December 17th, 1842

Born on December 17th, 1842

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

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 759 days, exactly on May 26th, 2026, people who were born on December 17th, 1842 will be 67,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on December 17th?

December 17th, 2010

Arab Spring: Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, set himself on fire in protest against police harassment, triggering the Tunisian Revolution.

December 17th, 1990

American gay rights activist William E. Woods brought three same-sex couples to fill out marriage licenses in Honolulu, leading to the eventual legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States.

December 17th, 1989

The Simpsons, the longest running American prime-time entertainment series, made its debut on the Fox television network with the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".

December 17th, 1983

The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a car bomb outside Harrods in London, killing six people and injuring about 90 others.

December 17th, 1970

Polish soldiers fired at workers (memorial pictured) emerging from trains in Gdynia, beginning the government's crackdown on mass anti-communist protests across the country.

December 17th, 1967

Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia, disappeared while swimming near Portsea, Victoria; his body was never recovered.

December 17th, 1948

The Finnish Security Police was established to remove communist leadership from its predecessor, the State Police.

December 17th, 1945

The modern flag of Kurdistan was raised for the first time in Mahabad, Iran.

December 17th, 1944

Nazi troops under Joachim Peiper killed unarmed prisoners of war, captured during the Battle of the Bulge, with machine guns near Malmedy, Belgium.

December 17th, 1939

World War II: After sustaining moderate damage in the Battle of the River Plate two days earlier, the German cruiser Graf Spee was scuttled by its commander, Hans Langsdorff, to avoid its internment by Uruguay.

December 17th, 1926

A coup d'état by the Lithuanian military replaced the democratically elected President Kazys Grinius with Antanas Smetona.

December 17th, 1918

About 1,000 demonstrators marched (pictured) on Government House in Darwin, Australia, where they burned an effigy of Administrator John Gilruth and demanded his resignation.

December 17th, 1903

Aboard the Wright Flyer (pictured) in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright conducted the first successful flights of a powered fixed-wing aircraft.

December 17th, 1862

American Civil War: Union General Ulysses S. Grant issued General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.

December 17th, 1790

The Aztec sun stone, now a modern symbol of Mexican culture, was excavated in the Zócalo, the main square of Mexico City.

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

Born on December 17th, 1842

56

Sophus Lie

Norwegian mathematician

*December 17th, 1842, Nordfjordeid †February 18th, 1899, Oslo

79

Ernest Lavisse

French historian (1842-1922)

*December 17th, 1842, Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache †August 18th, 1922, 6th arrondissement of Paris

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

27

Kungs

French DJ, record producer and musician

*December 17th, 1996, Aix-en-Provence

79

Carl Meyer

German architect (1855-1936)

*December 17th, 1855, Estorf †November 30th, 1935, Hanover

74

Alexander Emanuel Agassiz

Swiss-American zoologist and engineer (1835-1910)

*December 17th, 1835, Neuchâtel †March 27th, 1910, RMS Adriatic

93

Armin Mueller-Stahl

German actor

*December 17th, 1930, Sovetsk

90

Wilhelm Brambach

German musicologist

*December 17th, 1841, Bonn †February 26th, 1932, Karlsruhe

48

Milla Jovovich

Ukrainian-American actress and model

*December 17th, 1975, Kyiv

87

Pope Francis

266th pope of the Catholic Church

*December 17th, 1936, Flores

24

Holly Humberstone

British singer-songwriter

*December 17th, 1999, Grantham

51

Fernando Silva

Badminton player

*December 17th, 1972, Peniche

74

Francisco Serrano, 1st Duke of la Torre

Spanish noble and politician (1810-1885)

*December 17th, 1810, Isla de León †November 26th, 1885, Madrid

69

Josef Lada

Czech illustrator, painter, caricaturist, scenographer and writer (1887-1957)

*December 17th, 1887, Hrusice †December 14th, 1957, Prague

52

Joel Berti

American actor

*December 17th, 1971, Avon

71

Ernst von Heynitz

German military personnel

*December 17th, 1840, Weißenberg †March 20th, 1912, Berlin

50

Humphry Davy

British chemist

*December 17th, 1778, Penzance †May 29th, 1829, Geneva

81

Muhammadu Buhari

Former President of Nigeria

*December 17th, 1942, Daura

80

Peter Snell

New Zealand athlete

*December 17th, 1938, Ōpunake †December 12th, 2019, Dallas

64

Gregg Araki

American film director

*December 17th, 1959, Los Angeles

80

Joseph Henry

American scientist and the 1st Secretary of the Smithsonian (1797-1878)

*December 17th, 1797, Albany †May 13th, 1878, Washington, D.C.

61

Frank Lieberam

German association football player and manager

*December 17th, 1962, Halberstadt

75

Angelo Mariani

French chemist

*December 17th, 1838, Pero-Casevecchie †April 1st, 1914, Saint-Raphaël

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 December 17th

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

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

No: With 365 days 1842 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
December 1842