Portrait of Joan D. Vinge

Birthday profile

Joan D. Vinge

Joan D. Vinge, American author

Born
April 2, 1948
Age in 2026
78
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1948

About Joan D. Vinge

Joan D. Vinge is an American science fiction author. She is known for her Hugo Award–winning novel The Snow Queen (1980) and its sequels, her series about a telepath named Cat, and her Heaven's Chronicles books. She also is the author of The Random House Book of Greek Myths (1999). Vinge's first published story, "Tin Soldier", a novella, appeared in Orbit 14 in 1974. Several of her stories have won major awards: Her novel The Snow Queen won the 1981 Hugo Award for Best Novel. "Eyes of Amber" won the 1977 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.

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

Joan D. Vinge timeline

  1. Vinge's first published story, "Tin Soldier", a novella, appeared in Orbit 14 in 1974.
  2. She is known for her Hugo Award–winning novel The Snow Queen (1980) and its sequels, her series about a telepath named Cat, and her Heaven's Chronicles books.
  3. Several of her stories have won major awards: Her novel The Snow Queen won the 1981 Hugo Award for Best Novel. "Eyes of Amber" won the 1977 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.

The world when Joan D. Vinge was born

Joan D. Vinge was born in 1948. 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 1948

  • #1 song"Twelfth Street Rag" – Pee Wee Hunt
  • Top movieHamlet
  • Top TV showTexaco Star Theater (Milton Berle)
  • Best-selling bookThe Naked and the Dead – Norman Mailer

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentCleveland Indians win the World Series
  • Top headlineState of Israel declared
  • Technology milestoneLong-playing vinyl record (LP) introduced
  • Defining fadTelevision sets in homes
  • Notable inventionVelcro
  • World population2.50 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championCleveland Indians (World Series)
  • Also wonBaltimore Bullets (BAA)
  • U.S. population146.6M

1948 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Joan D. Vinge's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19482026
Gas$0.26$3.45/gal
Average home$8,300$435,000
Average income$5,000$67,500
Minimum wage$0.40$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.40$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population146.6M341 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. 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.