Today is Thursday, May 17, the 137th day of 2018. There are 228 days left in the year.
1544 — Scottish Earl Matthew van Lennox signs secret treaty with Henry VIII
1673 — Louis Joliet & Jacques Marquette begin exploring Mississippi
1678 — King Charles II & Louis XIV sign secret treaty
1712 — Maximilian Emanuel of Bavaria honored as "sovereign of Netherlands"
1756 — Britain declares war on France (7 Years’ or French & Indian War)
1787 — English slave ship Sisters, from Africa to Cuba, capsizes
1792 — 24 merchants form New York Stock Exchange at 70 Wall Street
1804 — Lewis & Clark begin exploration of the Louisiana Purchase
1809 — Papal States annexed by France
1814 — Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden (National Day)
1921 — Belgian-Luxembourg sign customs union
1923 — Fire during closing day ceremonies at Grover Cleveland School (South Carolina)