April 17th, 1779

Born on April 17th, 1779

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 89,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 499 days, exactly on September 14th, 2025, people who were born on April 17th, 1779 will be 90,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on April 17th?

April 17th, 2014

NASA announced the discovery of Kepler-186f, the first exoplanet with a radius similar to Earth's discovered in the habitable zone of another star.

April 17th, 1986

Having supposedly been at war for 335 years without a single shot having been fired and no casualties incurred, the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly declared peace.

April 17th, 1984

Metropolitan Police officer Yvonne Fletcher was shot and killed while on duty during a protest outside the Libyan embassy in London, resulting in an 11-day police siege of the building and a breakdown of Libya–United Kingdom relations.

April 17th, 1975

The Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh, the capital of the Khmer Republic, ending the Cambodian Civil War and establishing the socialist state of Democratic Kampuchea.

April 17th, 1973

George Lucas began writing a 13-page film treatment that later formed the basis of Star Wars.

April 17th, 1969

Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of the assassination of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

April 17th, 1951

The Peak District was designated the first national park in the United Kingdom.

April 17th, 1907

Minas Geraes (pictured), the first of three Brazilian dreadnought battleships, was laid down, sparking a vastly expensive South American naval arms race with Argentina and Chile.

April 17th, 1809

Napoleonic Wars: After a three-day chase, the French ship D'Hautpoul was captured off Puerto Rico by a British squadron under Alexander Cochrane.

April 17th, 1797

French Revolutionary Wars: British forces commanded by Lieutenant-General Ralph Abercromby invaded the Spanish colonial port of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

April 17th, 1783

The Mechanical Turk, a fraudulent chess-playing "machine" by Wolfgang von Kempelen that was secretly controlled by a hidden human, began a tour of Europe.

April 17th, 1362

Lithuanian Crusade: After a month-long siege, forces of the Teutonic Order captured and destroyed Kaunas Castle (reconstruction pictured), which was defended by troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

April 17th, 1080

Canute IV became King of Denmark upon the death of his brother Harald III.

April 17th, 2021

The funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, takes place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

April 17th, 2014

NASA's Kepler space telescope confirms the discovery of the first Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of another star.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on April 17th

Born on April 17th, 1779

75

Friedrich von Boyneburgk

German composer

*April 17th, 1779, Stedtfeld †September 19th, 1854, Stedtfeld

Same Day
Who's birthday is on April 17th?

63

Pete Shelley

British singer-songwriter (1955–2018)

*April 17th, 1955, Leigh †December 6th, 2018, Tallinn

57

Timothy Gibbs

American actor

*April 17th, 1967, Calabasas

73

Horst Hrubesch

German association football player and manager

*April 17th, 1951, Hamm

65

Sean Bean

English actor

*April 17th, 1959, Handsworth

67

Nick Hornby

English novelist

*April 17th, 1957, Redhill

87

Alain Poher

French politician (1909-1996)

*April 17th, 1909, Ablon-sur-Seine †December 9th, 1996, Paris

74

Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius

German botanist (1794-1868)

*April 17th, 1794, Erlangen †December 13th, 1868, Munich

61

Roddy Piper

Canadian professional wrestler (1954-2015)

*April 17th, 1954, Saskatoon †July 31st, 2015, Hollywood

82

David Bradley

British actor

*April 17th, 1942, York

37

Medhi Benatia

Moroccan and French footballer

*April 17th, 1987, Courcouronnes

52

Jennifer Garner

American actress

*April 17th, 1972, Houston

58

Friedrich Koenig

German printer (1774-1833)

*April 17th, 1774, Lutherstadt Eisleben †January 17th, 1833, Zell am Main

50

Victoria Beckham

English businesswoman, fashion designer and singer

*April 17th, 1974, Harlow

32

Jasper Stuyven

Belgian cyclist

*April 17th, 1992, Leuven

75

J. P. Morgan

American financier, banker, and art collector (1837–1913)

*April 17th, 1837, Hartford †March 31st, 1913, Rome

78

Thornton Wilder

American playwright and novelist (1897–1975)

*April 17th, 1897, Madison †December 7th, 1975, Hamden

43

Chris Thompson

British long-distance runner

*April 17th, 1981, Barrow-in-Furness

54

Pascale Arbillot

French actress

*April 17th, 1970, France

84

Sirimavo Bandaranaike

Prime Minister of Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) from 1960–65, 1970–77, 1994–2000

*April 17th, 1916, Baḷangoḍa †October 10th, 2000, Colombo

63

William Holden

American actor (1918–1981)

*April 17th, 1918, O'Fallon †November 12th, 1981, Santa Monica

Same year
Born in 1779

72

Thomas Moore

Irish poet, singer and songwriter (1779–1852)

*May 28th, 1779, Dublin †February 25th, 1852, Bromham

29

Mustafa IV

Ottoman Sultan (1779-1808)

*September 8th, 1779, Constantinople †November 17th, 1808, Constantinople

69

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne

British politician (1779–1848)

*March 15th, 1779, London †November 24th, 1848, Hertfordshire

63

Washington Allston

American artist (1779-1843)

*November 5th, 1779, Charleston †July 9th, 1843, Cambridge

68

Jöns Jacob Berzelius

Swedish chemist (1779-1848)

*August 20th, 1779, Väfversunda †August 7th, 1848, Adolf Fredriks parish

65

Christoph Johann Jakob Arnold

German architect (1779-1844)

*June 1st, 1779, Karlsruhe †July 17th, 1844, Heidelberg

85

Aimé, duc de Clermont-Tonnerre

French general and statesman (1779-1865)

*November 27th, 1779, Paris †January 8th, 1865, Glisolles

73

Alexis de Garaudé

French composer and university teacher (1779-1852)

*March 21st, 1779, Nancy †March 23rd, 1852, Paris

36

Miguel de Pombo

Colombian politician (1779-1816)

*November 16th, 1779, Popayán †July 6th, 1816, Colombia

78

Józef Dwernicki

Polish general (1779-1857)

*March 19th, 1779, Warsaw †September 23rd, 1857, Lopatyn

72

Joel Roberts Poinsett

Politician and diplomat (1779-1851)

*March 2nd, 1779, Charleston †December 12th, 1851, Stateburg

41

Stephen Decatur

United States Navy officer

*January 5th, 1779, Berlin †March 22nd, 1820, Bladensburg

70

Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily

Italian princess (1779-1849)

*January 17th, 1779, Caserta †March 11th, 1849, Savona

59

John Galt

Scottish writer (1779-1839)

*May 2nd, 1779, Irvine †April 11th, 1839, Greenock

63

Antonia Nava de Catalán

Mexican military personnel

*November 18th, 1779, Tixtla de Guerrero †March 19th, 1843, Chilpancingo

72

Karl Agricola

Austrian artist (1779-1852)

*October 18th, 1779, Bad Säckingen †May 15th, 1852, Vienna

63

William Hedley

British inventor and industrial engineer (1779-1843)

*July 13th, 1779, Newburn †January 9th, 1843, Lanchester

64

Burkhard Wilhelm Seiler

German physician

*April 11th, 1779, Erlangen †September 27th, 1843, Dresden

73

William Badger

American politician

*January 13th, 1779, Gilmanton †September 21st, 1852, Gilmanton

80

Carl Ritter

German geographer (1779-1859)

*August 7th, 1779, Quedlinburg †September 28th, 1859, Berlin

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on April 17th

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day) which are celebrated on April 17th.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

No: With 365 days 1779 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
April 1779