Portrait of Ruby Puryear Hearn

Birthday profile

Ruby Puryear Hearn

Ruby Puryear Hearn, African-American biophysicist

Born
April 13, 1940
Age in 2026
86
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1940

About Ruby Puryear Hearn

Ruby Louise Puryear Hearn (born April 13, 1940) is an American biophysicist who has dedicated her career to health policy. Her work spans initiatives in maternal, infant, and child health; AIDS; substance abuse; and minority medical education. == Early life == Ruby Louise Puryear was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on April 13, 1940. Her family later relocated to the Atlanta area. She is African-American. Ruby attended Skidmore College from 1956 to 1960 majoring in biochemistry. As a senior, she wrote to the editor of the college newspaper, criticizing the National Student Association for not supporting black students' protest of Woolworth's Department Stores. She excelled as a student, regularly appearing on the dean's list and graduating with highest honors in 1960. Ruby was one of twelve students in her class to pursue graduate school. Ruby married Robert Hearn in December 1960, and has two children.

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

Career and life highlights

The world when Ruby Puryear Hearn was born

Ruby Puryear Hearn was born in 1940. 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 1940

  • #1 song"In the Mood" – Glenn Miller
  • Top movieRebecca
  • Best-selling bookFor Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst televised college basketball game
  • Top headlineWinston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister
  • Technology milestoneFirst McDonald's restaurant opens
  • Defining fadSwing music hits its peak
  • Notable inventionJeep (military vehicle)
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championCincinnati Reds (World Series)
  • U.S. population132.2M

1940 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Ruby Puryear Hearn's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19402026
Gas$0.18$3.45/gal
Average home$5,300$435,000
Average income$3,100$67,500
Minimum wage$0.30$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population132.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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