February 17th, 1916

Born on February 17th, 1916

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

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 484 days, exactly on August 23rd, 2025, people who were born on February 17th, 1916 will be 40,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on February 17th?

February 17th, 2011

Arab Spring: Bahraini security forces killed four protesters in a pre-dawn raid at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama, while the "Day of Rage" took place in Libya with nationwide protests against Muammar Gaddafi's government.

February 17th, 1978

The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army carried out a bombing of a restaurant near Belfast, Northern Ireland, killing twelve people and injuring thirty others.

February 17th, 1974

A U.S. Army soldier stole a Bell UH-1 helicopter (pictured) and landed it on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C.

February 17th, 1964

Gabonese military officers overthrew President Léon M'ba, but French forces, honouring a 1960 treaty, forcibly reinstated him two days later.

February 17th, 1959

Vanguard 2 (model pictured), the first weather satellite, was launched to measure cloud cover distribution.

February 17th, 1944

World War II: The U.S. Navy began Operation Hailstone, a massive naval air and surface attack against the Japanese naval and air base at Chuuk Lagoon in the Caroline Islands.

February 17th, 1913

The Armory Show, the first large modern-art exhibition in the United States, opened at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York City.

February 17th, 1904

Italian composer Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly premiered at La Scala in Milan to poor reviews, forcing him to revise the opera.

February 17th, 1894

Rudolf Diesel's first working diesel engine ran for one minute.

February 17th, 1859

Cochinchina campaign: French Navy forces captured the Citadel of Saigon, defended by 1,000 Vietnamese soldiers of the Nguyễn dynasty.

February 17th, 1838

Zulu impis massacred about 532 Voortrekkers, Khoekhoe, and Basuto near present-day Weenen, South Africa.

February 17th, 1815

The United States ratifies the Treaty of Ghent – signed in late 1814 – formally ending the War of 1812.

February 17th, 1621

Myles Standish was elected the first commander of the militia of Plymouth Colony.

February 17th, 2016

Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.

February 17th, 2011

Arab Spring: In Bahrain, security forces launch a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama; the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.

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

Born on February 17th, 1916

86

Raf Vallone

Italian actor (1916-2002)

*February 17th, 1916, Tropea †October 31st, 2002, Rome

62

Vivian McGrath

Australian tennis player

*February 17th, 1916, Mudgee †April 9th, 1978, Burradoo

68

Don Tallon

Cricketer (1916-1984)

*February 17th, 1916, Bundaberg †September 7th, 1984, Bundaberg

24

Alexander Obolensky

English rugby union footballer

*February 17th, 1916, Saint Petersburg †March 29th, 1940, RAF Martlesham Heath

103

Vladas Meškėnas

Lithuanian Australian artist (1916-2020)

*February 17th, 1916, Baku †November 30th, 2019

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

75

Arthur Kennedy

American actor (1914–1990)

*February 17th, 1914, Worcester †January 5th, 1990, Branford

62

Sarah Wollaston

British Liberal Democrat politician

*February 17th, 1962, Woking

68

Lars Brygmann

Danish actor

*November 30th, 1955, Copenhagen

41

Bao Chunlai

Chinese badminton player

*February 17th, 1983, Changsha

87

Rita Süssmuth

German politician

*February 17th, 1937, Wuppertal

37

Megan Sweeney

American luger

*February 17th, 1987, Portland

61

Michael Jordan

American basketball player and businessman (born 1963)

*February 17th, 1963, Brooklyn

96

Ásmundur Bjarnason

Icelandic sprinter

*February 17th, 1927, Húsavík †February 1st, 2024, Húsavík

95

Hal Holbrook

American actor (1925–2021)

*February 17th, 1925, Cleveland †January 23rd, 2021, Beverly Hills

47

Wong Choong Hann

Badminton player

*February 17th, 1977, Kuala Lumpur

24

Freja Ravn

Danish badminton player

*February 17th, 2000, Copenhagen

64

Misbun Sidek

Badminton player

*February 17th, 1960, Banting

73

Clifford Evans

Welsh actor

*February 17th, 1912, Senghenydd †June 9th, 1985, Aberaeron

82

Kathleen Freeman

American actress (1919–2001)

*February 17th, 1919, Chicago †August 23rd, 2001, New York City

69

Alan Bates

British actor

*February 17th, 1934, Allestree †December 27th, 2003, City of Westminster

40

Magnus Sahlberg

Badminton player

*February 17th, 1984, Gothenburg

89

Barry Humphries

Australian comedian and actor (1934–2023)

*February 17th, 1934, Kew †April 22nd, 2023, Darlinghurst

26

Soh Wooi Yik

Malaysian badminton player

*February 17th, 1998, Kuala Lumpur

69

Mo Yan

Chinese novelist and screenwriter

*February 17th, 1955, Gaomi

83

Julia McKenzie

British actress, presenter, director, writer

*February 17th, 1941, Enfield

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 February 17th

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day) which are celebrated on February 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
February 1916