January 17th, 1916

Born on January 17th, 1916

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 39,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 460 days, exactly on July 23rd, 2025, people who were born on January 17th, 1916 will be 40,000 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

Born on January 17th, 1916

95

Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr.

American politician (1916-2011)

*January 17th, 1916, New York City †May 23rd, 2011, Harding Township

84

Ortrud von der Recke

German film actor (1916-2000)

*January 17th, 1916, Riga †March 31st, 2000, Munich

93

Marcella De Marchis

Italian costume designer

*January 17th, 1916, Rome †February 24th, 2009, Sarteano

71

William Bowers

American writer

*January 17th, 1916, Las Cruces †March 27th, 1987, Woodland Hills

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

33

Qiu Zihan

Chinese badminton player

*January 17th, 1991, Xiamen

83

Jens Bratlie

13th Prime Minister of Norway

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

86

Sonja Sutter

German actress

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

95

Elisabeth Gesche

German nurse and honorary consul

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

74

Muhammad Ali

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

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

36

Gabi Tóth

Hungarian singer

*January 17th, 1988, Tapolca

62

Jim Carrey

Canadian comedian and actor

*January 17th, 1962, Newmarket

99

Betty White

American actress and comedian (1922–2021)

*January 17th, 1922, Oak Park †December 31st, 2021, Brentwood

66

Eveline Peterson

Badminton player

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

93

James Earl Jones

American actor

*January 17th, 1931, Arkabutla

42

Dwyane Wade

American former basketball player

*January 17th, 1982, Chicago

47

Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil

Danish politician

*January 17th, 1977, Zealand

81

Eartha Kitt

American singer (1927–2008)

*January 17th, 1927, North †December 25th, 2008, Weston

47

Sverre Rotevatn

Norwegian Nordic combined skier

*January 17th, 1977, Lillehammer Municipality

66

Louis Armand

French engineer, inventor, administrator, and resistance fighter (1905-1971)

*January 17th, 1905, Cruseilles †August 30th, 1971, Villers-sur-Mer

80

Françoise Hardy

French singer and songwriter

*January 17th, 1944, 9th arrondissement of Paris

60

Michelle Obama

Lawyer and former First Lady of the United States

*January 17th, 1964, Chicago

73

Sheree North

American actress, dancer, and singer (1932-2005)

*January 17th, 1932, Los Angeles †November 4th, 2005, Los Angeles

37

Jenny Wallwork

British badminton player

*January 17th, 1987, Bolton

33

Yao Xue

Chinese badminton player

*January 17th, 1991, Jingzhou

Same year
Born in 1916

89

Phil Brown

American actor (1916–2006)

*April 30th, 1916, Cambridge †February 9th, 2006, Woodland Hills

100

Jean Rouverol

American actress and screenwriter

*July 8th, 1916, St. Louis †March 24th, 2017, Dover

89

Geoffrey Keen

English actor (1916–2005)

*August 21st, 1916, Wallingford †November 3rd, 2005, Northwood

101

Harry Huskey

American computer design pioneer (1916-2017)

*January 19th, 1916, Whittier †April 9th, 2017, Santa Cruz

79

François Mitterrand

21st President of the French Republic from 1981 to 1995

*October 26th, 1916, Jarnac †January 8th, 1996, 7th arrondissement of Paris

71

Jackie Gleason

American comedian and actor (1916-1987)

*February 26th, 1916, Brooklyn †June 24th, 1987, Fort Lauderdale

103

Kirk Douglas

American stage and film actor (1916–2020)

*December 9th, 1916, Amsterdam †February 5th, 2020, Beverly Hills

101

Jacque Fresco

American futurist and self-described social engineer

*March 13th, 1916, Brooklyn †May 18th, 2017, Sebring

88

Francis Crick

British molecular biologist, biophysicist, neuroscientist; co-discoverer of the structure of DNA

*June 8th, 1916, Northampton †July 28th, 2004, La Jolla

107

Friedrich Grade

German engineer and naval officer

*March 29th, 1916, Büdelsdorf †October 13th, 2023, Bornheim

101

Bernard Lewis

British-American historian (1916–2018)

*May 31st, 1916, London †May 19th, 2018, Voorhees Township

79

Harold Wilson

British politician

*March 11th, 1916, Huddersfield †May 24th, 1995, London

104

Olivia de Havilland

English and American actress (1916–2020)

*July 1st, 1916, Tokyo †July 26th, 2020, 16th arrondissement of Paris

93

Vitaly Ginzburg

Russian physicist

*September 21st, 1916, Moscow †November 8th, 2009, Moscow

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

87

Maurice Wilkins

New Zealand-born English physicist and biologist

*December 15th, 1916, Pongaroa †October 5th, 2004, Blackheath

101

Sam Beazley

British actor

*March 29th, 1916, Kensington †June 12th, 2017, London

100

João Havelange

Brazilian businessman and athlete (1916-2016)

*May 8th, 1916, Rio de Janeiro †August 16th, 2016, Rio de Janeiro

89

Edward Heath

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974

*July 9th, 1916, Broadstairs †July 17th, 2005, Salisbury

77

Mark Stevens

American actor (1916–1994)

*December 13th, 1916, Cleveland †September 15th, 1994, Spain

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

Yes: 1916 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
January 1916