May 17 is the 137th day of the year. There are 228 days remaining until the end of the year.
+ 1792 – The New York Stock Exchange is formed under the Buttonwood Agreement.
+ 1875 – Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby.
+ 1939 – The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the United States' first televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City.
+ 1973 – Watergate scandal: Televised hearings begin in the United States Senate.
+ 1977 – Nolan Bushnell opened the first Chuck E. Cheese's in San Jose, California.
( Births )
+ 1955 – Bill Paxton, American actor and director (d. 2017)
+ 1956 – Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer
+ 1956 – Bob Saget, American comedian, actor, and television host