About the day » Wednesday May 17, 1961Calender converter

• Willem Jacobus Vermeulen, Utrecht, Utrecht, Nederland
• Roelof Dirk Hendrik Naber, Emmen, Drenthe, Nederland († 1961)
• Carolien van de Brug († 2020)
• Jappie Laanstra († 2001)
• Jeanien Henriëtte HEUVEL, van, Purmerend, Nederland († 2007)
• William Howard Graham Schuyler († 1996)
• Teun van der Meij († 2003)
• Eric van Wely († 2022)
• Hans van Beers († 2014)
• Arend (Arie) Metselaar, Hollandscheveld, Hoogeveen, Drenthe, Nederland († 2015)

• Brisco Burks (52)
• Antje Hotzes Kleefstra (78), Leeuwarden, Gem. Leeuwarden, Friesland, Nederland
• Bartus Hendrikus Broekhuis (74), Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Nederland
• Adrianus Capelle (73)
• Antonius Talsma (81), Breda
• Arend Abels NIEHOFF (81), Zwolle Overijssel Netherlands
• Antje Jans Nicolai (65)
• Aart Verhoef (68), Willige Langerak
• Beredndina BUITENHUIS (67), Rotterdam,South Holland,Netherlands
• Alida Hendrika van Droffelaar (76), Doetinchem, Gelderland, Nederland

• 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
• 1962 » Andrew Farrar, Australian rugby league player and coach
• 1962 » Craig Ferguson, Scottish-American comedian, actor, and talk show host
• 1962 » Jane Moore, English journalist and author
• 1962 » Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish journalist and author
• 1962 » Rosalind Picard, American computer scientist and engineer, co-founded Affectiva

• 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. Peter
4. Cornelis
5. Robert
6. Hendrik
7. John
8. Willem
9. Pieter
10. Gerrit
11. Ronald
12. Paul
13. Michael
14. Petrus
15. Wilhelmus
16. Dirk

1. Maria
2. Johanna
3. Elisabeth
4. Anna
5. Cornelia
6. Yvonne
7. Catharina
8. Karin
9. Jacqueline
10. Wilhelmina
11. Ingrid
12. Monique
13. Adriana
14. Petronella
15. Marianne
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 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 11.6 million citizens.
• January 3 » A protest by agricultural workers in Baixa de Cassanje, Portuguese Angola, turns into a revolt, opening the Angolan War of Independence, the first of the Portuguese Colonial Wars.
• January 23 » The Portuguese luxury cruise ship Santa Maria is hijacked by opponents of the Estado Novo regime with the intention of waging war until dictator António de Oliveira Salazar is overthrown.
• February 4 » The Angolan War of Independence and the greater Portuguese Colonial War begin.
• June 4 » Cold War: In the Vienna summit, the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev sparks the Berlin Crisis by threatening to sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany and ending American, British and French access to East Berlin.
• July 12 » Indian city Pune floods due to failure of the Khadakwasla and Panshet dams, killing at least two thousand people.
• September 1 » The Eritrean War of Independence officially begins with the shooting of Ethiopian police by Hamid Idris Awate.

The temperature on May 17, 1961 was between 7.5 °C and 17.0 °C and averaged 13.0 °C. There was 7.4 hours of sunshine (47%). The partly clouded was. The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the north-northeast.