Birthday profile

Wilbur Thompson

Wilbur Thompson, American shot putter (died 2013)

Born
April 6, 1921
Died
December 25, 2013
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1921

About Wilbur Thompson

Wilbur Marvin "Moose" Thompson (April 6, 1921 – December 25, 2013) was an American shot putter who won a gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics, leading an American sweep of the medals. While studying at Modesto Junior College, Thompson won the national junior college title in 1939 and 1940. He then served in the US Army during World War II, and in 1946 placed second at the NCAA championships while at USC. He held a world ranking of #6 in 1947, #2 in 1948, #3 in 1949 and #4 in 1950. Thompson graduated with a master's degree in petroleum engineering and later worked in the oil production and at the California State Lands Commission. He died aged 92. His grandson, McLeod Bethel-Thompson, is a professional quarterback in the CFL.

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

Wilbur Thompson timeline

  1. Wilbur Marvin "Moose" Thompson (April 6, 1921 – December 25, 2013) was an American shot putter who won a gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics, leading an American sweep of the medals.
  2. While studying at Modesto Junior College, Thompson won the national junior college title in 1939 and 1940.

The world when Wilbur Thompson was born

Wilbur Thompson was born in 1921. 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 1921

  • #1 song"My Man" – Fanny Brice
  • Top movieThe Kid (Charlie Chaplin)
  • Best-selling bookMain Street – Sinclair Lewis

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJack Dempsey vs Georges Carpentier — first million-dollar gate
  • Top headlineWarren G. Harding inaugurated as 29th President
  • Technology milestoneAlbert Einstein wins the Nobel Prize in Physics
  • Defining fadOuija boards
  • Notable inventionLie detector (polygraph)
  • World population1.88 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWarren G. Harding
  • Sports championNew York Giants (World Series)
  • U.S. population108.5M

1921 versus 2026

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

Measure19212026
Gas$0.26$3.45/gal
Average home$5,500$435,000
Average income$3,010$67,500
Movie ticket$0.15$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population108.5M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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