Portrait of Ronnie White

Birthday profile

Ronnie White

Ronald White, American singer-songwriter (died 1995)

Born
April 5, 1939
Died
August 26, 1995
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1939

About Ronnie White

Ronald Anthony White was an American baritone singer, best known as the co-founder of the Miracles and its only consistent original member. White was also known for bringing Stevie Wonder to the attention of Motown Records, and writing several hit singles for the Miracles as well as other artists including the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and Mary Wells. White died of leukemia in 1995, at 57 years old. In 2012, White was a posthumous inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Miracles. This lasted until 1983, when White faced personal struggles following the death of his first wife, Earlyn Stephenson, who died from breast cancer that year. White's first born daughter, Michelle, succumbed to leukemia at the age of 9. He also brought then unknown Stevie Wonder to Motown after overhearing him playing with White's cousin; Wonder was signed immediately afterwards.

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

Ronnie White timeline

  1. This lasted until 1983, when White faced personal struggles following the death of his first wife, Earlyn Stephenson, who died from breast cancer that year.
  2. White died of leukemia in 1995, at 57 years old.

The world when Ronnie White was born

Ronnie White 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 Ronnie White'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, 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.