TIMELINER

History's most surprising connections

Who Was Alive in 1917

96 of 328 historical figures were alive in 1917

Andrew Carnegie
Andrew CarnegieAge 82
1835–1919 · Business & Industry
Steel magnate, philanthropist
John D. Rockefeller
John D. RockefellerAge 78
1839–1937 · Business & Industry
Oil tycoon, richest American ever
Claude Monet
Claude MonetAge 77
1840–1926 · Art
Water Lilies, father of Impressionism
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste RenoirAge 76
1841–1919 · Art
Impressionist painter of joyful scenes
Thomas Edison
Thomas EdisonAge 70
1847–1931 · Science & Invention
Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham BellAge 70
1847–1922 · Science & Invention
Invented the telephone
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni GaudíAge 65
1852–1926 · Art
Sagrada Família architect
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund FreudAge 61
1856–1939 · Philosophy & Thought
Father of psychoanalysis
Nikola Tesla
Nikola TeslaAge 61
1856–1943 · Science & Invention
AC electricity, visionary inventor
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow WilsonAge 61
1856–1924 · Politics & Leadership
28th US President, League of Nations
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore RooseveltAge 59
1858–1919 · Politics & Leadership
26th US President, Rough Rider
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline PankhurstAge 59
1858–1928 · Activism & Social Change
British suffragette leader
Max Planck
Max PlanckAge 59
1858–1947 · Science & Invention
Father of quantum theory
Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan DoyleAge 58
1859–1930 · Literature
Creator of Sherlock Holmes
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath TagoreAge 56
1861–1941 · Literature
First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature
Gustav Klimt
Gustav KlimtAge 55
1862–1918 · Art
The Kiss, Art Nouveau master
Claude Debussy
Claude DebussyAge 55
1862–1918 · Music
Clair de Lune, Impressionist music
Henry Ford
Henry FordAge 54
1863–1947 · Business & Industry
Assembly line, Model T automobile
Edvard Munch
Edvard MunchAge 54
1863–1944 · Art
The Scream
H.G. Wells
H.G. WellsAge 51
1866–1946 · Literature
The War of the Worlds, science fiction pioneer
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-senAge 51
1866–1925 · Politics & Leadership
Father of the Republic of China
Marie Curie
Marie CurieAge 50
1867–1934 · Science & Invention
Radioactivity, first woman Nobel laureate
Scott Joplin
Scott JoplinAge 49
1868–1917 · Music
King of Ragtime
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma GandhiAge 48
1869–1948 · Politics & Leadership
Nonviolent independence leader of India
Marcel Proust
Marcel ProustAge 46
1871–1922 · Literature
In Search of Lost Time
Orville Wright
Orville WrightAge 46
1871–1948 · Science & Invention
Co-inventor of the airplane
Roald Amundsen
Roald AmundsenAge 45
1872–1928 · Exploration
First to reach the South Pole
Ernest Shackleton
Ernest ShackletonAge 43
1874–1922 · Exploration
Heroic Antarctic explorer, Endurance expedition
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo MarconiAge 43
1874–1937 · Science & Invention
Pioneer of long-distance radio
Winston Churchill
Winston ChurchillAge 43
1874–1965 · Politics & Leadership
British PM who led WWII effort
Harry Houdini
Harry HoudiniAge 43
1874–1926 · Film & Entertainment
Legendary escape artist & illusionist
Carl Jung
Carl JungAge 42
1875–1961 · Philosophy & Thought
Analytical psychology, archetypes
Pancho Villa
Pancho VillaAge 39
1878–1923 · Politics & Leadership
Mexican revolutionary general
Lise Meitner
Lise MeitnerAge 39
1878–1968 · Science & Invention
Discovered nuclear fission, overlooked for Nobel
Albert Einstein
Albert EinsteinAge 38
1879–1955 · Science & Invention
Theory of relativity, E=mc²
Pablo Picasso
Pablo PicassoAge 36
1881–1973 · Art
Cubism, Guernica, most prolific artist
Alexander Fleming
Alexander FlemingAge 36
1881–1955 · Science & Invention
Discovered penicillin
Virginia Woolf
Virginia WoolfAge 35
1882–1941 · Literature
Mrs Dalloway, modernist pioneer
James Joyce
James JoyceAge 35
1882–1941 · Literature
Ulysses, literary revolutionary
Igor Stravinsky
Igor StravinskyAge 35
1882–1971 · Music
The Rite of Spring, modern classical
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. RooseveltAge 35
1882–1945 · Politics & Leadership
32nd US President, New Deal, WWII leader
Coco Chanel
Coco ChanelAge 34
1883–1971 · Business & Industry
Fashion icon, Chanel No. 5
Franz Kafka
Franz KafkaAge 34
1883–1924 · Literature
The Metamorphosis, surreal fiction
Niels Bohr
Niels BohrAge 32
1885–1962 · Science & Invention
Atomic model, quantum mechanics pioneer
Diego Rivera
Diego RiveraAge 31
1886–1957 · Art
Mexican muralist, political artist
Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin SchrödingerAge 30
1887–1961 · Science & Invention
Schrödinger's cat, wave equation
Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O'KeeffeAge 30
1887–1986 · Art
Mother of American modernism
Charlie Chaplin
Charlie ChaplinAge 28
1889–1977 · Film & Entertainment
The Tramp, silent film legend
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi MinhAge 27
1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership
Revolutionary leader of Vietnam
Agatha Christie
Agatha ChristieAge 27
1890–1976 · Literature
Best-selling mystery novelist ever
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. EisenhowerAge 27
1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership
WWII Supreme Commander, 34th US President
Charles de Gaulle
Charles de GaulleAge 27
1890–1970 · Politics & Leadership
Leader of Free France, French President
Haile Selassie
Haile SelassieAge 25
1892–1975 · Politics & Leadership
Emperor of Ethiopia, Rastafari symbol
J.R.R. Tolkien
J.R.R. TolkienAge 25
1892–1973 · Literature
The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth
Mao Zedong
Mao ZedongAge 24
1893–1976 · Politics & Leadership
Founder of the People's Republic of China
Babe Ruth
Babe RuthAge 22
1895–1948 · Sports
Baseball's Sultan of Swat
Buster Keaton
Buster KeatonAge 22
1895–1966 · Film & Entertainment
Silent film comedian, The General
F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott FitzgeraldAge 21
1896–1940 · Literature
The Great Gatsby
Amelia Earhart
Amelia EarhartAge 20
1897–1937 · Exploration
First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
Golda Meir
Golda MeirAge 19
1898–1978 · Politics & Leadership
Fourth Prime Minister of Israel
Duke Ellington
Duke EllingtonAge 18
1899–1974 · Music
Jazz legend, big band pioneer
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest HemingwayAge 18
1899–1961 · Literature
The Old Man and the Sea, Nobel laureate
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis BorgesAge 18
1899–1986 · Literature
Labyrinths, master of magical realism
Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred HitchcockAge 18
1899–1980 · Film & Entertainment
Master of Suspense — Psycho, Vertigo
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey BogartAge 18
1899–1957 · Film & Entertainment
Casablanca, Hollywood icon
Werner Heisenberg
Werner HeisenbergAge 16
1901–1976 · Science & Invention
Uncertainty principle, quantum mechanics pioneer
Louis Armstrong
Louis ArmstrongAge 16
1901–1971 · Music
What a Wonderful World, jazz trumpet
Walt Disney
Walt DisneyAge 16
1901–1966 · Film & Entertainment
Created Mickey Mouse, Disney empire
Enrico Fermi
Enrico FermiAge 16
1901–1954 · Science & Invention
Father of the nuclear age, first nuclear reactor
Hirohito
HirohitoAge 16
1901–1989 · Politics & Leadership
Emperor of Japan during WWII
George Orwell
George OrwellAge 14
1903–1950 · Literature
1984, Animal Farm
Bob Hope
Bob HopeAge 14
1903–2003 · Film & Entertainment
Comedian, entertainer for 80+ years
Robert Oppenheimer
Robert OppenheimerAge 13
1904–1967 · Science & Invention
Father of the atomic bomb
Salvador Dalí
Salvador DalíAge 13
1904–1989 · Art
The Persistence of Memory, surrealist
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul SartreAge 12
1905–1980 · Philosophy & Thought
Existentialism, declined the Nobel Prize
Hannah Arendt
Hannah ArendtAge 11
1906–1975 · Philosophy & Thought
The Banality of Evil, political theorist
Frida Kahlo
Frida KahloAge 10
1907–1954 · Art
Self-portraits, Mexican cultural icon
Rachel Carson
Rachel CarsonAge 10
1907–1964 · Activism & Social Change
Silent Spring, environmental movement
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de BeauvoirAge 9
1908–1986 · Philosophy & Thought
The Second Sex, feminist existentialist
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame NkrumahAge 8
1909–1972 · Politics & Leadership
First President of Ghana
Dorothy Hodgkin
Dorothy HodgkinAge 7
1910–1994 · Science & Invention
Nobel Prize for X-ray crystallography of biochemical substances
Mother Teresa
Mother TeresaAge 7
1910–1997 · Activism & Social Change
Missionary of Charity in Calcutta
Akira Kurosawa
Akira KurosawaAge 7
1910–1998 · Film & Entertainment
Seven Samurai, master filmmaker
Jacques Cousteau
Jacques CousteauAge 7
1910–1997 · Exploration
Ocean explorer, pioneered scuba diving
Alan Turing
Alan TuringAge 5
1912–1954 · Science & Invention
Father of computer science, codebreaker
Jackson Pollock
Jackson PollockAge 5
1912–1956 · Art
Action painting, abstract expressionism
Rosa Parks
Rosa ParksAge 4
1913–2005 · Activism & Social Change
Mother of the civil rights movement
Jesse Owens
Jesse OwensAge 4
1913–1980 · Sports
4 gold medals at 1936 Berlin Olympics
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy LamarrAge 3
1914–2000 · Science & Invention
Hollywood star who co-invented frequency hopping
Orson Welles
Orson WellesAge 2
1915–1985 · Film & Entertainment
Citizen Kane, War of the Worlds broadcast
Frank Sinatra
Frank SinatraAge 2
1915–1998 · Music
My Way, Ol' Blue Eyes
Billie Holiday
Billie HolidayAge 2
1915–1959 · Music
Strange Fruit, jazz vocal legend
Roald Dahl
Roald DahlAge 1
1916–1990 · Literature
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
John F. Kennedy
John F. KennedyAge 0
1917–1963 · Politics & Leadership
35th US President, Space Race
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella FitzgeraldAge 0
1917–1996 · Music
First Lady of Song, jazz icon
Indira Gandhi
Indira GandhiAge 0
1917–1984 · Politics & Leadership
First female Prime Minister of India

Notable World Events in 1917

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