Portal:Biography/Selected anniversaries/February 17

Births

• 1781 - René Laennec, French physician (d. 1826)
• 1818 - Frederick Douglass, American abolitionist (d. 1895) (pictured)
• 1848 - Louisa Lawson, Australian feminist, suffragist, and writer (d. 1920)
• 1864 - Banjo Paterson, Australian poet (d. 1941)
• 1963 - Michael Jordan, American basketball player
• 1972 - Taylor Hawkins, American drummer (Foo Fighters) (d. 2022)

Deaths

• 1600 - Giordano Bruno, Italian philosopher (burned at the stake) (b. 1548)
• 1673 - Molière, French playwright (b. 1622)
• 1909 - Geronimo, Apache leader (b. 1829)
• 1982 - Thelonious Monk, American jazz pianist (b. 1917)