February 17 - Births

Births

• 624 – Wu Zetian, Empress of the Zhou Dynasty of China (d. 705)
• 1490 – Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, Constable of France (d. 1527)
• 1519 – Francis, Duke of Guise, French soldier and politician (d. 1563)
• 1524 – Charles of Guise, French cardinal (d. 1574)
• 1581 – Fausto Poli, Italian Catholic priest (d. 1653)
• 1646 – Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (d. 1714)
• 1653 – Arcangelo Corelli, Italian composer (d. 1713)
• 1718 – Matthew Tilghman, American Continental Congressman (d. 1790)
• 1723 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer (d. 1762)
• 1740 – Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, Swiss physicist and founder of alpinism (d. 1799)
• 1752 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German writer (d. 1831)
• 1754 – Nicolas Baudin, French explorer (d. 1803)
• 1781 – René Laënnec, French physician (d. 1826)
• 1792 – Karl Ernst von Baer, German biologist (d. 1876)
• 1796 – Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician (d. 1866)
• 1816 – Haller Nutt, Southern Plantation owner (d. 1864)
• 1820 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Catholic cardinal (d. 1898)
• 1820 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian composer (d. 1881)
• 1821 – Lola Montez, Irish dancer (d. 1861)
• 1836 – Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish poet (d. 1870)
• 1844 – Aaron Montgomery Ward, American department store founder (d. 1913)
• 1848 – Albert Gustaf Dahlman, Swedish executioner, the last to carry out capital punishment in Sweden (d. 1920)
• 1848 – Louisa Lawson, Australian suffragist and writer (d. 1920)
• 1854 – Friedrich Alfred Krupp, German industrialist (d. 1902)
• 1860 – Tom Seeberg, Norwegian rifle shooter (d. 1938)
• 1861 – Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont (d. 1922)
• 1862 – Mori Ōgai, Japanese novelist and poet (d. 1922)
• 1862 – Eugen Schmidt, Danish athlete (d. 1931)
• 1863 – Fyodor Sologub, Russian symbolist novelist and poet (d. 1927)
• 1864 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak inventor (d. 1929)
• 1864 – Banjo Paterson, Australian poet (d. 1941)
• 1874 – Thomas J. Watson, American computer manufacturer (d. 1956)
• 1877 – Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and writer (d. 1904)
• 1877 – André Maginot, French politician (d. 1932)
• 1877 – Isidora Sekulić, Serbian prose writer, novelist and essayist (d. 1958)
• 1880 – Ernest Linton, Canadian football player (d. 1957)
• 1883 – George Edwin Cooke, American soccer player (d. 1969)
• 1885 – Steve Evans, American baseball player (d. 1943)
• 1887 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer (d. 1947)
• 1888 – Otto Stern, German physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1969)
• 1890 – Sir Ronald Fisher, English statistician and geneticist (d. 1962)
• 1891 – Abraham Fraenkel, German-born Israeli mathematician and recipient of the Israel Prize (d. 1965)
• 1893 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player (d. 1965)
• 1903 – Sadegh Hedayat, Iranian writer (d. 1951)
• 1904 – Hans Morgenthau, German political philosopher (d. 1980)
• 1908 – Red Barber, American baseball announcer (d. 1992)
• 1908 – Bo Yibo, Chinese politician (d. 2005)
• 1910 – Arthur Hunnicutt, American actor (d. 1979)
• 1910 – Marc Lawrence, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1911 – Oskar Seidlin, Silesian-born American literary scholar (d. 1984)
• 1911 – Orrin Tucker, American bandleader and composer (d.2011)
• 1912 – Andre Norton, American author (d. 2005)
• 1913 – Jean Le Moyne, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1996)
• 1914 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (d. 1990)
• 1914 – Wayne Morris, American actor (d. 1959)
• 1916 – Raf Vallone, Italian actor (d. 2002)
• 1916 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian prince and Rugby Union footballer (d. 1940)
• 1917 – Abdur Rahman Badawi, Egyptian philosopher (d. 2002)
• 1917 – Guillermo González Camarena, Mexican inventor (d. 1965)
• 1918 – Volodymyr Shcherbytsky, Ukrainian politician (d. 1990)
• 1919 – J.M.S. Careless, Canadian historian (d. 2009)
• 1919 – Kathleen Freeman, American actress (d. 2001)
• 1920 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian animated film director (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Enrico Banducci, American nightclub owner (d. 2007)
• 1922 – Tommy Edwards, American singer (d. 1969)
• 1922 – Valentino Mazzia, American forensic anesthesiologist (d. 1999)
• 1923 – John Marco Allegro, English scholar (d. same day 1988)
• 1924 – Margaret Truman, American novelist (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (d. 2003)
• 1925 – Hal Holbrook, American actor
• 1928 – Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress & singer
• 1929 – Paul Meger, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1929 – Chaim Potok, American author (d. 2002)
• 1929 – Nicholas Ridley, British politician (d. 1993)
• 1929 – Patricia Routledge, English actress
• 1930 – Roger Craig, American baseball player and manager
• 1930 – Ruth Rendell, English writer
• 1933 – Bobby Lewis, American singer
• 1933 – Craig L. Thomas, American politician (d. 2007)
• 1933 – Larry Jennings, American magician (d. 1997)
• 1934 – Alan Bates, English actor (d. 2003)
• 1934 – Barry Humphries, Australian actor and comedian
• 1935 – Christina Pickles, UK-born American actress
• 1936 – Jim Brown, American football player
• 1938 – Buck Trent, American banjo player
• 1938 – Martha Henry, American/Canadian actress
• 1938 – Yvonne Romain, British film and television actress
• 1939 – John Leyton, British singer
• 1939 – Mary Ann Mobley, American actress and beauty queen
• 1939 – Clément Richard, Canadian businessman and politician
• 1941 – Gene Pitney, American singer (d. 2006)
• 1941 – Julia McKenzie, English actress and theatre director
• 1942 – Huey P. Newton, American political activist (d. 1989)
• 1943 – Costas Azariadis, Greek economist
• 1943 – Claire Malis, American actress (d. 2012)
• 1944 – Karl Jenkins, Welsh composer
• 1945 – Zina Bethune, American actress and dancer (d. 2012)
• 1945 – Brenda Fricker, Irish actress
• 1946 – Dodie Stevens, American singer
• 1948 – José José, Mexican singer and actor
• 1948 – Rick Majerus, American basketball coach
• 1948 – Don Scardino, American television director and actor
• 1949 – Fred Frith, English musician and composer (Henry Cow, Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew)
• 1951 – Rashid Minhas, Pilot officer in Pakistan Air Force during Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (d. 1971)
• 1952 – Karin Janz, East German gymnast
• 1952 – Vladimír Padrůněk, Czech rock bass guitar player (d. 1991)
• 1953 – Norman Pace, British actor and comic
• 1954 – Rene Russo, American actress
• 1955 – Mo Yan, Chinese author, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1956 – Richard Karn, American actor
• 1957 – Loreena McKennitt, Canadian musician
• 1958 – Alan Wiggins, American baseball player d. 1991
• 1959 – Aryeh Deri, Israeli rabbi and politician
• 1959 – Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer
• 1959 – Neil Lomax, American football player
• 1962 – Samuel Bayer, American music video director
• 1962 – David McComb, Australian musician (The Triffids) (d. 1999)
• 1962 – Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor
• 1963 – Alison Hargreaves, British mountaineer (d. 1995)
• 1963 – Jen-Hsun Huang, American entrepreneur and businessman
• 1963 – Larry the Cable Guy, American comedian and actor
• 1963 – Michael Jordan, American basketball player
• 1963 – Rene Syler, American journalist
• 1964 – Buster Olney, American sports columnist
• 1965 – Michael Bay, American film director
• 1966 – Michael Lepond, American musician (Symphony X)
• 1966 – Quorthon, Swedish musician (Bathory) (d. 2004)
• 1966 – Luc Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1967 – Chanté Moore, American singer
• 1968 – Bryan Cox, American football player
• 1969 – David Douillet, French judoka
• 1969 – Tuesday Knight, American actress
• 1969 – Willi Kronhardt, German footballer
• 1970 – Tommy Moe, American skier
• 1970 – Dominic Purcell, English/Australian actor
• 1971 – Martyn Bennett, Canadian composer (d. 2005)
• 1971 – Jeremy Edwards, British actor
• 1971 – SaRenna Lee, American pornographic actress
• 1971 – Denise Richards, American actress
• 1972 – Billie Joe Armstrong, American musician (Green Day)
• 1972 – Philippe Candeloro, French figure skater
• 1972 – Taylor Hawkins, American musician (Foo Fighters and Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders)
• 1972 – Yuki Isoya, Japanese singer (Judy and Mary)
• 1972 – Ralphie May, American comedian
• 1972 – Valeria Mazza, Argentinian model
• 1972 – LG Petrov, Swedish singer (Entombed)
• 1973 – Drew Barry, American basketball player
• 1973 – Raphaël Ibañez, French rugby player
• 1974 – Kaoru, Japanese musician (Dir en grey)
• 1974 – Jerry O'Connell, American actor
• 1974 – Bryan White, American singer
• 1975 – Harisu, South Korean singer, model and actress
• 1975 – Kaspars Astašenko, Latvian ice hockey player (d. 2012)
• 1975 – Todd Harvey, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Vaclav Prospal, Czech ice hockey player
• 1976 – Kelly Carlson, American actress
• 1976 – William Roussel, French musician (Mütiilation)
• 1976 – Scott Williamson, American baseball player
• 1977 – Wong Choong Hann, Malaysian badminton player
• 1978 – Jacob Wetterling, American kidnapping victim
• 1979 – Dee, Puerto Rican pornographic actress
• 1979 – Josh Willingham, American baseball player
• 1980 – Al Harrington, American basketball player
• 1980 – Jason Ritter, American actor
• 1980 – Klemi Saban, Israeli footballer
• 1981 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor
• 1981 – Paris Hilton, American actress, singer, and heiress
• 1982 – Adriano, Brazilian footballer
• 1982 – Brian Bruney, American baseball player
• 1982 – Daniel Merriweather, Australian singer
• 1983 – Gérald Cid, French footballer
• 1983 – Marios Kaperonis, Greek boxer
• 1983 – Kevin Rudolf, American singer-songwriter
• 1983 – Nguyen Tien Minh, Vietnamese badminton player
• 1984 – Jimmy Jacobs, American professional wrestler
• 1984 – Stefan Jarosch, German footballer
• 1984 – Kenta Kamakari, Japanese actor and voice actor
• 1984 – Drew Miller, American ice hockey player
• 1984 – Sadha, Indian film actress
• 1984 – AB de Villiers, South African cricketer
• 1985 – Anne Curtis, Filipino actress and model
• 1985 – Anders Jacobsen, Norwegian ski jumper
• 1986 – Joey O'Brien, Irish footballer
• 1986 – Ricardo Rodriguez, American wrestler and ring announcer
• 1987 – Thomas Ayasse, French footballer
• 1987 – Aseem Trivedi, Indian cartoonist and activist
• 1988 – Natascha Kampusch, Austrian kidnapping victim
• 1989 – Rebecca Adlington, English swimmer
• 1989 – Stacey McClean, British singer (S Club 8)
• 1989 – Chord Overstreet, American actor
• 1990 – Marianne St-Gelais, Canadian short track speed skater
• 1991 – Ed Sheeran, English singer
• 1991 – Bonnie Wright, English actress
• 1992 – Meaghan Jette Martin, American actress and singer
• 1993 – AJ Perez, Filipino actor and model (d. 2011)
• 1993 – Nicola Leali, Italian footballer
• 1993 – Philip Wiegratz, German actor
• 1993 – Marc Marquez, Spanish motorcyclist
• 1996 – Sasha Pieterse, South African/American actress