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
(05/17/1803 – 03/16/1864)
English writer

"We cannot put the face on a stamp unless said person is deceased. My suggestion, therefore, is that you drop dead."

John Jay
(12/12/1745 – 05/17/1829)
US Postmaster , replying to a petitioner who wanted his picture on a postage stamp (I suspect this is apocryphal as cited, but can't find when 'drop dead' came into regular usage. -qk)

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 Tallyrand-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 ("Pilgrimage")

"If a fly gets into the throat of one who is fasting, it is not necessary to pull it out."

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
(05/17/1900 – 06/03/1989)
Irani religious leader

"Cheetah bit me whenever he could. The [Tarzan] apes were all homosexuals, eager to wrap their paws around Johnny Weismuller'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

"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

"You want to hear about insanity? I was found running naked through the jungles in Mexico. At the Mexico City airport, I decided I was in the middle of a movie and walked out on the wing on takeoff. My body . . . my liver . . . okay, my brain . . . went."

Dennis Hopper
(05/17/1936 – )
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

"This is the best biography by me I have ever read."

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