August 17th, 1885

Born on August 17th, 1885

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 50,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 342 days, exactly on April 5th, 2025, people who were born on August 17th, 1885 will be 51,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on August 17th?

August 17th, 2009

A hydroelectric turbine at the Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam in Russia catastrophically failed, flooding the turbine hall, killing 75 people and causing widespread power outages.

August 17th, 2008

Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal of the Beijing Summer Olympics, the most golds by any person at a single games.

August 17th, 1969

Hurricane Camille struck the Mississippi coast of the United States, killing 259 people and causing $1.42 billion in damage..

August 17th, 1959

American musician Miles Davis released Kind of Blue, which became one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed jazz recordings of all time.

August 17th, 1950

Korean War: Forty-two American prisoners of war were massacred by the Korean People's Army on a hill above Waegwan, South Korea.

August 17th, 1945

Animal Farm, George Orwell's satirical allegory of Soviet totalitarianism, was first published.

August 17th, 1943

Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt met in a highly secret military conference (pictured) held in Quebec City.

August 17th, 1916

World War I: Romania signed a secret treaty with the Entente Powers, agreeing to enter the war in return for promised territory in Austria-Hungary.

August 17th, 1915

A category 4 hurricane made landfall in Galveston, Texas, leaving at least 275 people dead and causing $50 million in damage.

August 17th, 1914

World War I: Ignoring orders to retreat, Hermann von François led a successful counterattack defending East Prussia at the Battle of Stallupönen and scored the first German victory in the Eastern Front.

August 17th, 1907

Pike Place Market , one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the U.S. and a popular tourist attraction, opened in Seattle, Washington.

August 17th, 1676

Scanian War: Swedish forces defeated Danish troops at the Battle of Halmstad.

August 17th, 1424

Hundred Years' War: Allied English and Burgundian forces gained a strategically important victory at the bloody Battle of Verneuil in Normandy, France.

August 17th, 0986

Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: The Bulgarians defeated Byzantine forces at the Battle of the Gates of Trajan near present-day Ihtiman, with Emperor Basil II barely escaping.

August 17th, 2017

Barcelona attacks: A van is driven into pedestrians in La Rambla, killing 14 and injuring at least 100.

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

Born on August 17th, 1885

36

Clara Gertrud Wichmann

German pundit and anarcho-syndicalist, editor

*August 17th, 1885, Hamburg †February 15th, 1922, The Hague

87

Kurt Hiller

German essayist and activist (1885–1972)

*August 17th, 1885, Berlin †October 1st, 1972, Hamburg

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

45

Vibeke Stene

Gothic metal soprano singer, ex female vocals of Tristania

*August 17th, 1978, Sokndal

80

Robert De Niro

American actor (born 1943)

*August 17th, 1943, Greenwich Village

89

Jean-Jacques Sempé

French cartoon artist

*August 17th, 1932, Bordeaux †August 11th, 2022, Ampus

54

Markus Gisdol

German association football player and manager

*August 17th, 1969, Geislingen an der Steige

20

The Kid Laroi

Australian rapper and singer (born 2003)

*August 17th, 2003, Waterloo

77

Judi Rollick

Badminton player

*August 17th, 1944, Seattle †April 5th, 2022

87

Mona Andersson

Swedish actress

*August 17th, 1936, Örgryte församling

85

Carl Ausfeld

German judge (1814–1900)

*August 17th, 1814, Schnepfenthal †January 22nd, 1900, Siebleben

36

Bendik Brænne

Norwegian musician

*August 17th, 1987, Bærum Municipality

76

Anders Hatlo

Norwegian actor and film director

*August 17th, 1947, Larvik

91

Samuel Goldwyn

Polish-American film producer (1882–1974)

*August 17th, 1882, Warsaw †January 31st, 1974, Los Angeles

34

Karl I of Austria

Last monarch of Austria-Hungary (r. 1916–1918)

*August 17th, 1887, Persenbeug Castle †April 1st, 1922, Funchal

96

Jiang Zemin

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002

*August 17th, 1926, Yangzhou †November 30th, 2022, Shanghai

40

Dario Resta

Racecar driver

*August 17th, 1884, Livorno †September 2nd, 1924, Weybridge

37

Marcus Berg

Swedish association football player

*August 17th, 1986, Torsby

61

Gene Stratton-Porter

American writer and naturalist (1863–1924)

*August 17th, 1863, Lagro †December 6th, 1924, Los Angeles

70

Herta Müller

German-Romanian novelist, poet and essayist

*August 17th, 1953, Nițchidorf

69

Ingrid Daubechies

Belgian physicist and mathematician

*August 17th, 1954, Houthalen-Helchteren

46

Natasza Urbańska

Polish actress and singer

*August 17th, 1977, Warsaw

61

Leo Ascher

Austrian composer (1880-1942)

*August 17th, 1880, Vienna †February 25th, 1942, New York City

Same year
Born in 1885

77

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885–1962)

*October 7th, 1885, Copenhagen †November 18th, 1962, Copenhagen

73

Fridtjof Backer-Grøndahl

Norwegian musician

*October 15th, 1885, Christiania †June 21st, 1959, Oslo

92

Alice Paul

American suffragist, feminist, and activist (1885–1977)

*January 11th, 1885, Mount Laurel †July 9th, 1977, Moorestown Township

65

Sinclair Lewis

American writer and playwright (1885–1951)

*February 7th, 1885, Sauk Centre †January 10th, 1951, Rome

82

Edna Ferber

American novelist, short story writer and playwright

*August 15th, 1885, Appleton †April 16th, 1968, New York City

87

Ezra Pound

American poet and critic (1885–1972)

*October 30th, 1885, Hailey †November 1st, 1972, Venice

67

René Grousset

French historian (1885-1952)

*September 5th, 1885, Aubais †September 12th, 1952, 8th arrondissement of Paris

69

Theda Bara

American actress (1885–1955)

*July 29th, 1885, Cincinnati †April 7th, 1955, Los Angeles

84

François Mauriac

French writer (1885-1970)

*October 11th, 1885, Bordeaux †September 1st, 1970, Paris

69

Georg Lippold

German archaeologist (1885-1954)

*February 21st, 1885, Mainz †July 23rd, 1954, Erlangen

40

Allan Riverstone McCulloch

Australian ichthyologist (1885-1925)

*June 20th, 1885, Sydney †September 1st, 1925, Honolulu

90

Stella Arbenina

British actress (1885-1976)

*September 27th, 1885, Saint Petersburg †April 26th, 1976, London

85

Eugène Christophe

French racing cyclist

*January 22nd, 1885, 1st arrondissement of Paris †February 1st, 1970, 14th arrondissement of Paris

67

Marjorie Bowen

British writer

*November 1st, 1885, Hampshire †December 23rd, 1952, St Charles Hospital

60

George S. Patton

United States Army general (1885–1945)

*November 11th, 1885, San Gabriel †December 21st, 1945, Heidelberg

90

Andrew Tombes

American actor (1885-1976)

*June 29th, 1885, Ashtabula †March 17th, 1976, New York City

56

Robert Delaunay

French painter (1885–1941)

*April 12th, 1885, Paris †October 25th, 1941, Montpellier

80

Chester W. Nimitz

United States Navy fleet admiral (1885–1966)

*February 24th, 1885, Fredericksburg †February 20th, 1966, Yerba Buena Island

77

Karen Blixen

Danish writer

*April 17th, 1885, Rungstedlund †September 7th, 1962, Rungstedlund

71

Erich von Stroheim

Austrian actor and director (1885–1957)

*September 22nd, 1885, Vienna †May 12th, 1957, Paris

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on August 17th

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

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

No: With 365 days 1885 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
August 1885