1917 births

François de Labouchere, born at Saint-Jean-le-Vieux (Ain) on 18 September 1917 and killed in air-to-air combat on 5 September 1942, was a French pilot of the Second World War.

Jacques Andrieux (15 August 1917 – 21 January 2005) was a French fighter ace of the Second World War credited with 6 aerial victories.

Marcel Albert (25 November 1917 – 23 August 2010) was a French World War II flying ace who flew for the air forces of the Vichy government and Free French Air Forces, he also flew for the Soviet Air Force and the Royal Air Force.

Georges Boulogne (1 July 1917 – 24 August 1999) was a French football player and manager, better known for his stint as France national team manager.

Suzy Delair (born Suzette Pierrette Delaire; December 31, 1917 – March 15, 2020) was a French actress, dancer, singer, comedian and star of vaudeville.

Felix Laurence Sparks (August 2, 1917 – September 25, 2007) was an American attorney, government official, and military officer from Colorado. A veteran of World War II, he attained the rank of brigadier general in the Colorado Army National Guard and received the Silver Star and the Purple Heart. Sparks also served as District Attorney of Colorado's 7th Judicial District, an Associate Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court, and the longtime director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board.
A native of San Antonio, Sparks was raised and educated in Arizona and served as an enlisted soldier in the United States Army from 1936 to 1938. He then attended the University of Arizona, where he maintained his military interest by taking part in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and several Citizens' Military Training Camps while also serving in the Army Reserve. In 1939, he was called to active duty for World War II, and in 1940 he received his commission as a second lieutenant. Assigned to the 45th Infantry Division, Sparks served with the division's 157th Infantry Regiment throughout the war, from its arrival in North Africa through combat in Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany. Near the end of the war, Sparks was commander of the 157th Infantry's 3rd Battalion, which he led during its participation in the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. For his wartime service, Sparks was twice awarded both the Silver Star and the Purple Heart, as well as the French Croix de Guerre.
After the war, Sparks graduated from the University of Colorado Law School, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Delta, Colorado. A leader of the local Democratic Party, Sparks served a term as District Attorney of Colorado's 7th Judicial District (1949–1953), and briefly filled a vacancy as an Associate Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court (1956). In 1957, Sparks was appointed attorney for the Colorado Water Conservation Board. In 1958, he became the board's director, and he served in this position until retiring in 1979.
In addition to pursuing careers in law and government, Sparks continued to serve in the military. Assigned as executive officer of the 157th Regimental Combat Team (RCT), a unit of the Colorado Army National Guard, Sparks subsequently commanded the RCT's 1st Battalion. He commanded the 169th Field Artillery Group as a colonel in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including recall to active duty for several months during the Berlin Crisis of 1961. Sparks was promoted to brigadier general in 1968 and assigned as the Colorado National Guard's assistant adjutant general for army and commander of the Colorado Army National Guard. Sparks served in the National Guard until reaching the mandatory retirement age in 1977.
Sparks died in Lakewood, Colorado, on September 25, 2007. He was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

John H. Reading (November 26, 1917 – February 7, 2003) was an American businessman and politician based in Oakland, California. He was elected as the 44th Mayor of Oakland, California and served three four-year terms, from 1966 to 1977. Since his terms, voters have consistently elected Democratic candidates as mayor of the city.

Loretta King Hadler (August 20, 1917 – September 10, 2007) was an American actress, best known for the brevity of her career and her work with director Ed Wood.

Adam Rankin Johnson Jr. (March 1,1917 – February 11, 2006) was an American professional baseball player and executive. A pitcher during his active career, he appeared in seven games in Major League Baseball as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics during the early weeks of the 1941 season. He threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and 177 pounds (80 kg).
Johnson was born in Hayden, Arizona; his father, Rankin Sr., was also a Major League pitcher, largely with the "outlaw" Federal League, in 1914–1915 and 1918. Rankin Jr. attended what is now the University of Texas at El Paso. He appeared in one game for the 1935 Akron Yankees of the Class C Middle Atlantic League, then began his professional baseball career in earnest in 1939 at the Class D level.

Thomas Guy Greenfield (November 10, 1917 – October 9, 2004) was a professional American football center/linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted in the 15th round of the 1939 NFL Draft. Greenfield, who was born in Glendale, Arizona, played for the Green Bay Packers from 1939 to 1941. A member of the 1939 NFL Champion Packers, he played in the annual All-Star Game that year. He played college football at the University of Arizona, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.