April 17th, 1842

Born on April 17th, 1842

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 66,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 514 days, exactly on September 24th, 2025, people who were born on April 17th, 1842 will be 67,000 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, 1842

69

Maurice Rouvier

French statesman (1842-1911)

*April 17th, 1842, Aix-en-Provence †June 7th, 1911, Neuilly-sur-Seine

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

75

J. P. Morgan

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

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

60

Camillo Sitte

Austrian architect, painter and urbanist (1843-1903)

*April 17th, 1843, Vienna †November 16th, 1903, Vienna

65

Sean Bean

English actor

*April 17th, 1959, Handsworth

87

Alain Poher

French politician (1909-1996)

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

67

Nick Hornby

English novelist

*April 17th, 1957, Redhill

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

63

Max Arnhold

German banker

*April 17th, 1845, Dessau †December 4th, 1908, Dresden

78

Thornton Wilder

American playwright and novelist (1897–1975)

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

37

Medhi Benatia

Moroccan and French footballer

*April 17th, 1987, Courcouronnes

52

Jennifer Garner

American actress

*April 17th, 1972, Houston

50

Victoria Beckham

English businesswoman, fashion designer and singer

*April 17th, 1974, Harlow

32

Jasper Stuyven

Belgian cyclist

*April 17th, 1992, Leuven

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

73

Edward Jakobowski

British composer

*April 17th, 1856, London †April 29th, 1929, London

43

Chris Thompson

British long-distance runner

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

Same year
Born in 1842

70

Karl May

German author (1842-1912)

*February 25th, 1842, Hohenstein-Ernstthal †March 30th, 1912, Radebeul

56

Stéphane Mallarmé

French Symbolist poet (1842–1898)

*March 18th, 1842, Paris †September 9th, 1898, Fontainebleau

81

Alfred Marshall

British economist

*July 26th, 1842, Bermondsey †July 13th, 1924, Cambridge

68

William James

American philosopher, psychologist, and pragmatist (1842–1910)

*January 11th, 1842, Astor House †August 26th, 1910, Tamworth

48

Heinrich Heydemann

German classical archaeologist

*August 28th, 1842, Greifswald †September 10th, 1890, Halle (Saale)

75

Abdul Hamid II

34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1876 to 1909

*September 21st, 1842, Istanbul †February 10th, 1918, Beylerbeyi Palace

76

Arrigo Boito

Italian poet and opera composer and librettist of Verdi's opera ''Otello'' (1842-1918)

*February 24th, 1842, Padua †June 10th, 1918, Milan

47

Charles Grad

French politician (1842-1890)

*December 8th, 1842, Turckheim †July 3rd, 1890, Wintzenheim

88

Giovanni Boldini

Italian painter (1842-1931)

*December 31st, 1842, Ferrara †January 12th, 1931, Paris

80

Cornelie Richter

German salonnière

*March 4th, 1842, Berlin †July 19th, 1922, Berlin

71

Ambrose Bierce

American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist

*June 24th, 1842, Meigs County †November 30th, 1913, Chihuahua City

70

Jules Massenet

French composer (1842–1912)

*May 12th, 1842, Saint-Étienne †August 13th, 1912, Paris

66

François Coppée

French poet and novelist

*January 26th, 1842, Paris †May 23rd, 1908, 7th arrondissement of Paris

85

Giovanni Giolitti

Italian statesman (1842–1928)

*October 27th, 1842, Mondovì †July 17th, 1928, Cavour

80

James Dewar

Scottish chemist and physicist (1842–1923)

*September 20th, 1842, Kincardine †March 27th, 1923, London

68

Ellen Swallow Richards

American chemist (1842-1911)

*December 3rd, 1842, Dunstable †March 30th, 1911, Boston

77

John H. Bankhead

American politician (1842-1920)

*September 13th, 1842, Marion County †March 1st, 1920, Washington, D.C.

76

John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh

English physicist (1842–1919)

*November 12th, 1842, Maldon †June 30th, 1919, Witham

79

Madeleine Brès

French physician

*November 25th, 1842, Bouillargues †November 30th, 1921, Montrouge

78

Peter Kropotkin

Russian revolutionary socialist and philosopher (1842–1921)

*November 27th, 1842, Moscow †February 8th, 1921, Dmitrov

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 1842 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
April 1842