17 May

17 May was a date.

Holidays and observances
17 May was the date of the annual Nimon Porcelain Fair. (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary)

Events
On 17 May 1538, the Eighth Doctor visited England while investigating the Doomsday Chronometer. There he encountered Thomas Cromwell. (AUDIO: The Eighth Piece)

In 1900, the First Doctor was present at the Relief of Mafeking. (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan)

In 1944, Hurricanes shot down a Vvormak cruiser over Turelhampton, Dorset in the prosecution of World War II. (PROSE: The Shadow in the Glass)

In 2009, the date fell on a Sunday. Donna Noble returned home after her escape from the Copernicus Array and told her grandfather Wilfred Mott what had happened. While Donna was sleeping, Wilfred left for the radio telescope in search of the Tenth Doctor. Shortly after Donna woke up, the Mandragora Helix's servants ignited giant columns of light at population centres worldwide, leading Donna to leave in a "borrowed" van in search of Wilfred. Joe Carnes, guided by his M-TEK, led his brother Lukas to find Donna and catch a lift to the Copernicus Array. Driving through London, Donna found the city strangely empty. (PROSE: Beautiful Chaos)

One of the Mandragora's energy bolts struck Ruislip Woods, leading the police to erect a cordon. Several brainwashed servants of the Helix slipped past the cordon and formed a circle around where the energy was grounded. The crowd of onlookers was blasted with energy, leading to multiple deaths and causing the public to flee. "Guards" also formed circles at other locations. "Madam Delphi" made a broadcast declaring the planet hers, and the face in the sky vanished. As crowds began to amass in Central London chanting "Helix", Prime Minister Aubrey Fairchild declared a state of emergency. (PROSE: Beautiful Chaos)

Miss Oladini, having hidden in a closet at the Copernicus Array, was left alone around 9am when the Mandragora servants left. She was found by Wilfred, and was relieved to learn that Donna had escaped. The two teamed up to search for the Doctor. Inside the radio telescope building, they found Professor Melville's body. Wilf found the Doctor unconscious upstairs and woke him up, leading the Doctor to wonder why the Helix had left him alive. The Doctor linked Wilf's mobile phone to the radio telescope and programmed it before giving it to Miss Oladini, along with instructions on what to do when the Doctor called the phone, and orders to get to safety. When Donna and the Carnes brothers arrived, they headed back to London with the Doctor and Wilf. (PROSE: Beautiful Chaos)

At the Doctor's suggestion, they picked up Netty Goodheart, who suggested the group head towards Central London. On the Embankment, they encountered a crowd and abandoned the van, deciding to head for MorganTech. However, they were accosted by the Mandragora servants from the Copernicus Array, and the van was destroyed by the Helix in the process of destroying an M-TEK the Doctor had reprogrammed. The Doctor's group was taken prisoner and forced to walk through London until late hours, upon which they were picked up by Caitlin and driven to the Oracle Hotel, reaching it at midnight. (PROSE: Beautiful Chaos)

Unspecified year
On a 17 May that fell on a Sunday, Evie hosted a video call with her mother Maxine via VidChatX. (WC: The Descendants of Pompeii)

Births and deaths
In 2009, Professor Brian Melville had his neck broken by a servant of the Mandragora Helix sometime in the night. PC Steve Douglas was killed by Mandragora energy in Ruislip Woods. Professor Rossi died in an explosion while brainwashed by the Helix. (PROSE: Beautiful Chaos)