Pope Francis is Rome's 266th Bishop. Francis was chosen Pope on March 13, 2013, to succeed Benedict XVI, who resigned two weeks earlier. Poverty, compassion, and joy have become themes that have come to define Francis' papacy. Jorge Mario Bergoglio's papal name is Francis. Bergoglio was born on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to two Italian immigrants. He is a scientist with postgraduate degrees in philosophy and theology. He worked as a janitor, a bar bouncer, and a lab assistant for a chemist before beginning his seminary studies.

According to North Korean press reports, Kim Jong-il died around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 17. (6:30 Friday evening Washington time). His death was broadcast on Korean radio at noon the following Monday, giving the North Korean officials time to plan their next move. Kim died as a result of "mental and physical overwork" while on a rail tour of different military and civilian locations, which he had been doing for years despite being in poor condition since his stroke in 2008. During the last week of his life, he was unusually busy.

Kate Noelle Holmes is an actress, director, and producer from the United States. She rose to prominence on the television series Dawson's Creek (1998–2003) as Joey Potter. Holmes was born in the city of Toledo in the state of Ohio. Kathleen A. has five children, the youngest of whom is her.

On December 17, 1933, Lala Amarnath made history by scoring India's first-ever Test century against England. Amarnath, who had a score of 118, was also the first cricket captain of independent India. Surinder, the son of Amarnath, became the only father-son pairing to score 100 or more against a foreign opponent later in 1976 when he made his Test debut against New Zealand.

Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer and pianist, was born on December 17, 1770. Beethoven is still regarded as one of the most revered musicians in Western music history; his compositions are among the most often performed in the classical music repertoire and mark the change from the Classical to the Romantic periods.

Billie Eilish is an American singer-songwriter. Pirate Baird O'Connell is an American singer and songwriter who was born on December 18, 2001. She rose to prominence in 2015 with the release of her debut single "Ocean Eyes," which was distributed by Darkroom, an Interscope Records subsidiary. Finneas O'Connell, her brother, wrote and produced the song, with whom she regularly collaborates on music and in live concerts. Don't Smile at Me (2017), her first extended play, was a financial success, charting in the top 15 in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

Joni Flynn was born in Assam, India on December 18, 1949. She has appeared in films such as Monty Python's Holy Grail, Octopussy, and Felicity.

On December 18, 1878, he was born in Gori, Georgia. Losif Jughashvili was his birth name. Stalin's parents were impoverished, and he had a difficult upbringing. He contracted smallpox when he was seven years old. He lived, but his skin was scarred. He eventually went to seminary to become a priest, but he was booted because he was a radical. Stalin joined the Bolshevik revolutionaries after leaving the seminary. This was an underground movement founded by Vladimir Lenin that adhered to Karl Marx's communist theories.

Steven Allan Spielberg, an American film director, producer, and screenwriter, was born on December 18, 1946. He started his career in the New Hollywood era and is now the most financially successful filmmaker in the industry. Three Academy Awards (two for Best Director), a Kennedy Center distinction, a Cecil B. DeMille Award, and an AFI Life Achievement Award have all been bestowed to Spielberg.

John Abraham is a Mumbai, Maharashtra-born Indian actor who was born on December 17, 1972. John was born in Malaysia to a Malayali father and a Parsi mother. His father works as an architect. Alan is his younger brother. He was a model before beginning his acting career. He began his modelling career with the Punjabi music video "Surma." Then he went to work for the media company Time & Space Media Entertainment Promotions Ltd. He graduated from Bombay Scottish School in Mahim, Mumbai, with a degree in economics. He subsequently went on to earn his MBA from Mumbai Educational Trust.

The Tracy Ullman Show, a variety show on the Fox Broadcasting Company, first aired a cartoon short featuring The Simpsons in 1987. It debuted as a Christmas special on December 17, 1989, and after being lengthened to a half-hour, it started running regularly in January 1990.

William Bradley Pitt was born on December 18, 1963, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, to truck company owner William Alvin and his wife, Jane Etta, a school counsellor. He eventually relocated in Springfield, Missouri, with his family, which included two more brothers, Doug and Julie Neal. Brad Pitt is a well-known American actor who began his career with minor roles in Hollywood films. Having shown an interest in performing at an early age, the actor dropped out of college to pursue a career in show business. After small roles in films such as '21 Jump Street,' 'Cutting Class,' and 'Happy Together,' he had his big break in 'Legends of the Fall.'

Benazir Bhutto was a Pakistani politician who served as the country's 11th and 13th prime ministers, respectively, between 1988 and 1990 and 1993 and 1996. She was the first woman in a Muslim-majority country to lead a democratic government. She headed or co-chaired the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from the early 1980s until her assassination in 2007. She was an ideological liberal and a secularist. In 1987, she married Asif Ali Zardari.