Issac Newton - Discovered the laws of universal gravitation, and set out his three laws of motion that are still used to this day.

Oliver Cromwell - Made England into a Republican Commonwealth

James I of England - James IV of Scotland before being crowned King of England in 1603, effectively unifying Great Britain.

Francis Bacon - English philiosopher, statesman and scientist, established and popularized methodology for scientific inquiry, or scientific method.

Abraham Darby - Introduced the first coke consuming blast furnace, capable of producing high grade iron - beggining the industrial revolution.

Rene Descartes - French philosopher, "I think therefore I am" is how he determined that he knows that he exists.

So many famous figures to choose from the 17th century, where to begin? Let's start with a top ten list of famous names, and why we know them so well:

10. (TIE) John Locke & Thomas Hobbes (England)

These two English philosophers were founders of modern Western philosophy arguing about the true nature of man.

(Hobbes)
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:6w4cs2Tikl4AAM:http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/08/personalbest_timeline/image/thomas_hobbes.jpg

(Locke)
http://andyunedited.ivpress.com/John%20locke.gif

9. Miyamoto Musashi (Japan)
Famed Japanese swordsman and author of the well-known book on strategy and philosophy, "The Book of Five Rings", which is very famous in modern business culture. Legends of his great martial arts skills couple with his amazing paintings to make Musashi one of the greats of Japanese history.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vD7I6qHKQ3c/Sa7Y4ebhZgI/AAAAAAAAAHw/Z6HUuObXEGs/s400/musashi.jpg

8. Rene Descartes (France)
The "Father of Modern Philosophy" was also a renowned physicist and mathematician. Descartes played a major role in the Scientific Revolution that took place in the 16th-17th centuries, with innumerable feats in the mathematic and scientific communities.
http://www.daviddarling.info/images/Descartes.jpg

7. Rembrandt van Rijn (Netherlands)
A famed painter from the Dutch Golden Age who is considered one of the all-time greats.
http://pwlawrence.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/rembrandt-self-portrait-1660.jpg

6. Queen Elizabeth I (England)
The bold, red-haired queen who brought together a nation fraught with religious turmoil. Her great triumphs as a queen, and her devotion to her people (forsaking marriage for them) made her one of the most popular monarchs in British...or European history.
http://www.marileecody.com/eliz1-rainbow.jpg
(True that most of Elizabeth's reign was in the 16th century, but she did rule and change the face of Europe in the first three years of the century...and she's one of my personal all-time favorites from history, so she makes the list!)

5. King Louis XIV (France)
"The Sun King" ruled France for the longest consecutive period of any other European ruler--for more than 72 years. He led his country through 3 major wars and was able to stabilize France and make it a domineering world power. His name is synonymous with culture, beauty, and refinement.
http://chsweb.lr.k12.nj.us/kstokes/euroassign/Baroque_files/image008.jpg

4. Peter the Great (Russia)
A great transformative leader in Russian history, Peter founded the Russian Navy, rebuilt the military structure, built schools, and brought the Western European Enlightenment Movement to the East.
http://www.worldsecuritynetwork.com/ArticleImages/Peter_der-Grosse_1838_web.jpg

3. William Shakespeare (England)
Poet and playwright whose works changed the face of literary history. Though Shakespeare is mostly known for this 16th century work, some of his important plays, including Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Othello, MacBeth and others were written at the dawn of the 17th century.
http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/images2/shakespeare9.jpg

2. Isaac Newton (England)
Astronomer, theologian, ,mathematician, philosopher, and overall brilliant scientist. Sir Isaac Newton is one of the greats of history, with countless discoveries, inventions, and the founding of many scientific and mathematic principles (including calculus).
http://mecha3dprojects.com/images/Isaac_Newton_Biography.jpg

1. Galileo Galilei (Italy)
His nicknames include the "Father of Modern Astronomy", "Father of Modern Science". Galileo was also the father of heliocentrism--the belief that the Sun, not the Earth, is at the center of our universe. He was also lightning rod for scientific and religious fractioning. Very few, if any, historical figures can parallel this great man.
http://www.broadwayworld.com/columnpic/galileo.jpg

During this period of Renaissance, I find it hard to think of a famous figure who isn't male. There are many females who most likely were born into a position of privilege or royalty and have made it into the history books of the 17th century, but what about women who broke the mold during this time?

This has always seemed like a dark period for female endeavors, since men like Isaac Newton, Galileo Gelilei and Rene Descartes take front and center stage.
I'd like to dedicate this answer to the famous female figures of the 17th century.

Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia - Venice, Italy 1646 - 1684
She is the first woman to receive a doctorate degree. Her loves were philosophy and theology, but she was talented and gifted in many subjects. She originally applied for a doctorate in theology, but was turned down by the roman catholic church. She did however finally get her degree in philosophy at the University of Padua to the largest group of spectators in history.
http://www.lorenzinifoundation.org/Gender2009/photos/AA-elena-lucrezia-cornaro.jpg

Mary Beale - Suffolk, England 1633-1699
Mary was one of the most important 'professional' portrait artists of the 17th century, and one of the first females to dominate this area in art.
What many find interesting with her, is that after she established herself and became more well known, her husband abandoned his own work to become her assistant and accountant.
(her very proud self portrait - 1685)
http://blocs.xtec.cat/ccubells/files/2008/01/mary_beale_self_portrait1.jpg

Madame De Saint Baslemont De Neuville - Neuville, France 1606 - 1660
Barbara d'Ernecourt was a warrior and hero to the French people.
She married at a young age to man who loved war and horses, and while he was away fighting in Germany, she defended her estate and lands during the thirty years war. Her armor and military knowledge make her a 17th century bad ass.
http://www.lothene.org/others/women172.jpg

Even though these women did not invent anything new, per se, they did break some barriers and create a wider path for future generations.

The 17th Century ranging from 1601-1700 concentrated on a cultural movement and was very involved with modern science and philosophy. I think Sir Issac Newton was one of the most famous figures of that century. He was an exceptionally brilliant English physicist, mathematician and astronomer. There is always the famous story of him sitting under a tree and the apple falling on his head. That mishap led him to ponder the scientific theory of gravity and the accompanying speed of acceleration. It later developed his understanding why the moon and the earth did not collide because their gravitational pull keeps each on its own orbit.

My other nomination for most famous figure of the 17th Century is Galileo. He seemed to have had quite the wreckless and wild life for the time ... maybe even now, but his genius led to such profound discoveries as regulating clocks, the discovery of the thermometer and the telescope ... all such elements of science still tremendously influencing us in the 21st Century.

A very important female figure emerged in the early 17th century. Her crimes were documented in 1610 and she has been the fascination of vampire lore followers ever since. Erzebet Bathory also known as Elizabeth Bathory was the daughter of King Stephen Bathory of Poland.

She was born in 1560. Then married at the age of 15. She was married to a soldier and became the lady of the Castle of Csejthe (Čachtice) situated in the heart of the Carpathians. Very near to Transylvania.

Her crimes:
Blood for Beauty. In 1609 Elizabeth Bathory opened up a school for the education of young women. Parents of these women had social position and wanted their daughters to be schooled in social graces and etiquette. 25 women were taken into the school.
Dorotta Szentes and Anna Darvulia were two women in the employ of Bathory. With the help of these women all 25 students were murdered. 4 of which were thrown from the castle walls to their death.

The Reason (speculation): Bathory thought that blood held the answer to eternal youth. In a spat once she had scratched blood from a young servant of hers. Rubbing it on her face she claimed it to have youth renewing properties. It is said that Bathory bathed in the blood of virgins to keep up her youthful appearance. She also employed alchemists to come up with concoctions to help her keep a youthful vitality.

Sentencing:
King Matthias II of Hungary sentenced the Countess Elizabeth Bathory to be sent to trial. The trial took place in 1610 where she was found guilty of her crimes along with her two accomplices.
Punishment:
Bathory was imprisoned in 1610 to solitary confinement where she eventually died in 1614. Her accomplices Dorotta Szentes and Anna Darvulia were burned alive at the stake. This would have been Bathory's fate also but with her noble standing in society she could not be executed.

She is a famous figure because so many legends and myths surround her. She was as real as Vlad Tepes. Some say the Dracula legend may have come from the these two historical figures.

Elizabeth Bathory was also a fan of torture. When beating her slaves with a whip she preferred to do this to the front of the nude body so she could see how the face contorted in horror.

John Smith, John Rolfe, Pocahontas whi lived around what was to become Jamestown VA, USA in the 17th century.

The lincoln memorial, statue of liberty.

There are many "famous figures" throughout history.
For the 17th century I would include the following:

Galileo Galilei
Rene Descartes
Peter the Great
Cardinal Richelieu
Louis XIV
JS Bach
Handel
Vivaldi
Rembrandt
Vermeer
Shakespeare
Johannes Kepler