Famous Birthdays on this Day in History - per Wikipedia

July 17

• 1487 – Ismail I, Shah of Persia (d. 1524)
• 1674 – Isaac Watts, English hymnwriter (d. 1748)
• 1698 – Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician (d. 1759)
• 1744 – Elbridge Gerry, 5th Vice President of the United States (d. 1814)
• 1745 – Petr Alekseevich Pahlen, Russian general (d. 1826)
• 1763 – John Jacob Astor, American businessman (d. 1848)
• 1797 – Hippolyte Delaroche, French painter (d. 1856)
• 1823 – Leander Clark, American businessman, legislator, Indian agent (d. 1910)
• 1831 – Xianfeng, Emperor of China (d. 1861)
• 1839 – Ephraim Shay, American inventor (d. 1916)
• 1853 – Alexius Meinong, Austrian philosopher (d. 1920)
• 1868 – Henri Nathansen, Danish writer and stage director (d. 1944)
• 1870 – Charles Davidson Dunbar, British military piper (d. 1939)
• 1871 – Lyonel Feininger, German-American painter and caricaturist (d. 1956)
• 1888 – Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israeli writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
• 1888 – Milán Füst, Hungarian writer, (d. 1967)
• 1889 – Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author (Perry Mason) (d. 1970)
• 1898 – George Robert Vincent, American sound recording pioneer (d. 1985)
• 1898 – Osmond Borradaile, Canadian cinematographer (d. 1999)
• 1898 – Berenice Abbott, American photographer (d. 1991)
• 1899 – James Cagney, American actor (d. 1986)
• 1900 – Marcel Dalio, French actor (d. 1983)
• 1901 – Luigi Chinetti, Italian-American racecar driver and NART team owner (d. 1994)
• 1901 – Bruno Jasieński, Polish poet (d. 1938)
• 1902 – Christina Stead, Australian novelist (d. 1983)
• 1911 – Ted Anderson, English footballer (d. 1979)
• 1912 – Art Linkletter, Canadian television host (d. 2010)
• 1912 – Erwin Bauer, German racing driver (d. 1958)
• 1913 – Bertrand Goldberg, American architect (d. 1997)
• 1915 – Fred Ball, American movie studio executive, actor, and the brother of comedienne Lucille Ball (d. 2007)
• 1917 – Phyllis Diller, American comedienne
• 1917 – Red Sovine, American country music singer (d. 1980)
• 1917 – Lou Boudreau, Major League baseball player and manager (d. 2001)
• 1918 – Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, President of Guatemala (d. 2003)
• 1920 – Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish chairman of the International Olympic Committee (d. 2010)
• 1920 – Kenneth Wolstenholme, English sports commentator (d. 2002)
• 1920 – Gordon Gould, inventor of the laser (d. 2005)
• 1921 – Louis Lachenal, French alpinist, one of the first two mountaineers to climb a summit of more than 8,000 meters.(d. 1955)
• 1921 – František Zvarík, Slovakian actor (d. 2008)
• 1923 – John Cooper, English race car designer (d. 2000)
• 1925 – Jimmy Scott, American jazz singer
• 1926 – Édouard Carpentier, French-born professional wrestler
• 1926 – Charles Champlin, American film critic and writer
• 1928 – Vince Guaraldi, American musician and composer (d. 1976)
• 1929 – Sergei K. Godunov, Russian mathematician
• 1932 – Johnny "Red" Kerr, American basketball player, coach, and longtime Chicago Bulls color commentator (d. 2009)
• 1932 – Hal Riney, American advertising executive (d. 2008)
• 1932 – Quino, Argentine cartoonist and comic strip artist (Mafalda)
• 1933 – Tony Pithey, South African Cricketer (d. 2006)
• 1935 – Diahann Carroll, American actor
• 1935 – Peter Schickele, American author, composer and radio host
• 1935 – Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor
• 1938 – Hermann Huppen, Belgian comic book artist (Bernard Prince, Comanche, Jeremiah)
• 1939 – Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran
• 1939 – Andrée Champagne, French Canadian actress and politician
• 1939 – Spencer Davis, British singer and guitarist (Spencer Davis Group)
• 1940 – Tim Brooke-Taylor, English comedian
• 1941 – Daryle Lamonica, American football player
• 1941 – Achim Warmbold, German rally driver
• 1941 – Bob Taylor, English Cricketer
• 1942 – Gale Garnett, Canadian singer
• 1942 – Connie Hawkins, American basketball player
• 1942 – Don Kessinger, American baseball player
• 1942 – Peter Sissons, British newsreader
• 1944 – Carlos Alberto, Brazilian football player
• 1944 – Catherine Schell, Hungarian born British actress
• 1944 – Mark Burgess, New Zealand Cricketer
• 1945 – Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
• 1946 – Alun Armstrong, English actor
• 1947 – Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
• 1947 – Wolfgang Flür, German musician (Kraftwerk)
• 1948 – Ron Asheton, American musician and composer (Iggy Pop & The Stooges) (d. 2009)
• 1948 – Luc Bondy, Swiss theatre and opera director
• 1948 – Jan Gangelhoff, American whistleblower (d. 2005)
• 1949 – Terence "Geezer" Butler, British musician and lyricist (Black Sabbath)
• 1949 – Charlie Steiner, American sports broadcaster
• 1950 – Derek de Lint, Dutch actor
• 1950 – Phoebe Snow, American singer/songwriter (d. 2011)
• 1950 – P.J. Soles, German-born American actress
• 1951 – Lucie Arnaz, American actress
• 1952 – David Hasselhoff, American actor and musician
• 1952 – Nicolette Larson, American singer (d. 1997)
• 1954 – Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
• 1954 – J. Michael Straczynski, American author
• 1955 – Paul Stamets, American mycologist and environmentalist
• 1955 – Christopher Chappell, Canadian Cricketer
• 1956 – Robert Romanus, American actor
• 1956 – Bryan Trottier, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1957 – Fern Britton, British television presenter
• 1958 – Wong Kar-wai, Chinese film director
• 1960 – Mark Burnett, English-born television producer
• 1960 – Nancy Giles, American actress
• 1960 – Robin Shou, Hong Kong actor
• 1960 – Jan Wouters, Dutch football player and manager
• 1960 – Dawn Upshaw, American soprano
• 1960 – Kim Barnett, English cricketer
• 1961 – Jonathan Potts, Canadian actor
• 1961 – Roy Pienaar, South African cricketer
• 1962 – Bill Sage, American actor
• 1963 – Matti Nykänen, Finnish ski jumper
• 1963 – Letsie III, King of Lesotho
• 1963 – Regina Belle, Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter
• 1963 – John Ventimiglia, American actor
• 1965 – Craig Morgan, American singer
• 1965 – Alex Winter, English film director
• 1965 – Santiago Segura, Spanish film director and actor
• 1966 – Sten Tolgfors, Swedish politician
• 1966 – Lou Barlow, American alternative rock singer and musician (Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh)
• 1966 – Guru, American rapper (Gang Starr) (d. 2010)
• 1967 – Susan Ashton, Christian singer
• 1968 – Beth Littleford, American comedian
• 1968 – Bitty Schram, American actress
• 1968 – Andre Royo, American actor
• 1969 – Scott Johnson (cartoonist), American Cartoonist
• 1969 – F. Gary Gray, American music video director
• 1970 – Mandy Smith, English model and singer
• 1971 – Calbert Cheaney, American basketball player
• 1971 – Cory Doctorow, Canadian author and activist
• 1971 – Nico Mattan, Belgian cyclist
• 1972 – Donny Marshall, American basketball player
• 1972 – Jason Rullo, American drummer (Symphony X, Redemption)
• 1972 – Jaap Stam, Dutch footballer
• 1972 – Eric Williams, American basketball player
• 1973 – Eric Moulds, American football player
• 1973 – Tony Dovolani, Albanian ballroom dancer
• 1973 – Liam Kyle Sullivan, American comedian and actor
• 1974 – Laura Macdonald, Scottish jazz musician
• 1975 – Elena Anaya, Spanish actress
• 1975 – Cécile de France, Belgian actress
• 1975 – Paul Hinojos, American guitarist (At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta)
• 1975 – Konnie Huq, English television presenter
• 1975 – Terence Tao, Australian-Chinese mathematician
• 1975 – Andre Adams, New Zealand Cricketer
• 1975 – Darude, Finnish trance DJ
• 1976 – Luke Bryan, American musician
• 1976 – Dagmara Dominczyk, Polish actress
• 1976 – Eric Winter, American actor
• 1976 – Matthew Holmes, Australian actor
• 1976 – Gino D'Acampo, Italian celebrity chef
• 1977 – Lehmber Hussainpuri, Famous Indian Singer
• 1977 – Marc Savard, Canadian hockey player
• 1977 – Tiffany Taylor, American model
• 1977 – Leif Hoste, Belgian cyclist
• 1978 – Mike Hettinga, American professional wrestler
• 1978 – Ricardo Arona, Brazilian mixed martial artist
• 1978 – Émilie Simon, French singer
• 1978 – Katharine Towne, American actress
• 1978 – Noah Lennox, American musician
• 1979 – Mike Vogel, American actor
• 1980 – Ryan Miller, American hockey player
• 1980 – Javier Camuñas, Spanish footballer
• 1981 – Elpida Romantzi, Greek archer
• 1981 – Hely Ollarves, Venezuelan track and field athlete
• 1982 – Natasha Hamilton, British singer (Atomic Kitten)
• 1982 – Omari Banks, West Indian Cricketer
• 1983 – Ryan Guettler, professional Australian BMX rider
• 1983 – Sarah Jones, American actress
• 1983 – Brooke Kinsella, British actress
• 1983 – Adam Lind, American baseball player
• 1983 – Jessi Cruickshank, Canadian television presenter
• 1984 – Sotiris Leontiou, Greek footballer
• 1984 – Asami Kimura, Japanese singer (Country Musume)
• 1985 – Neil McGregor, Scottish footballer
• 1985 – Tom Fletcher, British singer (McFly)
• 1986 – Dana, Korean singer and actress (TSZX)
• 1986 – DeAngelo Smith, American football player
• 1986 – Lacey Von Erich, Professional wrestler
• 1987 – Darius Boyd, Australian rugby player
• 1987 – Jan Charouz, Czech racing driver
• 1987 – Jeremih Felton, R&B singer
• 1988 – Summer Bishil, American actress
• 1998 – Felipe Juan Froilán de Marichalar y de Borbón, Spanish royal