Famous Birthdays on September 17

Guillaume Victor Émile Augier was a French dramatist. He was the thirteenth member to occupy seat 1 of the Académie française on 31 March 1857.

Arthur Saint-Léon was the Maître de Ballet of St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet from 1859 until 1869 and is famous for creating the choreography of the ballet Coppélia.

Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann was a German mathematician who made profound contributions to analysis, number theory, and differential geometry. In the field of real analysis, he is mostly known for the first rigorous…

Frederick Corbett was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Corbett was born on 17 September 1853 in…

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was a Russian rocket scientist who pioneered astronautics. Along with Hermann Oberth and Robert H. Goddard, he is one of the pioneers of space flight and the founding father of modern…

Henry McCarty, alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who was linked to nine murders. He was solely responsible for four of them, and he may have…

Mihkel Martna was an Estonian politician and journalist.

Vice-Admiral James Charles Tancred, born James Charles Cleghorn, was a British officer of the Royal Navy. He saw service in the First World War, and rose to the rank of vice-admiral.

Vera Yevstafievna Popova was a Russian chemist. She was one of the first female chemists in Russia, and the first Russian female author of a chemistry textbook. She "probably became the first woman to die in the cause…

Christian Lous Lange was a Norwegian historian, teacher, and political scientist. He was one of the world's foremost exponents of the theory and practice of internationalism.

Sir Walter Logie Forbes Murdoch, was a prominent Australian academic and essayist famous for his intelligence and wit. He was a founding professor of English and former Chancellor of the University of Western Australia…

Andrew "Rube" Foster was an American baseball co-founder, player, manager, and executive in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.

Vice-Admiral Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter, VC was a Royal Navy officer who was selected by his fellow officers and men to receive the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face…

Charles Tomlinson Griffes was an American composer for piano, chamber ensembles and voice. His initial works are influenced by German Romanticism, but after he relinquished the German style, his later works make him the…

William Earl Webb was an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball, playing from 1925 to 1933. He played for five teams, including the Boston Red Sox for three years. He batted…

Lena Frances Edwards was a New Jersey physician who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964.

Martha Ostenso was a Norwegian American novelist and screenwriter who is also an important figure in Canadian literary history.

Sir Francis Charles Chichester KBE was a British businessman, pioneering aviator and solo sailor.

Karel Leendert Miljon was a Dutch boxer, who won the bronze medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.

Minanogawa Tōzō , also known as Asashio Kyojiro , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tsukuba, Ibaraki. He was the sport's 34th yokozuna.

Junius Richard Jayewardene, commonly referred to by his initials JR, was a Sri Lankan lawyer, public official and statesman who served as prime minister of Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1978 and as the second president of Sri…

Warren Earl Burger was an American attorney who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986.

Rafayel "Rafo" Israyelian was a Soviet Armenian architect.

Irena Kwiatkowska was a popular Polish actress, known in Poland for her many cabaret roles and monologues, as well as appearances in movies and television shows.

Tomáš Jan Baťa,, also known as Thomas Bata Jr. and Tomáš Baťa ml., was a Czech-Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He ran the Bata Shoe Company from the 1940s until the 80s.

Shin Kanemaru was a Japanese politician who was a significant figure in the political arena of Japan from the 1970s to the early 1990s. He was also Director General of the Japan Defense Agency from 1977 to 1978.

Mary, Lady Stewart was a British novelist who developed the romantic mystery genre, featuring smart, adventurous heroines who could hold their own in dangerous situations. She also wrote children's books and poetry, but…

Isang Yun, or Yun I-sang, was a Korean-born composer who made his later career in West Germany.

Chaim Herzog was an Irish-Israeli politician, military officer, lawyer and author who served as President of Israel from 1983 to 1993. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Dublin, the son of Ireland's Chief Rabbi…

Hans Otto Jung was a German viticulturist, jazz musician and patron of music. In the 1940s, he played as a pianist in the Hotclub Combo, which he cofounded with Emil Mangelsdorff and others. In 1987, he was a cofounder…

Ralph Simon Sharon was a British-American jazz pianist and arranger. He is best known for working with Tony Bennett as his pianist on numerous recordings and live performances.

Dorothy Loudon was an American actress and singer. She won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 1977 for her performance as Miss Hannigan in Annie. Loudon was also nominated for Tony Awards for her lead…

William Patton Black Jr. was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, the Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill Black's Combo.

Hovie Franklin Lister was an American gospel musician, Baptist Minister, and politician. Lister was best known for his time as the front man of the Statesmen Quartet, perhaps the most well known and renowned Southern…

Eugene McDuffy, known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. He was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era of the 1960s,…

Kevin Schubert (1927-2007) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. An international and interstate representative hooker, he played his club football in the Illawarra…

Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall was an English and American actor, whose career spanned over 270 screen and stage roles across more than 60 years.

Marshal of the Royal Air Force David Brownrigg Craig, Baron Craig of Radley, is a retired Royal Air Force officer and member of the House of Lords. He was a fast jet pilot in the 1950s, a squadron commander in the 1960s…

David William Huddleston was an American actor. An Emmy Award nominee, Huddleston had a prolific television career and appeared in many films, including Rio Lobo, Blazing Saddles, Crime Busters, Santa Claus: The Movie,…

Johan Theodorus Loevendie is a Dutch composer and clarinet player.

Emanuel James Rohn was an American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker. He wrote numerous books including How to obtain wealth and happiness.

Anne Bancroft was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a…

Robert Brown Parker was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works include the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. In the mid-1980s,…

Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia was a Nigerian army officer and politician. He was military Governor (1967–1975) of the Mid-West State, later renamed Bendel State, part of which in turn later became Edo State. After the…

Charles Ernest Grassley is an American politician serving as the senior U.S. senator from Iowa, a seat he has held since 1981. Since 2025, he serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate, a position…

Maureen Catherine Connolly-Brinker, known as "Little Mo", was an American tennis player, the winner of nine major singles titles in the early 1950s. In 1953, she became the first woman to win a Grand Slam. She is also…

Gerald Stanford "Gerry" Guralnik was the Chancellor’s Professor of Physics at Brown University. In 1964, he co-discovered the Higgs mechanism and Higgs boson with C. R. Hagen and Tom Kibble (GHK). As part of Physical…

Nigel Boocock was a motorcycle speedway rider from England. who appeared in eight Speedway World Championship finals. He holds the record number of caps for Great Britain (64) and the record for total number of caps,…

Sitakant Mahapatra is an Indian poet and literary critic in Odia as well as English. He served in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) from 1961 until he retired in 1995, and has since held ex officio posts such as…

Perry Morris Robinson was an American jazz clarinetist and composer. He was the son of composer Earl Robinson.

Carl Dennis is an American poet and educator. His book Practical Gods won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for poetry.

David Hackett Souter was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1990 to 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat that had…

Peter Lever was an English cricketer, who played in seventeen Tests and ten ODIs for England from 1970 to 1975. A fast-medium opening bowler, he took 41 wickets and was a handy lower-order batsman with a top score of 88…

Robert Takeo Matsui was an American politician from the state of California. Matsui was a member of the Democratic Party and served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the congressman for California's 5th…

Desmond Michael Lynam is an Irish-born British television and radio presenter. In a broadcasting career spanning more than forty years, he has hosted television coverage of many of the world's major sporting events,…

Robert Leslie Emmerson was a Canadian musician and singer. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist for the band Five Man Electrical Band, and their predecessor band The Staccatos. He also recorded as a solo artist,…

Jean Ellen Taylor is an American mathematician who is a professor emerita at Rutgers University and visiting faculty at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences of New York University.

Philip Douglas Jackson is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jackson is a 13-time NBA champion, having won two as a player and 11 as a…

William Arthur Bonds was an English professional footballer and manager, who was most often associated with West Ham United with whom he spent 27 years as player and manager. He played 799 first-team games for West Ham…

Tessa Jane Helen Douglas Jowell, Baroness Jowell, was a British Labour Party politician and life peer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dulwich and West Norwood, previously Dulwich, from 1992 to 2015.

Gail Carson Levine is an American author of young adult books. Her first novel, Ella Enchanted, received a Newbery Honor in 1998.

Kemal Monteno was a Bosnian recording artist and singer-songwriter whose career stretched from the 1960s to the 2010s. He is widely considered one of the greatest songwriters of the former Yugoslavia.

Ronald Gordon "Ron" Stevens was a Canadian politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the constituency of Calgary-Glenmore as a Progressive Conservative until his resignation on May…

John Waldo "Fee" Waybill is the lead singer and songwriter of San Francisco band The Tubes. Waybill has also worked with other acts, including Toto, Richard Marx, and Billy Sherwood.

Cassandra Gay Peterson is an American actress best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV in her stage persona…

Harold Solomon is an American former professional tennis player who played during the 1970s and 1980s. He achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 5 in singles in 1980, and of No. 4 in doubles in 1976. Over the…

Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman Jr. was an American professional basketball player and businessman. Bridgeman played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers from 1975…

Altaf Hussain is a British Pakistani politician who is known as the founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. He holds United Kingdom citizenship and has been living in exile in the UK since the start of Operation…

Joël-François Durand is a French composer.

Scott William Simpson is an American professional golfer.

Michael Lynn Parson is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who served as the 57th governor of Missouri, from 2018 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Parson assumed the governorship upon the…

Thaddis Bosley Jr. is an American former professional baseball outfielder and coach.

Sir David Julian Bintley is an English former ballet dancer, the artistic director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and co-artistic director of the New National Theatre Tokyo ballet company.

Nurten Yılmaz is an Austrian politician and former member of the National Council. A member of the Social Democratic Party, she represented Vienna North West from October 2013 to December 2022. She was a member of the…

Thomas David Waddell was a Scottish Major League Baseball pitcher. One of only eight Scotland natives to ever be a major league ballplayer, he pitched for the Cleveland Indians from 1984 to 1985, and again in 1987.

Kevin Jeffrey Clash is an American puppeteer, director and producer best known for puppeteering Elmo on Sesame Street from 1985 to 2012. He also performed puppets for Labyrinth, Dinosaurs, Oobi, and various Muppet…

Damon Graham Devereux Hill is a British former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from 1992 to 1999. Hill won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1996 with Williams, and won 22 Grands…

James Mark Cornette is an American author, sports historian, and podcaster who previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, photographer, promoter, trainer,…

Ty Tabor is an American musician. He is the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-lead vocalist for the hard rock band King's X. Tabor has a wide-ranging guitar style, from big guitar riffs to middling melodic passages.…

Bazmark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music and the recording industries. He is regarded by…

Hesham Mohamed Qandil is an Egyptian engineer and civil servant who served as the 51st prime minister of Egypt from 2012 to 2013. Qandil was appointed as prime minister by President Mohamed Morsi on 24 July 2012 and…

Benjamin "BeBe" Winans is an American gospel and R&B singer from Detroit, Michigan. He is a member of the noted Winans family, most members of which are also gospel artists. Winans has released nine solo albums, seven…

James Christian Urbaniak is an American actor. As a character actor, is best known for his roles as Simon Grim in three Hal Hartley films: Henry Fool (1997), Fay Grim (2006) and Ned Rifle (2014), Robert Crumb in…

Yuji Naka , sometimes credited as YU2, is a Japanese former video game designer and programmer. He is the co-creator of the Sonic the Hedgehog series and was the president of Sonic Team at Sega until his departure in…

Bryan Jay Singer is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed, as well as multiple television series.

Michael Carbajal is an American Six-time world boxing champion of Mexican descent. His nickname was "Little Hands of Stone" after his favorite boxer, "Hands of Stone" Roberto Durán.

Anastacia Lyn Newkirk, known mononymously as Anastacia, is an American singer-songwriter who has released eight albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, and collecting a total of 227 gold and platinum…

Francesc "Tito" Vilanova Bayó was a Spanish professional football central midfielder and manager.

Adam Patrick Devlin is an English musician, best known as the guitarist and songwriter for the Bluetones.

Keith Charles Flint was an English singer, motorcyclist, dancer, and a vocalist of the electronic dance act the Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer for the group, he became the vocalist and performed on the group's two UK…

Paul Varelans was an American professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship from 1995 to 1996, and had a worked match in Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1996.

Michael John Catt OBE is a South African-born former rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team. He played professionally for the clubs London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international caps…

Robert Young Lee Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. Lee co-hosts the podcasts Bad Friends with Andrew Santino and TigerBelly with Khalyla Kuhn.

Diego Luis Albanese is an Argentine retired rugby union player who played as a winger. He played for the San Isidro Club in Argentina, French side Grenoble, Gloucester and Leeds Tykes. Albanese made 17 appearances for…

Nona Marvisa Gaye is an American singer-songwriter, former fashion model, and retired actress. The daughter of singer Marvin Gaye and maternal granddaughter of jazz musician Slim Gaillard, Gaye began her career as a…

Craig A. Spence is an Australian professional golfer.

Wilko de Vogt is a former Dutch football goalkeeper.

Robert Alan Diaz known by his stage name Pumpkinhead or P.H., was an American rapper and hip hop artist. He grew up in the Park Slope area of Brooklyn, New York with his mother and younger sister.

Simone Perrotta is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in England, he represented the Italy national team. Throughout his career, he stood out for his work-rate, energy, and box-to-box play…

Shawn Paul Horcoff is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1998 NHL entry draft, 99th overall, by the Edmonton Oilers, with whom he played 12 seasons and served as…

Steffen R. Algreen is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a defender.

William John Miller II was an American actor. He was recognized for his work on American soap operas, including his award-winning work as Billy Abbott on The Young and the Restless and his dual portrayals of Jason…

Bakari Koné is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a winger.

Ice Seguerra, formerly Aiza Seguerra, is a Filipino actor, singer-songwriter, director and guitarist.

John Kucera is a retired World Cup alpine ski racer from Canada.

Tomáš Berdych is a former Czech professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 4 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in May 2015. He also reached a best doubles ranking of…

José Júlio Gomes Gonçalves is a retired Portuguese professional footballer who played as a left back or central defender.

Mason Evan Raymond is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played as a winger in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Ducks.…

Paolo De Ceglie is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a left-back, wing-back, or as a winger.

Paul David Huntington is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Little Pixie Geldof is an English-born model and singer. She is the third daughter of Irish musician Bob Geldof and Paula Yates.

Marcus Andrew Semien is an American professional baseball shortstop and second baseman for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics,…

Mena Mansour Massoud is an Egyptian-born Canadian actor. He made his film debut in the 2017 Canadian dramatic thriller Ordinary Days. His breakthrough came with playing the title character in the Disney fantasy film…

Alfonzo McKinnie is an American professional basketball player who last played for Busan KCC Egis of the Basketball Champions League Asia. He played college basketball for Eastern Illinois University and University of…

José Enrique Ramírez is a Dominican professional baseball third baseman for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent in 2009, and made…

Sophie Louise Howard is a footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Como. Born in Germany, she has been a member of the Scotland national team since 2017.

Denyse Tontz is an American actress, singer and songwriter. Tontz is known for her roles as Cortney Strathmore on Freeform's The Fosters, Miranda Montgomery on All My Children, Nikki Ortiz on Dog with a Blog, Elena on…

Patrick Lavon Mahomes II is an American professional football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). After becoming the Chiefs' starting quarterback in 2018, he led the team to…

Duje Ćaleta-Car is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Real Sociedad, on loan from Ligue 1 club Lyon, and the Croatia national team.

Catherine Grace Garner, known professionally as Slayyyter, is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and rapper. She started her career independently releasing songs through SoundCloud. Her eponymous debut mixtape,…

Auston Taylour Matthews is an American professional ice hockey player who is a center and captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Papi" or "Tone," he is widely considered as…

Jaimee Fourlis is an Australian tennis player of Greek descent. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 147, achieved on 18 July 2022, and a highest doubles ranking of world No. 138, reached on 2 March 2020.

Elina Ararati Avanesyan is an Armenian tennis player. She has a career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 36, achieved on 17 March 2025 and a best doubles ranking of No. 163, achieved on 12 August 2024. She is currently…