What happened on January 17 ?

1463 - Friedrich III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1525)

1484 - George Spalatin, German reformer (d. 1545)

1501 - Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (d. 1566)

1504 - Pope Pius V (d. 1572)

1560 - Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist (d. 1624)

1600 - Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Spanish playwright (d. 1681)

1612 - Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, English Civil War general (d. 1671)

1686 - Archibald Bower, Scottish historian (d. 1766)

1706 - Benjamin Franklin American writer, inventor, publisher, and ambassador (d. 1790)

1712 - John Stanley, English composer (d. 1786)

1719 - William Vernon, American merchant (d. 1806)

1761 - James Hall, Scottish geologist (d. 1832)

1763 - John Jacob Astor, American entrepreneur (d. 1848)

1789 - August Neander, German theologian (d. 1850)

1820 - Anne Brontë, British author (d. 1849)

1828 - Lewis A. Grant, American Civil War General (d. 1918)

1832 - Henry Martyn Baird, American historian and educationalist (d. 1906)

1851 - A. B. Frost, American illustrator (d. 1928)

1860 - Douglas Hyde, President of Ireland (d. 1949)

1863 - David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1945)

1867 - Carl Laemmle, German-born film executive (d. 1939)

1871 - David Earl Beatty British admiral (d. 1936)

1871 - Nicolae Iorga, Romanian writer (d. 1940)

1880 - Mack Sennett, Canadian film director and producer (d. 1960)

1881 - Antoni ?omnicki, Polish mathematician (d. 1941)

1882 - Noah Beery, American actor (d. 1946)

1886 - Glenn L. Martin, American aviation pioneer (d. 1955)

1899 - Al Capone, American gangster (d. 1947)

1899 - Nevil Shute, English author (d. 1960)

1905 - Guillermo Stábile, Argentine footballer (d. 1966)

1911 - George Joseph Stigler, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)

1914 - William Stafford, American poet and essayist (d. 1993)

1921 - Antonio Prohias, Cuban cartoonist (d. 1998)

1922 - Luis Echeverría Álvarez, President of Mexico

1922 - Nicholas Katzenbach, American politician

1922 - Betty White, American actress

1925 - Robert Cormier, American author (d. 2000)

1925 - Abdul Kardar, Pakistani cricketer

1926 - Newton N. Minow, American telecommunications lawyer and statesman

1926 - Moira Shearer, Scottish actress and dancer (d. 2006)

1927 - Eartha Kitt, American actress and singer

1928 - Jean Barraqué, French composer (d. 1973)

1928 - Vidal Sassoon, English cosmetologist

1929 - Jacques Plante, Canadian hockey player (d. 1986)

1930 - Eddie LeBaron, American football quarterback

1931 - James Earl Jones, American actor

1931 - L. Douglas Wilder, former Governor of Virginia

1931 - Don Zimmer, baseball coach

1933 - Dalida, French singer (d. 1987)

1933 - Ray Dolby, American inventor

1933 - Prince Sadruddhin Aga Khan, French UN High Commissioner for Refugees (d. 2003)

1933 - Shari Lewis, American puppeteer (d. 1998)

1933 - Sheree North, American actress

1935 - Ruth Ann Minner, Governor of Delaware

1937 - Troy Donahue, American actor

1939 - Maury Povich, American talk show host

1940 - Kipchoge Keino, Kenyan runner

1942 - Muhammad Ali, American boxer

1942 - Cus D'Amato, boxing manager (d. 1985)

1942 - Ulf Hoelscher, German violinist

1942 - Nancy Parsons, American actress (d. 2001)

1943 - René Préval, President of Haiti

1944 - Françoise Hardy, French singer

1948 - Davíð Oddsson, former Prime Minister of Iceland

1948 - Mick Taylor, British musician (The Rolling Stones)

1948 - Jim Ladd, American freeform (radio format) Disc Jockey (KLOS)

1949 - Andy Kaufman, American comedian (d. 1984)

1952 - Darrell Porter, American baseball player (d. 2002)

1952 - Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese musician, composer, producer, actor

1955 - Steve Earle, American musician

1956 - Paul Young, English musician

1957 - John Crawford, American musician (Berlin (band))

1959 - Susanna Hoffs, American musician (The Bangles)

1959 - Momoe Yamaguchi, Japanese singer and actress

1962 - Jim Carrey, Canadian actor and comedian

1962 - Sebastian Junger, American journalist and author

1963 - Kai Hansen, German musician/singer (Gamma Ray)

1964 - Andy Rourke, bass guitarist, The Smiths

1966 - Shabba Ranks, Jamaican singer

1968 - Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Dutch writer

1968 - Svetlana Masterkova, Russian athlete

1969 - Lukas Moodysson, Swedish film director

1969 - Naveen Andrews, British actor

1970 - Jeremy Roenick, American hockey player

1970 - Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-born animator

1970 - James Wattana, Thai snooker player

1971 - Kid Rock, American singer

1971 - Youki Kudoh, Japanese actress

1972 - Ken Hirai, Japanese singer and songwriter

1974 - Yang Chen, Chinese footballer

1979 - Brad Miller, American actor, filmmaker, and musician

1980 - Zooey Deschanel, American actress

1981 - Warren Feeney, Northern Irish footballer

1981 - Scott Mechlowicz, American actor

1981 - William Raymond Norwood, Jr. (a.k.a. Ray J), American R&B singer

1982 - Alex Varkatzas, American singer (Atreyu)

1982 - Dwyane Wade, American basketball player

1985 - Simone Simons, Dutch singer (Epica)

1986 - Chloe Rose Lattanzi, Australian actress and singer

1988 - Nikki Reed, American actress

2001 - Sophie Delezio, Australian burn victim