| 142081 | December 17 | Birth | 1941 – Stan Mudenge, Zimbabwean historian and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2012) |
| 142082 | December 17 | Birth | 1942 – Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerian general and politician, 7th Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria |
| 142083 | December 17 | Birth | 1942 – Paul Butterfield, American singer and harmonica player (d. 1987) |
| 142084 | December 17 | Birth | 1943 – Mary Brunner, American criminal |
| 142085 | December 17 | Birth | 1943 – Ron Geesin, Scottish pianist and composer |
| 142086 | December 17 | Birth | 1944 – Jack L. Chalker, American author and educator (d. 2005) |
| 142087 | December 17 | Birth | 1944 – Carlo M. Croce, Italian-American oncologist and academic |
| 142088 | December 17 | Birth | 1944 – Bernard Hill, English actor |
| 142089 | December 17 | Birth | 1944 – Timo K. Mukka, Swedish-Finnish author (d. 1973) |
| 142090 | December 17 | Birth | 1945 – Ernie Hudson, American actor |
| 142091 | December 17 | Birth | 1945 – Chris Matthews, American journalist and author |
| 142092 | December 17 | Birth | 1945 – Jüri Talvet, Estonian poet and critic |
| 142093 | December 17 | Birth | 1945 – Jacqueline Wilson, English author and academic |
| 142094 | December 17 | Birth | 1946 – Simon Bates, English radio host |
| 142095 | December 17 | Birth | 1946 – Eugene Levy, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter |
| 142096 | December 17 | Birth | 1947 – Wes Studi, American actor and producer |
| 142097 | December 17 | Birth | 1948 – Valery Belousov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015) |
| 142098 | December 17 | Birth | 1948 – Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Turkish economist and politician |
| 142099 | December 17 | Birth | 1949 – Sotiris Kaiafas, Cypriot footballer |
| 142100 | December 17 | Birth | 1949 – Paul Rodgers, English singer-songwriter and producer (Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law) |
| 142101 | December 17 | Birth | 1950 – Laurence F. Johnson, American educator and author |
| 142102 | December 17 | Birth | 1950 – Maurice Peoples, American sprinter and coach |
| 142103 | December 17 | Birth | 1951 – Pat Hill, American football player and coach |
| 142104 | December 17 | Birth | 1951 – Ken Hitchcock, Canadian ice hockey player and coach |
| 142105 | December 17 | Birth | 1951 – Tatyana Kazankina, Russian runner |
| 142106 | December 17 | Birth | 1953 – Barry Livingston, American actor |
| 142107 | December 17 | Birth | 1953 – Sally Menke, American film editor (d. 2010) |
| 142108 | December 17 | Birth | 1953 – Bill Pullman, American actor, singer, and director |
| 142109 | December 17 | Birth | 1954 – Sergėjus Jovaiša, Lithuanian basketball player |
| 142110 | December 17 | Birth | 1955 – Brad Davis, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster |