April 17th, 1897

Born on April 17th, 1897

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 46,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 608 days, exactly on December 22nd, 2025, people who were born on April 17th, 1897 will be 47,000 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, 1897

78

Thornton Wilder

American playwright and novelist (1897–1975)

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

86

Edouard Wyss-Dunant

Swiss physician and alpinist, led the 1952 Swiss Mount Everest Expedition (1897-1983)

*April 17th, 1897, Thann †April 30th, 1983, Geneva

84

Nisargadatta Maharaj

Indian guru (1897-1981)

*April 17th, 1897, Mumbai †September 8th, 1981, Mumbai

94

Harald Sæverud

Norwegian composer (1897-1992)

*April 17th, 1897, Nordnes †March 27th, 1992, Bergen

67

Julius von Jan

German theologian

*April 17th, 1897, Neresheim †September 21st, 1964, Korntal-Münchingen

64

Antoon Coolen

Dutch novelist

*April 17th, 1897, Wijlre †November 9th, 1961, Waalre

76

Thomas Ryum Amlie

American politician

*April 17th, 1897, Binford †August 22nd, 1973, Madison

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

87

Alain Poher

French politician (1909-1996)

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

90

Gebhard Müller

German politician (1900-1990)

*April 17th, 1900, Eberhardzell †August 7th, 1990, Stuttgart

65

Sean Bean

English actor

*April 17th, 1959, Handsworth

67

Nick Hornby

English novelist

*April 17th, 1957, Redhill

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

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

William Holden

American actor (1918–1981)

*April 17th, 1918, O'Fallon †November 12th, 1981, Santa Monica

90

Hans Blöcker

German politician (1898-1988)

*April 17th, 1898, Neumünster †June 15th, 1988, Neumünster

77

Karen Blixen

Danish writer

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

52

Jennifer Garner

American actress

*April 17th, 1972, Houston

37

Medhi Benatia

Moroccan and French footballer

*April 17th, 1987, Courcouronnes

71

Lindsay Anderson

British feature-film, theatre and documentary director and film critic (1923-1994)

*April 17th, 1923, Bengaluru †August 30th, 1994, Angoulême

58

Aleksander Klumberg

Estonian athlete (1899-1958)

*April 17th, 1899, Tallinn †February 10th, 1958, Tallinn

50

Victoria Beckham

English businesswoman, fashion designer and singer

*April 17th, 1974, Harlow

32

Jasper Stuyven

Belgian cyclist

*April 17th, 1992, Leuven

83

Lagle Parek

Estonian politician

*April 17th, 1941, Pärnu

Same year
Born in 1897

82

Dirk Stikker

Politician and badminton player (1897-1979)

*February 5th, 1897, Winschoten †December 23rd, 1979, Wassenaar

64

William Faulkner

American writer (1897–1962)

*September 25th, 1897, New Albany †July 6th, 1962, Byhalia

66

Pierre Loeb

French Jewish galerist and art dealer persecuted by Nazis (1897-1964)

*September 24th, 1897, Paris †May 4th, 1964

41

Amelia Earhart

American aviation pioneer and author

*July 24th, 1897, Atchison †January 5th, 1939, Howland Island

80

Ludwig Erhard

Chancellor of West Germany (1963–1966)

*February 4th, 1897, Fürth †May 5th, 1977, Bonn

76

Paavo Nurmi

Finnish middle and long distance runner (1897-1973)

*June 13th, 1897, Turku †October 2nd, 1973, Helsinki

80

Paul VI

Head of the Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978

*September 26th, 1897, Concesio †August 6th, 1978, Castel Gandolfo

58

Irène Joliot-Curie

French scientist (1897-1956)

*September 12th, 1897, 13th arrondissement of Paris †March 17th, 1956, Paris

64

Georges Bataille

French intellectual and literary figure

*September 10th, 1897, Billom †July 9th, 1962, Paris

47

Joseph Goebbels

Nazi politician and Propaganda Minister (1897–1945)

*October 29th, 1897, Rheydt †May 1st, 1945, Berlin

96

Marian Anderson

African-American contralto (1897–1993)

*February 21st, 1897, Philadelphia †April 8th, 1993, Portland

94

Judith Anderson

Australian stage and screen actress (1897–1992)

*February 10th, 1897, Adelaide †January 3rd, 1992, Santa Barbara

76

Kate O'Brien

Irish novelist, playwright and activist

*December 3rd, 1897, Limerick †August 13th, 1974, Canterbury

90

Viola Dana

Actress (1897-1987)

*June 26th, 1897, Brooklyn †July 3rd, 1987, Woodland Hills

78

Alfredo Bracchi

Italian writer and actor (1897-1976)

*December 30th, 1897, Milan †October 11th, 1976, Milan

94

Frank Capra

Italian-born American film director (1897–1991)

*May 18th, 1897, Bisacquino †September 3rd, 1991, La Quinta

75

Lester B. Pearson

14th Prime Minister of Canada, from 1963 to 1968

*April 23rd, 1897, Toronto †December 27th, 1972, Ottawa

72

Everett Bradley

American pentathlete

*May 19th, 1897, Cedar Rapids †July 25th, 1969, Wichita

105

Mary Ellis

American opera singer (1897–2003)

*June 15th, 1897, New York City †January 30th, 2003, London

77

Fredric March

American actor (1897–1975)

*August 31st, 1897, Racine †April 14th, 1975, Los Angeles

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 1897 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
April 1897