Births on May 17

Taj Mahal (musician)

Born on May 17, 1942

Taj Mahal, American blues singer-songwriter and musician

Henry St. Claire Fredericks, Jr. (born May 17, 1942), better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor, and film composer. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments, often incorporating elements of world music into his work. Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his more than 50-year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, India, Hawaii, and the South Pacific.

References

Taj Mahal (musician)

Choose Another Date

Events on 1942

25 Jan

Thailand
World War II: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom.
8 Mar

Myanmar
World War II: Imperial Japanese Army forces captured Rangoon, Burma from British.
10 Jul

Soviet Union
Diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and the Soviet Union are established.
13 Aug

Manhattan Project
Major General Eugene Reybold of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizes the construction of facilities that would house the "Development of Substitute Materials" project, better known as the Manhattan Project.
25 Sep

Holocaust
World War II: Swiss Police instruction dictates that "Under current practice ... refugees on the grounds of race alone are not political refugees", effectively denying entry to Jews trying to flee occupied Europe during the Holocaust.

Births on May 17

Taj Mahal (musician)

Born on May 17, 1942

References

Choose Another Date

Events on 1942

Thailand

Myanmar

Soviet Union

Manhattan Project

Holocaust