January 17th, 1859

Born on January 17th, 1859

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 60,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 633 days, exactly on January 21st, 2026, people who were born on January 17th, 1859 will be 61,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on January 17th?

January 17th, 1377

Gregory XI, the last Avignon pope, entered Rome after a four-month journey from Avignon, returning the papacy to its original city.

January 17th, 1999

In Little Saigon, California, a series of protests began when the owner of a video rental store displayed an image of Ho Chi Minh.

January 17th, 2010

The first spate of violence between Muslims and Christians began in Jos, Nigeria, and would end in more than 200 deaths.

January 17th, 2002

Mount Nyiragongo, a volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, began an eruption that killed hundreds and left about 120,000 people homeless in the nearby town of Goma.

January 17th, 1998

The Drudge Report became the first news source to break the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal to the public.

January 17th, 1989

Patrick Purdy opened fire in an elementary school in Stockton, California, killing 5 and wounding 32 others.

January 17th, 1966

A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress collided with a KC-135 Stratotanker during aerial refueling over the Mediterranean Sea, dropping three hydrogen bombs on land near Palomares, Spain, and a fourth one into the sea.

January 17th, 1961

Three days before leaving office, U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered a farewell speech to the nation, in which he warned about the dangers of the military–industrial complex.

January 17th, 1948

Indonesian National Revolution: The Renville Agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesian republicans was ratified, in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to resolve disputes arising from the Linggadjati Agreement of 1946.

January 17th, 1946

The United Nations Security Council, the organ of the United Nations charged with the maintenance of international peace and security, held its first meeting at Church House, Westminster.

January 17th, 1945

World War II: Australian troops advanced along the northern part of Bougainville Island (in present-day Papua New Guinea) and began fighting Japanese forces in the Battle of Tsimba Ridge.

January 17th, 1920

The Volstead Act went into effect, beginning the prohibition of alcohol in the United States.

January 17th, 1917

Denmark sold their portion of the Virgin Islands archipelago to the United States for US$25 million.

January 17th, 1912

Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition reached the South Pole, only to find that Roald Amundsen's team had beaten them by 33 days.

January 17th, 1899

The United States took possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.

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

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

83

Jens Bratlie

13th Prime Minister of Norway

*January 17th, 1856, Nordre Land Municipality †September 15th, 1939, Oslo

33

Qiu Zihan

Chinese badminton player

*January 17th, 1991, Xiamen

66

Eveline Peterson

Badminton player

*January 17th, 1877, Jalpaiguri †November 30th, 1943, Totnes

82

David Lloyd George

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922

*January 17th, 1863, Manchester †March 26th, 1945, Llanystumdwy

36

Gabi Tóth

Hungarian singer

*January 17th, 1988, Tapolca

89

Douglas Hyde

First President of Ireland; historian, poet, and folklorist (1860-1949)

*January 17th, 1860, Castlerea †July 12th, 1949, Dublin

62

Jim Carrey

Canadian comedian and actor

*January 17th, 1962, Newmarket

42

Dwyane Wade

American former basketball player

*January 17th, 1982, Chicago

74

Muhammad Ali

American boxer, philanthropist, and activist (1942–2016)

*January 17th, 1942, Louisville †June 3rd, 2016, Scottsdale

86

Sonja Sutter

German actress

*January 17th, 1931, Freiburg im Breisgau †June 2nd, 2017, Baden

47

Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil

Danish politician

*January 17th, 1977, Zealand

47

Sverre Rotevatn

Norwegian Nordic combined skier

*January 17th, 1977, Lillehammer Municipality

95

Elisabeth Gesche

German nurse and honorary consul

*January 17th, 1924, Funchal †May 27th, 2019

60

Michelle Obama

Lawyer and former First Lady of the United States

*January 17th, 1964, Chicago

64

Noah Beery, Sr.

American actor (1882–1946)

*January 17th, 1882, Kansas City †April 1st, 1946, Los Angeles

81

Marie von Bunsen

British born German author and painter (1860-1941)

*January 17th, 1860, London †June 28th, 1941, Berlin

37

Jenny Wallwork

British badminton player

*January 17th, 1987, Bolton

93

James Earl Jones

American actor

*January 17th, 1931, Arkabutla

33

Yao Xue

Chinese badminton player

*January 17th, 1991, Jingzhou

30

Shen Yaying

Chinese badminton player

*January 17th, 1994, Zhangzhou

Same year
Born in 1859

75

Paul Herrmann

German classical archaeologist

*December 14th, 1859, Halle (Saale) †August 30th, 1935, Dresden

46

Pierre Curie

French physicist (1859-1906)

*May 15th, 1859, Paris †April 19th, 1906, Paris

71

Arthur Conan Doyle

British writer and physician (1859–1930)

*May 22nd, 1859, Edinburgh †July 7th, 1930, Crowborough

31

Kathinka Hedwig Agerskov

Danish painter

*August 8th, 1859, Flensburg †November 23rd, 1890, Frederiksberg

81

Henri Bergson

French philosopher (1859–1941)

*October 18th, 1859, Paris †January 4th, 1941, Paris

82

Wilhelm II

German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 to 1918

*January 27th, 1859, Kronprinzenpalais †June 4th, 1941, Huis Doorn

57

L. L. Zamenhof

Polish-Jewish pysician and inventor of Esperanto (1859-1917)

*December 15th, 1859, Białystok †April 14th, 1917, Warsaw

92

Knut Hamsun

Norwegian novelist (1859–1952)

*August 4th, 1859, Vågå †February 19th, 1952, Grimstad

31

Georges Seurat

French painter (1859-1891)

*December 2nd, 1859, Paris †March 29th, 1891, Paris

92

John Dewey

American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer (1859–1952)

*October 20th, 1859, Burlington †June 1st, 1952, New York City

73

Kenneth Grahame

British novelist

*March 8th, 1859, Edinburgh †July 6th, 1932, Berkshire

65

Victor Herbert

American composer

*February 1st, 1859, Dublin †May 26th, 1924, New York City

70

Anton Aicher

Austrian theatre director

*April 5th, 1859, Feldbach †February 5th, 1930, Salzburg

79

Edmund Husserl

German philosopher, known as the father of phenomenology (*1859 – †1938)

*April 8th, 1859, Prostějov †April 27th, 1938, Freiburg im Breisgau

75

Alfred Dreyfus

French artillery officer (1859–1935)

*October 9th, 1859, Mulhouse †July 12th, 1935, Paris

60

Reginald De Koven

American music critic and composer

*April 3rd, 1859, Middletown †January 16th, 1920

96

Johan Frans van Bemmelen

Dutch zoologist and paleontologist (1859–1956)

*December 26th, 1859, Groningen †August 6th, 1956, Leiden

68

Jerome K. Jerome

English humorist (1859-1927)

*May 2nd, 1859, Walsall †June 14th, 1927, Northampton

57

Sholem Aleichem

Jewish writer and playwright of Yiddish, who worked in Ukraine and the United States (1859-1916)

*February 18th, 1859, Pereiaslav †May 13th, 1916, New York City

86

Gerhard Heilmann

Danish artist and paleontologist (1859-1946)

*June 25th, 1859, Skælskør †March 26th, 1946, Copenhagen

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on January 17th

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

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

No: With 365 days 1859 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
January 1859