January 17 - Births

Births

• 1463 – Frederick III of Saxony, Elector of Saxony (d. 1525)
• 1484 – George Spalatin, German reformer (d. 1545)
• 1501 – Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (d. 1566)
• 1504 – Pope Saint Pius V (d. 1572)
• 1560 – Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist (d. 1624)
• 1574 – Robert Fludd, English composer and writer (d. 1637)
• 1600 – Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish playwright (d. 1681)
• 1612 – Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, English Civil War general (d. 1671)
• 1659 – Antonio Veracini, Italian composer and violinist (d. 1745)
• 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)
• 1728 – Johann Gottfried Müthel, German composer and noted keyboard virtuoso (d. 1788)
• 1732 – King Stanislaw II August Poniatowski of Poland (d. 1798)
• 1733 – Thomas Linley the elder English musician (d. 1795)
• 1734 – François-Joseph Gossec, Belgian composer (d. 1829)
• 1761 – James Hall, Scottish geologist (d. 1832)
• 1789 – August Neander, German theologian (d. 1850)
• 1814 – Mrs. Henry Wood, English novelist (d. 1887)
• 1820 – Anne Brontë, British author (d. 1849)
• 1828 – Lewis A. Grant, American Civil War general (d. 1918)
• 1828 – Eduard Remenyi, Hungarian violinist (d. 1898)
• 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 – Wilhelm Kienzl, Austrian composer (d. 1941)
• 1857 – Eugene Augustin Lauste, French inventor (d. 1935)
• 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)
• 1867 – Alfred Rawlinson, British soldier and sportsman (d. 1934)
• 1871 – David Earl Beatty British admiral (d. 1936)
• 1871 – Nicolae Iorga, Romanian writer (d. 1940)
• 1872 – Henri Masson, French fencer (d. 1963)
• 1875 – Florencio Sánchez, Uruguayan dramatist (d. 1910)
• 1876 – Frank Hague, American politician (d. 1956)
• 1877 – May Gibbs, Australian children's author (d. 1969)
• 1879 – Burt McKinnie, American golfer (d. 1946)
• 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)
• 1882 – Arnold Rothstein, New York businessman and gambler (d. 1928)
• 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 – Robert Maynard Hutchins, president of University of Chicago (d. 1977)
• 1899 – Nevil Shute, English author (d. 1960)
• 1901 – Aron Gurwitsch, Lithuanian-born philosopher (d. 1973)
• 1902 – Nâzım Hikmet, Turkish poet (d. 1963)
• 1903 – Warren Hull, American actor (d. 1974)
• 1905 – Ray Cunningham, American baseball player (d. 2005)
• 1905 – Peggy Gilbert, American jazz saxophonist and bandleader (d. 2007)
• 1905 – Guillermo Stábile, Argentine footballer (d. 1966)
• 1905 – Jan Zahradníček, Czech poet (d. 1960)
• 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 – Anacleto Angelini, Chilean businessman (d. 2007)
• 1914 – Irving Brecher, American Screenwriter (d. 2008)
• 1914 – William Stafford, American poet and essayist (d. 1993)
• 1916 – Peter Frelinghuysen, American politician (d. 2011)
• 1917 – Ramón Cardemil, Chilean huaso (d. 2007)
• 1917 – M. G. Ramachandran, Indian politician, actor (d. 1987)
• 1918 – Keith Joseph, British politician (d. 1994)
• 1918 – George M. Leader, American politician and 36th Governor of Pennsylvania
• 1920 – Georges Pichard, French comics artist (d. 2003)
• 1921 – Asghar Khan, Pakistan Air Force commander-in-chief
• 1921 – Antonio Prohías, Cuban cartoonist (d. 1998)
• 1922 – Robert De Niro, Sr., American painter (d. 1993)
• 1922 – Luis Echeverría Álvarez, Mexican President of Mexico
• 1922 – Nicholas Katzenbach, American jurist and 65th United States Attorney General
• 1922 – Betty White, American actress
• 1923 – Carol Raye, Australian actress
• 1925 – Robert Cormier, American author, columnist and reporter (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)
• 1927 – E.W. Swackhamer, American television & film director (d. 1994)
• 1928 – Jean Barraqué, French composer (d. 1973)
• 1928 – Vidal Sassoon, English cosmetologist (d. 2012)
• 1929 – Jacques Plante, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1986)
• 1929 – Tan Boon Teik, former Attorney-General of Singapore (d. 2012)
• 1930 – Eddie LeBaron, American football player
• 1931 – James Earl Jones, American actor
• 1931 – L. Douglas Wilder, American politician, 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)
• 1934 – Donald Cammell, Scottish film director (d. 1996)
• 1934 – Stuart Nisbet, American actor
• 1935 – Ruth Ann Minner, American politician, businesswoman and 72nd Governor of Delaware
• 1937 – Alain Badiou, French philosopher
• 1938 – John Bellairs, American mystery author (d. 1991)
• 1938 – Percy Qoboza, South African journalist (d. 1988)
• 1939 – Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece (d. 2008)
• 1939 – Maury Povich, American talk show host
• 1940 – Kipchoge Keino, Kenyan runner
• 1940 – Tabaré Vázquez, 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 – Geoffrey Deuel, American actor
• 1943 – Chris Montez, American singer
• 1943 – René Préval, President of Haiti
• 1944 – Françoise Hardy, French singer
• 1945 – Javed Akhtar, Indian lyricist, poet and scriptwriter
• 1946 – Michèle Deslauriers, Canadian actress
• 1947 – Jane Elliot, American actress
• 1948 – Jim Ladd, American disc jockey, radio producer and writer
• 1948 – Davíð Oddsson, former Prime Minister of Iceland
• 1948 – Anne Queffélec, French pianist
• 1949 – Gyude Bryant, Liberian politician and businessman
• 1949 – Andy Kaufman, American comedian (d. 1984)
• 1949 – Mick Taylor, British musician (John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones)
• 1950 – Luis López Nieves, Latin American writer
• 1952 – Darrell Porter, American baseball player (d. 2002)
• 1952 – Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese musician (Yellow Magic Orchestra)
• 1953 – Jeff Berlin, American musician
• 1953 – Carlos Johnson, American blues musician
• 1954 – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., American lawyer and environmental activist, son of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy
• 1954 – Susan Kiefel, Australian lawyer and judge
• 1955 – Steve Earle, American musician
• 1955 – Steve Javie, American professional basketball referee
• 1956 – Paul Young, English musician (Streetband and Q-Tips)
• 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
• 1958 – Valdas Kasparavičius, Lithuanian footballer
• 1959 – Susanna Hoffs, American musician (The Bangles)
• 1959 – Momoe Yamaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
• 1960 – John Crawford, American musician (Berlin)
• 1960 – Chili Davis, Jamaican-born American baseball player
• 1960 – Chatchai Plengpanich, Thai actor
• 1961 – Maia Chiburdanidze, Georgian Chess grandmaster
• 1961 – Brian Helgeland, American writer and film director
• 1962 – Jun Azumi, Japanese politician
• 1962 – Jim Carrey, Canadian actor and comedian
• 1962 – Sebastian Junger, American journalist and author
• 1963 – Kai Hansen, German singer and guitarist (Gamma Ray and Helloween)
• 1964 – Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States
• 1964 – Andy Rourke, English bass guitarist (The Smiths and Freebass)
• 1965 – Nikos Nioplias, Greek footballer
• 1965 – Sylvain Turgeon, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1966 – Joshua Malina, American actor
• 1966 – Stephin Merritt, American singer and songwriter (The Magnetic Fields, The 6ths, and The Gothic Archies)
• 1966 – Shabba Ranks, Jamaican singer
• 1967 – Richard Hawley, English singer, guitarist, and songwriter (Pulp and The Longpigs)
• 1967 – Song Kang-ho, South Korean actor
• 1967 – Wendy Mass, American author
• 1967 – Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (d. 2007)
• 1968 – Svetlana Masterkova, Russian athlete
• 1968 – Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Dutch writer
• 1968 – Craig Strong, American actor & voice actor
• 1969 – Naveen Andrews, British actor
• 1969 – Lukas Moodysson, Swedish film writer and director
• 1969 – Tijs Verwest, Dutch DJ (Tiësto)
• 1970 – Cássio Alves de Barros, Brazilian footballer
• 1970 – Jeremy Roenick, American ice hockey player
• 1970 – Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-born animator
• 1970 – James Wattana, Thai snooker player
• 1971 – Giorgos Balogiannis, Greek basketball player
• 1971 – Richard Burns, English rally driver (d. 2005)
• 1971 – Youki Kudoh, Japanese actress
• 1971 – Kid Rock, American singer
• 1971 – Sylvie Testud, French actress
• 1971 – Paolo Vaccari, Italian rugby player
• 1971 – Ann Wolfe, female boxer
• 1972 – Benno Fürmann, German actor
• 1972 – Ken Hirai, Japanese singer and songwriter
• 1973 – Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Mexican footballer
• 1973 – Liz Ellis, Australian netball player
• 1973 – Aaron Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1974 – Danny Bhoy, Scottish comedian
• 1974 – Ladan and Laleh Bijani, Iranian conjoined twins (d. 2003)
• 1974 – Yang Chen, Chinese footballer
• 1974 – Derrick Mason, American football player
• 1974 – Vesko Kountchev, Bulgarian musician (Amparanoia)
• 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
• 1978 – Ricky Wilson, British singer (Kaiser Chiefs)
• 1979 – Oleg Lisogor, Ukrainian swimmer
• 1980 – Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Ukrainian ballroom dancer
• 1980 – Zooey Deschanel, American actress
• 1980 – Gareth McLearnon, Northern Irish flautist
• 1980 – Kimberly Spicer, American model
• 1981 – Warren Feeney, Northern Irish footballer
• 1981 – Ray J, American singer
• 1981 – Scott Mechlowicz, American actor
• 1982 – Hwanhee, South Korean singer and actor (Fly to the Sky)
• 1982 – Dwyane Wade, American basketball player
• 1982 – Amanda Wilkinson, Canadian singer
• 1983 – Álvaro Arbeloa, Spanish footballer
• 1983 – Johannes Herber, German basketball player
• 1983 – Rick Kelly, Australian racing driver
• 1984 – Sophie Dee, Welsh pornographic actress
• 1984 – Calvin Harris, Scottish music producer and vocalist
• 1985 – Pablo Barrientos, Argentine footballer
• 1985 – Kang-in, South Korean singer, dancer, actor, MC, and DJ (Super Junior)
• 1985 – Riyu Kosaka, Japanese singer (BeForU)
• 1985 – Simone Simons, Dutch singer (Epica)
• 1986 – Hale Appleman, American actor
• 1986 – Viktor Stalberg, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1986 – Max Adler, American actor
• 1988 – Héctor Moreno, Mexican footballer
• 1989 – Hollie-Jay Bowes, English actress
• 1989 – Björn Dreyer, German footballer
• 1991 – Trevor Bauer, American baseball player
• 1991 – Lee Kiseop, Korean singer (U-KISS)
• 1994 – Daanish Rijhwani, Computer Scientist, UCL.
• 1997 – Jack Vidgen, Australian singer