Portrait of Michael Behe

Birthday profile

Michael Behe

American biochemist, author, and intelligent design advocate

Born
January 18, 1952
Age in 2026
74
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1952

About Michael Behe

Michael Joseph Behe ( BEE-hee; born January 18, 1952) is an American biochemist and an advocate of the pseudoscientific principle of intelligent design (ID). Behe serves as professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and as a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture. He advocates for the validity of the argument for irreducible complexity (IC), which claims that some biochemical structures are too complex to be explained by known evolutionary mechanisms and are therefore probably the result of intelligent design. Behe has testified in several court cases related to intelligent design, including the court case Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, where his views were cited in the ruling that intelligent design is not science and is religious in nature. As of 2014, Behe was unfavorably regarded by the scientific community; the scientific community had "thoroughly rejected" his work on intelligent design. == Early life and education == Behe was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School. He graduated from Drexel University with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 1974. He then earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978. His doctoral dissertation was titled, "Investigation of some physical chemical factors affecting the gelation of sickle cell hemoglobin".

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

Career and life highlights

The world when Michael Behe was born

Michael Behe was born in 1952. 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 1952

  • #1 song"You Belong to Me" – Jo Stafford
  • Top movieThe Greatest Show on Earth
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookThe Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentRocky Marciano becomes heavyweight champion
  • Top headlineDwight Eisenhower elected president
  • Technology milestoneFirst hydrogen bomb tested
  • Defining fadMr. Potato Head
  • Notable inventionMr. Potato Head (first toy advertised on TV)
  • World population2.63 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonMinneapolis Lakers (NBA)
  • U.S. population156.4M

1952 versus 2026

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

Measure19522026
Gas$0.27$3.45/gal
Average home$9,100$435,000
Average income$5,700$67,500
Minimum wage$0.75$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.60$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population156.4M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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