Birthday profile

Chick Webb

Chick Webb, American drummer and bandleader (died 1939)

Born
February 10, 1905
Died
June 16, 1939
Zodiac sign
Aquarius
Birth year
1905

About Chick Webb

William Henry "Chick" Webb (February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939) was an American jazz and swing music drummer and band leader. == Early life == Webb was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to William H. and Marie Webb. The year of his birth is disputed. The Encyclopædia Britannica and Allmusic indicate 1905, and this seems to be supported by census information. Other publications claim other years. During Webb's lifetime, a December 1937 DownBeat magazine article, "The Rise of a Crippled Genius", stated he was born in 1909, which is the year that appears on his grave marker. In 1939, The New York Times stated that Webb was born in 1907, the year also suggested in Rhythm on Record by Hilton Schleman. Webb was one of four children; the other three were sisters (Bessie, Mabel, and Ethel). His sister Mabel married Wilbur Porter around 1928. As an infant, Webb fell down some stairs in his family's home, crushing several vertebrae and requiring surgery, from which he never regained full mobility.

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

Career and life highlights

The world when Chick Webb was born

Chick Webb was born in 1905. 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 1905

  • Best-selling book"The Marriage of William Ashe" – Mrs. Humphry Ward

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentChristy Mathewson pitches 3 shutouts in the World Series
  • Top headlineEinstein publishes theory of special relativity
  • Technology milestoneEinstein's "miracle year" — E=mc²
  • World population~1.65B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderTheodore Roosevelt
  • U.S. population83.2M

1905 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Chick Webb's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19052026
Population83.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, 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.