April 17 - BIrths

Births

• 1278 – Michael IX Palaeologus, co-ruling Eastern Roman Emperor (d. 1320)
• 1573 – Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1651)
• 1586 – John Ford, English dramatist
• 1598 – Giovanni Riccioli, Italian astronomer (d. 1671)
• 1620 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame (d. 1700)
• 1622 – Henry Vaughan, Welsh poet (d. 1695)
• 1710 – Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, British Freemason (d. 1767)
• 1734 – Taksin, King of Thailand (d. 1782)
• 1741 – Samuel Chase, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1811)
• 1750 – François de Neufchâteau, French statesman and intellectual figure (d. 1828)
• 1794 – Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist (d. 1868)
• 1798 – Étienne Bobillier, French mathematician (d. 1840)
• 1814 – Josif Pančić, Serbian botanist (d. 1888)
• 1816 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English Methodist chapel builder (d. 1876)
• 1820 – Alexander Joy Cartwright, Inventor of the Modern Game of Baseball (d. 1892)
• 1833 – Jean-Baptiste Accolay, Belgian composer (d. 1900)
• 1837 – J. P. Morgan, American financier (d. 1913)
• 1842 – Maurice Rouvier, French statesman (d. 1911)
• 1849 – William R. Day, American diplomat and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1923)
• 1863 – Augustus Edward Hough Love, English mathematician (d. 1940)
• 1865 – Ursula Julia Ledochowska, Polish-Austrian Catholic saint (d. 1939)
• 1866 – Ernest Starling, British physiologist (d. 1927)
• 1877 – Matsudaira Tsuneo, Japanese diplomat (d. 1949)
• 1878 – Emil Fuchs, German-born American attorney and baseball owner (d. 1961)
• 1882 – Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist (d. 1951)
• 1884 – Leo Frank, American victim of lynching (d. 1915)
• 1885 – Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), Danish author (d. 1962)
• 1890 – Art Acord, American actor and rodeo rider (d. 1931)
• 1891 – George Adamski, Polish-American author and ufologist (d. 1965)
• 1896 – Señor Wences, Spanish ventriloquist (d. 1999)
• 1897 – Thornton Wilder, American dramatist (d. 1975)
• 1902 – Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican politician (d. 1974)
• 1903 – Gregor Piatigorsky, Russian cellist (d. 1976)
• 1903 – Morgan Taylor, American athlete (d. 1975)
• 1905 – Arthur Lake, American actor (d. 1987)
• 1906 – Sidney R. Garfield, American physician (d. 1984)
• 1909 – Alain Poher, French politician (d. 1996)
• 1910 – Ivan Goff, Australian screenwriter (d. 1999)
• 1911 – Lester Rodney, American journalist (d. 2009)
• 1912 – Marta Eggerth, Hungarian-born actress and singer, naturalized citizen of the United States
• 1914 – George W. Davis, American art director (d. 1984)
• 1915 – Joe Foss, United States Marine and politician (d. 2003)
• 1915 – Martin Clemens, Scottish guerilla fighter (d. 2009)
• 1915 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike, A Sri Lankan politician and the world's first female head of government (d. 2000)
• 1916 – Helenio Herrera, French footballer player and manager (d. 1997)
• 1917 – Bill Clements, American politician
• 1918 – William Holden, American actor (d. 1981)
• 1919 – Gilles Lamontagne, French Canadian politician
• 1919 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer
• 1923 – Lindsay Anderson, English film director (d. 1994)
• 1923 – Harry Reasoner, American journalist (d. 1991)
• 1923 – Solly Hemus, American baseball player
• 1925 – Erich Göstl, German War Hero (d. 1990)
• 1926 – Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
• 1928 – Cynthia Ozick, American writer
• 1929 – James Last, German band leader
• 1929 – Peggy McKercher, 11th Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan)
• 1929 – Michael Forest, American actor
• 1930 – Chris Barber, British jazz band leader
• 1934 – Don Kirshner, American composer
• 1937 – Ferdinand Piëch, Austrian-German automotive engineer and executive
• 1938 – Ben Barnes, American politician
• 1938 – Kerry Wendell Thornley, co-founder of Discordianism
• 1940 – Billy Fury, British singer (d. 1983)
• 1940 – John McCririck, English television horse racing pundit
• 1940 – Anja Silja, German soprano
• 1942 – David Bradley, British actor
• 1942 – Kenas Aroi, Nauruan politician
• 1947 – Linda Martin, Irish singer
• 1947 – Tsutomu Wakamatsu, Japanese baseball player
• 1948 – Jan Hammer, Czech composer
• 1950 – L. Scott Caldwell, American actress
• 1950 – Bruce McNall, American former NHL team owner
• 1951 – Olivia Hussey, Argentine-born actress
• 1951 – Börje Salming, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1952 – Željko Ražnatović, Serbian warlord (d. 2000)
• 1954 – Riccardo Patrese, Italian race car driver
• 1954 – Rowdy Roddy Piper, Canadian professional wrestler
• 1954 – Michael Sembello, American musician
• 1954 – Lester Square, Canadian musician
• 1955 – Pete Shelley, British musician
• 1957 – Nick Hornby, English author
• 1957 – Susan Roman, Canadian voice actress
• 1959 – Sean Bean, English actor
• 1961 – Boomer Esiason, American football player and commentator
• 1961 – Frank J. Christensen, American labor leader
• 1963 – Joel Murray, American actor
• 1964 – Maynard James Keenan, American singer (Tool and A Perfect Circle)
• 1964 – Ken Daneyko, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1964 – Lela Rochon, American actress
• 1965 – William Mapother, American actor
• 1965 – Yoshiki Kuroda, Japanese urban planner
• 1966 – Vikram, Indian actor
• 1967 – Marquis Grissom, American baseball player
• 1967 – Henry Ian Cusick, Peruvian-born Scottish actor
• 1967 – Kimberly Elise, American actress
• 1967 – Timothy Gibbs, American actor
• 1967 – Liz Phair, American musician/songwriter
• 1967 – Leslie Bega, American actress
• 1968 – Prince Maurits of the Netherlands
• 1970 – Redman, American rapper
• 1972 – Gary Bennett, American baseball player
• 1972 – Tony Boselli, American football player
• 1972 – Jennifer Garner, American actress
• 1972 – Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1972 – Jarkko Wiss, Finnish Footballer
• 1972 – Terran Sandwith, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1972 – Claire Sweeney, English actress
• 1973 – Brett Maher, Australian basketballer
• 1973 – Theo Ratliff, American basketball player
• 1973 – Kaihō Ryōji, Japanese sumo wrestler
• 1974 – Victoria Beckham, English singer (Spice Girls)
• 1974 – Mikael Åkerfeldt, Swedish guitarist and singer (Opeth)
• 1975 – Gabriel Soto, Mexican actor
• 1975 – Travis Roy, American hockey player
• 1976 – Monet Mazur, American actress and musician
• 1976 – Alex Nesic, American actor
• 1976 – Aňa Geislerová, Czech actress
• 1977 – Chad Hedrick, American speed skater
• 1977 – Sizzla, Jamaican dancehall artist
• 1977 – Phil Jamieson, Australian singer (Grinspoon)
• 1978 – Lindsay Hartley, American actress
• 1978 – Jason White, Scottish rugby player
• 1979 – Eric Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Siddharth Narayan, Indian actor
• 1980 – Curtis Woodhouse, English footballer/boxer
• 1980 – Lee Hyun-il, South Korean badminton player
• 1980 – Nicholas D'Agosto, American television and film actor
• 1981 – Wayne Lydon, American baseball player
• 1981 – Hanna Pakarinen, Finnish singer
• 1981 – Ryan Raburn, American baseball player
• 1982 – Lee Jun Ki, South Korean actor and model
• 1982 – Brad Boyes, Canadian hockey player
• 1983 – Stanislav Chistov, Russian hockey player
• 1983 – Roberto Jimenez, Peruvian football player
• 1983 – Andrea Marcato, Italian rugby player
• 1984 – Jed Lowrie, American baseball player
• 1985 – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, French tennis player
• 1990 – Jonathan Brown, Welsh footballer
• 1995 – Paulie Litt, American actor
• 1996 – Dee Dee Davis, American actress