007)
• 1914 » Robert N. Thompson, American-Canadian chiropractor and politician († 1997)

• 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)
• 1919 » Guido von List, Austrian-German journalist, author, and poet (b. 1848)
• 1921 » Karl Mantzius, Danish actor and director (b. 1860)
• 1922 » Dorothy Levitt, English racing driver and journalist (b. 1882)
• 1927 » Harold Geiger, American pilot and lieutenant (b. 1884)

• Koningin Wilhelmina (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1890 till 1948 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
• In The Netherlands , there was from February 12, 1908 to August 29, 1913 the cabinet Heemskerk, with Mr. Th. Heemskerk (AR) as prime minister.
• The Netherlands had about 5.8 million citizens.
• January 25 » Richard Strauss's opera Elektra receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera.
• March 23 » Theodore Roosevelt leaves New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society.
• March 31 » Serbia formally withdraws its opposition to Austro-Hungarian actions in the Bosnian Crisis.
• June 26 » The Science Museum in London comes into existence as an independent entity.
• December 4 » In Canadian football, the First Grey Cup game is played. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues defeat the Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club, 26–6.
• December 10 » Selma Lagerlöf becomes the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The temperature on May 17, 1909 was between 6.2 °C and 12.8 °C and averaged 9.0 °C. There was 1.0 mm of rain. There was 0.3 hours of sunshine (2%). The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the west-southwest.