December 17th, 1872

Born on December 17th, 1872

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 55,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 724 days, exactly on April 14th, 2026, people who were born on December 17th, 1872 will be 56,000 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, 1872

65

Emil Hochreiter

Austrian singer (1872-1938)

*December 17th, 1872, Debrecen †August 3rd, 1938, Vienna

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

27

Kungs

French DJ, record producer and musician

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

93

Armin Mueller-Stahl

German actor

*December 17th, 1930, Sovetsk

143

Carl Meyer

German architect (1855-19__)

*December 17th, 1855, Estorf †November 30th, 1999, Hanover

69

Josef Lada

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

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

87

Pope Francis

266th pope of the Catholic Church

*December 17th, 1936, Flores

48

Milla Jovovich

Ukrainian-American actress and model

*December 17th, 1975, Kyiv

24

Holly Humberstone

British singer-songwriter

*December 17th, 1999, Grantham

51

Fernando Silva

Badminton player

*December 17th, 1972, Peniche

52

Joel Berti

American actor

*December 17th, 1971, Avon

74

Alexander Emanuel Agassiz

Swiss-American zoologist and engineer (1835-1910)

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

81

Muhammadu Buhari

Former President of Nigeria

*December 17th, 1942, Daura

70

Afrânio Peixoto

Brazilian writer

*December 17th, 1876, Lençóis †January 12th, 1947, Rio de Janeiro

81

Benjamin-Octave Roland-Gosselin

French catholic bishop (1870-1952)

*December 17th, 1870, Paris †May 22nd, 1952, Versailles

80

Peter Snell

New Zealand athlete

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

74

Francisco Serrano, 1st Duke of la Torre

Spanish noble and politician (1810-1885)

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

96

Simo Häyhä

Finnish military sniper (1905–2002)

*December 17th, 1905, Rautjärvi †April 1st, 2002, Hamina

64

Gregg Araki

American film director

*December 17th, 1959, Los Angeles

84

Rudolph Anders

Actor (1902-1987)

*December 17th, 1902, Waldkirch †March 27th, 1987, Woodland Hills

61

Frank Lieberam

German association football player and manager

*December 17th, 1962, Halberstadt

50

Humphry Davy

British chemist

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

Same year
Born in 1872

55

Roald Amundsen

Norwegian explorer; first person to reach the South Pole

*July 16th, 1872, Borge Municipality †June 18th, 1928, Arctic Ocean

59

Herbert Baddeley

Tennis and badminton player

*January 11th, 1872, London Borough of Bromley †July 20th, 1931, Cannes

57

Wilfred Baddeley

Tennis player and sports administrator

*January 11th, 1872, London Borough of Bromley †January 24th, 1929, Menton

89

Max Pohlenz

German classical philologist

*July 30th, 1872, Kolkwitz †January 5th, 1962, Göttingen

60

Calvin Coolidge

President of the United States from 1923 to 1929

*July 4th, 1872, Plymouth Notch †January 5th, 1933, Northampton

97

Bertrand Russell

British philosopher and logician (1872–1970)

*May 18th, 1872, Trellech †February 2nd, 1970, Plas Penrhyn

33

Paul Laurence Dunbar

American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries

*June 27th, 1872, Dayton †February 9th, 1906, Dayton

46

Anna Held

Broadway stage performer (1872–1918)

*March 19th, 1872, Warsaw †August 12th, 1918, New York City

92

Helena Rubinstein

Polish-American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist

*December 25th, 1872, Kraków †April 1st, 1965, New York City

79

Alexandra Kollontai

Soviet diplomat (1872-1952)

*March 31st, 1872, Saint Petersburg †March 9th, 1952, Moscow

80

Cicely Hamilton

British actress and writer

*June 15th, 1872, Paddington †December 5th, 1952, Chelsea

83

Pio Baroja

Spanish writer (1872-1956)

*December 28th, 1872, San Sebastián †October 30th, 1956, Madrid

74

Paul Langevin

French physicist, philosopher of science and pedagogue

*January 23rd, 1872, Paris †December 19th, 1946, Paris

69

Richard Willstätter

German chemist (1872–1942)

*August 13th, 1872, Karlsruhe †August 3rd, 1942, Muralto

77

Léon Blum

French politician (1872–1950)

*April 9th, 1872, Paris †March 30th, 1950, Jouy-en-Josas

94

Norman Angell

British politician (1872-1967)

*December 26th, 1872, Holbeach †October 7th, 1967, Croydon

78

Aurobindo Ghosh

Indian Bengali philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet and nationalist (1872–1950)

*August 15th, 1872, Sri Aurobindo Bhawan †December 5th, 1950, Pondicherry

101

Charles Greeley Abbot

American astrophysicist and the 5th Secretary of the Smithsonian

*May 31st, 1872, Wilton †December 17th, 1973, Washington, D.C.

71

Piet Mondrian

Dutch painter (1872–1944)

*March 7th, 1872, Amersfoort †February 1st, 1944, New York City

80

Carlo Sforza

Italian politician (1872-1952)

*January 23rd, 1872, Montignoso †September 4th, 1952, Rome

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

Yes: 1872 is a leap year, therefore has a 29th of February with an additional leap day and a total of 366 days (instead of the usual 365 days in a normal year).

Calendar
December 1872