Famous Birthdays on this Day in History

May 17

• 1155 – Jien, Japanese poet and historian (d. 1225)
• 1443 – Edmund, Earl of Rutland, brother of Kings Edward IV of England and Richard III of England (d. 1460)
• 1551 – Martin Delrio, Flemish theologian and occultist (d. 1601)
• 1628 – Archduke Ferdinand Charles of Austria, Regent of Tyrol (d. 1662)
• 1682 – Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate (d. 1722)
• 1706 – Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (d. 1780)
• 1718 – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English diplomat and politician (d. 1778)
• 1743 – Seth Warner, American revolutionary leader (d. 1784)
• 1749 – Edward Jenner, English medical researcher (d. 1823)
• 1758 – John St Aubyn, British fossil collector (d. 1839)
• 1768 – Caroline of Brunswick, German-born Queen consort of George IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1821)
• 1768 – Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English general (d. 1854)
• 1794 – Anna Brownell Jameson, British writer (d. 1860)
• 1821 – Sebastian Kneipp, German naturopathist (d. 1897)
• 1836 – Wilhelm Steinitz, Austrian chess player (d. 1900)
• 1836 – Virginie Loveling, Belgian writer and poet (d. 1923)
• 1844 – Julius Wellhausen, German biblical scholar (d. 1918)
• 1845 – Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan poet (d. 1902)
• 1866 – Erik Satie, French composer (d. 1925)
• 1868 – Horace Elgin Dodge, American automobile manufacturer (d. 1920)
• 1873 – Henri Barbusse, French novelist and journalist (d. 1935)
• 1873 – Dorothy Richardson, English writer (d. 1957)
• 1879 – Simon Petlyura, Ukrainian independence fighter (d. 1926)
• 1886 – King Alfonso XIII of Spain (d. 1941)
• 1888 – Tich Freeman, English cricketer (d. 1965)
• 1891 – Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife (d. 1959)
• 1891 – Napoleon Zervas, Greek general and resistance leader during World War II (d. 1957)
• 1895 – Saul Adler FRS, Russian-born British-Israeli expert on parasitology (d. 1966)
• 1895 – Mary Josephine Ray, Canadian supercentenarian (d. 2010)
• 1897 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
• 1898 – Alfred Joseph Casson, Canadian painter (d. 1992)
• 1901 – Werner Egk, German composer (d. 1983)
• 1903 – Cool Papa Bell, baseball player (d. 1991)
• 1904 – Jean Gabin, French actor (d. 1976)
• 1906 – Zinka Milanov, Croatian soprano (d. 1989)
• 1909 – Julius Sumner Miller, American physicist (d. 1987)
• 1911 – Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish-born supermodel (d. 1992)
• 1911 – Maureen O'Sullivan, Irish actress (d. 1998)
• 1912 – Ace Parker, American baseball and football player
• 1913 – Hans Ruesch, Swiss racing driver (d. 2007)
• 1918 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano (d. 2005)
• 1918 – A. C. Lyles, American film producer
• 1919 – Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer and actor (d. 2007)
• 1919 – Merle Miller, American biographer (d. 1986)
• 1921 – Dennis Brain, English French horn player (d. 1957)
• 1921 – Bob Merrill, American composer and lyricist (d. 1998)
• 1926 – Franz Sondheimer, German-born British chemist (d. 1981)
• 1931 – Marshall Applewhite, American cult leader of Heaven's Gate (d. 1997)
• 1934 – Friedrich-Wilhelm Kiel, German politician
• 1935 – Dennis Potter, English writer (d. 1994)
• 1936 – Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (d. 2010)
• 1937 – Hazel R. O'Leary, 7th United States Secretary of Energy
• 1938 – Jason Bernard, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1939 – Gary Paulsen, American author
• 1940 – Alan Kay, American computer scientist
• 1940 – Reynato Puno, Filipino Supreme Court Chief Justice
• 1941 – David Cope, American composer and author
• 1941 – Ben Nelson. 40th Governor of Nebraska & United States Senator from Nebraska
• 1941 – Grace Zabriskie, American actress
• 1942 – Taj Mahal, American musician
• 1943 – Johnny Warren, Australian footballer (d. 2004)
• 1945 – Tony Roche, Australian tennis player
• 1946 – Udo Lindenberg, German musician
• 1946 – F. Paul Wilson, American novelist
• 1947 – Andrew Latimer, English musician (Camel (band))
• 1948 – Dick Gaughan, Scottish musician, singer and songwriter
• 1949 – Bill Bruford, English drummer (Yes, King Crimson)
• 1950 – Howard Ashman, American lyricist (d. 1991)
• 1950 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian politician (d. 2008)
• 1950 – Valeria Novodvorskaya, Russian politician, dissident, founder and chairwoman of the Democratic Union party
• 1951 – Simon Hughes, British politician
• 1952 – Howard Hampton, Canadian politician
• 1953 – Luca Prodan, Italian-Scottish singer and musician (Sumo, Hurlingham Reggae Band)
• 1955 – Bill Paxton, American actor and film director
• 1956 – Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer
• 1956 – Bob Saget, American actor
• 1956 – Dave Sim, Canadian cartoonist
• 1957 – Pascual Pérez, Dominican baseball player
• 1958 – Paul Di'Anno, English singer (Iron Maiden)
• 1959 – Marcelo Loffreda, Argentine rugby player and coach
• 1959 – Jim Nantz, American broadcaster
• 1960 – Lou DiBella, American boxing promoter
• 1961 – Enya, Irish singer and songwriter
• 1962 – Craig Ferguson, Scottish actor and comedian
• 1962 – Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish writer
• 1963 – Jon Koncak, American basketball player
• 1963 – Page McConnell, American musician and songwriter (Phish)
• 1964 – Stratos Apostolakis, Greek footballer
• 1964 – Menno Oosting, Dutch tennis player (d. 1999)
• 1965 – Trent Reznor, American musician (Nine Inch Nails)
• 1965 – Paige Turco, American actress
• 1966 – Hill Harper, American actor
• 1966 – Mark Kratzmann, Australian tennis player
• 1966 – Danny Manning, American basketball player
• 1969 – Thom Filicia, American television personality
• 1969 – Alan Doyle, Canadian musician (Great Big Sea)
• 1970 – Jordan Knight, American singer (New Kids on the Block)
• 1970 – Hubert Davis, American basketball player
• 1970 – Angelica Agurbash, Belorussian singer, actress and model
• 1970 – Matt Lindland, American mixed martial arts fighter
• 1971 – Shaun Hart, Australian footballer
• 1971 – Princess Máxima of the Netherlands
• 1973 – Josh Homme, American musician and songwriter (Queens of the Stone Age)
• 1973 – Matthew McGrory, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1973 – Sasha Alexander, American television actress
• 1973 – Steve Barakatt, Canadian composer
• 1974 – Andrea Corr, Irish singer (The Corrs)
• 1974 – Wiki González, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1974 – Eddie Lewis, American football (soccer) player
• 1974 – Sendhil Ramamurthy, American actor
• 1975 – Cheick Kongo, French martial artist
• 1975 – Jonti Picking, British cartoonist
• 1975 – Kostas Sommer, Greek actor
• 1975 – Laura Voutilainen, Finnish singer
• 1975 – Alex Wright, German professional wrestler
• 1976 – José Guillén, Dominican baseball player
• 1976 – Leehom Wang, American-born Taiwanese musician and composer
• 1978 – John Foster, American baseball player
• 1978 – Paddy Kenny, Irish football goalkeeper
• 1978 – Carlos Peña, Dominican baseball player
• 1979 – Wayne Thomas, English footballer
• 1980 – Davor Džalto, Serbian/Croatian art historian
• 1980 – Dallas Taylor, American singer (Underoath)
• 1981 – Beñat Albizuri, Spanish cyclist
• 1981 – Shiri Maimon, Israeli singer
• 1981 – Leon Osman, English footballer
• 1981 – Giannis Taralidis, Greek footballer
• 1981 – Lim Jeong Hee, Korean singer
• 1982 – Tony Parker, French-American basketball player
• 1982 – Matt Cassel, American football player
• 1982 – Reiko Nakamura, Japanese swimmer
• 1983 – Channing Frye, American basketball player
• 1983 – Nicky Hofs, Dutch footballer
• 1983 – Jeremy Sowers, American baseball player
• 1983 – Chris Henry, American football player (d. 2009)
• 1984 – Christine Robinson, Canadian water polo player
• 1984 – Christian Bolaños, Costa Rican footballer
• 1985 – Matt Ryan, American football player
• 1985 – Derek Hough, American dancer and singer
• 1986 – Tahj Mowry, American actor
• 1988 – Nikki Reed, American actress
• 1989 – Tessa Virtue, Canadian ice dancer
• 1990 – Leven Rambin, American actress
• 1991 – Adil Omar, Pakistani rapper
• 1991 – Daniel Curtis Lee, American actor
• 1996 – Ryan Ochoa, American teen actor