On this day · Taurus

May 17 birthdays

302 notable historical figures were born on May 17, and 183 died on this day. Everyone born on May 17 is a Taurus.

16% of May 17 birthdays work in Literature, more than any other field. More come from United States (75) than any other country.

Born on May 17

• Enya (born 1961. Irish singer (born 1961))
• Craig Ferguson (born 1962. Scottish comedian and television host (born 1962))
• Alfonso XIII (1886 to 1941. King of Spain from 1886 to 1931)
• Erik Satie (1866 to 1925. French composer and pianist (1866–1925))
• Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (born 1953. President of Kazakhstan since 2019)
• Queen Máxima of the Netherlands (born 1971. Queen of the Netherlands since 2013)
• Edward Jenner (1749 to 1823. English physician (1749–1823))
• Qusay Hussein (1966 to 2003. Iraqi politician (1966–2003))
• Kandi Burruss (born 1976. American TV personality, singer-songwriter (born 1976))
• Caroline of Brunswick (1768 to 1821. Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 1820 to 1821)
• Vjosa Osmani (born 1982. President of Kosovo (2020–2021, 2021–2026))
• Bartholomew Roberts (1682 to 1722. Welsh pirate (1682–1722))
• Emily Henry (born 1991. American author (born 1991))
• Howard Ashman (1950 to 1991. American playwright, lyricist, and director (1950–1991))
• Alan Kay (born 1940. American computer scientist (born 1940))
• Fazlollah Zahedi (1892 to 1963. Iranian politician (1892–1963))
• Albert, Duke of Prussia (1490 to 1568. Duke of Prussia from 1525 to 1568)
• Dennis Hopper (1936 to 2010. American actor and filmmaker (1936–2010))
• Janez Drnovšek (1950 to 2008. Former President and Prime Minister of Slovenia)
• Sirajuddin of Perlis (born 1943. King of Malaysia from 2001 to 2006)
• Auda Abu Tayi (1874 to 1924. Bedouin Arab leader (1874–1924))
• Ferenc Krausz (born 1962. Hungarian physicist (born 1962))
• Hessy Levinsons Taft (1934 to 2026. German Jew used in Nazi propaganda as a child (1934–2026))
• Michel de Certeau (1925 to 1986. French Jesuit priest and scholar (1925–1986))
• Princess Anna of Prussia (1836 to 1918. Prussian princess (1836–1918))
• Joseph M. Acaba (born 1967. American hydrogeologist and astronaut (born 1967))
• Wellhausen, Julius (1844 to 1918. German theologian and orientalist (1844–1918))
• Rosalind Picard (born 1962. American computer scientist (born 1962))
• Dorothy Richardson (1873 to 1957. British author and journalist (1873–1957))
• Sebastian Kneipp (1821 to 1897. 19th-century German clergyman and health researcher)
• Stav Shaffir (born 1985. Israeli social activist and politician)
• Frank Price (1930 to 2025. American television writer and executive (1930–2025))
• Salima Ikram (born 1965. Pakistani egyptologist (born 1965))
• Louise Borgia (1500 to 1553. French aristocrat)
• Khuang Aphaiwong (1902 to 1968. Prime Minister of Thailand (1944–45, 1946, and 1947–48))
• Lucy Frazer (born 1972. British politician (born 1972))
• Hannah Lux Davis (born 1986. American music video and film director)
• Veselin Đuranović (1925 to 1997. President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1925–1997))
• Schuyler Wheeler (1860 to 1923. American electrical engineer and manufacturer)
• U. Rajesh (born 1977. Indian composer and musician)
• Marlene Willoughby (born 1948. American former pornographic actress)
• Pierre Clastres (1934 to 1977. French anthropologist and ethnologist (1934–1977))
• Tony Parker (born 1982. French basketball player (born 1982))
• Bob Merrill (1921 to 1998. American songwriter (1921–1998))
• David Zippel (born 1954. American musical theatre lyricist (born 1954))
• Kia Abdullah (born 1982. English novelist and travel writer (born 1982))
• Hawa Abdi (1947 to 2020. Somali activist, physician (1947–2020))
• Ferdinand Charles Archduke of Austria (1628 to 1662. Archduke of Further Austria)
• Bob Saget (1956 to 2022. American comedian and actor (1956–2022))
• Omar Razzaz (born 1961. Prime Minister of Jordan)
• Joseph Weber (1919 to 2000. American physicist (1919-2000))
• Peter Galison (born 1955. American historian and philosopher of science (born 1955))
• Anna Vasa of Sweden (1568 to 1625. Swedish princess)
• Queen Myeongseong (1642 to 1683. Queen of Joseon from 1659 to 1674)
• A. J. Casson (1898 to 1992. Canadian painter in the Group of Seven (1898–1992))
• Anagarika Govinda (1898 to 1985. German Buddhist expositor, painter, and poet)
• Jacint Verdaguer (1845 to 1902. Catalan writer & poet (1845–1902))
• Charles Robert Ashbee (1863 to 1942. English architect and designer)
• Cyril Hilsum (born 1925. British physicist)
• Alexander Hardinge, 2nd Baron Hardinge of Penshurst (1894 to 1960. British Private Secretary in World War II)

Died on May 17

• Vangelis (1943 to 2022. Greek composer and musician (1943–2022))
• Sandro Botticelli (1445 to 1510. Italian Renaissance painter (1445–1510))
• Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754 to 1839. French secularized clergyman, statesman, and diplomat (1754–1838))
• John Jay (1745 to 1829. American Founding Father (1745–1829))
• Jorge Rafael Videla (1925 to 2013. President of Argentina from 1976 to 1981)
• False Dmitry I (1600 to 1606. Tsar of Russia from 1605 to 1606)
• Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (1478 to 1521. English nobleman (1478–1521))
• Herman Wouk (1915 to 2019. American writer (1915–2019))
• Donna Summer (1948 to 2012. American singer (1948–2012))
• Mary, Queen of Hungary (1371 to 1395. Queen of Hungary and Croatia (1382–1385, 1386–1395))
• Theodore I (Head of the Catholic Church from 642 to 649)
• Guido von List (1848 to 1919. Austrian occultist and writer (1848–1919))
• Gunnar Myrdal (1898 to 1987. Swedish economist, sociologist, and Nobel Laureate (1898–1987))
• Empress Teimei (1884 to 1951. Empress of Japan from 1912 to 1926)
• Paul Dukas (1865 to 1935. French composer (1865–1935))
• Milena Jesenská (1896 to 1944. Czech journalist, writer, editor and translator)
• Richard Pipes (1923 to 2018. American historian (1923–2018))
• Nicolás Gómez Dávila (1913 to 1994. Colombian philosopher and aphorist (1913–1994))
• Shin Saimdang (1504 to 1551. Korean calligraphist and poet (1504–1551))
• Takasugi Shinsaku (1839 to 1867. Japanese samurai (1839–1867))
• Marie of Prussia (1825 to 1889. Queen of Bavaria from 1848 to 1864)
• Mary Everest Boole (1832 to 1916. Author of didactic works on mathematics)
• Gerald Edelman (1929 to 2014. American biologist)
• Bud Anderson (1922 to 2024. American World War II flying ace (1922–2024))
• Gongyang of Goryeo (1345 to 1394. King of Goryeo from 1389 to 1392)
• William Birdwood (1865 to 1951. British army officer (1865–1951))
• Michael Ledeen (1941 to 2025. American historian and foreign policy analyst (1941–2025))
• Radhanath Sikdar (1813 to 1870. Indian mathematician (1813–1870))
• Surendra Bikram Shah (1829 to 1881. King of Nepal from 1847 to 1881)
• Alexis Clairaut (1713 to 1765. French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (1713–1765))

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