James Andrew Harris

James Andrew Harris, American chemist and academic (died 2000)

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Born: March 26, 1932
Died: December 12, 2000
Zodiac sign: Aries
Birth year: 1932

About James Andrew Harris

James Andrew Harris was an American radiochemist who was involved in the discovery of elements 104 and 105. Harris was the head of the Heavy Isotopes Production Group, part of the Nuclear Chemistry Division of the University of California, Berkeley. Harris is known for being the first African American to contribute to the discovery of new elements. Harris was awarded an honorary doctorate from Huston-Tillotson College in 1973 for his co-discovery of rutherfordium and dubnium. Harris' first job in chemical research was as a radiochemist at Tracerlab Inc., a commercial research lab in Richmond, California; he worked there for five years.

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

The world when James Andrew Harris was born

James Andrew Harris was born in 1932. 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 1932

#1 song"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
Top movieGrand Hotel
Best-selling bookBrave New World – Aldous Huxley

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentBabe Ruth's "called shot" in the World Series
Top headlineFDR elected in a landslide during the Great Depression
Technology milestoneAmelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
Defining fadMonopoly board game (unofficial versions)
Notable inventionPolaroid filters
World population2.14 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderHerbert Hoover
Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
U.S. population124.8M

1932 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in James Andrew Harris's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1932	2026
Gas	$0.18	$3.45/gal
Average home	$5,000	$435,000
Average income	$2,600	$67,500
Movie ticket	$0.20	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.03	$0.73
Population	124.8M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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