Portrait of Ian Hamilton Finlay

Birthday profile

Ian Hamilton Finlay

Ian Hamilton Finlay, Bahamian-Scottish poet, sculptor, and gardener (died 2006)

Born
October 28, 1925
Died
March 27, 2006
Zodiac sign
Scorpio
Birth year
1925

About Ian Hamilton Finlay

Ian Hamilton Finlay, Bahamian-Scottish poet, sculptor, and gardener (died 2006) He published his first book, The Sea Bed and Other Stories, in 1958, with some of his plays broadcast on the BBC, and some stories featured in The Glasgow Herald. His first collection of poetry, The Dancers Inherit the Party, was published in 1960 by Migrant Press with a second edition published in 1962. The third edition, published by Fulcrum Press (London) in 1969, included a number of new poems and was inaccurately described by the publisher as a first edition, which led to a complex legal dispute. In 1963, Finlay published Rapel, his first collection of concrete poetry (poetry in which the layout and typography of the words contributes to its overall effect), and it was as a concrete poet that he first gained wide renown.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Ian Hamilton Finlay timeline

  1. He published his first book, The Sea Bed and Other Stories, in 1958, with some of his plays broadcast on the BBC, and some stories featured in The Glasgow Herald.
  2. His first collection of poetry, The Dancers Inherit the Party, was published in 1960 by Migrant Press with a second edition published in 1962.
  3. In 1963, Finlay published Rapel, his first collection of concrete poetry (poetry in which the layout and typography of the words contributes to its overall effect), and it was as a concrete poet that he first gained wide renown.
  4. The third edition, published by Fulcrum Press (London) in 1969, included a number of new poems and was inaccurately described by the publisher as a first edition, which led to a complex legal dispute.

The world when Ian Hamilton Finlay was born

Ian Hamilton Finlay was born in 1925. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1925

  • #1 song"Sweet Georgia Brown"
  • Top movieThe Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin)
  • Best-selling bookThe Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentRed Grange signs with the Chicago Bears
  • Top headlineThe Scopes Trial captivates America
  • Technology milestoneTelevision demonstrated by John Logie Baird
  • Defining fadCharleston dance craze
  • Notable inventionMasking tape
  • World population1.98 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderCalvin Coolidge
  • Sports championPittsburgh Pirates (World Series)
  • U.S. population115.8M

1925 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Ian Hamilton Finlay's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19252026
Gas$0.22$3.45/gal
Average home$5,900$435,000
Average income$3,600$67,500
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population115.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.