October 17th, 1781

Born on October 17th, 1781

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 88,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 419 days, exactly on June 20th, 2025, people who were born on October 17th, 1781 will be 89,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on October 17th, 1781?

October 17th, 1781

American Revolutionary War: British General Charles, Earl Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown

What else happened on October 17th?

October 17th, 2001

Rehavam Ze'evi, the Israeli minister of tourism, was assassinated in revenge for the killing of PFLP leader Abu Ali Mustafa.

October 17th, 2000

A fatal rail accident at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, led to the introduction of widespread speed limit reductions throughout the British rail network and eventually caused the collapse of the railway management group Railtrack.

October 17th, 1992

Having gone to the wrong house in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a Halloween party, Japanese exchange student Yoshihito Hattori was shot and killed by the homeowner.

October 17th, 1973

Yom Kippur War: Egyptian forces retreated from the Battle of the Chinese Farm, allowing Israeli forces to build their first bridge across the Suez Canal.

October 17th, 1969

The Caravaggio painting Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence was stolen from the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo, Italy.

October 17th, 1964

Prime Minister Robert Menzies inaugurated the artificial Lake Burley Griffin (pictured) in the centre of the Australian capital Canberra.

October 17th, 1952

Indonesian Army elements surrounded the Merdeka Palace, demanding that President Sukarno disband the Provisional People's Representative Council.

October 17th, 1931

American gangster Al Capone was convicted on five counts of income-tax evasion.

October 17th, 1860

The Open Championship, the oldest of the four major championships in men's golf, was first played at Prestwick Golf Club in Prestwick, Scotland.

October 17th, 1814

A wooden beer-fermenting vat in London burst, destroying a second vat and causing a large flood of at least 128,000 imperial gallons (580,000 l; 154,000 US gal) of porter that killed eight people.

October 17th, 1777

American Revolutionary War: British general John Burgoyne's Saratoga campaign ended with his surrender to the Americans, later convincing France to enter the war in alliance with the United States.

October 17th, 1660

A series of executions of the commissioners who signed the death warrant of Charles I of England concluded; six were hanged, drawn and quartered for treason.

October 17th, 1604

German astronomer Johannes Kepler began observations of an exceptionally bright object, now known as Kepler's Supernova, that had appeared in the constellation Ophiuchus.

October 17th, 1346

Hundred Years' War: King David II of Scotland (pictured) was captured at the Battle of Neville's Cross following his invasion of England under the terms of Scotland's Auld Alliance with France.

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

Born on October 17th, 1781

52

Johann Friedrich Meckel the younger

German anatomist (1781-1833)

*October 17th, 1781, Halle (Saale) †October 31st, 1833, Halle (Saale)

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

23

Georg Büchner

German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose

*October 17th, 1813, Goddelau †February 19th, 1837, Zürich

66

Sandra Reemer

Dutch singer and presenter (1950–2017)

*October 17th, 1950, Bandung City †June 6th, 2017, Amsterdam

70

Richard Mentor Johnson

Vice president of the United States from 1837 to 1841

*October 17th, 1780, Louisville †November 19th, 1850, Frankfort

51

Eminem

American rapper, record producer and actor (born 1972)

*October 17th, 1972, St. Joseph

65

John Paul I

Pope of the Catholic Church in 1978 (1912-1978)

*October 17th, 1912, Canale d'Agordo †September 28th, 1978, Vatican City

56

Venus Terzo

Canadian actress

*October 17th, 1967, Montreal

54

Wyclef Jean

Haitian rapper

*October 17th, 1969, Croix-des-Bouquets

69

Fructuoso Rivera

President of Uruguay (1784-1854)

*October 17th, 1784, Montevideo †January 13th, 1854, Melo

57

Mark Gatiss

British actor, screenwriter and novelist

*October 17th, 1966, Sedgefield

68

Rita Hayworth

American actress (1918–1987)

*October 17th, 1918, New York City †May 14th, 1987, Upper West Side

64

Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon

French early socialist theorist (1760-1825)

*October 17th, 1760, Paris †May 19th, 1825, Paris

72

Ignác Alpár

Hungarian architect (1855-1928)

*October 17th, 1855, Pest †April 27th, 1928, Zürich

77

Cameron Mackintosh

British theatre and musical producer

*October 17th, 1946, London Borough of Enfield

49

Matthew Macfadyen

English actor

*October 17th, 1974, Great Yarmouth

85

Paxton Whitehead

British actor (1937–2023)

*October 17th, 1937, East Malling and Larkfield †June 16th, 2023, Arlington County

63

Guy Henry

British actor

*October 17th, 1960, London

57

Segundo de Chomón

Spanish-French film director, cinematographer and animator (1871-1929)

*October 17th, 1871, Teruel †May 2nd, 1929, 20th arrondissement of Paris

44

Kimi Räikkönen

Finnish racing driver

*October 17th, 1979, Espoo

37

Mohombi

Congolese-Swedish musician, singer, composer and dancer

*October 17th, 1986, Kinshasa

51

Tarkan

Turkish singer

*October 17th, 1972, Alzey

Same year
Born in 1781

67

George Stephenson

English civil and mechanical engineer and the "Father of Railways" (1781-1848)

*June 9th, 1781, Wylam †August 12th, 1848, Tapton House

60

Karl Friedrich Schinkel

Prussian architect, city planner and painter (1781–1841)

*March 13th, 1781, Neuruppin †October 9th, 1841, Berlin

67

Bernard Bolzano

Bohemian mathematician and priest (*1781 – †1848)

*October 5th, 1781, Prague †December 18th, 1848, Prague

44

Thomas Stamford Raffles

British statesman who founded Singapore (1781-1826)

*July 6th, 1781, Jamaica †July 5th, 1826, London

63

Adolphe Marbot

French general

*March 22nd, 1781, Altillac †June 2nd, 1844, Altillac

86

David Brewster

British astronomer and mathematician (1781–1868)

*December 11th, 1781, Jedburgh †February 10th, 1868, Melrose

49

Ludwig Achim von Arnim

German poet and novelist

*January 26th, 1781, Palais Wrangel †January 21st, 1831, Wiepersdorf manor

87

Louis François Dauprat

French composer

*May 24th, 1781, Paris †July 16th, 1868, Paris

65

José María Calatrava y Peinado

Prime Minister of Spain and Minister of State

*February 26th, 1781, Mérida †January 16th, 1847, Madrid

42

Eugène de Beauharnais

French nobleman, statesman, and military commander (1781–1824)

*September 3rd, 1781, Paris †February 21st, 1824, Munich

75

Jean-Baptiste Métivier

French architect (1781-1853)

*April 1st, 1781, Rennes †January 1st, 1857, Munich

58

Siméon Denis Poisson

French mathematician, mechanician and physicist (1781–1840)

*June 21st, 1781, Pithiviers †April 25th, 1840, Sceaux

77

Valentín Gómez Farías

President of Mexico (1781-1858)

*February 14th, 1781, Guadalajara †July 5th, 1858, Mexico City

45

Johann Baptist von Spix

Biologist (1781-1826)

*January 9th, 1781, Höchstadt an der Aisch †March 13th, 1826, Munich

57

Adelbert von Chamisso

German poet and botanist (1781–1838)

*January 30th, 1781, Châlons-en-Champagne †August 21st, 1838, Berlin

85

George Bruce

Scottish-American inventor and businessman

*July 5th, 1781, Edinburgh †July 6th, 1866, New York City

84

Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet, of Shenstone

British Royal Navy admiral (1781-1866)

*December 1st, 1781, Almington †November 13th, 1866, Shenstone

65

Friedrich Schmalz

German farmer

*June 25th, 1781, Zeitz †May 23rd, 1847, Dresden

74

Joaquín Manuel Fernández Cruzado

Spanish painter (1781-1856)

*December 24th, 1781, Jerez de la Frontera †January 31st, 1856, Cádiz

55

Francisco Espoz y Mina

Spanish military commander

*June 17th, 1781, Idocin †December 24th, 1836, Barcelona

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on October 17th

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

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

No: With 365 days 1781 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
October 1781