January 17th, 1940

Born on January 17th, 1940

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 30,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 229 days, exactly on December 1st, 2024, people who were born on January 17th, 1940 will be 31,000 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, 1940

80

Tabaré Vázquez

President of Uruguay from 2005 to 2010 and from 2015 to 2020

*January 17th, 1940, Montevideo †December 6th, 2020, Montevideo

84

Kip Keino

Kenyan athlete

*January 17th, 1940, Nandi County

83

Mircea Snegur

Moldovan politician

*January 17th, 1940, Trifănești †September 13th, 2023, Chișinău

75

Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni

Armenian bishop

*January 17th, 1940, Cairo †June 25th, 2015, Beirut

84

Anson Chan

Hong Kong politician

*January 17th, 1940, Shanghai

84

Einar Økland

Norwegian writer

*January 17th, 1940, Sveio Municipality

84

Bohumil Doležal

Czech literary critic and politician

*January 17th, 1940, Prague

83

Frieder Birzele

German politician

*January 17th, 1940, Göppingen †December 25th, 2023, Göppingen

84

Hans-Werner Hector

German mathematician and entrepreneur

*January 17th, 1940, Kaiserslautern

74

Rosa Posada

Spanish lawyer and politician

*January 17th, 1940, Madrid †October 29th, 2014, Madrid

63

Leighton Rees

Darts player

*January 17th, 1940, Ynysybwl †June 8th, 2003, Llantrisant

84

Paula Boland

American politician

*January 17th, 1940, Oyster Bay

84

Fernando Bustamante

Chilean socialist politician

*January 17th, 1940, Santiago

84

Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali

South African poet

*January 17th, 1940, Vryheid

84

Ian Newton

English ornithologist

*January 17th, 1940, Chesterfield

84

Uvalde Lindsey

American politician and a Democratic member of the Arkansas Senate

*January 17th, 1940, Harrison

81

Fred Hill

English footballer (born 1940-2021)

*January 17th, 1940, Sheffield †October 1st, 2021, Bolton

77

Jaroslav Kořán

Czech translator

*January 17th, 1940, Prague †June 2nd, 2017, Prague

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

74

Muhammad Ali

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

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

33

Qiu Zihan

Chinese badminton player

*January 17th, 1991, Xiamen

80

Françoise Hardy

French singer and songwriter

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

86

Sonja Sutter

German actress

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

62

Jim Carrey

Canadian comedian and actor

*January 17th, 1962, Newmarket

83

Jens Bratlie

13th Prime Minister of Norway

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

36

Gabi Tóth

Hungarian singer

*January 17th, 1988, Tapolca

93

James Earl Jones

American actor

*January 17th, 1931, Arkabutla

42

Dwyane Wade

American former basketball player

*January 17th, 1982, Chicago

95

Elisabeth Gesche

German nurse and honorary consul

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

47

Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil

Danish politician

*January 17th, 1977, Zealand

60

Michelle Obama

Lawyer and former First Lady of the United States

*January 17th, 1964, Chicago

47

Sverre Rotevatn

Norwegian Nordic combined skier

*January 17th, 1977, Lillehammer Municipality

73

Sheree North

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

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

83

Gillian Weir

New Zealand-British organist

*January 17th, 1941, Martinborough

78

Geir Lundestad

Norwegian historian and director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute

*January 17th, 1945, Sulitjelma †September 22nd, 2023

66

Eveline Peterson

Badminton player

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

65

Stefan Ritter

German classical archaeologist

*January 17th, 1959, Schmalkalden

75

Jeanette Fitzsimons

New Zealand politician (1945-2020)

*January 17th, 1945, Dunedin †March 5th, 2020, Thames Hospital

37

Jenny Wallwork

British badminton player

*January 17th, 1987, Bolton

Same year
Born in 1940

83

Onur Öymen

Turkish politician and diplomat

*October 18th, 1940, Kadıköy

84

Lorns Skjemstad

Norwegian cross-country skier

*March 10th, 1940, Inderøy Municipality

40

John Lennon

British musician (1940–1980)

*October 9th, 1940, Liverpool †December 8th, 1980, New York City

83

Jeannie Seely

American singer

*July 6th, 1940, Titusville

76

Al Jarreau

American singer (1940–2017)

*March 12th, 1940, Milwaukee †February 12th, 2017, Los Angeles

82

Pelé

Brazilian footballer (1940–2022)

*October 23rd, 1940, Três Corações †December 29th, 2022, Morumbi District

83

Al Pacino

American actor (born 1940)

*April 25th, 1940, Manhattan

77

Michael Parks

American actor (1940–2017)

*April 24th, 1940, Corona †May 9th, 2017, Los Angeles

83

Annie Ernaux

French writer (born 1940)

*September 1st, 1940, Lillebonne

82

James Caan

American actor (1940–2022)

*March 26th, 1940, The Bronx †July 6th, 2022, Los Angeles

80

Wolfgang Clement

German politician

*July 7th, 1940, Bochum †September 27th, 2020, Bonn

84

Nancy Pelosi

American politician (born 1940)

*March 26th, 1940, Baltimore

32

Bruce Lee

Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor (1940–1973)

*November 27th, 1940, San Francisco Chinese Hospital †July 20th, 1973, Kowloon Tong

84

Jana Brejchová

Czech actress

*January 20th, 1940, Prague

55

Joseph Brodsky

Russian-American poet (1940-1996)

*May 24th, 1940, Saint Petersburg †January 28th, 1996, Brooklyn

76

Manfred Jung

German singer and operatic tenor

*July 9th, 1940, Oberhausen †April 14th, 2017, Essen

79

Tilo Prückner

German actor and author

*October 26th, 1940, Augsburg †July 2nd, 2020, Berlin

83

Ringo Starr

British musician, drummer for the Beatles

*July 7th, 1940, Liverpool

83

Patrick Stewart

British actor (born 1940)

*July 13th, 1940, Mirfield

77

John Hurt

British actor (1940–2017)

*January 22nd, 1940, Chesterfield †January 25th, 2017, Norfolk

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

Born on January 17th, 1940
Future birthdays

Leap year

Yes: 1940 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 1940