May 17

"The deviation of man from the state in which he was originally placed by nature seems to have proved to him a prolific source of diseases."

Edward Jenner
(05/17/1749 – 01/26/1823)
English doctor

"He was a gentleman who was generally spoken of as having nothing-a-year, paid quarterly."

R. S. Surtees
(05/17/1805 – 03/16/1864)
English writer

"That men should pray and fight for their own freedom, and yet keep others in slavery, is certainly acting a very inconsistent, as well as unjust and, perhaps, impious part, but the history of mankind is filled with instances of human improprieties."

John Jay
(12/23/1745 – 05/17/1829)
US politician, founding father, Supreme Court justice

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Prince De Bénévent

"Only a man who has loved a woman of genius can appreciate what happiness there is in loving a fool."

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord
(02/02/1754 – 05/17/1838)
French statesman

"I liked the bit about quarter to eleven."

Erik Satie
(05/17/1866 – 07/01/1925)
French composer , on Debussy's "Dawn to Noon on the Sea"

"It will all go on as long as women are stupid enough to go on bringing men into the world..."

Dorothy Miller Richardson
(05/17/1873 – 06/17/1957)
English writer

"Cheetah bit me whenever he could. The [Tarzan] apes were all homosexuals, eager to wrap their paws around Johnny Weissmuller's thighs. They were jealous of me, and I loathed them."

Maureen O'Sullivan
(05/17/1911 – 06/23/1998)
Irish actor (was married to John Farrow; mother of Mia Farrow)

"A dying man needs to die, as a sleepy man needs to sleep, and there comes a time when it is wrong, as well as useless, to resist." *

Stewart Alsop
(05/17/1914 – 05/26/1974)
US journalist (brother of Joseph Alsop, Jr.)

"There are days when any electrical appliance in the house, including the vacuum cleaner, seems to offer more entertainment possibilities than the television set."

Harriet van Horne
(05/17/1920 – 01/15/1998)
US writer

"You cannot run faster than a bullet."

Idi Amin Dada
(05/17/1925 – 08/16/2003);
African dictator

"I did not fully understand the dread term 'terminal illness' until I saw Heathrow Airport for myself."

Dennis Potter
(05/17/1935 – 06/07/1994)
English writer

"The first seven were pretty good."

Dennis Hopper
(05/17/1936 – 05/29/2010)
US actor , on his eight-day marriage to Michelle Phillips

"It's very liberating to be naked in front of a hundred people, but there's nothing sexual about lovemaking on a movie set."

Bill Paxton
(05/17/1955 – 02/25/2017)
US actor

"I consider myself blessed. I consider you blessed. We've all been blessed with God-given talents. Mine just happens to be beating people up."

Sugar Ray Leonard
(05/17/1956 – )
US boxer

"I take the view, and always have, that if you cannot say what you are going to say in twenty minutes you ought to go away and write a book about it." *

Lord Brabazon
(02/08/1884 – 05/17/1964)
English aviator, racer

"When an instrument fails on stage it mocks you and must be destroyed."

Trent Reznor
(05/17/1965 – )
US musician (Nine Inch Nails)

"An empty cab drove up and Sarah Bernhardt got out."

Arthur Baer
(01/09/1886 – 05/17/1969)
US writer

"It is not so important to be serious as it is to be serious about the important things. The monkey wears an expression of seriousness which would do credit to any college student, but the monkey is serious because he itches."

Robert M. Hutchins
(01/17/1899 – 05/17/1977)
US educator
("Zuckerkandl!")

"There are good days and there are bad days, and this is one of them."

Lawrence Welk
(03/11/1903 – 05/17/1992)
US (yep, South Dakota!) bandleader, TV host

"Comedy's a serious business. You've got to be true and funny, and not look as though you're trying."

Tony Randall
(02/26/1920 – 05/17/2004)
US actor

"God had to create disco music so that I could be born and be successful."

Donna Summer
(12/31/1948 – 05/17/2012)
US singer

"This is an excellent martini—sort of tastes like it isn’t there at all, just a cold cloud."

Herman Wouk
(05/27/1915 – 05/17/2019)
US writer