February 17 Birthdays
Karl Ernst von Baer (February 17, 1792-November 16, 1876)
Karl Ernst Ritter von Baer, Edler von Huthorn, also known in Russia as Karl Maksimovich Baer, from the Governorate of Estonia, was a naturalist, biologist, geologist, meteorologist, geographer, a founding father of embryology, explorer of European Russia and Scandinavia, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a co-founder of the Russian... WikipediaPiep estate, Estonia, Russian Empire
Dorpat
Alan Bates (February 17, 1934-December 27, 2003)
Sir Alan Arthur Bates, CBE was an English actor who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he appeared in films ranging from the popular children's story 'Whistle Down the Wind' to the "kitchen sink" drama 'A Kind of Loving'. He is also known for his performance with Anthony Quinn in 'Zorba the Greek', as... WikipediaAllestree, Derbyshire, England, U.K.
London, England, U.K.
Svein Berge (February 17, 1976-)
Svein Berge is a Norwegian electronic musician who makes up half of the duo Röyksopp. Wikipedia
William Bronk (February 17, 1918-February 22, 1999)
William Bronk was an American poet. For the 1981 collection 'Life Supports' he won the National Book Award for Poetry. WikipediaFort Edward, New York
Hudson Falls, New York
Jim Brown (February 17, 1936-)
James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player and actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by 'Sporting News' as the greatest professional football player ever. He is widely considered to be... WikipediaSt. Simons Island, Georgia
Les Brown (speaker) (February 17, 1945-)
Leslie C. "Les" Brown is a motivational speaker, former Ohio politician, popular author, radio DJ, and former host of 'The Les Brown Show'. As a politician, he is a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives. As a motivational speaker, he uses the catch phrase, "It's possible," and teaches people to follow their dreams as he learned to do. Wikipedia
André Dussollier (February 17, 1946-)
André Dussollier is a French actor. WikipediaAnnecy, Haute-Savoie, France
Vicente Fernández (February 17, 1940-)
Vicente "Chente" Fernández Gómez is a Mexican recording singer, actor, and film producer. Nicknamed as "'El Rey de la Cancion Ranchera'" throughout the Hispanosphere, Fernández started his career singing for tips on the street, and has since become a cultural icon, recording more than 50 albums and contributing to more than 30 films. He is the... WikipediaJalisco, Mexico
Ronald Fisher (February 17, 1890-July 29, 1962)
Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher FRS, known as R.A. Fisher, was an English statistician, evolutionary biologist, mathematician, geneticist, and eugenicist. Fisher is known as one of the chief architects of the modern evolutionary synthesis, where he outlined Fisher's principle as well as the Fisherian runaway theory of sexual selection, as one of the three... WikipediaEast Finchley, London, England
Adelaide, Australia
Brenda Fricker (February 17, 1945-)
Brenda Fricker is an Irish actress of theatre, film and television. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television roles. In 1989, she became the first Irish actress to win an Oscar, earning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for 'My Left Foot'. WikipediaDublin, Ireland
Alexei Fridman (February 17, 1940-October 29, 2010)
Alexey Maksimovich Fridman was a Soviet physicist specializing in astrophysics, physics of gravitating systems and plasma physics. He discovered new types of instabilities in gravitating media, created the theory of planetary rings and predicted the existence of small Uranus satellites that were later discovered. He also developed hydrodynamic... WikipediaMoscow, USSR
Jerusalem, Israel
Ron Goodwin (February 17, 1925-January 8, 2003)
Ronald Alfred "Ron" Goodwin was an English composer and conductor known for his film music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years. His most famous works included 'Where Eagles Dare', 'Battle of Britain', '633 Squadron' and 'Operation Crossbow'. WikipediaPlymouth, Devon, England
Newbury, Berkshire, England
Romano Guardini (February 17, 1885-October 1, 1968)
Romano Guardini was an Italian-born German Catholic priest, author, and academic. He was one of the most important figures in Catholic intellectual life in the 20th century. Wikipedia
Hal Holbrook (February 17, 1925-)
Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. is an American film and stage actor. Holbrook initially gained notoriety for a one-man stage show he developed while in college in 1954, performing as Mark Twain. WikipediaCleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Barry Humphries (February 17, 1934-)
John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE is an Australian comedian, actor, satirist, artist, and author. Humphries is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film producer and script writer, a star of London's West End musical theatre, an award-winning writer and an... WikipediaKew, Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
James Ivory (mathematician) (February 17, 1765-September 21, 1842)
Sir James Ivory was a Scottish mathematician. Wikipedia
Michael Jordan (February 17, 1963-)
Michael Jeffrey Jordan, also known by his initials, MJ, is an American former professional basketball player. He is also an entrepreneur, and principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets. Jordan played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. His biography on the NBA website states:... WikipediaBrooklyn, New York
Arthur Kennedy (actor) (February 17, 1914-January 5, 1990)
Arthur Kennedy was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage", especially in the original casts of Arthur Miller plays on Broadway. WikipediaWorcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Branford, Connecticut, U.S.
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Rory Kinnear (February 17, 1978-)
Rory Kinnear is an English actor and playwright who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. WikipediaLondon, England, UK
Ronald Knox (February 17, 1888-August 24, 1957)
Ronald Arbuthnott Knox was an English priest, theologian and author of detective stories. He was also a writer and a regular broadcaster for BBC Radio. Wikipedia
Larry the Cable Guy (February 17, 1963-)
Daniel Lawrence Whitney best known by his stage name and character Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, and former radio personality. WikipediaPawnee City, Nebraska, US
Daniel Merriweather (February 17, 1982-)
Daniel Paul Merriweather is an Australian R&B recording artist. Merriweather's debut solo album, 'Love & War', was released in June 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number two. It was preceded by two singles, "Change" and "Red", which both made the top 10 on the related singles chart. Merriweather has won two ARIA Music Awards, Best Urban... WikipediaMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Stephen Mirrione (February 17, 1969-)
Stephen Mirrione is an American film editor. He won an Academy Award for his editing of the film 'Traffic'. WikipediaSanta Clara County, California
Mo Yan (February 17, 1955-)
Guan Moye, better known by the pen name Mo Yan, is a Chinese novelist and short story writer. Donald Morrison of U.S. news magazine 'TIME' referred to him as "one of the most famous, oft-banned and widely pirated of all Chinese writers", and Jim Leach called him the Chinese answer to Franz Kafka or Joseph Heller. WikipediaGaomi, Shandong, China
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Mary Ann Mobley (February 17, 1937-December 9, 2014)
Mary Ann Mobley was an American actress, television personality and Miss America 1959. WikipediaBrandon, Mississippi, U.S.
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Norm Nielsen (February 17, 1934-)
Norm Nielsen, Born February 17, 1934 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is an American magician and business owner. WikipediaKenosha, Wisconsin
Russel B. Nye (February 17, 1913-September 2, 1993)
Russel Blaine Nye was an American professor of English who in the 1960s pioneered Popular Culture Theory. He is the author of a dozen books. His book 'George Bancroft: Brahmin Rebel' won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. WikipediaViola, Wisconsin
Lansing, Michigan
Ahna O'Reilly (February 17, 1985-)
Ahna O'Reilly is an American actress. She is best known for her supporting role as Elizabeth Leefolt in the 2011 award-winning drama film 'The Help'. WikipediaPalo Alto, California, U.S.
Lou Diamond Phillips (February 17, 1962-)
Lou Diamond Phillips is an American actor and director. His breakthrough came when he starred in the film 'La Bamba' as Ritchie Valens. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in 'Stand and Deliver' and a Tony Award nomination for his role in 'The King and I'. Other notable films in which Phillips has starred... WikipediaSubic Bay Naval Station, Philippines
Leonardo Pieraccioni (February 17, 1965-)
Leonardo Pieraccioni is an Italian film director, actor, and screenwriter. WikipediaYves Pouliquen (February 17, 1931-)
Yves Pouliquen is a doctor by profession, his work has been dedicated to the pathology of the cornea. WikipediaMortain, France
Jon Randall (February 17, 1969-)
Jon Randall Stewart is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. Signed to RCA Records in 1995, he debuted that year with the album 'What You Don't Know'. A second album for RCA, 1996's 'Great Day to Be Alive', was recorded but never released. That same year, Randall entered Top 40 on the country charts as a duet partner on... Wikipedia
Ruth Rendell (February 17, 1930-May 2, 2015)
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. WikipediaSouth Woodford, Essex, England, United Kingdom
London, England, United Kingdom
Jason Ritter (February 17, 1980-)
Jason Morgan Ritter is an American actor, son of actress Nancy Morgan and late actor John Ritter. Ritter had roles as Kevin Girardi in the television series 'Joan of Arcadia', as Sean Walker in the NBC series 'The Event', and as the voice of Dipper Pines in 'Gravity Falls'. He played the recurring role of Mark Cyr in the NBC television series... WikipediaLos Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Luc Robitaille (February 17, 1966-)
Luc Jean-Marie Robitaille is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player, and currently serves as President of business operations for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. WikipediaMontreal, QC, CAN
Patricia Routledge (February 17, 1929-)
Katherine Patricia Routledge, is an English actress, singer and author . She is best known for her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the British television series 'Keeping Up Appearances', which ran from 1990 to 1995. WikipediaTranmere, Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, UK
Ed Sheeran (February 17, 1991-)
Edward Christopher "Ed" Sheeran is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Born in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he moved to London in 2008 to pursue a musical career. In early 2011, Sheeran released an independent extended play, 'No. 5 Collaborations Project', which caught the attention of both Elton John and... WikipediaHalifax, West Yorkshire, England
Virginia Sorensen (February 17, 1912-December 24, 1991)
Virginia Sorensen, née Eggertsen, also credited as Virginia Sorenson, was the author of the 1957 John Newbery Medal winning 'Miracles on Maple Hill', based in the Erie, Pennsylvania region where she lived at the time. She grew up in Manti and American Fork, Utah. Her first novel, 'A Little Lower Than the Angels', was written and published in 1942... WikipediaProvo, Utah, USA
Otto Stern (February 17, 1888-August 17, 1969)
Otto Stern was a German physicist and Nobel laureate in physics. WikipediaSohrau, Kingdom of Prussia
Berkeley, California, United States
Elleston Trevor (February 17, 1920-July 21, 1995)
Elleston Trevor was a British novelist and playwright who wrote under several pseudonyms. Born Trevor Dudley-Smith, he eventually changed his name to Elleston Trevor. Trevor worked in many genres, but is principally remembered for his 1964 adventure story 'The Flight of the Phoenix', written as Elleston Trevor, and for a series of Cold War... Wikipedia
Thomas J. Watson (February 17, 1874-June 19, 1956)
Thomas John Watson, Sr. was the chairman and CEO of International Business Machines, who oversaw that company's growth into an international force from 1914 to 1956. Watson developed IBM's distinctive management style and corporate culture, and turned the company into a highly-effective selling organization, based largely around punched card... Wikipedia
Bryan White (February 17, 1974-)
Bryan White is an American country music artist. Signed to Asylum Records in 1994 at age 20, White released his self-titled debut album that year. Both it and its follow-up, 1996's 'Between Now and Forever', were certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and 1997's 'The Right Place' was certified gold. His fourth album,... WikipediaLawton Ft Sill, OK