January 17th, 1949

Born on January 17th, 1949

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 27,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 506 days, exactly on September 15th, 2025, people who were born on January 17th, 1949 will be 28,000 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, 1949

75

Sandra Mason

President of Barbados since 2021

*January 17th, 1949, Saint Philip

75

Mick Taylor

British guitarist, former member of The Rolling Stones

*January 17th, 1949, Welwyn Garden City

75

Debbie Watson

American actress

*January 17th, 1949, Culver City

75

Indio Solari

Argentine musician

*January 17th, 1949, Paraná

35

Andy Kaufman

American entertainer (1949–1984)

*January 17th, 1949, New York City †May 16th, 1984, West Hollywood

65

Gyude Bryant

Liberian politician (1949-2014)

*January 17th, 1949, Monrovia †April 16th, 2014, Monrovia

66

Dick Nanninga

Dutch footballer (1949–2015)

*January 17th, 1949, Groningen †July 21st, 2015, Maaseik

75

Augustin Dumay

French violinist and conductor

*January 17th, 1949, Paris

54

Anita Borg

American computer scientist (1949-2003)

*January 17th, 1949, Chicago †April 6th, 2003, Sonoma

75

Marie-France Jean-Georges

French alpine skier

*January 17th, 1949, France

75

Heini Hemmi

Swiss alpine skier

*January 17th, 1949, Churwalden

75

Howard Epstein

Canadian politician, lawyer and part-time law professor

*January 17th, 1949, Halifax

75

Andreas Brandstädt

German mathematician and computer scientist

*January 17th, 1949, Arnstadt

75

Yakov Engel

Israeli businessman

*January 17th, 1949, Zagreb

75

Patrick Péra

Figure skater

*January 17th, 1949, 6th arrondissement of Lyon

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

33

Qiu Zihan

Chinese badminton player

*January 17th, 1991, Xiamen

74

Muhammad Ali

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

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

62

Jim Carrey

Canadian comedian and actor

*January 17th, 1962, Newmarket

80

Françoise Hardy

French singer and songwriter

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

36

Gabi Tóth

Hungarian singer

*January 17th, 1988, Tapolca

42

Dwyane Wade

American former basketball player

*January 17th, 1982, Chicago

86

Sonja Sutter

German actress

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

83

Jens Bratlie

13th Prime Minister of Norway

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

60

Michelle Obama

Lawyer and former First Lady of the United States

*January 17th, 1964, Chicago

47

Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil

Danish politician

*January 17th, 1977, Zealand

47

Sverre Rotevatn

Norwegian Nordic combined skier

*January 17th, 1977, Lillehammer Municipality

65

Stefan Ritter

German classical archaeologist

*January 17th, 1959, Schmalkalden

69

Katalin Karikó

Hungarian biochemist

*January 17th, 1955, Szolnok

78

Geir Lundestad

Norwegian historian and director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute

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

75

Jeanette Fitzsimons

New Zealand politician (1945-2020)

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

93

James Earl Jones

American actor

*January 17th, 1931, Arkabutla

71

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Japanese composer (1952–2023)

*January 17th, 1952, Nakano †March 28th, 2023, Tokyo

95

Elisabeth Gesche

German nurse and honorary consul

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

37

Jenny Wallwork

British badminton player

*January 17th, 1987, Bolton

62

Denis O'Hare

American actor

*January 17th, 1962, Kansas City

Same year
Born in 1949

75

Joachim Witt

German rock musician

*February 22nd, 1949, Hamburg

74

Rudy Hartono

Indonesian badminton player

*August 18th, 1949, Surabaya

75

Åse Kleveland

Swedish-Norwegian singer and politician

*March 18th, 1949, Stockholm

70

Jahn Teigen

Norwegian singer, musician, and comedian (1949–2020)

*September 27th, 1949, Tønsberg Municipality †February 24th, 2020, Ystad

74

David Rubenstein

American businessman

*August 11th, 1949, Baltimore

74

Sherman Howard

American actor

*June 11th, 1949, Chicago

74

Egon Flaig

German university teacher, Historian of classical antiquity and writer

*May 16th, 1949, Oberstenfeld

74

Meryl Streep

American actress (born 1949)

*June 22nd, 1949, Summit

74

Odaline de la Martinez

American conductor and composer

*October 31st, 1949, Matanzas

74

Gertrúd Ladányi

Badminton player

*May 3rd, 1949, Esztergom

66

Papa Wemba

Congolese singer and musician

*June 14th, 1949, Lubefu †April 24th, 2016, Abidjan

67

Denis Johnson

American writer (novel, drama, poetry, essay) (1949-2017)

*July 1st, 1949, Munich †May 24th, 2017, Sea Ranch

40

Stiv Bators

American punk rock vocalist and guitarist

*October 22nd, 1949, Youngstown †June 3rd, 1990, 1st arrondissement of Paris

74

Sverre Årnes

Norwegian writer

*May 14th, 1949, Surnadal Municipality

74

Gloria Gaynor

American singer

*September 7th, 1949, Newark

75

Jessica Lange

American actress

*April 20th, 1949, Cloquet

67

Carlos Slepoy

Argentinian lawyer (1949-2017)

*October 2nd, 1949, Buenos Aires †April 17th, 2017, Madrid

68

Stanley Greene

American photographer (1949-2017)

*February 14th, 1949, Brooklyn †May 19th, 2017, Paris

74

Bruce Springsteen

American rock singer (born 1949)

*September 23rd, 1949, Long Branch

74

Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister of Israel (1996–1999, 2009–2021, 2022–present)

*October 21st, 1949, Tel Aviv

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, 1949
Future birthdays

Leap year

No: With 365 days 1949 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
January 1949