| 142051 | December 17 | Birth | 1928 – Eli Beeding, American captain and pilot (d. 2013) |
| 142052 | December 17 | Birth | 1928 – Doyle Conner, American farmer and politician (d. 2012) |
| 142053 | December 17 | Birth | 1928 – George Lindsey, American actor and singer (d. 2012) |
| 142054 | December 17 | Birth | 1929 – Jacqueline Hill, English actress (d. 1993) |
| 142055 | December 17 | Birth | 1929 – William Safire, American journalist and author (d. 2009) |
| 142056 | December 17 | Birth | 1930 – Bob Guccione, American publisher, founded Penthouse (d. 2010) |
| 142057 | December 17 | Birth | 1930 – Armin Mueller-Stahl, German actor |
| 142058 | December 17 | Birth | 1930 – Dorothy Rowe, Australian psychologist and author |
| 142059 | December 17 | Birth | 1931 – Gerald Finnerman, American director and cinematographer (d. 2011) |
| 142060 | December 17 | Birth | 1931 – Dave Madden, Canadian-American actor (d. 2014) |
| 142061 | December 17 | Birth | 1931 – James McGaugh, American neurobiologist and psychologist |
| 142062 | December 17 | Birth | 1932 – John Bond, English footballer and manager (d. 2012) |
| 142063 | December 17 | Birth | 1934 – Irving Petlin, American artist |
| 142064 | December 17 | Birth | 1934 – Ray Wilson, English footballer and manager |
| 142065 | December 17 | Birth | 1935 – Brian Langford, English cricketer (d. 2013) |
| 142066 | December 17 | Birth | 1935 – Cal Ripken, Sr., American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1999) |
| 142067 | December 17 | Birth | 1936 – Pope Francis |
| 142068 | December 17 | Birth | 1936 – Rosemary Martin, English actress (d. 1998) |
| 142069 | December 17 | Birth | 1936 – Tommy Steele, English singer, guitarist, and actor |
| 142070 | December 17 | Birth | 1937 – Brian Hayes, Australian-English radio host |
| 142071 | December 17 | Birth | 1937 – Art Neville, American singer and keyboard player (The Neville Brothers and The Meters) |
| 142072 | December 17 | Birth | 1937 – Kerry Packer, Australian businessman, founded World Series Cricket (d. 2005) |
| 142073 | December 17 | Birth | 1937 – John Kennedy Toole, American author and academic (d. 1969) |
| 142074 | December 17 | Birth | 1937 – Calvin Waller, American general (d. 1996) |
| 142075 | December 17 | Birth | 1938 – Carlo Little, English drummer (Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages and All-Stars) (d. 2005) |
| 142076 | December 17 | Birth | 1938 – Peter Snell, New Zealand-American runner and orienteer |
| 142077 | December 17 | Birth | 1939 – James Booker, American pianist (d. 1983) |
| 142078 | December 17 | Birth | 1939 – Eddie Kendricks, American singer-songwriter (The Temptations) (d. 1992) |
| 142079 | December 17 | Birth | 1940 – Kåre Valebrokk, Norwegian journalist (d. 2013) |
| 142080 | December 17 | Birth | 1940 – María Elena Velasco, Mexican actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (d. 2015) |