List of Famous people born on April 17th

Lauren Savoy is an American composer, director and writer. She is married to Paul Waaktaar-Savoy from the band a-ha. In 1999 they had a son together.

Parsegh Ganatchian or Barsegh Kanachyan was an Armenian composer, conductor, and sociocultural activist. He is best-known for his part in arranging the music to Մեր հայրենիք, the Armenian national anthem. He comes from a modest background; his father was a shoemaker.

Meemann Chang, also known as Zhang Miman, is a Chinese paleontologist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP). She completed her undergraduate studies at Moscow University and completed her PhD thesis entitled 'The braincase of Youngolepis, a Lower Devonian crossopterygian from Yunnan, south-western China' at Stockholm University. She was the first woman to become head of IVPP in 1983. Later in 2011 she also received an honorary degree from the University of Chicago for her many career achievements.

Melanie Putria Dewita Sari is an Indonesian beauty queen, television host and actress. She is known for winning the Puteri Indonesia title in 2002, as the representative of West Sumatra.

Edward Lionel Pape was an English born stage and screen actor. His acting career begun in his native UK with eventual migration to the US. He appeared on the Broadway stage in over 20 productions between 1912 and 1935. The beginning of his screen career goes back to the silent film era. Between the 1930s and early 1940s, he played supporting roles and bit parts in over 50 Hollywood movies. He played in numerous films of directors like John Ford, Ernst Lubitsch and George Cukor. Pape portrayed Katharine Hepburn's butler in The Philadelphia Story (1940) and appeared as the oppressive coal mine owner in How Green Was My Valley (1941).

Joseph Albert Wright was the tenth governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from December 5, 1849 to January 12, 1857, most noted for his opposition to banking. His positions created a rift between him and the Indiana General Assembly who overrode all of his anti-banking vetoes. He responded by launching legal challenges to the acts, but was ruled against by the Indiana Supreme Court. The state's second constitutional convention was held during 1850–1851 in which the current Constitution of Indiana was drafted. He was a supporter of the new constitution and gave speeches around the state urging its adoption. He was opposed throughout his term by Senator Jesse D. Bright, the leader of the state Democratic Party.