May 17

Battle of Rovine: The Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman army.

In 1395, Wallachian forces ambushed and defeated the invading Ottoman army at the Battle of Rovine.

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason.

Edward Stafford, the 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was executed for treason by order of King Henry VIII in 1521.

Pánfilo de Narváez departs Spain to explore Florida with 600 men – by 1536 only four survive.

In 1527, Pánfilo de Narváez embarked from Spain with 600 men to explore and conquer Florida, an expedition that ended in disaster.

George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford and four other men are executed for treason.

George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, and four associates were executed for treason in 1536, amid the downfall of Anne Boleyn.

Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's marriage is annulled.

On May 17, 1536, King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn was annulled, clearing the way for his next union.

Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland.

Anne of Denmark was crowned Queen Consort of Scotland on May 17, 1590, alongside her husband, King James VI.

Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve founds the Ville Marie de Montréal.

Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve founded Ville Marie (modern-day Montreal) in 1642, establishing a key French settlement in North America.

An allied French and Swedish army defeats Imperial and Bavarian forces in the Battle of Zusmarshausen.

In 1648, an allied French and Swedish army defeated Imperial and Bavarian forces at the Battle of Zusmarshausen, near the end of the Thirty Years' War.

Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River.

In 1673, Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette embarked on the first European expedition to map and explore the Mississippi River.