January 17

history

Events

Births

  • 1463 – Friedrich III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1525)
  • 1484 – George Spalatin, German reformer (d. 1545)
  • 1501 – Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (d. 1566)
  • 1504 – Pope Pius V (d. 1572)
  • 1560 – Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist (d. 1624)
  • 1600 – Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Spanish playwright (d. 1681)
  • 1612 – Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, English Civil War general (d. 1671)
  • 1666 – Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist (d. 1723)
  • 1686 – Archibald Bower, Scottish historian (d. 1766)
  • 1706 – Benjamin Franklin, American statesman and inventor (d. 1790)
  • 1712 – John Stanley, English composer (d. 1786)
  • 1719 – William Vernon, American merchant (d. 1806)
  • 1732 – King Stanislaw II August Poniatowski of Poland (d. 1798)
  • 1734 – François-Joseph Gossec, Belgian composer (d. 1829)
  • 1761 – James Hall, Scottish geologist (d. 1832)
  • 1789 – August Neander, German theologian (d. 1850)
  • 1798 – Auguste Comte, French sociologist (d. 1857)
  • 1814 – Mrs. Henry Wood, English novelist (d. 1887)
  • 1820 – Anne Brontë, British author (d. 1849)
  • 1828 – Eduard Remenyi, Hungarian violinist (d. 1898)
  • 1828 – Lewis A. Grant, American Civil War general (d. 1918)
  • 1831 – Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria (d. 1903)
  • 1832 – Henry Martyn Baird, American educationalist (d. 1906)
  • 1834 – August Weismann, German biologist (d. 1914)
  • 1850 – Aleksandr Taneyev, Russian composer (d. 1918)
  • 1851 – A. B. Frost, American illustrator (d. 1928)
  • 1853 – Alva Belmont, American socialite (d. 1933)
  • 1857 – Eugene Augustin Lauste, French inventor (d. 1935)
  • 1857 – Wilhelm Kienzl, Austrian composer (d. 1941)
  • 1858 – Tomás Carrasquilla, Colombian writer (d. 1940)
  • 1860 – Douglas Hyde, Irish President of Ireland (d. 1949)
  • 1863 – David Lloyd George, British Prime Minister (d. 1945)
  • 1863 – Constantin Stanislavski, Russian theatre practitioner (d. 1938)
  • 1865 – Charles Fergusson, Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 1951)
  • 1867 – Carl Laemmle, German-born film executive (d. 1939)
  • 1871 – David Earl Beatty British admiral (d. 1936)
  • 1871 – Nicolae Iorga, Romanian writer (d. 1940)
  • 1875 – Florencio Sánchez, Uruguayan dramatist (d. 1910)
  • 1876 – Frank Hague, American politician (d. 1956)
  • 1877 – May Gibbs, Australian children's author (d. 1969)
  • 1880 – Mack Sennett, Canadian film director (d. 1960)
  • 1881 – Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician (d. 1941)
  • 1881 – Harry Price, English psychic researcher and writer (d. 1948)
  • 1882 – Noah Beery, Sr., American actor (d. 1946)
  • 1883 – Sir Compton Mackenzie, Scottish novelist (d. 1972)
  • 1886 – Ronald Firbank, British novelist (d. 1926)
  • 1886 – Glenn L. Martin, American aviation pioneer (d. 1955)
  • 1887 – Ola Raknes, Norwegian psychoanalyst and philologist (d. 1975)
  • 1897 – Marcel Petiot, French mass murderer (d. 1946)
  • 1899 – Al Capone, American gangster (d. 1947)
  • 1899 – Nevil Shute, English author (d. 1960)
  • 1901 – Aron Gurwitsch, Lithuanian-born philosopher (d. 1973)
  • 1903 – Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, Assamese poet, playwright, film maker (d. 1953)
  • 1903 – Warren Hull, American actor (d. 1974)
  • 1905 – Guillermo Stábile, Argentine footballer (d. 1966)
  • 1905 – Jan Zahradníček, Czech poet (d. 1960)
  • 1905 – Peggy Gilbert, American jazz saxophonist and bandleader (d. 2007)
  • 1905 – Ray Cunningham, American baseball player (d. 2005)
  • 1907 – Henk Badings, Dutch composer (d. 1987)
  • 1908 – Cus D'Amato, American boxing manager (d. 1985)
  • 1911 – George Joseph Stigler, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
  • 1914 – William Stafford, American poet and essayist (d. 1993)
  • 1914 – Anacleto Angelini, Chilean businessman (d. 2007)
  • 1914 – Irving Brecher, American Screenwriter (d. 2008)
  • 1916 – Peter Frelinghuysen, American politician
  • 1917 – M. G. Ramachandran, Indian politician, actor (d. 1987)
  • 1917 – Ramón Cardemil, Chilean huaso (d. 2007)
  • 1918 – Keith Joseph, British politician (d. 1994)
  • 1918 – George M. Leader, American politician
  • 1921 – Antonio Prohias, Cuban cartoonist (d. 1998)
  • 1922 – Luis Echeverría Álvarez, Mexican President of Mexico
  • 1922 – Nicholas Katzenbach, American politician
  • 1922 – Betty White, American actress
  • 1923 – Carol Raye, Australian actress
  • 1925 – Robert Cormier, American author (d. 2000)
  • 1925 – Abdul Kardar, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1996)
  • 1925 – Edgar Ray Killen, American convict, former preacher and K.K.K. member
  • 1925 – Patricia Owens, Canadian actress (d. 2000)
  • 1926 – Newton N. Minow, American lawyer and statesman
  • 1926 – Moira Shearer, Scottish actress (d. 2006)
  • 1927 – Tom Dooley, American humanitarian (d. 1961)
  • 1927 – Norman Kaye, Australian actor and musician (d. 2007)
  • 1927 – Eartha Kitt, American actress and singer (d. 2008)
  • 1928 – Jean Barraqué, French composer (d. 1973)
  • 1928 – Vidal Sassoon, English cosmetologist
  • 1929 – Jacques Plante, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1986)
  • 1930 – Eddie LeBaron, American football player
  • 1931 – James Earl Jones, American actor
  • 1931 – L. Douglas Wilder, American 66th Governor of Virginia
  • 1931 – Don Zimmer, American baseball coach
  • 1932 – Sheree North, American actress (d. 2005)
  • 1933 – Dalida, French singer (d. 1987)
  • 1933 – Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French-born Pakistani diplomat (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) (d. 2003)
  • 1933 – Shari Lewis, American ventriloquist (d. 1998)
  • 1935 – Ruth Ann Minner, Governor of Delaware
  • 1937 – Alain Badiou, French philosopher
  • 1939 – Maury Povich, American talk show host
  • 1940 – Kipchoge Keino, Kenyan runner
  • 1940 – Tabare Vazquez, President of Uruguay
  • 1941 – Dame Gillian Weir, New Zealand organist
  • 1942 – Muhammad Ali, American boxer
  • 1942 – Ita Buttrose, Australian journalist and businesswoman
  • 1942 – Ulf Hoelscher, German violinist
  • 1942 – Nancy Parsons, American actress (d. 2001)
  • 1943 – René Préval, President of Haiti
  • 1943 – Geoffrey Deuel, American actor
  • 1943 – Chris Montez, American singer
  • 1944 – Françoise Hardy, French singer
  • 1945 – Javed Akhtar, Indian lyricist, poet and scriptwriter
  • 1946 – Michèle Deslauriers, Quebec actress
  • 1948 – Davíð Oddsson, former Prime Minister of Iceland
  • 1948 – Jim Ladd, American freeform (radio format) Disc Jockey
  • 1948 – Anne Queffélec, French pianist
  • 1949 – Mick Taylor, British musician (The Rolling Stones)
  • 1949 – Andy Kaufman, American comedian (d. 1984)
  • 1950 – Luis López Nieves, Latin American writer
  • 1952 – Darrell Porter, American baseball player (d. 2002)
  • 1952 – Larry Fortensky, American former husband of Elizabeth Taylor
  • 1952 – Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese musician
  • 1953 – Carlos Johnson, American blues musician
  • 1954 – Susan Kiefel, Australian lawyer and judge
  • 1954 – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., American lawyer and environmental activist, son of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy
  • 1955 – Steve Earle, American musician
  • 1956 – Paul Young, English musician
  • 1957 – Keith Chegwin, English television presenter
  • 1957 – Steve Harvey, American actor, comedian and radio personality
  • 1957 – Ann Nocenti, American comic book writer
  • 1957 – Michel Vaarten, Belgian cyclist
  • 1959 – Susanna Hoffs, American musician
  • 1959 – Momoe Yamaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
  • 1960 – John Crawford, American musician
  • 1960 – Chili Davis, Jamaican-born American baseball player
  • 1960 – Chatchai Plengpanich, Thai actor
  • 1961 – Brian Helgeland, American writer and film director
  • 1961 – Maia Chiburdanidze, Russian women's Chess grandmaster
  • 1962 – Jim Carrey, Canadian actor and comedian
  • 1962 – Sebastian Junger, American journalist and author
  • 1963 – Kai Hansen, German singer and guitarist (Gamma Ray)
  • 1964 – Andy Rourke, English bass guitarist (The Smiths)
  • 1964 – Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States
  • 1965 – Sylvain Turgeon, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1965 – Nikos Nioplias, Greek footballer
  • 1966 – Stephin Merritt, American singer and songwriter (The Magnetic Fields, The 6ths, The Gothic Archies)
  • 1966 – Joshua Malina, American actor
  • 1966 – Shabba Ranks, Jamaican singer
  • 1967 – Richard Hawley, English singer, guitarist, and songwriter (Pulp, The Longpigs)
  • 1967 – Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (d. 2007)
  • 1967 – Song Kang-ho, South Korean actor
  • 1968 – Craig Strong, American actor & voice actor
  • 1968 – Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Dutch writer
  • 1968 – Svetlana Masterkova, Russian athlete
  • 1969 – Lukas Moodysson, Swedish film writer and director
  • 1969 – Naveen Andrews, British actor
  • 1969 – Tijs Verwest, (DJ Tiësto) Dutch DJ
  • 1970 – Jeremy Roenick, American ice hockey player
  • 1970 – Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-born animator
  • 1970 – James Wattana, Thai snooker player
  • 1971 – Kid Rock, American singer
  • 1971 – Richard Burns, English rally driver (d. 2005)
  • 1971 – Youki Kudoh, Japanese actress
  • 1971 – Sylvie Testud, French actress
  • 1971 – Ann Wolfe, female boxer
  • 1972 – Ken Hirai, Japanese singer and songwriter
  • 1972 – Benno Fürmann, German actor
  • 1973 – Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Mexican footballer
  • 1973 – Liz Ellis, Australian netball captain
  • 1973 – Aaron Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1974 – Yang Chen, Chinese footballer
  • 1974 – Marco Antonio Barrera, Mexican boxer
  • 1974 – Derrick Mason, American football player
  • 1974 – Vesko Kountchev, Bulgarian musician
  • 1975 – Tom Jenkinson, English musician (Squarepusher)
  • 1975 – Freddy Rodriguez, Puerto Rican-American actor
  • 1975 – Rami Yacoub, Swedish songwriter/producer
  • 1977 – Kevin Fertig, American professional wrestler
  • 1977 – Leigh Whannell, Australian screenwriter/actor
  • 1978 – Pater Sparrow, Hungarian director/production designer
  • 1980 – Zooey Deschanel, American actress
  • 1980 – Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Ukrainian ballroom dancer
  • 1980 – Kimberly Spicer, American model
  • 1980 – Gareth McLearnon, Northern Irish flautist
  • 1981 – Warren Feeney, Northern Irish footballer
  • 1981 – Scott Mechlowicz, American actor
  • 1981 – Ray J, American R&B singer
  • 1982 – Dwyane Wade, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Amanda Wilkinson, Canadian singer
  • 1982 – Fany Hwang, Korean actor
  • 1983 – Álvaro Arbeloa, Spanish footballer
  • 1983 – Johannes Herber, German basketball player
  • 1983 – Andrea Lowell, American model
  • 1983 – Rick Kelly, Australian racing driver
  • 1984 – Calvin Harris, Scottish music producer and vocalist
  • 1984 – Sophie Dee, Welsh pornographic actress
  • 1985 – Simone Simons, Dutch singer (Epica)
  • 1985 – Riyu Kosaka, Japanese singer BeForU
  • 1985 – Kang-In, South Korean singer, dancer, actor, MC, and DJ (Super Junior)
  • 1986 – Hale Appleman, American actor
  • 1989 – Hollie-Jay Bowes, English actress

Deaths

  • 395 – Theodosius I, Roman Emperor (b. 347)
  • 1229 – Albert of Buxhoeveden, German soldier
  • 1369 – King Peter I of Cyprus (murdered) (b. 1328)
  • 1468 – Skanderbeg, Albanian leader (b. 1405)
  • 1598 – Fyodor I Tsar of Russia (b. 1557)
  • 1600 – Giordano Bruno, Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer(b. 1548)
  • 1617 – Faust Vrančić, Croatian inventor (b. 1551)
  • 1654 – Paulus Potter, Dutch painter (b. 1625)
  • 1705 – John Ray, English naturalist (b. 1627)
  • 1718 – Captain Benjamin Church, Plymouth Colony settler and military leader
  • 1737 – Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, German architect (b. 1662)
  • 1738 – Jean-François Dandrieu, French composer (b. 1682)
  • 1751 – Tomaso Albinoni, Italian composer (b. 1671)
  • 1826 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer (b. 1806)
  • 1834 – Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist (b. 1762)
  • 1861 – Lola Montez, Irish-born adventurer (b. 1821)
  • 1863 – Horace Vernet, French painter (b. 1789)
  • 1869 – Aleksandr Dargomyzhsky, Russian composer (b. 1813)
  • 1874 – Chang and Eng Bunker, Siamese twins (b. 1811)
  • 1884 – Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist (b. 1804)
  • 1887 – William Giblin, Premier of Tasmania (b. 1840)
  • 1891 – George Bancroft, U.S. historian (b. 1800)
  • 1893 – Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President of the United States (b. 1822)
  • 1903 – Ignaz Wechselmann, Hungarian architect and philanthropist (b. 1828)
  • 1908 – Ferdinand IV Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1835)
  • 1909 – Sir Francis Smith, Premier of Tasmania (b. 1819)
  • 1911 – Sir Francis Galton, English polymath, anthropologist, eugenicist (b. 1822)
  • 1927 – Juliette Gordon Low, American founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA (b. 1860)
  • 1931 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia, son of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich (b. 1864)
  • 1932 – Albert Jacka, VC, Australian soldier (b. 1893)
  • 1933 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, American artist and designer (b. 1848)
  • 1936 – Mateiu Caragiale, Romanian author (b. 1885)
  • 1942 – Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (b. 1884)
  • 1947 – Pyotr Krasnov, Russian counter-revolutionary (b. 1869)
  • 1947 – Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve, French Archbishop of Quebec (b. 1883)
  • 1952 – Walter Briggs, Sr., American entrepreneur and sports team owner (b. 1877)
  • 1956 – Blind Alfred Reed, American folk, country, and old-time musician (b. 1880)
  • 1961 – Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1925)
  • 1964 – T.H. White, English author (b. 1906)
  • 1967 – Evelyn Nesbit, American actress (b. 1884)
  • 1970 – Simon Kovar, Russian-American bassoonist (b. 1890)
  • 1970 – Billy Stewart, American singer (b. 1937)
  • 1972 – Betty Smith, American writer and singer (b. 1896)
  • 1977 – Gary Gilmore, American murderer (b. 1940)
  • 1977 – Dougal Haston, Scottish mountaineer (b. 1940)
  • 1981 – Loukas Panourgias, Greek footballer (b. 1899)
  • 1983 – Doodles Weaver, American actor (b. 1911)
  • 1987 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentine film director (b. 1908)
  • 1991 – King Olav V of Norway (b. 1903)
  • 1992 – Frank Pullen, English businessman and racehorse owner (b. 1915)
  • 1993 – Albert Hourani, English historian (b. 1915)
  • 1994 – Helen Stephens, American runner (b. 1918)
  • 1994 – Yevgeny Ivanov, Soviet spy involved in the Profumo affair (b. 1926)
  • 1996 – Amber Hagerman, American namesake of the Amber Alert system (b. 1986)
  • 1996 – Barbara Jordan, American politician (b. 1936)
  • 1996 – Mostafa Sid Ahmed, Sudanese singer (b. 1953)
  • 1997 – Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer (b. 1906)
  • 1997 – Bert Kelly, Australian politician (b. 1912)
  • 1998 – Junior Kimbrough, American bluesman (b. 1930)
  • 1999 – Robert Eads, American transsexual (b. 1945)
  • 1999 – Samantha Reid, American girl killed by GHB overdose (b. 1984)
  • 2000 – Philip Jones, British trumpeter (b. 1928)
  • 2001 – Gregory Corso, American poet (b. 1930)
  • 2002 – Bishop Karas, Sudanese-born American religious leader (b. 1955)
  • 2002 – Camilo Jose Cela, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
  • 2002 – Queenie Leonard, American actress (b. 1905)
  • 2003 – Richard Crenna, American actor (b. 1926)
  • 2003 – Balint Vazsonyi, Hungarian pianist (b. 1936)
  • 2004 – Harry Brecheen, American baseball player (b. 1914)
  • 2004 – Czeslaw Niemen, Polish musician (b. 1939)
  • 2004 – Ray Stark, American stage and film producer (b. 1915)
  • 2004 – Noble Willingham, American actor (b. 1931)
  • 2005 – Charlie Bell, Australian fast food executive (b. 1960)
  • 2005 – Virginia Mayo, American actress (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Albert Schatz, American microbiologist (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Zhao Ziyang, Premier of the People's Republic of China (b. 1919)
  • 2006 – Clarence Ray Allen, American murderer (b. 1930)
  • 2006 – Pierre Grondin, French Canadian cardiac surgeon (b. 1925)
  • 2007 – Art Buchwald, American humorist (b. 1925)
  • 2007 – Yevhen Kushnaryov, Ukrainian politician (b. 1951)
  • 2008 – Bobby Fischer, American chess player (b. 1943)
  • 2008 – Ernie Holmes, American football player (b. 1948)
  • 2008 – Allan Melvin, American actor (b. 1923)
  • 2009 – Anders Isaksson, Swedish journalist, writer, and historian (b. 1943)
  • 2010 – Jyoti Basu, Indian politician (b. 1914)
  • 2010 – Daisuke Gouri, Japanese seiyu (b. 1952)
  • 2010 – Gaines Adams, American football player (b. 1983)

Holidays and observances

External links

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