Portrait of Darlene Hooley

Birthday profile

Darlene Hooley

Darlene Hooley, American educator and politician

Born
April 4, 1939
Age in 2026
87
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1939

About Darlene Hooley

Darlene Kay Olson Hooley (born April 4, 1939) is an American politician and former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon who represented the state's 5th congressional district. A high school teacher by profession, she served as a city councilwoman, state legislator, and county commissioner in Oregon before being elected to the House in 1996. In her post-congressional career, she remains engaged in civic life in Oregon and works as a strategic planning consultant. == Early life == Darlene Kay Olson was born in Williston, North Dakota to Clarence Alvin and Alyce Rogers Olson, who were wheat farmers. She moved with her parents to Salem, Oregon at the age of 8. She attended Salem Academy, and then Pasadena Nazarene College (now Point Loma Nazarene University) in southern California, where she also worked as a lifeguard. She returned to Oregon and earned her degree in education from Oregon State University in 1961, where she was on the basketball, field hockey, and rowing teams. Following her graduation, she taught reading, music, and high school physical education for eight years at schools in Woodburn, Gervais, and Portland. She also did post-graduate work at Oregon State and Portland State University. == Early political career == Hooley became interested in politics after her son was injured on a playground in West Linn.

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

Career and life highlights

Darlene Hooley timeline

  1. She was appointed to a parks advisory committee, and in 1976, became the first woman elected to serve on the West Linn City Council.
  2. Ironically, while Bunn's loss was attributed in part to his divorce and remarriage during his only term, Hooley also divorced during her first term in 1997.
  3. In the 2006 election, Hooley won a sixth term, defeating Republican Mike Erickson (who spent over $1 million of his own money), Green Paul Aranas, and Constitution candidate Douglas Patterson.

The world when Darlene Hooley was born

Darlene Hooley was born in 1939. 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 1939

  • #1 song"Over the Rainbow" – Judy Garland
  • Top movieGone with the Wind
  • Best-selling bookThe Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentLou Gehrig delivers his "Luckiest Man" farewell speech
  • Top headlineGermany invades Poland — World War II begins
  • Technology milestoneFirst regular television broadcasts in the US (NBC)
  • Defining fadThe Wizard of Oz mania
  • Notable inventionNylon stockings
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population130.9M

1939 versus 2026

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

Measure19392026
Gas$0.19$3.45/gal
Average home$5,200$435,000
Average income$2,900$67,500
Minimum wage$0.30$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population130.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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